whats a proper number of credits?

[suckybreakfast]

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I have just been drawing up my schedule lately and really I'm not sure if I have enough credits or not. I take about four classes per semester, with about three labs and it will come out to around 15 credits. I think this is a good number of credits but I don't know if I can keep this up.

Heres my schedule coming up:

General Physics I 3.00
General Physics I Lab 1.00
Organic Chem I 3.00
Organic Chem I Lab 1.00
Cell Biology 3.00
Cell Biology Laboratory 1.00
General Psychology 3.00

Should I just keep this or what? like three lab classes just sounds brutal, but i want to be prepared for the MCAT. So I have been taking all the science courses I could.
Anyways, would it matter if I drop a class and went down to 11-12 credits, or would that be a med school no-no?

 

[Catalystik]

At my school, if you drop below 12 hours, you lose full-time status and no longer qualify for the university health insurance. If that's a potential issue for you, be careful what you drop.

I think 12 hours is fine if you're a freshman, also studying for the MCAT, work a lot of hours each week, have heavy EC commitments (sports, etc), have young children, or are otherwise heavily engaged. Adcomms like to see you carry a heavy load (which need not be all academic), but don't do it if you can't maintain a near-A average at the same time.

Many applicants have carried 16-18 semester hours or more successfully. It's up to you to decide what you can manage gracefully. Considering the three labs, I probably would not add another class at this time.

 

[bigal40]

That's a decent schedule - I wouldn't go below 15 credits, any lower than that and your schedule looks kind of weak, but condsidering you have 3 labs, 15 is probably OK.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

3 labs? are you crazy lol
but yah.. 15 credits is the right amount you need to graduate on time..
so your fine..
just need to be careful that you dont over do yourself..

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I would not take three labs if I were you. Preparing for the MCAT is fine but you don't want your GPA to suffer.

15 credits per semester is the right amount. I disagree with the poster who said that you shouldn't go below 15 credits. Just be sure you're doing something else with your time, and have a semester or two with 18 credits to compensate.

 

[apumic]

15 is fine. Below 15 isn't generally a good idea as it will likely delay graduation (or force you to take summer classes). You're full-time at most places as long as you have 12 units, though, so it's not really that big of a deal. How many you can take and be successful really depends upon who you are. Some can take 22+ units w/ 3 labs and incomplete prereqs and still manage straight-As while holding down a full-time job and various other commitments ("ECs"); many simply can't. You need to figure out what you are capable of handling and do that. Good luck.

 

[metallica81788]

I would not take three labs if I were you. Preparing for the MCAT is fine but you don't want your GPA to suffer.

15 credits per semester is the right amount. I disagree with the poster who said that you shouldn't go below 15 credits. Just be sure you're doing something else with your time, and have a semester or two with 18 credits to compensate.

This.

Remember, the main goals regarding class load are to keep your GPA up and graduate on time.

 

[capricia]

It's not the number of credits I would worry about, it's the number of labs. At my school labs can be pretty time consuming and 3 labs is pretty brutal. Maybe talk to people who have taken those classes to see if it's manageable.

 

[jvesco22]

bout 350

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

if i were you.. i'd push off your cell bio class till your 3rd year.. why? because most biology can be learned entirely from the review books..
so yes.. but honestly i'd have trouble taking 2 heavy science classes like biology and o-chem together.. + physics which is memorization and math..
thats way too much work..
so honestly if i were you.. take a different class something easier like a elective you need for your major.. like.. another behavioral science.. or a art distribution..

 

[suckybreakfast]

Thanks guys for the responses! I guess my main worry was if I do start taking 12 credits this semester, will med schools look down on that? Is there a particular average of credits per semester I should try to meet or what.

I wasn't really worried till I read a few threads on SDN about people's averages being 15+ and I began to believe that was the normal for med school applicants... so is it? Before now I just went with whatever my counselor has told me.. who has given me an average of 12 credits per semester so far.. =\

 

[bigal40]

Thanks guys for the responses! I guess my main worry was if I do start taking 12 credits this semester, will med schools look down on that? Is there a particular average of credits per semester I should try to meet or what.

