Tamara Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 My university offers most of the courses in all three terms so I have been able to take a full course load even in summers while I could've just taken those summers off and registered for those courses in Fall or Winter. So what is the reason some med schools don't use summer courses in GPA calculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garret9 Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 What they say the reson is: they want to push people to take full course load in winter. You can then follow this with all the arguments they say in regards to fulltime being more important/better/whatever than parttime. Real reason: being a super competitive field where about half of the people denied are technically quallified means you have to have some arbitrary hoops and systems Not all schools discount summer courses though. Everyone is different because "they are searching for a particular type of med student." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Whatever the reason, stick to full course mode during the fall/winter normal academic year. I imagine that during the summer, virtually nobody takes a full course load. And a full course load during the normal academic year is a measurement of a student's capacity to wsithstand the rigours of intensive study. Med school is theoretically harder; ands if you cannot do it in undergrad, it is assumed with reason you won't be able to cope in med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I imagine that during the summer, virtually nobody takes a full course load. And a full course load during the normal academic year is a measurement of a student's capacity to wsithstand the rigours of intensive study. Med school is theoretically harder; ands if you cannot do it in undergrad, it is assumed with reason you won't be able to cope in med school. This may be, but a student who can take 6 courses per term in the winter session, and 4 courses in the summer, plus the MCAT, in order to finish undergrad quickly (let's say in the course of 2 years) is automatically disqualified from many schools, yet no-one would ever say they can't handle academic rigour. This is what I did and it HAS disqualified me from many schools, since I don't have "full-time academic years" as defined by those schools. You have to be really really careful, and "play by the rules". They are looking for people who fall as close to the normal courseload as possible, and that helps them to evealuate everyone more easily. Take it from a person who has had problems because of this, and just take full-time in the winter, no more, no less. Doing anything other than that may hurt you severely in the long run. And anyone who does know the actual reason why, I'd love to know too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 This may be, but a student who can take 6 courses per term in the winter session, and 4 courses in the summer, plus the MCAT, in order to finish undergrad quickly (let's say in the course of 2 years) is automatically disqualified from many schools, yet no-one would ever say they can't handle academic rigour. This is what I did and it HAS disqualified me from many schools, since I don't have "full-time academic years" as defined by those schools. You have to be really really careful, and "play by the rules". They are looking for people who fall as close to the normal courseload as possible, and that helps them to evealuate everyone more easily. Take it from a person who has had problems because of this, and just take full-time in the winter, no more, no less. Doing anything other than that may hurt you severely in the long run. And anyone who does know the actual reason why, I'd love to know too! I would have thought that reason would prevail and a due diligence by the Dean (and discussion with you) following a consice and precise appeal (even prior to time of application or simultaneously) would obtain justice for you. Clearly, your case is an exception to the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garret9 Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 And anyone who does know the actual reason why, I'd love to know too! Unfortunatelly... arbitrary hoops and systems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluripotent Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Hey kylamonkey, you sparked my curiosity. Why weren't your years considered full-time? Six courses each in fall and winter term times two years (regardless of summer courses) sounds like two full-time academic years... is my perception out of whack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted August 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks for your responses but I said that I have taken FULL course loads even in summers. If taking 5 courses in Fall or Winter shows a student can handle med school's heavy course load, then taking the same number of courses (5) in Summer must also lead to the same conclusion! The only thing harder about going to school in Fall or Winter is that the weather is cold and it rains and snows and many students would rather skip classes and stay at home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Whatever the reason, stick to full course mode during the fall/winter normal academic year. I imagine that during the summer, virtually nobody takes a full course load. And a full course load during the normal academic year is a measurement of a student's capacity to wsithstand the rigours of intensive study. Med school is theoretically harder; ands if you cannot do it in undergrad, it is assumed with reason you won't be able to cope in med school. Well, where I did my undergraduate studies, I know a LOT of people who took a full course load in the summer. The summer semester was a regular semester - just like the fall and winter ones. Basically, anyone who was in co-op and had a co-op term in the fall or winter semester would take a full course load in the summer semester. Those were "normal" courses - just like fall and winter ones. They were not compressed, they ran the full 12 weeks, had regular labs (ie. not compressed), etc. It was an ordinary semester like the other two. As I said, almost all the co-op students I know took a full course load during the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I would have thought that reason would prevail and a due diligence by the Dean (and discussion with you) following a consice and precise appeal (even prior to time of application or simultaneously) would obtain justice for you. Clearly, your case is an exception to the rule. It sounds nice, but it