<p>I have one on the list: Words in English. I need to take two to fulfill my medical school requirements and I really can't afford to take one that "interests" me or anything like that at the moment as my schedule's going to be packed (20 hours every semester). So I can't really afford to spend too much of my energy on this one course. What's another English course that's not too demanding (i.e. light workload + large class (40+ students) + almost no class participation required).</p>
<p>while I understand where you are coming from, a lot of premeds face this predicament and run questions like these thru their minds and close friends privately.</p>
<p>no need to belittle/ostracize/judge others for thinking this way. many premeds “strategize” to some extent when it comes to course selection even though they dont make it public due to fear of being judged.</p>
<p>who are we to say others are “wrong” for taking certain courses because you may not agree with the rationale? (I know that’s now what you’re exactly saying…but you get my drift)</p>
<p>the last thing OP needs is a lecture on why it’s wrong to take courses just to fulfill med school requirements. I’m pretty sure OP is well aware of what you mean. Many premeds go thru this conversation every course selection period.</p>
<p>Anyways, my apologies for the long post…I just dont want this thread to be degenerate into a lecture on why it’s wrong to take courses for the wrong reasons. Rather, I hope the OP gets his/her question answered.</p>
<p>OP is looking for an English course with a reasonable workload given his personal circumstance. I think that’s a fair question to ask.</p>
<p>1) Taking 20 hours
Not to be a downer, but I’ve never heard of anyone taking 20 hours every semester at Rice. A 20 hour schedule in the sciences especially will be a very busy, extremely stressful schedule for even the smartest person. In general, overloading backfires in terms of grades. Each class is hard enough that if you short them on time, you’ll see the effects. The reason that you can register for 20 credits is so you have some flexibility to drop classes you don’t like once they start. Like now, I’m registered for 2 Econ classes (and 20 hours total) but I’m going to drop the one I like less in the fall. Most people end up with between 15 and 18. Go for quality of classes, not quantity.</p>
<p>2) Not taking interesting humanities classes
In short, all work and no play make Jack a burntout premed. You’re probably going to do better in a class you care about. This isn’t saying that it’s a bad thing to take an easy class when you’ve got a hard core schedule, but it’s absolutely essential to a Rice experience (as well as sanity) to make room for classes you enjoy that are NOT related to your major.</p>
<p>It will all work out in oweek And it’s totally fine to take Words in English. I’d suggest a literary freshman seminar too.</p>
<p>It is possible. I took 90 in 4 semesters including one semester with 9 classes, 3 labs and 1 LPAP. Just expect to be working all the time and running all over the place. Also, I did this before they stopped allowing people to register classes that share a time slot. </p>
<p>Feel free to take 20 hours but expect and be willing to drop one if you need to.</p>
<p>Ok, if you’re a sophomore, 20 hours is doable. Especially since you have to get your distribution credits in. I initially thought you were a freshman expecting to take 20 hours for 8 semesters in a row.</p>
<p>From the perspective of another premed, you are going to easily burnout with that schedule. Orgo I and Cell Bio is very tough at Rice. Physics is no walk in the park either. I would recommend taking no more than 15 credits (5 core courses). I would also suggest balancing out your sciences.</p>
And it’s totally fine to take Words in English. I’d suggest a literary freshman seminar too.</p>