Is there anyway I can complete a four year Biochemistry Program in 3 years, by taking summer classes?

Question

I want to go to medical school but I'm not talking about those 3 year programs they have at the university and then you go to medical school because they only choose like 3 people...i'm talking about something I do on my own at another school and transfer a couple credits to my school.

Answer 1

Well, it might be technically possible, but not might be the best thing for your health and GPA.

For example, your biochemistry program will probably require around 132 credit hours to graduate. That gives you 6 full semesters (spring and fall * 3), and 2 summer semesters. That will require 18 credit hours for the spring and fall semesters, and 12 hours per summer semester.

The general rule for required work is 3 hours of studying for each credit hour per semester per week. This means if you are taking 18 credit hours, you will need to devote 54 hours per week to your courses. Biochemistry is by no means an easy program, so you should expect to study at least this much.

So, can it be done? Well.. perhaps... but if you plan on going to a very rigorous and reputable program, it might be extremely difficult. You might get burned out very quickly, and your GPA might suffer if you can't keep up with all of your courses. I recommend taking a lighter schedule your first semester (14 hours maybe), to see if you think you can handle more.

Answer 2

The previous answer is a good one, but another thing you should check is whether there are sequenced courses in your major program. If so, and you have to stay in sequence and you can't double up or take classes out of order, then it will take four years no matter how much summer coursework you are willing to do.

Some majors have sequenced classes and others don't. If yours does, then it is basically impossible to graduate in less than four years.

Another thing to consider is the quality of the coursework from the summer program at another school. If it is not as rigorous as your regular university, that could cause you problems later on. Along with that, I am betting that you are concerned about maintaining a high gpa. Keep in mind that your grade point from the other school does not transfer, only the coursework credits are transferred. So if you are struggling a little in some of your core courses, it might help your overall gpa to take your elective courses at your main school too.

As a professor, I am always a little dubious about summer courses unless they are more focused toward enrichment. Sheer logic: you cannot possibly cover as much material or have as much depth in a five week summer course as you do in a regular semester.

Be careful and talk to a good advisor or to a professor in your major area before you make a final decision.