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ryanjs
Underclassman
USA
4 Posts |
 Posted - 11/12/2004 : 16:14:32
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Do medical admissions like to see a fairly heavy course load. I was planning on taking Gen Bio II, Microbiology, and Calculus, and maybe one other course. I was thinking they like to see someone that can handle more than two somewhat tough classes at once. I guess it shows time management.
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y82benji
'04 Poster of the Year!
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2004 : 19:27:20
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Yes, you should always try to take a heavy course load without overdoing it so much that it makes your grades suffer. In other words, 5 classes with straight A's is better than 6 classes with straight B's. But, other than that, the heavier course load is better. You are right in saying that they are hoping to see effective time management (and more basically just that you can handle a rigorous academic load).
A lot depends on the undergrad school, too, in terms of how many classes you should take. You should definitely take the three classes you named plus another. You might also consider a fifth depending on the time your school expects you to spend on each course. (In other words, 14-18 credit hours is generally the most appropriate level if your school requires 120 credits to earn a Bachelor's degree.) |
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bubabuggy
Graduate Assistant
48 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2004 : 23:29:40
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| I was a biology major and my 2nd year in school I was not full-time. However, as a senior I took 63.5 quarter units in 1 year along with lots of science courses and got a 3.8 gpa for that year ( school= UCSD). My undergrad cumulative gpa is also a 3.8. However, is that non-full-time student gap going to be a major factor that could deter my admission to med school? It always seems to be that med school admissions, because of the competition, are more interested in finding reasons to find negatives in a person, vs looking at all the positives. I've read on some pre-med site that if you weren't always full-time ( ex-- like a year's time) then you're chances are screwed. If that's the case then they're going to miss having a person that would have made a truly good doctor. |
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y82benji
'04 Poster of the Year!
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2004 : 23:56:47
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What did you do in during that 2nd year? If you sat on your butt and played video games, then yes, they might think less of you. I'm going to go out on a limb though and guess that there was another reason you weren't full-time.
Here's an important point to make now. Med Schools have A LOT of applicants that are very qualified. If you aren't accepted to one, it is not always just because of what you thought was weak in your application. In fact, some schools might pick a strong point (an interest in a population or area that they can't provide) and that might be their reason to take someone else instead of you because they think that other person is more likely to enroll there and enjoy the school.
Consider what med schools want: academically capable students that are both very into medicine and are good people that will care well for patients. What impact does that second year really have? It certainly can't disprove that you took on a challenging year your senior year and did very well. I don't think it should be of much consequence because you went out and proved yourself in that senior year. |
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bubabuggy
Graduate Assistant
48 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2004 : 01:06:28
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| Yes-- the problem was I had OCD and then it got worse combined with my huge desire to get into medical school, and if I even had a slight chance of getting a B in the class I would have overblown anxiety over something stupid like that plus I was depressed etc. I do not have that problem at all anymore-- in fact I beat it by myself with no help from a psychologist or anything and I'm very strong because of that. However, I don't know if I should include that in my peronal statement because I don't want them probing me for the link of how OCD got intertwined with the rest of my life and was the cause of dropping classes for stupid reasons like getting a potential "B". Plus I do not have that problem anymore and I just look at anything as just a challenge and I thrive under pressure. The problem was a thing of the past that I don't even think about but my record is still going to show that glitch. Also, my junior year I had 60 quarter credit units. The senior year with the 63 units, I was working in the lab 20 hours a week, I served as a TA, and practiced violin and performed in concerts and never felt stressed. I guess my question is how I can address the course-load problem in my personal statement given the fact that the reason for it also weakens my application, since any anxiety or depression problems always bear a stigma with them. The horrible thing about OCD is that I had the problem since I was 10, but when I was 11 it developed into the "obsessive" portion but I never told anybody about it, because I didn't know such a disorder existed and I felt really embarrassed talking about it when people noticed that I was kind of depressed. Finally, when I was 18 I looked up some of my symptoms to see if anybody had to go through the same hell everyday of their life and yes-- that's when I found out about it. That helped me a lot!!! I looked at what psychologists recommended to do to get rid of this disorder, but I also refused to turn to Xanax etc. because I believed in the power of the mind and after a year I beat it completely! |
Edited by - bubabuggy on 11/13/2004 01:15:10 |
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ryanjs
Underclassman
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2004 : 11:40:15
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| Thanks for the advice i had signed up the three classes and then my advisor emailed me the other day and thought i should consider getting into another one. I just wasnt sure about that because I play baseball and we are constantly on the road or just doing whatever. Im not sure if ill be able to handle that this year, mainly because I'll be missing classes due to the road trips. I took 17 hours this semester and it was pretty time consuming because we also practice all throughout the fall. It should be interesting to see how it all plays out, Ive got some decisions to make. |
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y82benji
'04 Poster of the Year!
