<p>My Freshman advisor was worthless. Make a point of seeing the majors advisor and if you want med school Fr. Foster who runs the med school application process</p>
<p>Here’s the email we got at the end of Cell Bio research lab (about 1/3 of majors take it, you form a group of 6 and research something that hasn’t been done in conjunction with a lab at ND) This basically sums up why you would do Bio. If the below doesn’t seem exciting Biology may not be worth it over SCPP.</p>
<p>Hi All,</p>
<p>Please see the note below from Jamie, our grad TA, now that you are done with your projects. We are all proud of what you accomplished!</p>
<pre><code> I am sure that all of you are relieved to be done and to have your lives back. You guys accomplished the amazing feat of designing and completing your own research project in half a semester. You all did well and should be proud of completing such a daunting task. As a final request, I urge you to take time and appreciate what you actually did for all those weeks. It is more than just sectioning hundreds of eyes, western blotting, immunofluorescence or performing ELISAs; you were examining life itself. Every time you looked in that microscope you had the ability to literally see proteins that are smaller than a micron and investigate their cellular mechanisms. You also treated with various compounds or constructs and completely altered the cells internal mechanisms. Just think of the power of adding just a small amount of compound to cells and completely changing everything about the cell. Or you realized that the addition of a simple phosphate or translocation of a protein will cause your cells act in completely different manors. Your groups were fortunate to investigate all these aspects that allow cells to function and these functions allow cells to propagate everyday life. Dont forget that your research matters and that you have TACC3, ERK, Vitamin D, Cones/Rods, IL-12, BubR1, Wnt in your own cells.
Also, dont get bogged down by the experiments that didnt work or that you didnt cure cancer or rewrite the book on regeneration. By now you realize that science is hard because it is novel. Your groups were performing experiments that have never been done before and sometimes the outcomes are not what we expect. So take the time to appreciate your work and the complexity of life.
</code></pre>
<p>Dont Stop Asking Questions</p>
<p>Jamie</p>
<p>I have heard that many students retake Calculus 1, and others skip right into Cal 2. I am planning on Eng so what are your thoughts. Also, how much knowledge do science classes assume your already know. My Physics teacher was the absolute worst (No lie, she even told us she paid off her physic prof to past the final) And also Chem was soph year in hs. What are your thoughts? Thanks again.</p>
<p>I kinda have a same question, too. I got a 5 on my Ap Calc BC exam in my junior year, and I also took Calc 3 and DEQ in my senior year. Would you recommend retaking Calc 1? The classes I selected for my first semester include Calc 3, composition, Intro to Eng I, either Philoshophy or Theology and Intro to Principles of Chem. Do you think that this is a heavy load for freshmen considering the fact that I’ll be attending the Balfour program at Notre Dame this summer to get ready for college?</p>
<p>NDFan, it is my understanding that the highest med school acceptance rate comes from ALPP. SCPP then follows and I believe Bio, Chem, and Biochem trail. I remember seeing this figure some years ago and I believe it still holds true today. Do yourself a favor and contact either Fr. Foster or Dr. Kolberg in the health professions office in Jordan to get more info about this sort of information and how you can best prepare for med school from here on out.</p>
<p>And don’t forget that SCPP and ALPP and are not majors like Bio, Chem, or Biochem. They are better described as programs that accommodate a wide variety of students with varying interests. To compare the Bio curriculum with any number of curriculums that a given SCPP student may be undertaking is really difficult. I know SCPP students who crafted the easiest possible curriculums and I know others who crafted schedules that were far more difficult and time-consuming than the Bio curriculum. I am sure the latter would agree that her specific route yielded a profound (maybe even a transcendent) appreciation for her area of study. At the end of the day, as in every major or program, it all depends upon how you personally engage and develop with the material. Good luck.</p>
<p>biodomer - sorry about your experience with your freshman counselor - i guess it all matters on who you get, mine was very knowledgeable and also provided great contacts to learn even more</p>
