<p>Just curious, someone told me taking pre-med or any major related course during the summer looks bad on med school applications.</p>
<p>Is this true? Does it have any impactful affect?</p>
<p>I was planning on taking orgo next summer</p>
<p>There are three problems with summer courses. In order from least to most important:</p>
<p>1.) Rightly or wrongly, admissions committees sometimes consider summer courses to be “easier” and thus discount them, putting you at an admissions disadvantage.
2.) The highly abbreviated schedule makes it harder to actually learn the material, which can come back to bite you when you are taking standardized tests.
3.) The opportunity cost is huge. You are a student for nine months out of the year; the remaining three months are a chance for you to actually go and DO something. While you’re taking a course (which most folks learn less well from and which often gets looked down upon by admissions committees), other premeds are conducting research projects, exploring other countries, helping provide medical care to the underserved, or often all of the above. You’re going to be at a major disadvantage. You’ll observe how important this is when you’re writing your medical school secondary application essays (they all ask about extracurriculars and interesting stories) and interviews (same thing).</p>
<p>*I’m aware that many students claim that they will do something while also taking summer courses; while I’m sure this is often true, it’d be even better if you put the extra effort into more-doing and less classwork.</p>
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<p>Inertia’s a very powerful thing – folks like taking summer classes because it’s familiar, and you don’t have to work to go FIND it. But – that’s precisely the opposite of what a premedical student needs to be, and it’s the opposite of what folks look for in a third-year medical student as well.</p>
<p>Go out. Have an adventure. Find something. Build something. Create something. Seize an opportunity and make it yours.</p>
<p>I think the biggest objection occurs when students at highly selective colleges and universities go home for the summer and take organic chemistry at My Backyard State U. so that they can ace it.</p>
<p>If you normally attend, say, the University of Kansas, and you take organic chemistry at the University of Kansas during the summer (or maybe you live in Manhattan, KS, so you take it at K-State), I don’t see how that’s a serious problem. If you normally attend Princeton, but you decide to take organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins while you’re home in Baltimore for the summer, I don’t think that’s a serious problem. (I know people who did this, actually. They’re both doctors now.) If you normally attend Princeton, however, and you decide to take organic chemistry at Wichita State over the summer, that might raise eyebrows.</p>
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<p>Bluedevilmike makes an interesting point here. But I think it can work the other way, too. Those folks I mentioned who took orgo over the summer at Hopkins? They both reported that, in a perverse kind of way, it worked well, because organic chemistry was all they did. They got up and went to class. They ate lunch and then went to lab. They ate dinner and then they studied. Lather, rinse, repeat.</p>
<p>Princeton does not offer any summer classes.</p>
<p>So son, p’ton grad took his summer courses elsewhere and not necessarily always in his backyard uni because summer classes here in our state start before finals at p’ton. So he went far, far away 3000 miles to take classes which they do not offer at p’ton EVER (a&p)…and p’ton included that tuition in their FA package.</p>
<p>Following summers he did research and took classes at out local uni, again classes they did not offer at p’ton, specialized micro, genetics and biochem. Another limitation was p’ton only allows at most 2 classes to be transferred in from another uni. P’ton does not use 3 or 5 semester units rather 1 unit for each class taken regardless if it is english or orgo, has a lab or not. And will award no more than 5 units for any and all AP exam scores of 5.</p>
<p>P’ton also does not allow dual majors only 1 with a certificate (minor, however requires a thesis for this as well as thesis for major). So when son graduated in June he matriculated to local 4 year and in 2 semester completed 2 more degrees and another minor not offered at P’ton, all STEM…doable because of the summer courses, Aps and p’ton transcript. That was his “glide” year when he applied to med school and was easier for apps and interviews since he was no longer a D1 athlete.</p>
<p>At his interviews they did not question any of his summer classes, were more interested in his senior thesis, his sport and some of the classes within his major that brought about interesting discussions (and some about his certificate from p’ton). Not once was it mentioned that he took summer classes because it was “easier”. I can see how some might think that but honestly it was the very opposite during his interviews. Harvard, Michigan, UNC and others had no problem with his summer courses.</p>
<p>He really appreciates those summer courses, glide year courses now as a med student…esp the A&P, biochem, micro and genetics. HUGE difference this past year, compared to his fellow students not just in test performance but in lifestyle as well. HUGE.</p>
