What courses should I audit?

[linkin06]

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i've been lucky enough to already be accepted to the school i always was hoping for, so now i have a semester to relax a lil. i only have one more required course for my major, so i'm hoping for a lighter load.

i was wondering if you guys had any thoughts on possibly auditing a course that could help make med school a lil bit less crazy. my sister suggested auditing an anatomy course, but some on here suggested undergrad is nothing like med anyways.

any suggestions?

 

[Hemichordate]

.

 

[avksx]

"Audit"?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

"Audit"?

you go to class and learn, but no grade for you..
you end up just learning and getting experience..

i recommend auditing histology,immunology,embryology and if you've taken general psych take human behavior

btw anatomy is easy you can get a A in that class no prob

 

[LRAccord624]

At my school, to audit a course you still pay the same amount as if you're actually enrolled but you dont get the grade. If this is also the case at your school, I vote to either actually enroll in a course that seems interesting to you, or work and make some money instead!

 

[ensuii]

I would just chill and watch tv...you can audit an undergrad course but it most likely won't do you much good. The thing about med school isn't the content...I'm sure most students would agree that the content itself is relatively easy. It's the sheer volume of it that you get within a short amount of time. It's the equivalent of taking 30-35units in a semester...it's not difficult but it takes time for your brain to get used to becoming a sponge.

If you really have to go to classes, keep in mind that a med school class will prolly have more of a clinical focus and be detail oriented than anything you'd likely see in undergrad...anatomy/histology/immunology would be good choices tho I guess.

 

[Antibodies]

Audit an anatomy course. There will be like 10 other med students who jump on this and will say no.
However, I never understood them. Yes, anatomy in med school will be different than an anatomy course in undergrad or a CC. HOWEVER, the names of the bones, muscles and such don't change. Having a simple understand of these will give you an advantage. While your group mates are flipping through Netter to figure out what that muscle is called, you will already know it. Hence, you won't be as freaked out about your first set of exams.
So I would suggest you audit one. Don't go crazy and learn everything in the course. Don't go for a grade either. Just get the basics down.

Don't audit any of the other courses.

Also, if you need to pay to audit the course, don't do it. Not worth it.

 

[apumic]

At larger schools, you can often also just attend the course (i.e., an unofficial audit). Talk to the instructor and see if s/he would be okay with you just attending. Often, esp. in large lecture courses, nobody is going to care if you just show up and learn. Just don't take the tests, etc., unless the faculty member thinks you should for experience.

 

[red10]

Audit an anatomy course. There will be like 10 other med students who jump on this and will say no.
However, I never understood them. Yes, anatomy in med school will be different than an anatomy course in undergrad or a CC. HOWEVER, the names of the bones, muscles and such don't change. Having a simple understand of these will give you an advantage. While your group mates are flipping through Netter to figure out what that muscle is called, you will already know it. Hence, you won't be as freaked out about your first set of exams.
So I would suggest you audit one. Don't go crazy and learn everything in the course. Don't go for a grade either. Just get the basics down.

Don't audit any of the other courses.

Also, if you need to pay to audit the course, don't do it. Not worth it.

Maybe if you officially sign up to audit a course you could do anatomy, but then you might as well just take it. At least at my school, most of the anatomy learned is via the lab with cadavers and you can't attend unless you're in the class officially. Without the lab you might as well just grab a netter and maybe the class study guide and start memorizing on your own.

 

[whimsical]

btw anatomy is easy you can get a A in that class no prob

*sigh* unless you're like me and you get an A in most things except anatomy...
(don't mind me, I'm just bitter)

 

[LRAccord624]

At larger schools, you can often also just attend the course (i.e., an unofficial audit). Talk to the instructor and see if s/he would be okay with you just attending. Often, esp. in large lecture courses, nobody is going to care if you just show up and learn. Just don't take the tests, etc., unless the faculty member thinks you should for experience.

I guess it just depends on the school and the class then. Sure you could just show up to a 300 person lecture, but not to a 30-40 person anatomy or histology lab. My school has about 30,000 undergrads, so decently sized, and it is not possible to 'unofficially audit' unless it's a huge class and the teacher is unaware of your attendance.

If you have to pay for it, forget it... I agree with watching TV and relaxing before med school. I have seen on several threads that undergrad courses are almost never a big help in medical school anyway.

EDIT: I will admit though- I teach an anatomy lab and I really think I'll have a leg up in anatomy next year. But the amount you will learn from auditing a class compared to actually being enrolled and then teaching it are vastly different. I don't think you learn enough for it to matter. When I started teaching, I realized how much I didn't know/hadn't retained since I took the class and made an A+.