<p>It will be my 1st semester sophomore year next fall and I will be taking Physics 1 with Lab, Bio 2 with Lab, and O Chem 1 with lab. In my school the O Chem lab is separate and only counts for 1 hour and the lecture is worth 3 hours. First do you think I should take the lab together in conjunction with the lecture or take it a different year. Also what if I decide to take the O Chem lab in a community college. Will medical school not like this or will it be ok. Thank you.</p>
<p>At D’s school all labs were separate and they counted for fewer hours while some were taking much longer hours than lecture. Also, D. has not taken any lab at different time/place than lecture. D. did not take any classes in a summer either, since it is not recommended while planning to apply to Med. School. Others might have different experiences. Current pre-meds at your school might have better idea since they are familiar with specifics of pre-med required classes at your school.</p>
<p>At both my ds’ school, labs are separate from the lecture and graded separately. It’s recommended but not required to take the lecture and lab simultaneously.</p>
<p>Due to enrollment constraints (too many students, not enough lab space), D1 took OChem lab about a year after she took the lecture. She had no problems doing that and said there was not much carry-over between the lecture and lab. (In fact, she just finished the OChem lab Monday night, got an A and it was the last thing she needed to complete to confirm her acceptance into med school this summer.)</p>
<p>I don’t think you should take the lab at a different school as that will raise questions later. OChem labs vary tremendously in their approaches and grading and in some cases the syntheses you do…</p>
<p>probably best to ask around, perhaps ask upper classmen. Every school is different, and every course is different. In my D’s Chem course, each mid-term & final had at least one question which required knowledge that would have been gained from the lab work. In her Bio course, however, the lab portion is completely separate from the lecture, and lab could be taken anytime.</p>
<p>Three scineces courses + three lab sessions in the same semester seem to be overwhelming. Are there many pre-med students doing that?</p>
<p>^Yes. Should not be a problem.</p>
<p>ace550-- yes. Both Ds took at least 3 lecture +lab classes at a time. And for several semesters in a row. It’s the lot of a science major.</p>
<p>Take it at the same school, but don’t worry about taking it at a different time than the lecture. There’s not a lot of carry-over between o-chem lecture and lab.</p>