<p>at the moment, im considering majoring in Econ but still going to med school. </p>
<p>would the following route of completing premed reqs work out (if i want to take mcat during spring of jr year)? </p>
<p>sem 1: chem1a,math1a,physics8a
sem 2: math1b, physics 8b, (i know normally chem3a goes here but i want to finish some econ reqs i.e stats and econ 2 and adding 3a might be too much)
sem 3: chem3a, (other econ recs i.e. math53)
sem 4: chem3b, bio1b, (other econ recs i.e. math54, econ 101b)
sem 5: Bio1a, some sort of genetics course, some sort of english, (econ 101A)
sem 6: Some sort of physio/anatomy, english course, (some sort of econometrics)</p>
<p>and then i'd finish up senior year w/ biochem and my upper div econ courses.</p>
<p>Is any one semester too hard? is anything inadvisable (maybe bio1a/chem3a is taken too late or physics too early?)
I know its too early to worry about picking out ALL my classes, but i want to make sure i can fit everything in and not have like 4 lab classes in one semester b/c i messed up heh.</p>
<p>You can’t really take these courses “too late” or “too early.” In fact, it might be better to be “off track” because (depending on professor) the classes those semesters tend to have fewer students so competition won’t be as fierce. Don’t worry about “tracking;” it’s kind of pointless after high school. So no, your intended schedule isn’t atypical at all in that there are many, MANY different combinations of schedule possibilities for a pre-med. What’s important is that you try to take all the pre-med courses you need before you get going on the MCAT. It’s a lot tougher to learn that stuff for the big test without having learned it slowly in class first.</p>
<p>Also, be advised that it will be difficult for you to get into upper-div bio courses without being a declared Bio major. The registration priority goes to MCB and IB majors, and those spots fill up really fast because there’s just so damn many of us. For example, I’m a 4th year MCB major but I’m #135 on the waitlist for IB 131, Human Anatomy.</p>
<p>I was actually thinking something similar to your plans in my first yr… double major in econ + integrative bio with predental prep</p>
<p>Reasons I changed my mind:
scheduling is a nightmare! I planned out my 4 yrs just like you and then realized things only look good on paper but not so in reality. Phase I only allows for 10.5 units, so you’ll be able to sign up for only 2-3 core classes related to premed or econ. You have to decide whether to sign up for premed or econ classes first. Keep in mind a lot of the spaces for pre-med and econ classes fill up during phase I.
Econ is a capped major. What will you do if you don’t get into the major? Reapply again? Switch to something else?
GPA really matters for Econ and premed. For econ you have to have a decent GPA to declare the major. Med schools look at GPA highly as well.
Competition in premed classes is already bad enough. Econ classes can be the same b/c everyone really cares about GPA. I figured I’d have enough stress dealing with IB and predent so I decided not to have econ as a second major.</p>
<p>Don’t want to discourage you but be prepared to work really really hard. Also remember that not getting into one class for econ or premed can rearrange your planned 4 yr schedule.</p>
<p>Leftist: thanks, I wasn’t aware of that IB deal. But regardless, Take a look at classes like MCB 150 or MCB 160; without being a declared major, you have almost zero chance of getting into those classes.</p>
<p>Regarding ethancc’s point about Econ being capped: since you’ll be taking all these premed courses anyway that double as the lower div reqs for MCB or IB, if you don’t get into econ, you could just declare MCB or IB.</p>
<p>And scheduling will become more and more of a problem as you guys go along in the years. Thanks to UC system’s plan to double total enrollment within a period of ten years, the number of students has been leaping by bounds every year, and yet the university (I’m just talking about Berkeley specifically) hasn’t done a really good job of compensating - they haven’t added enough classes, they haven’t hired enough additional faculty, physical teaching space isn’t expanding, they aren’t building enough new dorms, etc. A lot of that is definitely the budget cut’s fault, but it doesn’t matter whose fault it is; the only thing that will impact you is that 1) competition for class seats will become tougher and tougher, which means 2) your schedule will become harder and harder to plan. The single biggest problem is R&C classes - I have a couple of friends who were forced to stay a ninth semester JUST for R&C because they always got shafted during telebears and could never get into R&C. </p>
<p>Expect curveballs. Not everything will go according to plan - that’s almost a guarantee. Also keep in mind that some classes are semester-specific, so be sure to factor that into your class scheduling plans too.</p>
<p>i have taken calc a/b at highschool and passed with a 5 on the AP test. i will take math 1b my first semester. because med school is also something i’m looking into, should i have started with math 1a (calc a/b), or do med schools consider ab too?</p>
<p>Most schools require 2 semesters’ worth of math. So you can take 1A/1B or 16A/16B or 1B/53, but as a general rule, consider your AP credit worthless when it comes to applying for med schools.</p>
<p>I agree that the plan will have several severe roadblocks along the way. I tried to schedule my classes in a very noncommittal way for as long as possible so i can still drop econ (and go w/ the IB or MCB med school route) or med school (and just go straight for econ and grad school) should i find that i cant manage both.
I am really scared of the scheduling problem since i will be taking many lower div for Econ and for premed. Hopefully if i can get to Jr year and still maintain my plan, signing up for upper div Econ courses that aren’t as crowded will make scheduling the rest of my premed reqs easier.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how difficult econ major req courses are in terms of content and competition? I’m talking specifically about econ2, stats20/21, math53, math54, econ 101A, econ101B, econometrics141.</p>
<p>Among the econ majors I’ve met, 101A and B are regarded as very very tough–which is why most of them opt for the 100 series instead. I haven’t taken any econ classes though, so maybe someone else should chip in here.</p>
<p>I’ve taken Math 53 and 54 though, and they aren’t too bad. Just keep up with the homework and quizzes and you should have a decent understanding of the material. Practice with some old exams and you should do well.</p>
<p>Some students do a double combo with MCB and Haas (something im gonna kinda attempt). If that is possible than surely Econ should be possible since I believe Haas prereqs and Econ prereqs are the same except you dont have to worry about the breadths.</p>
<p>If scheduling is a problem, I suggest signing up for an extra class that you can either drop or keep depending if your plan is possible after you speak to an adviser or something (that is what I plan to do as well).</p>