surfca40 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Hey everyone, I currently have a BS in Business and I'm changing careers to the PA profession. I'm currently taking my pre-req's, and due to being a business major, I have a lot to do. After countless hours of researching programs and determine what I need to take, coupled with pre-reqs for those pre-reqs, I've created my school schedule for the next year and a half. I was wondering if those who have completed majority, if not all, of their pre-reqs could evaluate my schedule and offer advice, specifically if I've stacked it too heavy in any semester. I'm trying to balance getting it done as quick as possible while being able to obtain the best grades possible. Fall 2015 Lifespan Psychology (3) Total Units - 3 Intercession 2016 College Writing 2 (4) Total Units - 4 Spring 2016 Anatomy w/ Lab (4) General Chemistry 1A with Lab (5) College Algebra (4) Total Units - 13 Summer 2016 General Chemistry 1B with Lab (5) Total Units - 5 Fall 2016 Microbiology w/ Lab (5) Physiology w/ Lab (4) Genetics (3) Total Units - 12 Spring 2017 Organic Chemistry 1A w/ Lab (5) Biochemistry (3) Medical Terms (3) Total Units - 11 Grand Total Units - 48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Are you working at all or are you just doing school? Because if you're just taking classes, you'll be fine. Anyone in a science major will tell you that those are light semesters. If you're working part time, you should still be okay. If you're working full time....any semester where you have 10+ credits might be rough. Not impossible, but you'll definitely be spending most of your free time studying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Are you working at all or are you just doing school? Because if you're just taking classes, you'll be fine. Anyone in a science major will tell you that those are light semesters. If you're working part time, you should still be okay. If you're working full time....any semester where you have 10+ credits might be rough. Not impossible, but you'll definitely be spending most of your free time studying. Unfortunately, I work full time because I'm a career changer and have bills so I can't afford to drop my work right now. I know I'm basically going to have no social life during this time, but I'm motivated to become a PA, so it's okay. Short term pain, long term gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 looks like the more challenging semesters with a 36+ hour work week. Everything else looks highly manageable. I wish you the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpshoe Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Organic w/ Biochem seems a little weird to me. At my school, we are required Organic 1 and 2 before taking biochem. If it's below a 3000 or 4000 level biochem course then you might want to email programs to see if they accept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnvrlikethecity Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Just my two cents, but your Spring 2017 semester will kill you, especially while working full time. I worked full time, took Biochem, Anatomy lab, Gen Chem 3 w/lab (quarter system), and Medical Terminology, and I was losing my mind. If I had done Orgo instead of Gen Chem, I would have lost my mind. Biochem builds on Organic I concepts. I took Biochem out of order and had to teach myself some principles of Orgo in order to succeed. I did not do as well as I would have if I had done Orgo first (I'm taking Orgo now, during my application phase). It is helpful with Biochem to be able to look at a molecule and know from the functional groups whether it is basic, acidic, polar or nonpolar; to know type of isomers and chirality, etc. I would advise re-configuring somehow to take Biochem in an alternate term than Orgo. You could even take Biochem in the Fall of 2017, and have it be your an outstanding prereqs during your application cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 looks like the more challenging semesters with a 36+ hour work week. Everything else looks highly manageable. I wish you the best Thanks for you input...the school advisor said Fall 2016 was going to be a very difficult semester as well. I just couldn't see any way to change it without prolonging it another semester. I'll keep it in mind though as I progress through school...if the other semesters appear to be a lot of work while working full time, then it may be best to split Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 into an additional semester. Organic w/ Biochem seems a little weird to me. At my school, we are required Organic 1 and 2 before taking biochem. If it's below a 3000 or 4000 level biochem course then you might want to email programs to see if they accept it. I'll double check, thanks. I did see some Biochem courses required O-Chem and some didn't. I'll ensure the one I'm looking at will be accepted for a pre-req. Just my two cents, but your Spring 2017 semester will kill you, especially while working full time. I worked full time, took Biochem, Anatomy lab, Gen Chem 3 w/lab (quarter system), and Medical Terminology, and I was losing my mind. If I had done Orgo instead of Gen Chem, I would have lost my mind. Biochem builds on Organic I concepts. I took Biochem out of order and had to teach myself some principles of Orgo in order to succeed. I did not do as well as I would have if I had done Orgo first (I'm taking Orgo now, during my application phase). It is helpful with Biochem to be able to look at a molecule and know from the functional groups whether it is basic, acidic, polar or nonpolar; to know type of isomers and chirality, etc. I would advise re-configuring somehow to take Biochem in an alternate term than Orgo. You could even take Biochem in the Fall of 2017, and have it be your an outstanding prereqs during your application cycle. Cool, thank you for the input. I knew O-Chem is going to be difficult, but I haven't really talked to anyone about biochemistry yet. Looks like everyone is agreeing it's best to change that semester up. I don't really think there's a way I can rearrange it, I'll probably just have to add it to the summer or fall, like you suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEB1985 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I worked full time nights with a course load heavier than that. It won't be easy by any means, but you should be able to handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 So, if I moved genetics (online course) to this summer with Chem 1B, kept medical terms with O-chem, but moved biochemistry to the following summer or fall, do you think it'd be more manageable? How would taking genetics and Chem 1B during the summer be? I don't want to move genetics further away, I'd rather have it done sooner because it's required for my #1 program