<p>I was wondering if taking 1 premed class (Intro Chem) would hurt me in med school admissions. I can't fit Bio and Chem in my first year (because of my gen eds) so I have to take Chem that summer. Here is what my schedule would look like:</p>
<p>First year - Bio + Labs
First year summer - Chem + Labs
Second year - Ochem + Labs
Third year - Physics + Labs</p>
<p>Also, many people are telling me to take Ochem lab my second summer because they're horrible. Any thoughts on how much it would hurt to take Chem and maybe Ochem Lab over the summer? Or is it that it might not even hurt my chances at all?</p>
<p>Summers are for Summer research gigs, shadowing, heavy-duty volunteering, maybe language/travel experiences and the beach. Taking classes in the summer that distract from the above can be deadly to an application. Taking classes in the summer while doing all those important things can’t be easier than taking them during term time, can it?</p>
<p>Id would probably just be Intro Chem during one summer. I’d have a full month that summer away from school to do things for med school along with second and maybe third summer.</p>
<p>The problem with summer classes is that the material covered is often truncated and less thorough than material covered during the regular school year–which makes for weaker preparation for when you go to take the next course in the sequence.</p>
<p>In general, it is recommended by those that know, that you should not take premed prereqs during the summer. If you must, take a GE during the summer, but curm said it best. (I don’t know your intended major, but I find it hard to believe GE’s will crowd out Frosh Chem which is a staple at every college. (Some colleges require Chem prior to Bio.)</p>
<p>Med school is a bunch of science classes taken concurrently. You might as well try to take two now. </p>
<p>Alternatively, take the four-year science plan. Take Physics as a senior and take the mcat after you graduate college.</p>
<p>Everybody here has said, no. D. did not have any experience positive/negative, she did not take a single summer class. She had summers off, spent mostly with her friends, pursued few opportunities, which are very rare in our home town, you got to be really pushing it to find any (and she did, but she had most of her EC’s also at school during school year and these people wrote her LORs). 2-3 science classes with labs were norm. in her and her pre-med friends schedule. Most of them were doing few majors or at least had 1-2 minors to pursue their own interests (mostly unrelated to medicine).</p>