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Hard Courses During Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer?

 
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:01 PM   #1
smiles
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Hard Courses During Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer?
Would you recommend taking hard courses in the Fall/Winter terms or the Spring/Summer terms? I am looking specifically at CHEM 2OA3 and CHEM 2OB3, which are reputed to be the most difficult courses...
What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking your courses in the Spring/Summer?

Thanks!
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:03 PM   #2
jhan523
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smiles View Post
Would you recommend taking hard courses in the Fall/Winter terms or the Spring/Summer terms? I am looking specifically at CHEM 2OA3 and CHEM 2OB3, which are reputed to be the most difficult courses...
What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking your courses in the Spring/Summer?

Thanks!
Advantage: You can solely put all your time into the course.
Disadvantage: You have less time to learn the material (2 months instead of 4)
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Old 08-20-2009 at 05:04 PM   #3
Harlequin
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I took Chem 2OA3 and OB3 during this summer and I'm so glad I did. Yes I lost my summer but I'm so glad I won't have to deal with those courses during the academic year because they do have a heavy course load and I was able to put in way more time into the courses over the summer than I would have been able to during the academic year. And these courses do require a significant amount of time put into them to get a decent grade.
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:04 PM   #4
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well...If you're planning on applyin to a med school...like me...then not a good idea...cuz med school flushes ur spring/summer hard work in the toilet...
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:05 PM   #5
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Not all medical schools omit your summer courses.

Another disadvantage is you'll have a smaller or no summer. Which means unless you want to work at the same time, you won't have work.
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Old 08-20-2009 at 05:09 PM   #6
ishk33
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I know...not ALLL..but by taking summer courses NOW..u're kinda narrowing ur chances...not alot of people know which med school they're gonna go to or get into...
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:19 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ishk33 View Post
I know...not ALLL..but by taking summer courses NOW..u're kinda narrowing ur chances...not alot of people know which med school they're gonna go to or get into...
That's very true. You should make it so that you have as many options as possible.
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Old 08-20-2009 at 05:24 PM   #8
LBJ.MVP
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jhan523 View Post
That's very true. You should make it so that you have as many options as possible.

i was under the impression that med schools only count summer school as a completed course and dont negate anythign against you unless u take a lot of ur mandatory courses in summer school. or am i mistaken?
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:26 PM   #9
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From what I know, some med schools count summer courses as completed courses but don't count them in gpa while others include summer courses in gpa.
Old 08-20-2009 at 05:28 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hyvaa View Post
From what I know, some med schools count summer courses as completed courses but don't count them in gpa while others include summer courses in gpa.

yep thats what i thought 2, i kno that u of t, mac and queens count summer skool as a completion mark.
Old 08-20-2009 at 08:24 PM   #11
Lois
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I took 2OA3 during the summer and really wish I hadn't. We did 1 CHAPTER an hour. In the fall term it was about 3 lectures per chapter.

Mac definitely takes the mark that you got in summer school. All marks are counted towards your GPA.
Old 08-20-2009 at 09:19 PM   #12
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I'm really confused... I don't think any med school in Ontario requires Organic... So does it really matter whether you take it in the fall/winter or spring/summer?
Old 08-20-2009 at 09:26 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smiles View Post
I'm really confused... I don't think any med school in Ontario requires Organic... So does it really matter whether you take it in the fall/winter or spring/summer?
The OP never said anything about medical school at all. It was ishk33 that brought up the topic.

Also, ishk33 didn't specify Ontario medical schools. It's always best to have as many doors open after all.
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Old 08-20-2009 at 09:31 PM   #14
smiles
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OH sorry I am the OP
Old 08-20-2009 at 09:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smiles View Post
I'm really confused... I don't think any med school in Ontario requires Organic... So does it really matter whether you take it in the fall/winter or spring/summer?
Not really. It depends on your learning strategy.

I took physics and volunteered while taking organic chemistry. Normally I can cram the day before and still do well. However, I personally found that with organic chemistry you'd need to practice the mechanisms so that you learn how the reactions work. There are many different reactions to memorize (compared to 2OB3 which is just variations on 3 main types of reactions).

It might be different with a new prof though.

smiles says thanks to Lois for this post.



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