just doesn't work that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks for your responses but I said that I have taken FULL course loads even in summers. If taking 5 courses in Fall or Winter shows a student can handle med school's heavy course load, then taking the same number of courses (5) in Summer must also lead to the same conclusion! The only thing harder about going to school in Fall or Winter is that the weather is cold and it rains and snows and many students would rather skip classes and stay at home! I think it's like comparing apples to apples or to oranges. Most (almost all) applicants take a full course load in the fall & winter, so it's easy to compare them. Not everyone takes summer courses or they take different numbers of summer courses, so they can't be directly compared. Like others have alluded to, it may be just another way for adcoms to simplify the analysis of all the applications they get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Squeeze Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 My quick question: Apart from the full course load in fall and winter semesters, can we take one or two extra courses in summer without having any negative effect or they completely discourage summer courses? I'm kinda confused here. Thanks for ur help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Well, where I did my undergraduate studies, I know a LOT of people who took a full course load in the summer. The summer semester was a regular semester - just like the fall and winter ones. Basically, anyone who was in co-op and had a co-op term in the fall or winter semester would take a full course load in the summer semester. Those were "normal" courses - just like fall and winter ones. They were not compressed, they ran the full 12 weeks, had regular labs (ie. not compressed), etc. It was an ordinary semester like the other two. As I said, almost all the co-op students I know took a full course load during the summer. +1 I don't know exactly how it works but you have to explain how your university operates to the schools you apply and they will look at your transcript differently. I know where I go, it is trimestered...the summer semester is no different from fall and winter, so if you choose to do full-time, then it is equal to full time in fall or winter [whereas at york u, the summer term is much shorter than fall/winter so it is more like 'summer school' rather than a summer semester]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 My quick question: Apart from the full course load in fall and winter semesters, can we take one or two extra courses in summer without having any negative effect or they completely discourage summer courses? I'm kinda confused here. Thanks for ur help. I took extra courses in the summer...it's not supposed to make a difference to your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 My quick question: Apart from the full course load in fall and winter semesters, can we take one or two extra courses in summer without having any negative effect or they completely discourage summer courses? I'm kinda confused here. Thanks for ur help. They don't discourage it. It just doesn't play a role in the GPA calculation for many schools. I'm assuming you have the best shot at UBC where they DO look at your summer courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJoeRogan Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 If medical schools do not accept summer courses, then, it seems as though they are forcing you to do you pre-reqs in a standard school year. If you can't do your pre-reqs as electives what then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctorb Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 If medical schools do not accept summer courses, then, it seems as though they are forcing you to do you pre-reqs in a standard school year. If you can't do your pre-reqs as electives what then? most medical schools don't include summer courses when calculating the GPA, but summer courses still count towards the pre-requisites. That is why many people take english in the summer; they can fulfill the pre-req without damaging their GPA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward son Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 This may be, but a student who can take 6 courses per term in the winter session, and 4 courses in the summer, plus the MCAT, in order to finish undergrad quickly (let's say in the course of 2 years) is automatically disqualified from many schools, yet no-one would ever say they can't handle academic rigour. This is what I did and it HAS disqualified me from many schools Agreed. I have averaged 6 courses a semester (including the two summers) and it has meant that I will complete a 4-year degree in 28 months, but have done myself no favors at many medical schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Agreed. I have averaged 6 courses a semester (including the two summers) and it has meant that I will complete a 4-year degree in 28 months, but have done myself no favors at many medical schools. That's exactly my case too! Transcript twins... You can take extra courses, but all it does is save you time completing a degree (and probably drop your GPA slightly). The problem with saving time is that you then have fewer "FT years" with which to apply, so the schools that look at your best years will have fewer to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OttawaURookie Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 So I've heard that some schools don't count your summer courses towards GPA. Why is this? Just because the term is much shorter? Isn't that a pretty big advantage if you decide to take summer courses every year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Not necessarily as for most universities, you will still need a full course load during the normal academic year - but you can knock off prerequsities w/o worrying about lower and non-competitive grades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OttawaURookie Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 So are you screwed for most med schools if you take 4 courses per semester instead of 5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward son Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Depends on the medical school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 So are you screwed for most med schools if you take 4 courses per semester instead of 5? No, you are fine for all the ontario schools except Western. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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