What is the best english course to take? Also, I know the minimum is 1 English course, I am not amazing at english since I do not do well in intangible ideas such as emotion, theme, and tone.
I am a great student in math and science, and I love philosophy and debate. I just struggle with abstract thought as I am a very logic oriented thinker, rather than an emotional one.
Some may say I lack empathy and this is somewhat true. Only in reading do I lack the ability to stand in the people’s shoes. I have enough empathy in my personality to relate to people and tv, just not words on a page so that makes some things extremely difficult in English courses.
Any class will do and " logic oriented thinker" should do remarkably well in writing.
Writing is extremely important in pre-med. You will be writing many essay questions on the exams, your research papers. I am not sure what your writing skills have to do with the level of empathy and other emotions. Writing skill is just like other skill, it needs to be developed thru practice, in this case - practicing writing will improve it
Do not analyze why are you bad. Just use what you have to improve in any area that you desire to improve…
I think it’s very common for colleges to require freshman as part of their GEs to take some writing course which will satisfy med schools English req.
@MiamiDAP Like I said the logical part I am good at. I can do great in debate and in writing essays. I cannot do abstract thought like character feelings or tone in dialogue.
Edit: the whole what was implied? and what is the symbolism? and such… that is what kills me.
@Jugulator20 Do med schools frown or laud any english classes in particular?
English requirements vary by med school. All seem to require at least one. A number require 2 semesters of English or “writing intensive” coursework. Some med schools specify it must be an English class, but most do not.
What courses qualify as “writing intensive” will depend upon the specific policies your college. Check your college handbook or with the pre-med office at your school.
In general, all colleges require at least one semester of “freshman composition/writing” so that would be the first course to start with. If you haven’t already mastered the basics of written communication (developing a thesis statement, organization, developing/arranging supporting arguments, use of clear & appropriate language/vocabulary, how to evaluate and cite sources, etc.), this class will be crucial. All schools have tutoring centers to assist you with writing skills.
The choice of a second class will be up to you. At some schools, there are a wide variety of alternatives available–history, philosophy, social sciences, classical studies, etc. You don’t necessarily need to take a literary analysis class. The alternatives are usually classes that require several long research papers. For example, D2 took her second required writing elective through the mathematics dept (Writing in Mathematics). D1 took Technical Writing for the Physical Sciences and Engineering as her second writing elective.
Your English class won’t be literature - it’ll be a composition class. Sometimes you’ll have to take two, and most universities require 1° a Freshman writing/composition class and 2° a specialized “writing in the major” class that you take as a junior.
“Like I said the logical part I am good at. I can do great in debate and in writing essays. I cannot do abstract thought like character feelings or tone in dialogue.
Edit: the whole what was implied? and what is the symbolism? and such… that is what kills me”
- it has nothing to do with writing, it may have to do with the theater performance, but this would not be part of your college English class. So, do not worry about it. You have to have credits for English pre-reqs, AP or college English and you will be writing a lot in medical school.
@MiamiDAP I am glad, I took ap english 3 last year and that was tough. This year I took ap english lit and I had to swap out at the semester into pre ap english 4 because it was too much for me. FIrst semester I got an 86, but I just about died doing it.
On the flip side I averaged 97 in 2 ap science classes and a 99 in medical terminology.
S’s forte was not English either. His college required a year long freshman writing series which satisfied med school Eng reqs. He got Bs. You’re overstressing. Even if you get Bs or Cs in Eng premed reqs, it will not be the reason why you don’t get into med school. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the rest of your senior year. Consider delaying any Eng premed course selection until second semester or second year until you get acclimated in college. Good luck.
@Jugulator20 thank you.
Yeah, I am just excited to be able to study what I truly enjoy. Knowing I don’t need 4 years of english is awesome.
English Lit is MUCH harder and unrelated to what you’ll have in a typical Freshman English Class. If you indicate what colleges you’ve applied to/been admitted to, we may be able to tell you more precisely what to expect.
On the other hand, “Medical Terminology” is NOT an academic class and does not count as “science”. It can be helpful for short (AS) courses in applied health technology, for future medical lab technicians, perhaps nursing and EMTs. But it’s completely unrelated to anything you’ll have as a premed. As a premed, you’ll have regular courses that other majors take, except you’ll have to rank in the top 10-20% even if you are not going to major in the subject - essentially, be as good at biology as the best future bio majors, as good at chem as the best future chem majors, etc. You’ll have to “manage your GPA” and know how to balance your schedule.
