Will class load in undergrad look bad to a med school admissions officer?

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jordan23

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Ok, here's my story. Since there are a lot of people on this forum with experience I was hoping I could get some insight as well as advice on what to do and how to approach my degree.

If I take only 4 classes per semester, will that hurt my chances of getting admitted into medical school? I am already 1 year and 1 class behind. I have 27 hours when I should have 60. Even though I'm at a big university there aren't a whole lot of selections, choices, and options as far as core classes, etc. I usually pick good teachers that I find on ratemyprofessor.com. Here are my options. I could squeeze down 18 hours this fall, and have some early classes, or I could do 12-15 and get more sleep and possibly do better, but then I would be dragging out my undergraduate career even longer. What should I do? Since I'm already way behind, and haven't even completed remedial math, is it wise to cram as much hours down, or should I continue on this slow pace? Last semester I did 12 hours. 🙁
 
I've done less than 12 hours before, but there were always reasons. I had to have Physics 2 dropped because the lab was cancelled and I couldn't it in anywhere else on my schedule or I had financial problems.
Right now,I'm taking 15 hours like I have before, but I work full time and do everything else in between. Just make sure you give reasons why you had to take fewer hours.
 
i don't mean to aruge, so please forgive me, but has anyone ever been admitted to medical school when they were on a 5 year undergrad plan?
 
i'd like to know too because i took a year off.
 
i'd like to know too because i took a year off.

Taking a year off isn't the same question at all. Tons of people take a year off. Heck, on the nontrad board you will find tons of people who took a whole career off and did fine.

As to the OP's question, yes plenty of people have gotten in having taken a 5th year of undergrad. While it will be noticed by adcoms, so long as you can provide an explanation and have done well, you will be fine.

But I would caution that med school moves several times faster and covers substantially more material than undergrad, so if you (OP) are finding the pace of a normal schedule of undergrad too difficult, you may be setting yourself up for problems in med school. Don't expect the current GPA to be the only hurdle you have to get over in your career -- it only gets harder from here on out. Good luck.
 
well what I meant was, I am a year behind because I went to pursue some pharm tech classes while taking like one pre req science class and my total units for about 2 semesters is like 11-12 with only one science class.
 
If you're taking 12 credits a semester, then yes, it'll look bad because it is far below the standard for a full course load. Take that extra class, 12 is not so different from 15 credits a semester. Take up research to fill that last 3 credits.

Typically admissions officers don't care how many credits you take, as long as it is somewhat within the normal range (variety of 14 to 18). But if you drop that far below the average, finish school in like 6 years, then you risk raising a red flag as they suspect you simply cannot handle rigorous course loads.
 
If you're taking 12 credits a semester, then yes, it'll look bad because it is far below the standard for a full course load. Take that extra class, 12 is not so different from 15 credits a semester. Take up research to fill that last 3 credits.

Typically admissions officers don't care how many credits you take, as long as it is somewhat within the normal range (variety of 14 to 18). But if you drop that far below the average, finish school in like 6 years, then you risk raising a red flag as they suspect you simply cannot handle rigorous course loads.

My undegrad school considers anything from 12-18 credit hours to be a full courseload. Taking 12 hours per semester just means that you need to take 6 hours every summer, it's not exactly like finishing in 6 years.
 
I took a normal course load for every semester except senior year spring. Senior spring I only took 9 course hours (dropped a course 3/4 of the way through the semester, then spent extra time working in a lab). Do you think adcoms will see this and think senioritis or something? I took less hours that semester because it wasn't needed, I had enough credits to graduate way before that semester. I wanted to have time to study for the mcats and do some volunteering too. But I'm not sure that "studying for mcats and volunteering" would be an acceptable answer to adcoms b/c don't they expect us to handle a full course load plus the extracurriculars?
 
I only took 3 courses my 2nd semester senior year...I had technically graduated after first semester...so I took it easy!
 
Adcoms are looking to see that you can handle the academic rigors of medical school, so I believe that many of them will consider course load as a selection criteria, if not explicitly than implicitly. 12 hours a semester is an underload at my school, and I suspect most others. If you had a compelling reason to do so (maybe an EC that you really wanted to focus on), then I would try to touch on it in your personal comments; it would not reflect favorably on you if you simply wanted to take it easy or have more time to study.
 
yeah i see what your saying. some of the guys are confusing my question by saying that they finished up with only a few classes. im not really at that point yet.
 
Adcoms are looking to see that you can handle the academic rigors of medical school, so I believe that many of them will consider course load as a selection criteria, if not explicitly than implicitly. 12 hours a semester is an underload at my school, and I suspect most others. If you had a compelling reason to do so (maybe an EC that you really wanted to focus on), then I would try to touch on it in your personal comments; it would not reflect favorably on you if you simply wanted to take it easy or have more time to study.

im thinking about signing up for a class that is MWF, for an hour each day. have u ever taken one of these classes? is it different than the regular 2 days a week? also what are your thoughts on early classes compared to classes in the afternoon and at night?
 
