5 courses vs 3

[Guest sneakydog]

I applied last year and did not get accepted. I was told it was due to low grades. They advised me to get higher grades in this year and reapply. I went back to school and did 5 courses in the fall and got all A's. I am not able to go do 5 courses again for financial reasons and can only do 3 this term as i have to work full time to make ends meet. The questions i have is will 3 courses look weak, even with all A's instead of doing the full 5. Is it better to not go to school at all instead of doing a reduced course load (3). I would love to go do 5 and ace them all but i dont think it is possible this term. any one have any advice or a similar situation?

[Guest stevetilley]

First of all, congrats on getting staight A's last semester!

 

Tough call on what to do this semester...

 

One thing to consider is that any courses you do this semester will NOT be considered for Fall 2004 admission. AFAIK, you are admitted based on all your marks up to and including the Fall 2003 semester. (This makes sense; the admissions commitee can't wait around for everyone's Spring '04 grades to come in!) Note: You might want to check w/ addmissions on this, but I am pretty sure.

 

Marks earned this semester could, however, be used for admission in Fall 2005. Now, if you went ahead with 3 courses, and got all A's, it might improve your chances for Fall 2005. However, the admission commitee might think that since you didn't take a full course load, you had an advantage over others who took 5 courses, etc..

 

In an ideal world, you could loan all the money you need for this semester and do 5 courses; however, I realize this is not always an option!

 

If I were in your situation, I'd take this semester off school, concentrate on saving $$$ over the next 8 months (working lots of hours etc). If you get in this year, then you'll have some money saved for med school. If not, then you'll have enough saved to do another 5 courses in Fall '04, get another 5 A's, and then re-apply for Fall '05.

 

Good luck!