<p>What if you take a science/lab course and then you do poorly in the class, but ace the lab. If you took the class again would you need to take the lab again?</p>
<p>BDM, I’ve been reading several pre-med threads and the general consensus is that it’s acceptable to be any major, though some may look more favorably that others to certain schools. I’ve been thinking of majoring in nuclear engineering, as it sounds like something i would enjoy being a math/physics person. How would an engineering major compare to a bio/chem major? I’d already have credit for Bio 1 and 2, as well as Gen Physics 1 through dual enrollment and credit for Calc 1 and 2 and Chem 1 and 2 from AP/IB credit.</p>
<p>Thanks…</p>
<p>Would it be better to stay at a community college and finish med school requirements before transferring, or start requirements after transferring and take a post-
bacc year to finish? I really want to transfer to UCSD, but I want to major in writing/literature so I would only have time for say, all the chemistry pre-reqs</p>
<p>bluedevilmike…i appreciate your time as well as the others answering the many questions posed to you on this thread…my son will be going to Tulane in the fall of 2011…he is thinking of majoring in psychology and taking the prerequisites to pre-med …after reading these past 23 pages, it seems to me that there is not enough time to do everything that a student should do to improve the chances of getting excepted to med school without overloading on courses and jeopardizing the GPA. Furthermore, it seems that to build a good resume a student must take time from the books to do so. Is there a disadvantage to getting on a 5 year plan as opposed to the 4 year plan other than the money that it will cost. If not, I would like to see my son take a light course load of 12 hours per semester and hopefully maintain a very good GPA. I would hope this would give him time for community service work, volunteer work, studying abroad, shadowing,etc…the 5 year plan would have him beginning in the fall of 2011 and graduating in the spring of 2016 versus the 4 year plan of graduating in the spring of 2015. He would then be able to take the MCAT in late January of 2015 (definitely early) as opposed to May of 2014 where you said he would be on the verge of being late. My son is capable of making the grades and the MCAT score…I believe his chances of success would be enhanced with the 5 year plan…do med schools look at this negatively? It would be easy to defend with good use of his summer time and possibly a semester abroad… please give me the pros and cons of such a plan… i am much appreciative of your help as well as the others who give their time so generously.</p>
<p>Yes, that strategy is transparent and will somewhat disadvantage kids. My own premed advisor felt that it was very important never to underload (your minimum should be your school’s average courseload) and in fact to overload at least once (take a courseload with much more units than normal).</p>
<p>I hate to say it, but part of the point of having a high GPA is doing it under relatively stressful conditions. (Or at least conditions which appear stressful to an admissions committee.)</p>
<p>Additionally, at some schools doing five years is a major red flag. I don’t know if Tulane was one of them, but a kid who takes five years at (say) Yale or Stanford or whatnot will be a major anomaly.</p>
<p>do you think 12 hours in the first semester is a bad idea. I feel that my son would have time to settle into his new surroundings, adjust from high school to college, etc.</p>
<p>I mean, he can do whatever he wants. But it’s certainly not something I would do.</p>
<p>An alternative would be to do 15 hours, but make sure that there is a good balance of hard and easy courses.</p>
<p>I had the same concern for both of my kids’ first semesters. I wasn’t sure how the college adjustment would be.</p>
<p>Both took a full load, but took a nice mix of classes their first semesters. Neither took an 8:00 class…that also seemed to help. </p>
<p>Both will graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>What courses is your son considering? </p>
<p>Will he come in with any AP credits to help out? Such as AP US History or AP English?</p>
<p>he will have AP English.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Has he taken the AP English exam? What credit will Tulane give for that?</p>
<p>What classes will he likely take first semester? </p>
<p>What will his major be?</p>
<p>He thinks his major will be psychology. He is also looking at neuroscience. He will take the AP English this spring and will probably do well.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike…I want to pursue the 5 year plan just a little further…would it be possible to double major in psychology and neuroscience with a five year plan and , if so, would that look better to the med schools… It seems to me that his college experience would be so much better if he were not in a rat race with the time associated with prerequisites, MCAT, studying abroad, EC’s, interviews, etc. and general college life…would psychology, neuroscience, and the prerequisites have many cross over courses that would apply to both majors. would the double major over 5 years be hard to do? what do you think?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids…i would very much appreciate your input as well</p>
<p>I’m certainly no expert on the whole med schools process…just learning from the experts here. :)</p>
<p>However, I REALLY agree with BDM that is might look bad to do 5 years of undergrad without a seriously valid reason. I do not think double majoring is a valid reason because many people double major and graduate in 4 years ( or major in one subject and double minor in others). A serious reason might be that you were recovering from a major car accident and could only take a light load one year. </p>
<p>If double majoring or adding minors will hurt your son’s GPA in any way, I would avoid doing that. Either of those majors are fine.</p>