I want to get into. Fall 2015 Lifespan Psychology (3) Total Units - 3 Intercession 2016 College Writing 2 (4) Total Units - 4 Spring 2016 Anatomy w/ Lab (4) General Chemistry 1A with Lab (5) College Algebra (4) Total Units - 13 Summer 2016 General Chemistry 1B with Lab (5) Genetics (3) Total Units - 8 Fall 2016 Microbiology w/ Lab (5) Physiology w/ Lab (4) Total Units - 9 Spring 2017 Organic Chemistry 1A w/ Lab (5) Medical Terms (3) Total Units - 8 Summer or Fall 2017 Biochemistry (3) Total Units - 3 Grand Total Units - 48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 That looks more manageable. I do not know how taking science courses during the summer is because it's costly to do so, so I only took them during regular semesters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Side note, is algebra actually required for some programs? Your new schedule looks better, and spring 2016 shouldn't be too bad because it's just 2 science courses (and I assume a business major can handle basic math?). I would think a stats course would be much more desired than algebra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnvrlikethecity Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 So, if I moved genetics (online course) to this summer with Chem 1B, kept medical terms with O-chem, but moved biochemistry to the following summer or fall, do you think it'd be more manageable? (please note, nothing of this comment is definitive, as it all depends on schools and programs. I can only speak from my experience.) The difficulty of the genetics course really depends on how in-depth the class goes. I took two genetics courses: one was at a community college over the summer and it was an absolute joke. I didn't study except for the 15 minutes before the class or read a thing in the book, and I ended with an A. I was nervous about the quality of the course and how prepared I was for a PA program, so I decided to take the genetics and molecular biology course at Northwestern University (I live Chicago), and that course I studied my butt off and ended with an A–. VERY different experiences. The NU course had much more detail on the synthesis of DNA/RNA, and interactions of base pairs, etc. From my experience, I can tell you the community college genetics course was more concerned with genetic diseases. We had to learn names of diseases and whether they were autosomal dominant or recessive, x-linked, mitochondrial, etc. Northwestern was concerned with the mechanisms of gene inheritance (trihybrid crosses, phases of meiosis, allele frequencies, etc.), DNA transcription/translation, epigenetics, etc. Comparing the two, I believe NU's course prepared best for entering a medical program, while the community college course gives a very simplified overview of genetics. If it is any indication, the Comm Coll genetics course was a 100-level course. The NU course was a 200-level. The number of the course and the prereqs may hint at how difficult a course it is. I would highly recommend a course geared more towards gene inheritance, epigenetics, DNA duplication, forms of RNA, etc. When you enter PA school, you will learn this stuff super fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Side note, is algebra actually required for some programs? Your new schedule looks better, and spring 2016 shouldn't be too bad because it's just 2 science courses (and I assume a business major can handle basic math?). I would think a stats course would be much more desired than algebra. All of the programs I'm looking at in Nevada, Arizona, and California require statistics, but I have already taken that as part of my business degree. As far as college algebra, 5 of the 12 programs I'm looking at require it, one of which is my top program, so that's why it's on there. Also, yeah the math should be easy, I've taken a handful of other math courses, they just don't fulfill the algebra requirement I need for those 5 programs. One of the programs even requires calculus; however, I'm going to hold off at applying there, or at the very least hold off on taking calculus until everything else is said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 (please note, nothing of this comment is definitive, as it all depends on schools and programs. I can only speak from my experience.) The difficulty of the genetics course really depends on how in-depth the class goes. I took two genetics courses: one was at a community college over the summer and it was an absolute joke. I didn't study except for the 15 minutes before the class or read a thing in the book, and I ended with an A. I was nervous about the quality of the course and how prepared I was for a PA program, so I decided to take the genetics and molecular biology course at Northwestern University (I live Chicago), and that course I studied my butt off and ended with an A–. VERY different experiences. The NU course had much more detail on the synthesis of DNA/RNA, and interactions of base pairs, etc. From my experience, I can tell you the community college genetics course was more concerned with genetic diseases. We had to learn names of diseases and whether they were autosomal dominant or recessive, x-linked, mitochondrial, etc. Northwestern was concerned with the mechanisms of gene inheritance (trihybrid crosses, phases of meiosis, allele frequencies, etc.), DNA transcription/translation, epigenetics, etc. Comparing the two, I believe NU's course prepared best for entering a medical program, while the community college course gives a very simplified overview of genetics. If it is any indication, the Comm Coll genetics course was a 100-level course. The NU course was a 200-level. The number of the course and the prereqs may hint at how difficult a course it is. I would highly recommend a course geared more towards gene inheritance, epigenetics, DNA duplication, forms of RNA, etc. When you enter PA school, you will learn this stuff super fast. Yeah, the class I was going to take is a community college level online genetics course because the genetics course at my current school requires molecular biology w/ lab (5 units) as a pre-req...I think that class would be similar to your upper division genetics course you took. I did not want to have to take an additional course just to take genetics, so I found it at another community college that offers it online. The online one I'm planning on taking satisfies the requirement for their biology majors though, so it shouldn't be a worthless course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 All of the programs I'm looking at in Nevada, Arizona, and California require statistics, but I have already taken that as part of my business degree. As far as college algebra, 5 of the 12 programs I'm looking at require it, one of which is my top program, so that's why it's on there. Also, yeah the math should