For instance, if at all possible, I recommend NOT taking all four first-year premed pre-reqs first semester, ie., Calculus, Freshman English, Bio, and Chem. All of that at once can be overwhelming and sink your odds right from the start. In addition, carefully “spreading” of the subjects can be advantageous, for instance: If you can take Chem2 over the summer, you take Calc, Freshman English, Bio, Psych, foreign language or a subject you’re interested in and know you’ll do well in; second semester, you know better what’s expected of you, you “can do college”, you can handle things better, so you take Calc2 if required, and/or Freshman English2 if required, Bio2, Foreign Language2 or another gen ed, and Chem1 (+ lab). Over the summer, you focus on Chem2+lab, and you arrive with all the knowledge fresh for organic chem during th Fall of Sophomore year. Alongside Organic Chem, you take 2 easy gen eds and one medium-hard class (only 4 classes) + phys ed (to relieve stress). This requires checking that your college isn’t so small that it doesn’t offer Chem1 in the Spring (typically call General Chemistry - there’s typically a description so that you can distinguish between Chemistry for premeds and chemistry majors vs. chemistry for general culture/nonmajors. Some universities may also have a third version, Chemistry for ChemE, and you do NOT want to take that class.)
@MYOS1634 I am going to Earlham College, I applied and was rejected. Accepted to Allegheny, Wooster, Cornell College.
Earlham has a cadaver lab which is really neat and undergrad research.
I will really look at your advice as guidance, and I know med term isn’t a science. Though it did deal with a lot of anatomy. It was a humanities course, and a fun one. Learned a lot about body parts and related diseases.
I plan on doing the earlham premed route which is biochem.
Ok, Earlham does it in the same spirit as the plan above, but instead of having bio first, then chem and bio, you have chem first, then chem and bio :).
So, your first semester would likely be Chem, Calculus, Freshman seminar, and one class of your choice. Second semester would likely include Chem, Bio, and two other classes (probably including Psych 116: Psychology, Health, and Society). You could email professors and ask what classes are offered and whether students are allowed to take a class over the summer at a local CC or collge after freshman year.
http://www.earlham.edu/health-careers-advising/ip-health-sciences-program-4-year-plans/
Freshman seminar (which could be a chemistry or science-related one!), ie, you read and discuss a broad interdisciplinary topic, would NOT be like AP Lit at all. it WOULD require you to think and analyze and write and rewrite, but the readings would cover a wide variety of genres, as would the assignements.
@MYOS1634 Wow! Thank you so much!!
I am very excited. AP Lit was a helI of a class. I am excited to know I don’t have to take a similar class again.
Do you only take 4 classes a semester?
Yes, Earlham has 4-credit classes, so students take 4of them per semester.
“This year I took ap english lit and I had to swap out at the semester into pre ap english 4 because it was too much for me. FIrst semester I got an 86, but I just about died doing it.”
- OK. I see your problem. You need to change your attitude. It will be very very tough on the road that you have chosen and you will not be able to quit at your choice. The AP Lit was one of the 2 toughest classes for my D. in HS and she has been a very strong writer with writing awards under her belt. As far as I remember, all she was doing in HS was re-writing her papers for AP Lit and doing American History (she took the college class). I did not see her doing her Calc, Spanish, Physics, Chem. Nope, hours and hours went on redoing AP English Lit. and discussing the History with her father, who helped her a lot in this class.
So, why I am telling you that? Because, this is the attitude that you need to develop if you are going to medical school. Something will be easy and a lot of things will be very very hard. You will have to get tougher and put in much more efforts into the “tougher” for you classes, that’s all, nothing magical there, just plain hard work, be prepared for it!
@MiamiDAP To be fair, I took as many science ap classes as I could and scored very well in all of them. Science is what I enjoy and what I thrive in. Even if it is hard I still enjoy it, APES is a tough class as is AP Earth and Space Science.
I am okay with hard work, I work very hard. In AP English Lit I was putting in 6-8 hours extra a day for it in homework. As I do not care, or plan on major in english, I decided to drop it after first semester so that I could focus on enjoying my last semester of HS and be able to see my friends.
English is also my second language as I grew up speaking Spanish, this just makes it that much more difficult, since I learned a lot of the basics and then jumped into another language.
I do like history a lot, and I have no issue writing essays, I wrote a 12 page literary analysis for the giver in a week for this class.
I am just happy to know that Lit isn’t like a class I will have to take next year or the year after.
Edit: I am not a strong writer for this class, I was a strong writer for compare and contrast and dbq’s. I am a good writer when writing for a side or argument, which is why I enjoy debate.
Every day was probably 7 or so hours spent on Lit, I also compete at a high level in my sport and have practice 4-5 times a week. Which if you do the math had me getting no free time or time to rest.
^Good for you! Happy for you! Just keep in mind that everybody else are about the same in the very competitive pre-med crowd. They used to and continue to be very very busy with lots of related to medicine and unrelated ECs. You will be much busier at college than you even been in HS. Best wishes.
@MiamiDAP Thank you, I am so excited. I really love science and related subjects. That is why I am pursuing a medical career.
I realize most people are really bright in the field, I will be a varsity athlete at the school I go to for my sport.
I am excited, I will be sure to update my status 4 years from now as I am applying to med schools!