Taking four courses to focus on core classes?

[scientist410]

Hello,

 

I wanted to hear some opinions on taking four classes per semester but all of them being science courses and then taking a fifth year to finish off options? The fifth year is something that will already happen because of a schedule mishap and I'm missing some classes that are graduate requirements so there isn't really much to avoid there. But what I wanted to do was just do the rest of my options in that fifth year as well, my program only allows 4 options from this point on (I'm in second year of a BSc aimed towards microbiology) so my schedule is always packed with core science classes plus that option.

 

However the only thing that stops me is grad school opinions, will they think less of me for taking four courses (but likely better grades, currently only okay grades) and graduating in five years? 

 

Opinions?

[TakeruK]

Grad schools will not care that you took 5 years to finish. I would say that about 40%-50% of grad students in my field (also a STEM field) do not begin grad school right after 4 years of undergrad (usually they take 5 years of undergrad, like me, or take time off between undergrad and grad school). 4 courses instead of 5 is no big deal and that's what I did in my 5th year because I didn't need to take a full load to meet degree requirements.

 

Also, many students have to work part time or have other obligations during undergrad that prevent them from finishing in 4 years (with 5 courses per term). If you are going to take 5 years to finish anyways, you should pick the distribution of courses that work best for you. My advice would be:

 

1. Try to use the extra year to get as much research experience as possible. Perhaps taking 4 courses per semester from here on out will allow you to do a directed studies / part time research during the year.

2. If possible, take advantage of the summer between years 4 and 5 to do research. This will give you one more summer of experience than other applicants.

3. When choosing courses, I would try to do the more important courses within the first 4 years so that when you are applying to grad school in your 5th year, they will see good grades in these important courses already. That is, leave some of the more tangential courses for 5th year, if given a choice.

[peachypie]

Grad schools care more about the research you do than how long it took for you to complete your UG degree.

[scientist410]

Grad schools will not care that you took 5 years to finish. I would say that about 40%-50% of grad students in my field (also a STEM field) do not begin grad school right after 4 years of undergrad (usually they take 5 years of undergrad, like me, or take time off between undergrad and grad school). 4 courses instead of 5 is no big deal and that's what I did in my 5th year because I didn't need to take a full load to meet degree requirements.

 

Also, many students have to work part time or have other obligations during undergrad that prevent them from finishing in 4 years (with 5 courses per term). If you are going to take 5 years to finish anyways, you should pick the distribution of courses that work best for you. My advice would be:

 

1. Try to use the extra year to get as much research experience as possible. Perhaps taking 4 courses per semester from here on out will allow you to do a directed studies / part time research during the year.

2. If possible, take advantage of the summer between years 4 and 5 to do research. This will give you one more summer of experience than other applicants.

3. When choosing courses, I would try to do the more important courses within the first 4 years so that when you are applying to grad school in your 5th year, they will see good grades in these important courses already. That is, leave some of the more tangential courses for 5th year, if given a choice.

 

Yeah that's what I wanted to do anyways, worry about options last and focus on my major/ core subjects. I have a question for you though? I mentioned earlier that I had OK grades (about 3.13 or 3.16 depending on my last deferred final but its not like it really matters, this might not even count as 'OK' ") if I clean my act up do you think there's still a chance of me getting into Grad School? (I say my words with a heavy emphasis on the work that lies ahead of me)

[TakeruK]

From your first post, it sounds like you are in year 2 right now, and will have 3.5 more years of courses from this moment on, right? I am not sure about your field but many programs will place more emphasis on the later years/courses when evaluating your GPA. So you definitely still have the opportunity to apply to grad school with a much higher GPA than your current number.

 

Even so, I don't think you need to aim to have a GPA of e.g. 3.8 or 3.9 in order to have a "chance" at grad school. Many students get into graduate programs with GPAs between 3.2 and 3.5. Of course, you will have many more opportunities with a GPA of say, 3.5, than 3.1, so working on improving your GPA should definitely be part of your path to grad school. Just also remember to not go overboard (some students spend hours and hours more just to get another 0.05 GPA when they would really be better off spending 10-15 hours per week on research). But at 3.1-3.2, I would say there is still plenty of room for improvement there