<p>appledude - I did not actually take Chemistry one, but from what I understand/heard from friends, they start at the beginning and therefore the first test is usually really easy and then it gets harder from there. I would say that trying to look over subjects before you arrive is a good goal, but not necessary. As for physics, you will start with measurement and conversions. They start right at the beginning but they do move quickly. That is the thing with college, yes chemistry will start with explaining what a neutron, proton, and electron, but they will cover your first week of chemistry class in one day. They cover all the material you already learned and more just faster. </p>
<p>As for Calculus - some people like to take it over and I won’t discourage them. However, my personal preference is just go ahead. You proved you knew what you were doing in high school math and you will forget just as much after your freshman year as you would have the summer entering college. You may want to just look over it a little, but I found no problem. Also, by avoiding that class you get to have more flexibility in the future. That is one thing I noticed, a lot of people are mad that they don’t have any flexibility in the engineering department but by using your AP credit you can make some flexibility. Additionally, I have not heard of someone who wished they had retook calc but I know some people who wish they did not retake calc. </p>
<p>That is just my opinion, but if you are over nervous that your schedule will be too difficult, then retake calc. If you got a 5 on the exam tho, I would recommend that you don’t skip it but that is just my recommendation. Again, it provides more flexibility as you have eliminated a class. It depends on how confident you are about your abilities.</p>
<p>pnptruong, the fact that you got a 5 in your junior year shows that you are good at math and in fact you are still “retaking” calc 3 - i think you would be bored out of your mind in calc 1 and feel like it was waste. You will gain two additional classes of electives in your senior year and could even just not take them and have an easier senior year. I would recommend that you skip calc 1 and 2. It is up to you, but I also got a 5 on BC exam and I got As in both Calc 3 and linear algebra/diff eq. </p>
<p>Your schedule will be challenging, but is typical for an engineer. Honestly a lot of engineers test out of Calc 1 and 2 and therefore have the same schedule you do. I would not change a thing b/c like I said the only change would be to calc 1 which you would hate seeing as the first day would be “what is a derivative” and the last day is “integrals” - that would be more than frustrating for you i would imagine. </p>
<p>if appledude or pnptruong or anyone else want to give an argument for what to retake, I will look at it and try to give my advice, but from speaking to a lot of people, I think the general idea is unless you really have a hard schedule or are nervous about workload and want as easy A then skip the beginning calcs, </p>
<p>Good Luck and continue to ask questions!</p>
<p>I’d like to meet an SCPP who took a harder schedule than a hard science major, unless they did something really weird (Chem major chem and some bio major classes etc.). at least before senior year. Currently Bio majors have the best acceptance, at least according to Dr. Grimstad. Out of SCPP, ALPP and bio it’s hard to peg the admission rate since so few apply.</p>
<p>Frosh counselors are hit or miss. Mine was an engineering guy who really didn’t have much expertice with what I was doing.</p>
<p>If you can’t find an SCPP student with a harder schedule than a so called hard science major than you probably don’t know that many SCPP students or you haven’t been looking hard enough. But that is beside the point. After all, at the end of the day it all comes down to what you learned and how you plan to use that knowledge to achieve your future goals. It is so easy to make generalizations about other science programs simply because you think you have had the toughest genetics course known to man or because you think you had the most fulfilling research experience, but the truth of the matter is that many SCPP students are trailblazing their own paths and finding the same sense of fulfillment as some Bio majors outside the confines of a regimented major like Bio, Chem, or Biochem. </p>
<p>Dr. Grimstad told me the same thing five years ago. Three years after that Fr. Foster told me the opposite. To be honest I think if you asked the Romance Language Department they would probably tell you that they had the highest med school acceptance rate. I don’t have the data sitting in front of me but any prospective med school student should contact all the science departments to get the stats and see which programs works best for them personally. After all, there is no single ideal path to med school.</p>