In my experience, classes that meet MWF seem to go faster, but that may be an illusion since 3-a-week classes invite profs to cover more broadly than deeply. I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, so I can't handle early classes. I know people who seek it out, though, because they say that their minds are clearer in the morning. All in all, it's a matter of personal preference.
 
It doesn't matter how many semesters (years) it takes to complete the degree. However, if you are below 16 credits per term, it will be looked at. I learned this from my Admissions Director at my local Medical School. So, don't take less than you can. And don't worry about ratemyprofessor or anything else. Easy teachers get good reports, but fail to prepare you for the MCAT well.
 
I only ever take 14-15 credits (and I took 13 one semester), but I don't see this hurting me in the application process. From what I've heard, Adcomms don't have enough time to stress about things like that.

Plus I took 8 hours during two summers (for a total of 16).
 
As a true undergrad, my load was always from 15-18. However, once I graduated, I spent two years taking extra courses. Those years were often 6-9 hours per semester, as I was also shadowing, volunteering and working full-time.

During my MS, the first semester was 17 (with one 11-credit course), the second 13 and another 10 this summer. You can have light semesters if you need, but there should be a reason.
 
can someone shed light on the quarter system? whats the minimum and average number of units for premeds nowadays?
 
can someone shed light on the quarter system? whats the minimum and average number of units for premeds nowadays?

At least at my school:

Typical: 15 credits (3 classes, 5 credits each)
Range: 12-18 credits, less credits is part-time and more credits is extra tuition.
 
I took a normal course load for every semester except senior year spring. Senior spring I only took 9 course hours (dropped a course 3/4 of the way through the semester, then spent extra time working in a lab). Do you think adcoms will see this and think senioritis or something? I took less hours that semester because it wasn't needed, I had enough credits to graduate way before that semester. I wanted to have time to study for the mcats and do some volunteering too. But I'm not sure that "studying for mcats and volunteering" would be an acceptable answer to adcoms b/c don't they expect us to handle a full course load plus the extracurriculars?

That's really a non-issue. They'll notice the year you are graduating and people usually have a lighter class load then (it looks odd if you're taking like 20+ hours to finish, because it looks like you're offloading classes to semesters that don't matter in the admissions process).
 
(it looks odd if you're taking like 20+ hours to finish, because it looks like you're offloading classes to semesters that don't matter in the admissions process).

I was wondering what you meant by that- What semesters don't matter in the admissions process? If you applied immediately after graduating, wouldn't the spring courses taken right before you submit the AMCAS still count in the GPA calculation?
 
I was wondering what you meant by that- What semesters don't matter in the admissions process? If you applied immediately after graduating, wouldn't the spring courses taken right before you submit the AMCAS still count in the GPA calculation?

That comment is really for people who are applying during their senior year. Grades don't really count (maybe fall, definitely not spring) because they just don't exist yet! As for you, if you've already graduated, all grades count.

To reiterate, grades for classes taken during the admissions process don't count because usually schools don't require transcripts during that period of time (some do however as soon as they are available).
 
is it still possible to get in to med school only taking 12 hours per semester? i ask this because if i bump it up to say 18 i might not keep up my gpa. so whats better.. a 4.0 with a slow pace or a 3.5 with a fast pace? 🙁
 
I have a similar question too. My school use quarter system, and I have taken 12 (considered fulltime)or less for credit class. Some quarters I took about 8 credit for letter grade and 4-6 pass/no pass credit to fulfill the fulltime requirement. Is that bad???
 
is it still possible to get in to med school only taking 12 hours per semester? i ask this because if i bump it up to say 18 i might not keep up my gpa. so whats better.. a 4.0 with a slow pace or a 3.5 with a fast pace? 🙁

I would say to take the faster pace and work a little harder to get the 4.0 or a 3.8 or something. But if that is not possible, it's probably better to have the higher GPA with a slightly slower pace (adcoms see numbers before anything else). Though if adcoms are trying to decide between you and a similar candidate who took a heavier course load, I would put my money on the other guy.

I would suggest you take a heavier course load for 2 reasons:
1) It seems like you are taking the bare minimum, and undergrad is an opportunity to take a huge variety of classes. Don't graduate and regret skipping immunology and microeconomics and art history.
2) As stated above by some posters, med school will be a lot more demanding than undergrad. You NEED to find out if you will be able to handle the work, otherwise you might be setting yourself up for disaster.

Take an 18 credit semester, study hard, have some fun but skip the bar night if you are behind on work, and see what happens.
 
I would say to take the faster pace and work a little harder to get the 4.0 or a 3.8 or something. But if that is not possible, it's probably better to have the higher GPA with a slightly slower pace (adcoms see numbers before anything else). Though if adcoms are trying to decide between you and a similar candidate who took a heavier course load, I would put my money on the other guy.

