Hey guys! so I have a quick question regarding the max number of credits offered in UVA.
For fall, I am currently planning to take:
MATH 1320 Calc 2 (4 units)
BIO 2100 (4 units)
CHEM 1420+1421 LAB (4 units in total)
ENWR 1510 1st year writing requirement (3 units)
RELG 2650 Theological Bioethcs (3 units)
But when i added them up, that totals up to 18 credits…
Since the maximum number of credit is 17, and I am going over 1 credit limit, I really don’t know which course to give up.
My writing sat score was not the highest, so I am forced to take the ENWR class which takes up to like 3 units already.
I am planning to go pre-health area and major in Biology BUT at the same time I wanted to explore more majors around and hoped to add classes like intro to statistics in place of chem. However, from what I am hearing from bio majors, they often take bio and chem in their first years with Calc. I wanted to take bioethics class to fulfill humanity requirement , as i hope to graduate as early as possible.
do you guys think that the schedule would be too hectic??
Taking bio and chem, each with labs, in the same semester seems excessive. You will need time to get adjusted to college level work and social life. I’d recommend that a first year not take more than 15 credits their first semester.
You’ll want to talk to an advisor, of course, but I think Charlie is right about doubling up in science in the very first semester. You may want to give yourself a chance to transition to college and get the lay of the land before loading up this way. Calc 2 plus two lab sciences combined with two courses with heavy reading/writing loads is a lot!
Nope i dont think it requires a pre req. From what i am hearing from many pre-med track students, many took both bio and chem…and because i didnt rake BC in hs, i feel the need to squeeze calc 2 credit to make up for it…i would personally really like to take bio over chem but from what ppl say, taking chem 1st year gives an advantage in picking the courses in later years?! Is that correct? Should i drop bio in place for chem? Or should i change my RELG class to other classes? How about stat?
Most first years take Chem. If you do, you will mainly be competing against other 1st years for an A, and you will have plenty of study partners in your dorm.
I don’t think you will be able to get into the 3000 level Stats as a first year. That course had a horrible reputation as of a couple years ago. I wouldn’t take it first semester. I would then try to time taking it, to try to schedule it when one of the less worst Stats professors are teaching it. I’ve heard people say that biostats is a much much better class, if you are not pre-comm.
It is nice to have a mix of classes - such as a math,a science, a writing class, and a reading-intensive class such as religion. You don’t want too much of any one type of class in any one semester. My daughter had two hard science classes with labs one semester, and only got through it because her AP credits allowed her to take 12 credits that semester. There have been horror stories about students who took too many classes in one semester that each required tons of readings.
Acually, for the MCAT, you need biostats now.
Why do you need to “make up” for not taking BC? Med schools don’t care whether you took BC or Calc 2. They want to see Calc 1. Take Calc 1 UNLESS your major requires you to have both Calc 1 and Calc 2. Will it be easy? Yes, sure, but having one “easy”(-ish) class is necessary for premeds. In fact, a good premed schedule has 2 easy classes and 3 that are either medium or hard.
You’re right, Bioethics is an intro class with no pre-reqs. Good call. So, keep it.
Take Biology 2200 in the Spring and 2100 Fall 2017 - they are NOT sequenced and it will NOT hold you back. Start with “just” Chemistry 1420-21.It’ll keep you plenty busy. (Also, the fact you didn’t test out of 1420 entirely and didn’t test into 1810 means you will NOT find this class easy - euphemism.)
Countless premed freshmen took on more than they could handle, not realizing how high the step between HS and college is, especially with the added pressure you’ll need to be top 10-20% in every class. THere’s a reason most premed freshmen never end up being able to apply to med school. Don’t be one of them.
So, your schedule would look something like:
Fall:
CHEM 1420+1421 LAB
ENWR 1510 1st year writing requirement
RELG 2650 Theological Bioethics
Calculus 1310 (Calc 1, 4U) or 1220 (Applied Calculus II for Biology majors, 3U) or Stats 2020 (Stats for Biologists 4U)
TOTAL = 13-14 academic credits => ADD one KINE class or a FYS, and you have a manageable 14-15 credit first semester.
Correction - My comment above was about the main 2000 level Stats class, not 3000. There is a relatively new lecturer teaching it this semester - hopefully he will be better than some of the past profs.
Why should i take calc I? Is there an advantage in retaking the course? I got a credit for 1310 Math becausw of my calc AB ap score. Shouldn’t I take calc II 1320 then? Thanks for the informationa about chemistry and other classes! Although i like biology substantially better, i guess i will have to be stuck w chem
In the past, it was hard for a first year to register for the 2000 level stats class, but easy to get into a 1000 level calc classes. However, if you definitely want the biostats class and aren’t sure about the calc 2 class, I’d take the biostats class first.
“Countless premed freshmen took on more than they could handle, not realizing how high the step between HS and college is, especially with the added pressure you’ll need to be top 10-20% in every class. THere’s a reason most premed freshmen never end up being able to apply to med school. Don’t be one of them.”
Quoted for truth. Pre-med is a marathon, not a sprint. And as in a marathon, pacing yourself matters more than establishing an early lead. Your primary goal is to cross the finish line with a leading GPA.
Treat this first semester as a calibration semester. By taking a normal load you can get a sense for what your true bandwidth is, and adjust accordingly in the next semester if necessary.
… … and many UVa students soon discover other fields that interest them more than Medicine. In the first semester, almost every student says they want to be an engineer, medical doctor or go to the Comm School. Fortunately, many develop other interests, including finding out about careers they never knew existed.
If i do insist on taking a calculus class why should i take 1220 over 1320? …? Most of the furthrr mathematical courses that i was interested in taking in future had calc 2 for most prereq…so shouldnt it be calc 2 vs the stat class? And by the statistic course, are you referring to introductory statistics course? I did not take any statistical course, which was why i was interested in taking a statistic…
Nevermind! I was confusing myself. So, so far I plan on taking:
CHEM 1420+1421 LAB
ENWR 1510 1st year writing requirement
RELG 2650 Theological Bioethics
STAT 2020 statistics for biologist (although the review on course forum is horrendous at the moment)
If ypu want to take calculus 2 , take 1220because it’scalc for biology - you’ll get calculus problems applied to biology like you’ll have on MCAT UNLESS you plan on majoring in math.
Check for the reviews of the profs for the Stats class. According to course forum, the Stats department seems to consistently have some of the worst profs in the U. It may be worth waiting until another semester to take a stats class if the currently assigned prof is poorly rated, in the hope that a less worse prof is teaching.
With first year calc classes, you are often getting grad students, so course forum isn’t of much use.
So so far I plan on taking: CHEM 1420+1421 LAB
ENWR 1510 1st year writing requirement
RELG 2650 Theological Bioethics
Calculus 1220
Stats 2020 (Stats for Biologists)- it’s required for bio major anyway…
