<p>Idk what to do. I am taking 16 quarter credits this term (my school goes by quarters summer fall winter spring), and they are 3 pre-med classes: bio, calc based physics, and ochem. Ochem has class and lab separate. I just feel like the lab is draining me out. I feel like if I withdraw from the lab I would have at least 8 extra hours a week to study and really learn the information from the rest of my classes, and it would put me at 14 credits, but a W on my transcript. Should I delay completing lab until next year? </p>
<p>I'm afraid that my mom might be mad at me though because she is paying for the classes :( I don't know you guys. Help!</p>
<p>strempaw–only you know if you really need those extra 8 hours per week back for study time. </p>
<p>This is the time to put on your Big Boy/Big Girl pants and make an adult decision. There will be [negative] consequences regardless of what you decide. You need to decide which set of consequences you can live with more easily.</p>
<p>My personal opinion–dropping lab is not the way to go. Find other areas of your life you can cut back on if your really need those 8 hours back. What about cutting back on your social time? ECs? Job hours? Sleep? (And I’m not kidding about the last one. That’s only 70 minutes later each day.) This is really a issue about your time management skills (or lack thereof). </p>
<p>Your mother’s reaction should have no bearing on your decision, though frankly if you were my child, I would make you pay the cost for both the dropped credits and for the re-take. (Yeah, I’m a mean mom, but both my kids are fully functioning adults who are capable of making informed choices and accepting the consequences of their decisions–good or bad.)</p>
<p>I have a somewhat different opinion. Streampaw, are you a new frosh? Taking bio, advanced physics and ochem (all with labs) together is probably something only a frosh would do.</p>
<p>It depends on what your preparation in HS was. If you were a strong AP student, then if you commit all your time and effort to this, you may be able to pull it through. The labs take up a great deal of time. </p>
<p>You don’t want to pull your whole GPA down, though. If I were looking at your application, a W in orgo lab in a semester like you have created would look a whole lot better than a 2.0 GPA. If you are feeling overwhelmed in your classes, orgo lab should go. </p>
<p>Do you have an advisor? They advised you to do this schedule? Go see them ASAP. And for the future, spread out the demanding science classes with labs. Never more than 2 a semester.</p>
<p>If you withdraw from the chem lab and take it again over the summer (you’d have to take it again eventually… though if you’re applying to med school after Jr year you’d have to already had it completed), the W would get replaced with the grade. Honestly, I wouldn’t drop it… But talk to your adviser, see what he/she says.</p>
<p>Any W remains permanently on the transcript. It will not get “replaced” by a grade. (I = incomplete will get replaced by a grade, but not a W.) The transcript will show two attempts at the lab class–one with a W and one with a grade.</p>
<p>(And even if your particular college allows the grade to “replaced”, you are ethically required by AMCAS rules to report the original W.)</p>
<p>Maybe I am missing something here because I am not a science person, but wouldn’t it be more difficult to take a lab without simultaneously taking the class? Also, if the OP is going to graduate in a timely manner, and he still needs this apparently difficult lab, isn’t it just going to add pressure to another semester in the future? Assuming he has only 3 semesters remaining, wouldn’t this add a substantial burden to one of those other three semesters–if he is carrying the regular workload each semester, wouldn’t adding on this lab be like taking an extra class in addition, especially if it is a time suck?</p>
<p>All lab classes are time sucks. So are lab reports. </p>
<p>However, scheduling can become an issue. Missed lab sessions (like during senior year when traveling for interviews) are often difficult-to-impossible to make up if missed because both the space and instructor’s time are fully booked. Make-ups may be extremely limited or may not be available at all. (Even at smaller, more accomodating private colleges.)</p>
<p>Also depending on the particular situation at the school, labs may be impacted classes. At the state flagship here, gen chem and Ochem labs are all impacted and students often have to wait 2-4 semesters for a space in the lab class to become available. So while it’s quite common to take the lab and the lecture portion of the class at different times, it can prove next to impossible to get another lab class if you drop the first. (Because you’re bumping other people out of a space for a class they need to graduate when you’ve already had your chance–you get to go the end of the line.)</p>
<p>A lot of time what is taught in class is reinforced or better explained in the lab portion. So if you drop it it will be like doing organic for two years and you will have to relearn portions again. The goal is to have no more than 2 science labs at a time usually. I took Orgo my sophomore year and physics my junior year to separate the two. Now seniors also take Biochem their final year.</p>