<p>So as always YMMV, but for son the pros far outweighed the cons.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Sometimes the reason why a student is taking summer classes is obvious without anyone asking about it, and this can work either for you or against you. </p>
<p>Some people do study abroad in the summer and get credit for that. I don’t think this would hurt you, and I think it might help you depending on what your study abroad was.</p>
<p>Technically I got summer credit for research in my major both summers I was in the lab. No one ever questioned that because it was obvious that I spent the summer doing research rather than classes, but I happened to get credit for it (it was a zero-hour course, but I had to have the research credit to graduate with the BS).</p>
<p>On the other hand, some people take all 12-hour semesters and then need summer courses in order to have enough credits to graduate on time. No one is going to question that either. Unless you have an obvious and tremendously good reason to only take the minimum number of courses required to be a full time student every single semester, it’s going to be assumed that you were worried you couldn’t handle the full course load.</p>
<p>As always, an anomaly probably isn’t going to kill your application but a pattern can. One course over the summer either at your own institution or at a similarly-perceived institution will likely be excused. If you take all your pre-med courses over the summer, if you take courses every summer, or if all your summer courses are taken at an institution where it’s assumed you will have an easier time making an A, it will hurt you.</p>
<p>And because the assumption, rightly or wrongly, is that summer courses grade easier at all colleges, I would assume that a low grade would hurt you more than a low grade taken during the regular school year. So if you take summer courses, devote yourself to doing well in them.</p>
<p>Do not take orgo in a summer. Enjoy your summer. Free summers will not last forever. You will be sorry later if you do not, just trust me, I am very happy that D. did not take single summer class in UG.</p>
<p>Pratik, the first question I would ask is likely the first question you would be asked. Why?</p>
<p>D is going to take a biology course over the summer because it is a prereq to higher level bio courses she wants to take next year. IOW, the summer school course will permit her to take more biology courses during college than not taking a summer school course. Surely, this is a good thing.</p>
<p>I agree. Taking a medical-school prerequisite over the summer so that you can then take a more advanced course during the regular academic year would pretty much nullify anybody’s objection to summer school.</p>
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<p>Great post.
I totally agree. There are just so many better things to do with your summer than to spend it taking classes.</p>
<p>Not always since in many places intro classes are weed out classes with very strict curves. Taking then in the summer can be viewed as trying to take an easier route. It depends on the schools involved and you just never know how an Adcom will look at it</p>
<p>"I agree. Taking a medical-school prerequisite over the summer so that you can then take a more advanced course during the regular academic year would pretty much nullify anybody’s objection to summer school. "</p>
<p>-Disagree 100%, not at all, not worth it and might hurt in comparison to other’s applications. Kids need to learn to manage time and push themselves harder, they will be pushed much much harder in Med. School, they will not have nay choices to spread some material over the summer. BTW, almost every pre-meds are taking many higher lever Bio classes. For once, first Bio is not on MCAT at all. It is very good idea to take higher level Bio’s to better prep. for MCAT. However, it does not mean to waste valuable summer time on taking summer classes.</p>
<p>I myself (not connected to medical field at all) always have been taking summer classes. I have been working full time and taking care of my family at the same time. Summer classes made perfect sense in my case because:
- I was not planning to apply anywhere, I was working in my field already.
- SUMMER CLASSES ARE EASIER. Since most are aware of this, it will not look good on application</p>
<p>In addition, for those on full tuition Merit awards, summer classes are usually not covered by award, so you will have to pay to them.<br>
It does not make any sense to me whatsoever.<br>
But if one is having ball taking summer classes, why not, free to do so!</p>
<p>I have a slightly tangential question. I think that the people who have already posted make a strong case for not taking premed/major related courses over the summer, but would the same argument apply to a study abroad experience? </p>
<p>I had been planning on doing a study abroad that involves a biology course (for the major, not the generic premed requisite) mainly for the cultural experience/immersion and to become more diverse. If this is a “no-no”, would doing a non-major/non-premed requirement abroad over the summer be okay instead (i.e. Spanish, Philosophy, English, etc.)?</p>