I’m an MCB/IB major (still deciding between the two) and am planning on doing Chem P first semester and pushing back chem1a/1al to spring since I’ve never taken chem in HS. So I’m going taking bio 1b in place of Chem1a/1al. By the way, I wanted to take a technical class (bio1B) instead of one of the 7 breadths so that my courseload won’t be too light (want to take 13 units for a smoother transition). I heard Bio 1B is alright as compared to Bio 1A/Chem1A. What are your thoughts on this?
bumpp
My D (who only took honors Bio in 9th grade) took 1B in the fall and 1A in the spring sophomore year (because she had heard what you did about those classes and wanted to take the “easier” one first). She did find 1A much more difficult - not sure if it was the instructor, grading, or just the way the material was presented.
Chemistry will be tough for you - it’s Cal. Not sure what Chem P is. D took AP Chem in 11th grade, wound up with a B in 1A and an A- in 3A (Organic). She took them freshman year as she wanted to do it while it was still relatively fresh in her mind.
In general, I would not recommend taking more than two classes that have labs per semester or you will die. 13 units is the minimum, of course, but a breadth class may lighten your load a bit and get one out of the way. You don’t want to get so overwhelmed that you have to drop a class and then not be taking enough units. Maybe throw a phys ed or Decal class in there just in case.
Chem P the pre-chem chem
Bio 1B
breadth.
I, on the other hand, like having more labs because you’ll have to take them anyways and at some point you’ll be taking 2 or 3 at once if that’s your major, and if you have two with labs, they work well in parallel, like T/Th or M/W. If you only take one, you have a semi-awkward gap other days of the week. Pretty low-key schedule. You’ll be fine.