Today is the first day of registration. The good classes and professors are taken fast. My son’s registration time is June 26th, by then, he won’t be able to get into any classes that he likes.
Has anyone postponed the premed sequence of classes until sophomore year and still be on time to apply to medical school? Thanks.
It would be possible to start the sequence sophomore year, but it might be a little bit more hectic.
I wouldn’t say he would necessarily have to do so though. If you mean that some classes for the more sought-after professors (like graham/patton for bio or todd for gen chem) are full, then I wouldn’t worry about that. Gen chem is standardized anyway, meaning that everyone gets the exact same tests, homework, is graded the same way, and is in the same grade distribution (everyone gets the same curve at the end). So for that it truly doesn’t matter. I would be shocked if all the gen chem spots are full.
For bio there are differences between professors, but I feel like it really isn’t that important. Also there’s nothing wrong with waiting until sophomore year for bio and only taking gen chem as a freshman. Since ~600 students take gen chem there’s always an open seat, and since it’s the only class really necessary as a freshman there’s no reason he should have to wait until next year to start his pre-reqs.
There’s also always a lot of movement. He can enroll in what’s available now, and then get on the waitlist for the courses he wants; he can then select the option “drop if enrolled in ____” so that if he gets in off the waitlist it automatically switches him. This movement goes on through the end of the first full week of classes or so. Also, if you don’t get in by the first week, you can go to the professor of the full class and ask to be switched in and sometimes they’ll let you.
IMO it is a good idea to start off with a light general load and give pre-med students a semester to adjust to the rigor,
home sickness, making new friends, the freedom which happens in the first semester, and a chance to start off with a solid GPA. Too many pre-meds start off with bio/chem/calc and get weeded out before Thanksgiving in their fall freshman semester because they aren’t given time to adjust to college level classes. Most U’s want students to start off on the pre-med path freshman year because those that don’t make it can change their major and still graduate in 4 years. The heck with that. Pre-meds first priority is to make it to spring semester and still be pre-med.
This may require a semester or two of summer school to meet all the MCAT requisite classes but it gives students a chance to adjust to college life before taking the “weed-out” pre-med classes.
Contrary to what your advisors tell you, it is actually possible to be added to a section despite it being full although I’m not sure if they do it for freshmen. Try saying something like [section you want] is the only one that fits my schedule, but it’s full and I need to take it so I can graduate/apply to med school on time. Can’t guarantee it will work for you as a freshman but I bypassed the waitlist and got into two classes using that.
That said, like the guy above said gen chem is the only class you have to take freshman year for premed reqs (unless you have AP credits, but even with AP credits I’d recommend taking it if you got a 4 or 5)
Only take bio if you’re certain your study skills are good (or if you’re a bio major). Otherwise try classes like physics (especially if you took AP), intro neuroscience (if neuro major), calculus (if no AP credits), statistics, etc
I wouldn’t wait until sophomore year to start pre med reqs unless you’re 100% sure you want a gap year
Also, my girls didn’t luck out for Todd for lecture, but arranged their schedules so they could attend her lectures for extra understanding
This looks like a “when in doubt, at least do gen. chem” sort of thing.