Course Load

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hey everyone,


Coming up in January, I’ll be starting my journey to medical school. I have to start off at the community college level since my BS (interactive media) degree came from a college with a different accreditation than the Universities here in Ca. My question, is their an appropriate course load that one should undertake? I am currently working FT, so I don’t want to overextend myself as I think grades are most important. I have signed up for two classes, should I take more?


Thanks


James

2

Welcome to OPM .


Sounds like a reasonable start to me. The general advice you’ll find around here is to approach this as a marathon, not a sprint, and not to overextend yourself. It’s probably wise.


I started back at community college while working full time. My first semester was one in-class class (Anatomy & Physio w/ lab) and two online courses. The following semester was two real classes with labs, and that was about my limit at the time.


I think it’s good to want to challenge yourself. It’s probably best to start by testing the waters, though, and two classes while working FT is probably a good place to start.

3

Welcome


Be sure to check out Richards rules


http://www.oldpremeds.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?t…


Remember we are all in this together


Richard

4

shioami,


I second the “rules for success” post. Read it well. To answer your question, the best answer I believe is to take as many courses as you feel comfortable taking at your learning ability level. It’s best to take two courses and get A’s than it is to take 3 and get C’s. A lot of your foundational sciences (chemistry, physics, et al) are going to take quite a bit of time devoted to do well in them. Not to mention the labs that go along with these courses. If you are unsure of your abilities to grasp the sciences, it’s better to be safe than sorry here. Remember, you’re being judged from here on out & it is important to do well in your pre-req’s.


I think a lot of people (including me at one time) see the science courses as straight classroom courses, but don’t REALLY grasp how much time exactly it is going to take them to ace the course.


Best advice was already given above. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself, do well and then, if you feel able, add course load.