<p>I am going to be a freshman at UW-Madison, and I was wondering if taking the required two semesters of Physics, the summer before my sophomore year, would be alright. If I were to do this I would take the courses at The University of Chicago's Summer Session program or Northwestern's Summer Session program. All-in-all will this hurt/help my possibility of getting into medical school if I received an A in the course.</p>
<p>You can take your summer course at UW Madison. As long as you don’t go take it at a CC. And it will not affect your admission unless you take all your science courses in the summer.</p>
<p>Are you pretty good at physics? One thing I liked about waiting until Junior year to take my year of physics is because I know that (compared to chem, orgo, and bio) physics is usually my weak spot, so in waiting to take it I was able to use that class as preparation for the MCAT (which I took early summer following Jr year). This strategy is usually advised at my school, but some people do opt to take it earlier on to “get physics over with.” I took a Kaplan prep class with some of my friends (who I would consider to be academic equals) and the ones who opted to take physics Sophomore year or earlier had to spend considerably more time preparing for the physics of the MCAT than I did (because it was all fresh in my mind).</p>
<p>That said, none of us considered physics to be our “thing,” which probably played a big role in their additional prep needs. So, if you’re a physics guy, then taking it early probably wouldn’t matter anyway, and in which case I’d say go with whatever you just WANT to do. Doesn’t seem like you NEED to take it next summer either way.</p>
<p>As long as thats the only pre-req you are taking over the summer, you should be fine. I remember norcalguy saying that medical schools don’t like it if you take too many pre-reqs over the summer, but 1 won’t make a big difference.</p>
<p>You should just take it at UW-Madison, why go through the trouble of applying as transient student at NU/UChicago (just extra work)? Unless NU/UChicago are closer to home, and you don’t feel like spending the summer at UW-Madison.</p>
<p>Thanks, and yes I live in Chicago, so I much rather stay at home for the summer.</p>
<p>when next spring rolls around, I’m betting that you will much prefer a summer by Lake Mendota!</p>