<p>Your son needs to demonstrate that he can “keep up” with the flow/load of school. He’s going to have to do so in med school, so he needs to demonstrate that as an undergrad. </p>
<p>I think you may be “over-thinking” this issue. If your son is a good student, then he can do well and graduate in 4 years if he carefully selects his classes so that he’s not overwhelmed with too many hard classes in any one semester. </p>
<p>I understand that you’re concerned that it will be “all work and no play” if he tries to do it all in four years. My son does work hard as a Chemical Engineering pre-med student, but he still has time for some fun. He has a girlfriend, he goes to football games, he socializes with friends. He even has a part-time job (paid tutor by the university), but he only works about 6 hours a week. The semester he had Orgo II, he only worked 3 hours a week (and only on Friday afternoons).</p>
<p>I really think the key is…</p>
<p>1) level loading courses each semester (mix of harder/easier courses)</p>
<p>2) no 8:00 am classes unless you’re a natural early-riser (especially for frosh).</p>
<p>3) “work before play” mantra.</p>
<p>You want him to take five years because it will be easier, and to double major so that it’s harder and medical schools won’t penalize him for taking an easier schedule? You can’t have it both ways.</p>
<p>If your son is an incoming college student, then his schedule is up to him. You have very little influence over it and I have none at all.</p>
<p>Light courseloads and unnecessary five-year graduations are both bad ideas. If a normal courseload at Tulane is going to cause problems, then the kid would never survive medical school anyway.</p>
<p>lol. The “harsh truth”. Gee, bdm. Accurate but subtle as a hammer. 
</p>
<p>kristin posted a link to an article that may help in the 2010-2011 app thread. Here’s a synopsis. </p>
<p>(My take? A 12 hour GPA maximizing schedule is an app killer. Don’t do it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And what I believe many med schools are looking for in a student.</p>
<p>i am just about convinced to ditch the 5 year plan. however, it is not that i do not think he can handle the heavy load as much as i do not think he will be able to do many of the extra EC’s that would benefit him so much. …i am not just talking about benefiting his resume but his life… If he pushes right through and into med-school, when will he ever be able to do these things… It will only become more difficult as time goes by…i do have one lingering health issue with my son as well…he is asthmatic…his asthma has gotten considerably better over the years, but at least 10 days out of every semester, he is battling asthma and is forced to miss a few days of school due to seemingly unending coughing that disrupts the class and sends him home while he straightens himself out with Prednizone…</p>
<p>i have a a friend who is a plastic surgeon. my son will shadow him several times prior to entering college this fall. i also have several other friends who are doctors and have set up appointments for my son with them to visit one on one with them so that he better understands the time commitment involved. these friends of mine struggle to find free time. many miss activities of their children. whenever I ask a doctor friend of mine if he really likes what he does, there is a hesitation before the yes.
My son is coming from a family farm that has been passed on for several generations. most of my extended family still live in the same little town that my ancestors settled down in 1892. my son has no interest in the farm. there are many positives as well as negatives to a family farm. One of the big positives is the flexibility with time. Fortunately, our farm is quite large and many good people work with us allowing me to slip away for activities involving my children, vacations with my family, etc… i never missed one single activity of my only son for 18 years…the reason i am telling you all this is so that you may get some understanding of my concern for my child…if possible, i would prefer life not to be one major push for him for the next 12 or 13 years with no time to smell the roses…however, it is not my life and he will ultimately be given the opportunity to make the decision…i feel that my job as his father is to explore all the options available to him and present him with alternative routes routes to reach his goals… hence, the reason i am asking so many questions about a 5 year program versus a 4 year program…once in med school and beyond, it seems that he may not have many options with time…i personally majored in agricultural economics in an SEC school and came back to the farm…it seems to me that 3 (not all) of the most valued treasures in life are health, time and money in that order…so forgive me if i seem stubborn…i am trying to think outside the box somewhat to give some time to my child to smell the roses…i appreciate all the generous advice that i am getting from all of you.</p>
<p>i am just about convinced to ditch the 5 year plan. however, it is not that i do not think he can handle the heavy load as much as i do not think he will be able to do many of the extra EC’s that would benefit him so much</p>
<p>Whose 5 year plan is it? Is this your son’s idea? As parents, all we can do is kind of offer advice…such as avoiding 8 am classes if your child is not an early riser. We can’t force a schedule on them.</p>
<p>Aside from doing shadowing, what other non-medical ECs would you expect him to be doing during the school year? BTW…if he starts this shadowing this summer, then he may not have to do much shadowing during the school year. He could rack up a lot of shadowing hours during the summers of 2011, 2012, 2013 to be more than enough. </p>
<p>At some point, a person has to make a choice. Preparing for very demanding careers requires some sacrifice of time. </p>
<p>If your son doesn’t really want to become a doctor 100%, then maybe he shouldn’t.</p>
<p>the 5 year plan was not his idea…did your children find time to study abroad?</p>