Would dropping this course be inappropriate as a post-bacc student?

[Sharknad0]

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I graduated from undergrad in May 2018 with a degree in biology. I spent my first gap year volunteering/working, and I’m spending my second year taking classes and volunteering.

I’m taking an anatomy class with a lab and that’s 5 credits, this class is in the mid 2000’s level. I’ve never done anatomy so I’m looking forward to this class.

I’m also taking a course on cognition which is a 6000+ level class worth 3 credits. It’s day one and the material for this class is so ungodly dense that I’m worried about my potential performance. My sGPA is about 3.45 and I don’t want to risk lowering it further, which anything below an A- will do.

I know people will probably say “if you can’t handle this class you can’t handle med school,” but this is about my GPA, not if I can pass the class which I believe I can. Would it look bad as someone who already graduated undergrad to drop this course and take something less strenuous? There’s a mid-3000s level course on Nutrition and Health Performance I would be much more interested in. It won’t be marked as a W on my transcript since it’s still early.

 

[Engrailed]

If I were you, and GPA was a priority, which you should protect at all costs in the numbers game that is med school admissions,
I would drop it. One W wont kill your chances. Do it and as an advisor once told me, "surgically remove the tumor to save the rest of the body" if you need!

 

[Sharknad0]

That’s what I’m thinking, I don’t want to risk anything as a reapplication already

 

[Moko]

Drop the course. Doesn't seem like there's any downside to doing so, we won't know about this unless you tell us. The material also seems beyond what would be taught in medical school

 

[Sharknad0]

Drop the course. Doesn't seem like there's any downside to doing so, we won't know about this unless you tell us. The material also seems beyond what would be taught in medical school

Only thing I can think of that’s a con is that I won’t be taking any grad level classes

 

[Catalystik]

I graduated from undergrad in May 2018 with a degree in biology. I spent my first gap year volunteering/working, and I’m spending my second year taking classes and volunteering.

I’m taking an anatomy class with a lab and that’s 5 credits, this class is in the mid 2000’s level. I’ve never done anatomy so I’m looking forward to this class.

I’m also taking a course on cognition which is a 6000+ level class worth 3 credits. It’s day one and the material for this class is so ungodly dense that I’m worried about my potential performance. My sGPA is about 3.45 and I don’t want to risk lowering it further, which anything below an A- will do.

I know people will probably say “if you can’t handle this class you can’t handle med school,” but this is about my GPA, not if I can pass the class which I believe I can. Would it look bad as someone who already graduated undergrad to drop this course and take something less strenuous? There’s a mid-3000s level course on Nutrition and Health Performance I would be much more interested in. It won’t be marked as a W on my transcript since it’s still early.

If you drop the Cognition class before the official date, it won't appear on your transcript, so it can't "look bad." Take the Nutrition class instead.

 

[TSHJB302]

Only thing I can think of that’s a con is that I won’t be taking any grad level classes

Grad level classes show up as a separate GPA don’t they?

 

[CoitusInterruptus]

6000+ level sounds intimidating to someone who has no idea what that means a/k/a me. use it to bamboozle the uninitiated

 

[Catalystik]

Only thing I can think of that’s a con is that I won’t be taking any grad level classes

Grad level classes show up as a separate GPA don’t they?

That's right. So taking grad level classes wouldn't result in a rise in the uGPA, which AMCAS schools value the most. But for AACOMAS schools, grad level grades are factored into an overall composite GPA for every grade earned at any academic level.