If you are thinking about going to medical school do you need to take 5 courses each semester? And would you recommend dropping physics 1b03 to take it in the summer ?

First question: for most schools, taking 5 is required. If you want to find out which schools do not require 5 each semester, then you'd have to do that research on your own time.

My opinion: if you can't do 5 in undergrad, which is nothing, then it will be tough for you in med school.

Not sure about your second question, I haven't taken the course yet.

For you 2nd question, I think it depends on how strong your foundation is in physics. It depends on the person, but from my experience and a few others, they have taken it in the summer. But, obviously there are others who have taken it and done well in it. The course is average in terms of workload but is considered one of the more challenging science courses due to the capas, in-class quizzes and the m.c. midterms. I personally found the labs frustrating. Hope that helps.

As well, another option would be to consider taking physics 1L03 first. There are some people who do that, and then take 1b03. I did that, and I think it helped.

You can always do Capas in groups. They change the numbers so you have to understand the concepts in order to answer the questions. Make sure you know what you are doing and not just getting answers off other people otherwise you won't do well.

Originally Posted by pieeater

If you are thinking about going to medical school do you need to take 5 courses each semester? And would you recommend dropping physics 1b03 to take it in the summer ?

The answer to your first question is a very qualified no.

You can have 1 or even 2 semesters with less than five courses. That's the best thing i can tell you. Here's the bad news:

3 Ontario Med schools have weighting formulas. U of T will drop your lowest 6 units a year and UWO and Queens both have "two best years" formulas. However for U of T you need all 4 years with 30 units per fall/winter session (I don't think individual semesters matter though), and for UWO and Queens the best years have to have full course loads. .
There may be some subjective judgement however. If you have a good excuse (ie. you are taking 3 or more lab courses in the semester (these count as 4 credits each in the states and I think at a few canadian universities), or you are working a lot to pay the bills however, you can probably avoid this, especially from american med schools you apply to.
My advice would be twofold: 1) Email the admissions office at U of T and other med schools that weight grades personally and find out what exactly they have to say and 2) Try and rework your schedule so you don't feel like you can't handle 15 units (ie. if you take the physics in the summer, take a bird course, or something you find interesting, in its place)

Hope that was helpful.