be easy, I've taken a handful of other math courses, they just don't fulfill the algebra requirement I need for those 5 programs. One of the programs even requires calculus; however, I'm going to hold off at applying there, or at the very least hold off on taking calculus until everything else is said and done. Interesting! I had no idea. Best of Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchampigny Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Is this serious? I worked 2 jobs and volunteered as an EMT on a 20 credit course load.......it's called "the grind". At the end of the day you just have to put your head down and chug through it....think of it as a preparation for the rigors of PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Is this serious? I worked 2 jobs and volunteered as an EMT on a 20 credit course load.......it's called "the grind". At the end of the day you just have to put your head down and chug through it....think of it as a preparation for the rigors of PA school. Yes, this is serious, and yes, I understand its going to be hard. I'm also working on my EMT-B so I plan on picking up a part time or per diem EMT job while doing this. The purpose of the post was for those to evaluate my school schedule to see if I could move classes around within the same time frame to make it easier. If I can accomplish the same goal (completing the pre-reqs) in the same amount of time, but make it easier on myself by rearranging some things, then why wouldn't I? Smarter, not harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimistic3 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 If that genetics class is a difficult one like mentioned above, I would not take it over the summer with gen chem and full time work. Remember that summer semesters are usually half the time or less of a full semester so everything goes twice as fast and it's a lot thrown at you at once. If it's an easier/overview one (especially online), then it might be more doable. But if you take a higher level one, it'll prepare you better for PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 If I can accomplish the same goal (completing the pre-reqs) in the same amount of time, but make it easier on myself by rearranging some things, then why wouldn't I? Smarter, not harder. The goal is to get into PA school so anything prior to that with the exception of GPA (doesn't matter how you get the A) and HCE will not "prepare" you for PA school. PA school will prepare you for PA school so cross that bridge when you get there. Good for you for working smarter not harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 If that genetics class is a difficult one like mentioned above, I would not take it over the summer with gen chem and full time work. Remember that summer semesters are usually half the time or less of a full semester so everything goes twice as fast and it's a lot thrown at you at once. If it's an easier/overview one (especially online), then it might be more doable. But if you take a higher level one, it'll prepare you better for PA school. I saw some people on this forum had taken the genetics course I'm talking about. I'll send out some private messages to those people and see what they thought about the course and the workload. The goal is to get into PA school so anything prior to that with the exception of GPA (doesn't matter how you get the A) and HCE will not "prepare" you for PA school. PA school will prepare you for PA school so cross that bridge when you get there. Good for you for working smarter not harder. Cool deal, thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted October 9, 2015 Administrator Share Posted October 9, 2015 My only additional input is that medical terminology is a pretty easy class, especially if you've had any previous Romance language or Greek in the past, and can be moved around wherever. Why not move it up to this fall with Lifespan (also not a hugely difficult course) so you would be able to maybe sneak in an upper division course later? You can get it from any number of places online if your primary school schedule won't work with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 My only additional input is that medical terminology is a pretty easy class, especially if you've had any previous Romance language or Greek in the past, and can be moved around wherever. Why not move it up to this fall with Lifespan (also not a hugely difficult course) so you would be able to maybe sneak in an upper division course later? You can get it from any number of places online if your primary school schedule won't work with that. Thanks Rev, I'll check out some options online. I think majority of the ones I found online in the past were 1 unit classes and one of the programs I'm looking at requires a 3 unit course. I can't add anything else from my current school since the traditional semester is already in progress, I was only able to sneak Lifespan in for Fall because it's an 8 week course that started in October. I was late to get my plan together for this Fall semester, so that's why I'm not really taking anything right now. I'll double check the online terms class though, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahbee21 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 I would recommend taking your micro course before genetics, especially if you can swing the more intense genetics course that was described. For me, micro was the first course that really opened my eyes, for lack of a better term, "how stuff works". I was able to get an A in micro by studying my buns off and I got an A in a 4 credit upper level genetics course and still had to study, but my micro knowledge gave me such a strong foundation that I didn't have to study too much. If I had gone in with just bio 1&2 background to a lower level genetics course I still don't think I would have done as well. I was also a post-bac student, working along with going to school full time. I created a similar timeline before I really started school my actual timeline looked nothing like what I planned. My advice? Take it one or two semesters at a time in terms of the planning. ALSO, most programs will let you have one or two pre-reqs still in progress as you apply and interview, so take a look at this! I wish I had extended my timeline a bit to accommodate this because I could have probably done better in a few classes if I had more time to study each semester. Since you are going back to school, you'll likely want to take a few of the more "recommended" upper-level bio classes, which you could do as you apply. On CASPA there is a section for planned coursework, so there is a way to let your schools know you're still working on school. Good luck to you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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