Tom&Jerry Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Sorry if this question was asked a million times before! BUT please reply!!! I was wondering which AMERICAN med schools (or do they) require full course load? Do they care if you didn't have one? The problem is that due to some circumstances I did not keep a full course load in the first 2 years of uni but I will (hopefully) have a full course load for the final two years! I am also considering staying for an extra year if needed! So I was wondering if any American schools care about full course load or is it just marks that matter to them? Please reply! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demerp Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 No they don't require it. I'm pretty sure they don't care either..but some schools use a holistic review process and they may have a small effect? They also take all your courses to calculate your GPA, including summer courses. Sorry if this question was asked a million times before!BUT please reply!!! I was wondering which AMERICAN med schools (or do they) require full course load? Do they care if you didn't have one? The problem is that due to some circumstances I did not keep a full course load in the first 2 years of uni but I will (hopefully) have a full course load for the final two years! I am also considering staying for an extra year if needed! So I was wondering if any American schools care about full course load or is it just marks that matter to them? Please reply! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Jerry Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Thanks for replying!! Can you maybe give an example of the holistic approach that they have?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demerp Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 actually I believe most schools in the US are "holistic" in a sense they do not apply hard GPA and mcat cutoffs (but these are the 2 heaviest factors); they look at everything before deciding on an interview invite. With that said, I do not recall any school explicitly stating that they prefer a full course load. Look at Boston U as an example, http://www.bumc.bu.edu/admissions/applicationprocess/ As you move into the so called "top 20" US med schools, they become more strict on your mcat and gpa. hope that helps, someone please correct me if I'm wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Kaiser Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 actually I believe most schools in the US are "holistic" in a sense they do not apply hard GPA and mcat cutoffs (but these are the 2 heaviest factors); they look at everything before deciding on an interview invite. With that said, I do not recall any school explicitly stating that they prefer a full course load. Look at Boston U as an example, http://www.bumc.bu.edu/admissions/applicationprocess/ As you move into the so called "top 20" US med schools, they become more strict on your mcat and gpa. hope that helps, someone please correct me if I'm wrong Admissions in the states is generally speaking holistic. No schools AFAIK will disqualify you for part time studies; however, if you took 2 courses and did not do anything else whatsoever they would take that into consideration. Remember, all medical schools want you to be prepared to handle the workload of medical school. So, for example, if you work 25 hours/week, volunteer 10 hrs/week, and do 3 courses I am sure they would be fine with that. GPA and MCAT are the most important, but without exposure to medicine in some form (clinical experience) plus some things that make you stand out (research, ECs, hobbies, etc.) you will generally not get an interview (i'm sure rare exceptions exist). Clinical experience is practically a must unless you are some super researcher. *I know all of this by way of SDN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Jerry Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thank you!! I did a full course load in my two years (30 credits) but had to drop one course from each year for the fear of getting a B+ And I volunteer in a hospital & work (so I believe that would cover that clinical experience portion that you mentioned) Do you thin kit is a good idea to take another year (5th year)? Would it be bad for the admissions to US? or again it's just marks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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