<p>So I was trying to decide how I will be able to complete my major and some other requirements. I was planning to go for a Business Major at the University of Houston which requires a minimum of 120 course hours. On top of that I have to complete my med school prereqs. So from the 120 hours required by the business major certain number of hours are the same as my pre reqs but their are some courses that i will have to take besides that. So I was getting confused on how to make a schedule to fit all these courses so that I can complete both goals, and determine how long it will take, but I got stuck since I am not sure how a college schedule looks like. For example how many semester hours are allowed for each sstudet, like for high school you are only given 8 slots for courses in a year.</p>
<p>A normal course load for a college student is about 15 credits. That amounts to 4-5 classes per semester. </p>
<p>15 credits per semester x 8 semesters = 120 credits</p>
<p>Given the med school requirements, you may have to mix some summer courses in, and you will likely have some semesters with more than 15 credits. It’s not at all uncommon for students to take more than 15 credits in a semester, so this isn’t really anything to worry about. I’ve personally taken 21 credits in a semester two times. The maximum allowed credits in a semester is typically 18. Permission is generally required to go above that amount. </p>
<p>An academic adviser will help you set up a rough academic plan so you know what courses you need to take, and when you need to take them. Many schools have academic advisers that are specifically geared toward pre-med students because of the wide range of requirements. </p>
<p>The main concern I had was that some college representatives told me that I may have to add a year or two to my 4 year plan. But I was unable to follow up asking whether that’s based on the fact that I will take summer classes and increase my semester hours or not. So in your opinion will it be permissible for me to complete the goals mentioned above within 4 years?</p>
<p>It may well depend on course sequencing- Fall/Spring- for some of your pre-med courses. The required Business courses, as well as the pre-meds (many with labs) may only be offered at particular times. These might conflict during certain semesters, thus the possible summer school/extra semester or year. You will only know this once the course schedule comes out each semester. But someone at the school should be able to help you come up with a 4 year plan and let you know if it’s do-able. </p>
<p>It’s quite possible that there will be schedule conflicts between classes. I’d say it’s even likely. Many pre-med students manage to finish in 4 years with only having to take on a couple of heavier semesters and a few summer classes throughout their undergrad. Other pre-med students have to stay an extra year to get it done.</p>
<p>An important thing to remember is that GPA means a lot in med school acceptance. Overloading for the sake of getting it done in 4 years is not a good strategy if it means letting your GPA slip a bit. It’s really going to depend on the school and how their scheduling works out. If two required courses overlap with one another and there are no other available sections, then you’ll have to decide which one is more important to get done sooner, and fit the other in during a later semester. </p>
<p>The most important thing is to get a 4 year plan figured out with an adviser as soon as possible. It’s better to know these things ahead of time, rather than signing in to register for classes, and finding out that you have a bunch of overlap due to poor planning. </p>
<p>On the bright side, college courses usually maintain fairly consistent scheduling year after year. i.e., if General Chemistry 1 is offered on Monday/Wednesday from 11-12:15 this fall, there’s a very good chance that it will be offered on the same date/time next fall as well. </p>
<p>You also don’t necessarily have to add the hours for pre-med onto business…If you have a science requirement, then one of the science classes could fit in…or they can count as open elective.</p>