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2004 : 14:36:38
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| It's also not a big deal to have an "easy" class in addition to some tough classes. Looking back on undergrad, I actually learned a lot of stuff in those "easy" classes by taking different subjects (geology 100, an intro level african history course, a music class, an architecture class, etc.). It sounds, though, like you get 4-5 credit hours for most of your courses - where i went we usually got 3-4, so i almost always took five, never less than four, courses. But if you are doing baseball you have to not overload yourself too much. I think if you could find a different, fun course to add in with those three harder ones you would be good to go. |
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y82benji
'04 Poster of the Year!
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2004 : 14:49:04
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Bubabuggy,
Do not fear, the English language is here to save the day. A skillful turn of words is all you really need. I would not mention 'OCD' or 'anxiety' at all. Instead, simply describe that year as one in which the sum of responsiblities and personal issues at that time forced you to take a step back and learn to deal with higher stress levels and to gain new perspective on how to embrace a broader academic program. (Notice I turned "dealing with a problem" into "analyzing how to improve my handling of life," a much more positive action.) You can then explain how in subsequent years you put that experience into practice in taking a large credit load, thriving under pressure, doing research, and engaging in activites (TA, violin) that enhanced your personal life.
If you do all that, you will not have lied at all - you simply will have described your case in a way that prevents the reader from attaching the unfair stigma and biases that accompany OCD, anxiety, depression, etc. to it. In other words, you are conveying your message most effectively to the reader by eliminating alternate interpretations. Select every word for its connotation as well as its denotation! |
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bubabuggy
Graduate Assistant
48 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2004 : 15:06:20
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Thanks-- that's really good advice!!  |
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renwick
Underclassman
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2004 : 13:56:00
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| Wait a second. So are you saying that part-time students can't get into medical school? I go to school part time because I have to. I work two jobs 40-70 hours per week just to pay the rent and be able to survive plus I go to school on top of that. In general I take 8-12 credit hours per semester (I've taken 14 credit hours a few semesters and actually did 30 credit hours over one summer semester and got all A's). A lot of people like myself have to work just to pay for school, and not everyone has the luxury of having scholarships or rich parents to pay for everything for them. I certainly hope they take that into consideration. |
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y82benji
'04 Poster of the Year!
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2004 : 00:19:48
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Of course I'm not saying that part-time students can't get into medical school! I specifically said that "you should always try to take a heavy course load without overdoing it so much that it makes your grades suffer." I didn't say exactly what "heavy" had to mean. The example I gave represented a full-time student's load. I think the point should be clear that you shouldn't take fewer classes to "have it easy" or sit around. If you are working 40-70 hours a week, it goes without saying that you probably can't take more than 8-12 credit hours per semester and that you are still demonstrating that you can handle a lot of stress and time management as well as succeed academically with those stresses.
Two more points:
1. I had two very good friends in undergrad going to school on full scholarship and all through high school and all through college they worked their butts off to excel academically while doing many other activities and volunteer work. Please don't use "luxury of having scholarships" as a justification for anything -- those are earned.
2. Many students that aren't working their way through college also don't have parents paying their way - they may have gotten some financial aid and have taken out many loans to pay for college. |
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renwick
Underclassman
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2004 : 03:13:10
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| Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone. All I meant was, that some things are adventageous in that they allow a person to take a lot of classes and focus entirely on school and not everyone has those advantages. I wasn't saying that those advantages weren't earned. |
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course load
