I’ll be starting all my science classes this fall. I’m currently working full time 40 hours +, and I’m planning to take Bio I and Chem I at nights. I’m not sure if this is the best order, I’ll be taking Bio II, ChemII in the spring and PhyI and OrgoI, I heard people saying not to take phy and orgo together. what do you think would be my best option? I want to take at least two classes per semester, but I don’t want to risk my chances of getting a good grade.
My two cents, for what it is worth, is to take ochem by itself, or with something easier. I also work full time, as an engineer, and I am very glad that ochem was my only course at the time. I needed to adopt a new learning style for ochem. More of an immersion type style. This was very time consuming, but using this technique, and by not letting myself fall behind, I built a solid foundation and earned my A. To give you an idea of the time commitment, I was in the library after work 3 nights a week on non-test weeks, and all week on test weeks. This cut into my free time significantly, and combined with a full daily engineering workload, just about reached the limit of my mental drive.
My current plan, since I already took chem, phy, and calc as an undergrad(took bio 2 years ago), is to take ochem2 now, then biochem (as it was recommended here on opm), then mcats. I think having ochem and biochem as the freshest material in my mind, will give me the strongest foundation for the mcats.
This being said, I wish you the best of luck in your decision. I hope that others will reply with their advice. I think the more replies you get, the better you can gauge your own situation and decide on a course that is best for you!
Orgo and physics are both really time consuming. You might be able to handle both of them at the same time if you don’t do anything else. Even if it turns out that you are learning super fast and things stick, you might not be able to do both of these classes in the evenings. Both of them require labs, and lectures… And there are only 5 nights in a week.
Did you consider taking any of these classes during the summer? While many people would advise you against it, I think it would be definitely a better option than taking both of them at the same time. This way you would still be able to finish your prerequisites in 2 years, and hopefully do great. Also, if physics is your only class in the spring, you could use the rest of the time to prepare for MCAT.
K.