Only a max of 2 courses/semester in a post-bacc

[misappthrope]

Hi all, 

I applied to maybe 11 doctoral programs in neuroscience and biology last year and was rejected from all of them. So, I became very self-conscious (or even more self-conscious than I had been) about my science gpa and research experience. So, I decided to apply to and enroll in a post-bacc program for those planning to ultimately apply to medical or dental school, for MD/PhDs, etc. In the summer of 2016, I only took one course, a neurobiology course (because very few of the courses I took in undergrad were neuro courses). In the following fall, I only took 2 courses. One was orgo (a retake) and another bio class. Now, this spring I'm in orgo II, a neuro class, and a mathbio class.

The challenge I'm having is that I flunked the first orgo II exam (was many SDs below the average) and the mathbio class is turning out to be super time-consuming because I'm struggling to grasp the material and for other reasons. I need to decide whether to drop orgo II or this mathbio class soon but I really don't know what to do. My indecision is compounded by the fact that dropping one of these courses would leave me with two classes total. I wanted to use this program to position myself as a more serious candidate but a consistently low number of courses per semester in combination with the less-than-hoped-for lab experience I've gained makes me look, I think, either afraid or lazy, i.e. afraid of taking on too much and failing so much so that I swung in the other direction and took so few classes. Part of why I've taken so few courses is because I simply do not have the money for a full course load but part of it is because I really wanted to minimize time spent away from studying orgo because I didn't want to retake something only to mess up in it again. 

I know the decision is ultimately mine but I would really appreciate some advice!

[rising_star]

Taking fewer courses and doing well in them as better than taking three courses this semester and doing poorly across the board. Keep in mind that most adcoms will not know what else you've been doing (e.g., working a retail or restaurant job to pay the bills; taking care of sick family; etc.) so if all you can do is two classes, then that's all you can do. Focus on how those courses will improve your application and make you a more qualified candidate for admission to the programs you want to get into.