I would suggest you take a heavier course load for 2 reasons:
1) It seems like you are taking the bare minimum, and undergrad is an opportunity to take a huge variety of classes. Don't graduate and regret skipping immunology and microeconomics and art history.
2) As stated above by some posters, med school will be a lot more demanding than undergrad. You NEED to find out if you will be able to handle the work, otherwise you might be setting yourself up for disaster.

Take an 18 credit semester, study hard, have some fun but skip the bar night if you are behind on work, and see what happens.

what time does med school start? how long are the classes, how many classes per day, etc?
 
what time does med school start? how long are the classes, how many classes per day, etc?

At my school, classes start first year at 8am and run until noon or 5pm, depending on the block we are in. Even during the shorter blocks, though, the commitment outside of class is the big change from undergrad. I used to procrastinate and study the night before an exam. Now I will go home and study every single night so I don't fall behind. This is why people call med school a marathon. It's not so much class time that you should be concerned about - it's going home after a day of class and being able to keep up the pace of studying.
 
what time does med school start? how long are the classes, how many classes per day, etc?

At my school (for preclinical coursework) classes start at 8am and go to noon (probably once or twice a week, more right before a test) or 3pm (once or twice a week) or 5pm (usually twice a week). You only ever have three courses at a time but that is deceiving because the volume of an undergraduate course doesn't compare to the volume of a medschool course. That is the major thing that changes, the volume increase, which is very difficult to understand until you are drowning in it during your first semester.

There are of course people who take it with ease, but they are few and far between, and there are also those who never adapt to the volume, also few and far between. Eventually you find your groove but it usually means a pretty steady work pace at all times that becomes a bit frantic before the test, thus the marathon analogy. The other analogy that I find useful is the drinking from the fire hose one, that captures the volume nicely.
 
I have a similar question too. My school use quarter system, and I have taken 12 (considered fulltime)or less for credit class. Some quarters I took about 8 credit for letter grade and 4-6 pass/no pass credit to fulfill the fulltime requirement. Is that bad???

bump
 
it does not matter. just be a full time student and you'll be fine.
 
i like to think of it this way: an average private med school gets >6000 primary apps each cycle. i dont think they have the time to scrutinize the number of units you took every quarter very carefully. they have your primary and secondary essays to read, EC's to consider and most importantly, the mcat gpa factor. if it comes down to whether or not you get an interview based on your course load, then something else must be lacking on ur app. i mean i cant tell u what ADCOM's exact criterior are, but in light of the above factors, i dont think the number of units taken will matter much.

someone brought up the fact that u need to prove/challenge yourself to see if u can handle the course load of med school. if u are simply sitting around on your ass waiting for starcraftII to come out, then yeah, u should up the courseload. but if u are working, volunteering, researching, doning something productive with your time to make u a better applicant, then by all means take fewer units. just keep the gpa up and the mcat score golden.
 
im thinking about signing up for a class that is MWF, for an hour each day. have u ever taken one of these classes? is it different than the regular 2 days a week? also what are your thoughts on early classes compared to classes in the afternoon and at night?

I prefer MWF classes because I usually don't like sitting in one spot for 1.5 hours. Otherwise, there isn't that much difference. The same amount of information will be covered.
 
I have a course load question - would adcomms look against you if you took classes like plant bio or highlights of astronomy to slightly pad your science gpa? I took the gen chem and calc sequence with B/B+s this year because I wasn't totally sure what I was going to do, but now I'm definitely premed 🙂
 
I have a course load question - would adcomms look against you if you took classes like plant bio or highlights of astronomy to slightly pad your science gpa? I took the gen chem and calc sequence with B/B+s this year because I wasn't totally sure what I was going to do, but now I'm definitely premed 🙂

No adcom will honestly care, but just be aware that some people will be more exposed to the topics covered in med school than you will have been.
 
I have a similar question too. My school use quarter system, and I have taken 12 (considered fulltime)or less for credit class. Some quarters I took about 8 credit for letter grade and 4-6 pass/no pass credit to fulfill the fulltime requirement. Is that bad???
can someone please tell me if this is bad or not. Thanks🙂
 
i like to think of it this way: an average private med school gets >6000 primary apps each cycle. i dont think they have the time to scrutinize the number of units you took every quarter very carefully. they have your primary and secondary essays to read, EC's to consider and most importantly, the mcat gpa factor. if it comes down to whether or not you get an interview based on your course load, then something else must be lacking on ur app. i mean i cant tell u what ADCOM's exact criterior are, but in light of the above factors, i dont think the number of units taken will matter much.

someone brought up the fact that u need to prove/challenge yourself to see if u can handle the course load of med school. if u are simply sitting around on your ass waiting for starcraftII to come out, then yeah, u should up the courseload. but if u are working, volunteering, researching, doning something productive with your time to make u a better applicant, then by all means take fewer units. just keep the gpa up and the mcat score golden.

excellent post👍
 
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