Hey guys I have a question about what classes to take this year and my advisor has not been helpful at all. My question is at the end and I will first briefly describe my context. I am currently finishing my second year in a quarter system post-bacc program (with a solid GPA in both undergrad and postbacc) and trying to sort out what classes I should take to apply next cycle.
Relevant classes I have finished include physics, gen chem, gen bio, A&P 1/2 at a community college in 2019, a stats class from my psych degree, and of course lots of humanities from that degree as well.
This year the classes I will definitely be taking include ochem, biochem, and genetics.
I am now deciding how much extra load to add, if any. Available to me are assorted upper division biology classes but I am struggling to decide how important taking things like microbiology and cell biology will be to my application versus freeing myself up for MCAT studying and EC’s.
Like many people I also work, volunteer, and am preparing for the MCAT, so time is tight and I need to decide how many upper division classes to take versus taking the time for ECs and doing well in those classes.
The question: Should I take microbiology alongside genetics and ochem this fall or is it okay to hold off and take microbio in the winter or not at all and have 12 credits instead of 17 this quarter and one less upper level bio class. I have two concerns: either some schools will secretly want more upper division biology classes than they advertise or by only taking 12 credits in a quarter I will accidentally advertise that I cannot handle a full science load.
My understanding is that I will meet the absolute requirements and then also have a year of “upper division bio” from my genetics and two A&P classes. The only catch there is my A&P classes were numbered 241/242 so I’m not certain they will count as “upper division”.
Thanks for any feedback I know this is a lot of reading!
Andy