I wasn't really worried till I read a few threads on SDN about people's averages being 15+ and I began to believe that was the normal for med school applicants... so is it? Before now I just went with whatever my counselor has told me.. who has given me an average of 12 credits per semester so far.. =\

My average is 17.5. Your adviser who told you 12 is average is wrong, 12 is way below average. Like other have said 12 is usually the min to be considered full time.

 

[apumic]

Thanks guys for the responses! I guess my main worry was if I do start taking 12 credits this semester, will med schools look down on that? Is there a particular average of credits per semester I should try to meet or what.

I wasn't really worried till I read a few threads on SDN about people's averages being 15+ and I began to believe that was the normal for med school applicants... so is it? Before now I just went with whatever my counselor has told me.. who has given me an average of 12 credits per semester so far.. =\

Rigor of your courseload may be somewhat taken into account; however, it is far secondary to your GPA. Taking <15 credits and getting a 4.0 is certainly less impressive than a 3.9 w/ 16-18+/semester; however if you end up w/ a 3.5 (or worse) b/c you took 16/semester, that's going to hurt you a lot more than a 3.9 w/ only 12/semester would have. Basically, take what you can. Build from where you are and see when it becomes difficult to handle. My first semester, I took 16 credits and then built from there (18 my 2nd-5th semesters, 22 my jr yr and 14 my sr yr to give time for apps and internships). 15-18 is probably pretty typical for premeds w/ most on the high side of that.

I also wouldn't make such a broad generalization about the difficulty of and time needed for geneds vs. science w/ labs. The former can be much tougher than the latter. It all depends on the courses and the school....

 

[Iso4ane]

you should have taken 21 and 20 units the last two semesters, like I did, to make up for the lack of credits this semester. I did, and now 17 units seem like a joke. Next semester 14 might be as easy but idk, they're all somewhat hard UD Biochem courses. I should have time to study for the MCAT. Oh, and i did get a 4.0 both semesters for those who wanted to know. I thought OChem was way over-hyped, but who knows...

Btw, at my school it is 12 credits per a semester over the academic year, so theoretically I could take 20 units during the fall, and then 4 during the spring and still be considered a full-time student, since technically it is still on average 12 credits/semester.

 

[URHere]

I'm not sure if I have enough credits or not.

The right number of credits is somewhere between the minimum number you need to remain a full time student and the maximum number you can handle without letting your GPA (or your sanity) suffer.

If you feel overwhelmed by your current load, there is no reason not to change it. If you feel so overwhelmed that you can't keep up with ECs outside of class, that's a huge reason why you should change it. Schools will care about your GPA, and the rest of your application package (ECs included) far more than they will care about your credit number.

On the other hand, if you don't feel like you are compromising anything by keeping your current schedule, then you have no reason not to keep it.

 

[SamyRamadan]

I have just been drawing up my schedule lately and really I'm not sure if I have enough credits or not. I take about four classes per semester, with about three labs and it will come out to around 15 credits. I think this is a good number of credits but I don't know if I can keep this up.

Heres my schedule coming up:

General Physics I 3.00
General Physics I Lab 1.00
Organic Chem I 3.00
Organic Chem I Lab 1.00
Cell Biology 3.00
Cell Biology Laboratory 1.00
General Psychology 3.00

Should I just keep this or what? like three lab classes just sounds brutal, but i want to be prepared for the MCAT. So I have been taking all the science courses I could.
Anyways, would it matter if I drop a class and went down to 11-12 credits, or would that be a med school no-no?

See that's almost identical to my schedule, except I have calc + calc lab as well lol.

 

[JTruj]

3 labs? are you crazy lol
but yah.. 15 credits is the right amount you need to graduate on time..
so your fine..
just need to be careful that you dont over do yourself..

I took a similar course load to the OP except it was organic instead of gen chem and no gut psych for a total of 12hrs... it was rough, not as rough as med school but the time commitment was huge.