<p>Bio majors have had a 90% rate of getting in for the past few years. SCPP GPA>Bio GPA, Bio MCAT>SCPP MCAT. My room mate is SCPP, I take many classes with SCPP majors, and I take MCAT prep classes with them. I don’t think I could look much harder.</p>
<p>About 5 or six years ago there was a curriculum change in the Bio major, we went from taking the chem major sequence to the normal one. Majors Orgo + Majors genetics was GPA suicide. The advisors figured out this was killing people and finally fixed it. Acceptance rates drastically improved after this.</p>
<p>One word of advice for pre meds is do what interests you unless you cannot do it and maintain an OK GPA (issue for many engineers). Don’t take bio because you think it gives you the best shot at med school. Take what interests you, be it Math or Chem or Physics or Philosophy.</p>
<p>I was about to send in the football ticket application and wanted to make sure I understood it correctly. As Frosh parents we get to go to only 1 game correct? I know it said we could apply for up to 8 tickets with the lottery. Could we apply for 4 tickets for 1 game and 2 for another? If it is possible, would they look at our first choice game first or just throw them both in the lottery? I can only attend one game- the one in November, but my hubby could take his mom to another one and we wouldn’t want to take her in the cold weather in November. I want to make sure we definitely get the one game I can go to. If we only get one game, it is an easy decision:)</p>
<p>the whole thing is very confusing - i am going to try to find out tomorrow when i go to the ticket office - the website says that you are actually only guaranteed two tickets, but i am not sure - but both say that you can ask for another game too - i will do my best tomorrow.</p>
<p>When do I make my final decision between SCPP and BIOS?</p>
<p>Well, you will declare your major at the end of your first year but that is not necessarily a final decision. You can leave a major should you choose at a later point. If you are on the fence about Bio and SCPP I would say start with BIOs freshman year and see how it goes. It is easier to transfer into SCPP from BIOS than it is from SCPP to BIOS simply because of the major requirements. One of these requirements is The Intro to Bio class which is fairly easy. It also happens to be weighted heavily by med schools.The “major” feel of BIOS really hits the second year. The first year is more or less the standard first year College of Science curriculum plus an extra lab (Bio lab).</p>
<p>About the tickets - i found out that they think they can get you both games, but from my understanding, if you selected two games, you cannot specify which one is the guaranteed one. so basically if you wanted game A but said Game A and B, you are guaranteed one but you maybe guaranteed B. However, like the lady said, they think they will be able to recognize everyone. Here is the ticket office phone number: (574) 631-7356. it maybe best to call them and get an answer that you hear. </p>
<p>Also, the october games may very well be cold. i remember last year the washington game in october was cold and rainy and then the next week was just beautiful … you never know!</p>
<p>Thanks hawkswim for the info. I might give the lady a call, but right now I am leaning towards just going for the game in November to be on the safe side. I have to go to a game!!</p>
<p>I will be applying this coming fall (it has been my lifetime dream to go to ND). Does the major that you check off on ND’s supplement to the common app have any effect on your academic scheduling? The reason I ask this is that I was considering checking off a less popular major and simply switching later (I know you don’t have to declare a major until after frosh year). I obviously wouldn’t pick something that far-fetched from what my high school transcript suggests I am interested. THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANSWER.</p>
<p>I think I can answer this:
Once students are admitted to Notre Dame as first year students, they are admitted to a college called First-Year Studies, where they will take most of the core classes and discover different disciplines to decide their majors at the end of their first year. With that being said, the major you put on your application does not matter at all since students can change majors at anytime. In addition, because all students are admitted to the First-Year College, there isn’t any difference in terms of admission difficulty between, say, the college of engineering and the college of arts and letters. </p>
<p>But I do believe that Notre Dame has high demands for minority, engineering and science students. So may be being a minority or putting engineering on your application may help? I’m not sure about this since I dont work in the admission office. If anyone on this thread know anything about this, please elaborate.</p>