Undergrad course load

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Average Joe

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Gen. Bio w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen(Inorganic). Chem w/ lab 1 & 2
Intro Calculus (Fall)

Soph
Biodiversity (Fall) *required for major & Microbiology w/ lab (Spring)
OChem w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen. Physics w/ lab 1 & 2

Attempt the MCAT!


Junior
Genetics w/ lab (Fall) & Molecular Genetics w/ lab (Spring)
Intro. BioChem w/ lab (Fall)
Anatomy and Physiology (Fall)

Attempt the MCAT!

Senior
ETC.

How does this look? Will the subjects in junior year hinder me from scoring well on the MCAT if I were to take it sophomore year?

Notes
Biodiversity - Survey of biological diversity, basic principles and concepts of biological systematics, taxonomy, evolutionary theory, and ecology.

General Microbiology - Study of microorganisms. Laboratory emphasizes principles of bacteriological technique, microscopic study, and environmental influences affecting microorganisms.

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Last edited:
Undergrad institution: Xavier University of .Louisiana.

Frosh
Gen. Bio w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen(Inorganic). Chem w/ lab 1 & 2
Intro Calculus (Fall)

Soph
Biodiversity (Fall) *required for major & Microbiology w/ lab (Spring)
OChem w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen. Physics w/ lab 1 & 2

Attempt the MCAT!

Junior
Genetics w/ lab (Fall) & Molecular Genetics w/ lab (Spring)
Intro. BioChem w/ lab (Fall)
Anatomy and Physiology (Fall)

Attempt the MCAT!

Senior
ETC.

How does this look? Will the subjects in junior year hinder me from scoring well on the MCAT if I were to take it sophomore year?

Notes
Biodiversity - Survey of biological diversity, basic principles and concepts of biological systematics, taxonomy, evolutionary theory, and ecology.

General Microbiology - Study of microorganisms. Laboratory emphasizes principles of bacteriological technique, microscopic study, and environmental influences affecting microorganisms.

Looks like you are taking 12 credit hours every semester. For the MCAT, try to do it once and only once if at all possible
 
Remember that you have to work all of your standard courses into that mix, too.

Joe, it's all well and good that you are thinking about the future, but you're jumping the gun a bit, aren't you? Are you in 11th or 12th grade this year? The first thing that you must do is to get accepted into the college. I have no doubt that you will because you actually bother to type complete words and use capitalization in your posts. You are better at communicating than most high schoolers who post here.

Once you are accepted, you will meet with a college counselor who will assist you in formulating your freshman schedule. Sometimes the counselors are great, but sometimes not. So, yes, it actually IS a good idea to ask for a bit of input on the forum before you meet with the counselor.

Your anticipated schedule for science classes looks just fine to me. It gives you lots of leeway for when to take the MCAT, as well as plenty of time to retake it, if necessary. Still, don't feel obligated to stick to that. Once you are situated and comfortable in the school, you will have a better idea of what you are able to handle. You can tweak the schedule as you go.

Good luck!:luck:
 
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What about general education classes? English, humanities, histories. You can't take all of them in your senior year.
 
Assuming you only listed your science courses and that your gen ed classes will be sprinkled in there as well, your schedule looks pretty typical. You can take the MCAT after your sophomore year if you feel comfortable, that's what I did. Just be warned you will have to spend a bit of time teaching yourself some physiology, but it's not too hard.
 
Yeah, only listed science courses:D. Heres with the other "stuff"

Frosh

Gen. Bio w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen(Inorganic). Chem w/ lab 1 & 2
Intro Calculus (Fall)
English Honors only have to do 3 Hours(Fall) & Public Speaking *required
History 1 & 2

Soph
Biodiversity (Fall) *required for major & Microbiology w/ lab (Spring)
OChem w/ lab 1 & 2
Gen. Physics w/ lab 1 & 2
English (Fall) & Theology (spring)*required

Attempt the MCAT!


Junior
Genetics w/ lab (Fall) & Molecular Genetics w/ lab (Spring)
Intro. BioChem w/ lab (Fall)
Anatomy and Physiology (Fall)
Foreign Language (Spanish) 1 & 2
Philosophy *required(Spring)
African American *required(Spring)
Social Science Class *required(Spring)

Attempt the MCAT!

Senior
ETC.

Yeah, I'm only in th 10th grade ::blushes:: but, I have spare time on my hands so please work with me here. :p
 
Whats the purpose of the Honors? Personally, I wouldnt do it unless it gave you some major advantage or is minimal extra work.
 
Yeah, I'm only in th 10th grade ::blushes:: but, I have spare time on my hands so please work with me here. :p

Here's some advice. Enjoy high school, workout, go to parties, get involved (hospital volunteering, hospice, school stuff, whatever...). Study hard. Try to keep your transcript in as pristine of shape as possible. If you're still die hard about med school come senior year, there are a handful of seven-year BS/MD programs you can apply to. There are also a handful of eight year BS/MD programs you can apply to. If that doesn't work out, go to college and take a courseload that ensures that you'll end up with as close to a 4.0 as possible. Anyways, you are thinking way too far ahead.
 
Placement? Sometimes you get put in honours no matter what.
O ok, because Honors at our school is a choice. You have to meet certain requirements and then you have to want to doit. I did it for one semester and it was pointless. It must differ from school to school.
 
Yeah, I'm only in th 10th grade ::blushes:: but, I have spare time on my hands so please work with me here. :p

dude enjoy high school. Don't worry about this stuff till 12th grade or you will drive yourself mad. Things don't always work out nice and as planned. Planning this far ahead is ........
You should be planning for 11th grade.
 
This plan looks good. And if writing it out like this helps you feel planned and calmed then it's good. But realize that you won't most likely won't stick to the plan. Every one I know who mapped out their courses per semester didn't end up following it. Including myself. :)
 
I understand how you feel...I worry a lot too.

I think your schedule sounds good but you should try to have approx. 15 hours each semester to graduate in 4 years and also because med schools want to see at least that. You should try to have some filler classes...sociology, psych, anthropology, Englishetc ( no offense anyone, please)
It's a good idea to take organic and phys your sophomore year right before the MCAT so it's fresh in your mind. You might also want to try to take the mcat the summer after your sophomore year because you have a whole summer free and don't have to worry about other classes. I did that but I also took genetics my sophomore year (there's some genetics on mcat also). It wasn't too terribly bad.
Hope this helps.
 
Yeah, you won't follow the plan. Too much stuff comes up. Sometimes there are opportunities you can't pass up, responsibilities that will take priority over your plan, and so on. These are all good things actually. Your college career can be much more distinguished than your plan takes into account, if you have a nose for good opportunities.
 
I noticed you're going to go to Xavier...I hear it has a high med school admission rate.
I go to LSU.
 
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