A Useful Strategy For a Non-Scientific Degree 

How to Schedule Your Courses as a Non-Scientific Degree Candidate on a Pre-Med Track 

If you choose to take a degree in a field not directly linked to Science, you have allowed yourself a wonderful opportunity to excel in your science coursework. You are only obligated to take the same courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and English but now you have more freedom in when you choose to take these courses. You can enroll in courses and delay overlapping difficult courses, so you can dedicate most of your time to studying for one subject most effectively. 

This is a strategy I have seen done by a few of my colleagues who chose to not follow a traditional path to Medical school, and it worked very effectively for them.  They decided to take Biology during their Freshman year and could dedicate all of their time to focusing on the hard aspects of this material.  

Because they were not obligated to take additional Science credits to meet prerequisites, they did not have to stack Biology with Chemistry and were able to delay Chemistry until the next year. Should you choose the same path, by Sophomore Year, you will have the same experience of learning how to study effectively so you will be able to take Inorganic Chemistry and Physics. This leads to a much more desirable schedule than dealing with Organic Chemistry and Physics at once. Inorganic Chemistry is a relatively easy course and should be manageable so a student can bear down dedicate more time to Physics instead.  

By Junior Year, this is where students can start focusing on Organic Chemistry and dedicate all of their year tackling this beast of a class. Organic Chemistry is often the first class where the majority of students do poorly on the material, and this challenging course is going to be a struggle for the whole class.  

If you have no other Science course to worry about, you will have an easier time applying yourself to make sure you are successful with the material.  This can equate to having higher Science GPAs than your Science-degree colleagues, and choosing this route will position you well when you are applying to other programs.  

What more, you will have additional free time without having to deal with lab components of the courses all at once so you can get involved in research and volunteering much more quickly than a Science major would. That, in turn, means you can end up having an impressive list on your resume, while your competition is struggling with multiple Science courses at once.  

A Beneficial Strategy for Both Non-Traditional and Traditional Majors 

The strategies I listed in the first two sections only considered the Fall and Spring semesters that are available at universities.  What most universities offer is also a Summer semester where students will be able to take a course and focus on it more intimately.  In my University, these summer courses were much more accelerated and students would often meet daily for lectures but the material was often easier to digest.  Most of the student body would be home for the Summer Break, so you also allow yourself the opportunity of studying in a deserted library and will have fewer distractions without University athletics to worry about, or hanging out with all your friends for that matter. This makes this path a good choice for people who want to focus intently.  

Although it is more expensive to pay for housing all year round and it can be hard on your wallet having to pay for expenses that would be covered by your parents most of the time at home, you can spread out your studies to make it more manageable.  

You will have a more manageable schedule at the start of your studies and will then transition to a more accelerated pace during your Sophomore year while still having all your prerequisites completed so you can progress into the higher material you must complete to get your degree.  

Medical Schools do not care during what semester you are taking your courses as long as you have strong grades in each class.  It may be more difficult for you to adjust to the Science-rich curriculum that is going to be waiting for you if you get into Medical School, but you at least are in a class and have the opportunity to struggle in Medical School as opposed to being on the outside waiting to see what happens next.