<p>Hi, I'm looking to pursue a concentration in either biology or physics. Of the three pure sciences (bio, chem, phys), I'd say physics is my favorite. But I also don't want to ditch the other two. What I'm saying is that I want to walk out of Columbia four years from now with basic knowledge in all three sciences, not lopsided with physics. The biology concentration requires general chem, orgo, and the 1200 physics courses. While the physics concentration only needs 24 points (or something like that) in physics. On the other hand, points-wise it seems that physics is lighter than bio: with 40+ points to complete.</p>
<p>So here are some questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I know how difficult and taxing majoring in physics can be. But how about the concentration? Is it suitable/doable for a normal student who hasn't taken any physics APs in HS (and who only has interest in--not complete mastery over--the subject)?</p></li>
<li><p>How hard and how fun is general chem? Are the labs engaging?</p></li>
<li><p>What about the dreaded organic chemistry?</p></li>
<li><p>Are the biology courses and labs engaging, or just plain tedious?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>General comments on the two subjects are welcome, as are comparisons between the two.</p>
<p>Also, how much math is required for the 1400 physics path?</p>
<p>Majoring in physics requires permission from the department, but I don’t know about concentrating. What’s your prospective major? If it’s classics, then I think concentrating in bio would be very hard because you essentially have to do the whole pre-med curriculum and then some. I certainly wouldn’t recommend, say, taking intensive elementary Greek and intro bio together.</p>
<p>I think, just from your high school classes, you already have “basic knowledge” of all three sciences. Even with concentrations in bio and physics, you’re still going to go in-depth into the material. Plus, even if the physics concentration is just 24 points including an intro sequence, you’ll also need more calc classes in order to keep up with your higher-level physics classes. I imagine that very, very few people do physics concentrations, so once you get past the intro classes, you’d be taking classes with physics majors. Unless you’re a closet physics genius, you’ll probably struggle in these classes because your preparation will not have been as thorough or rigorous as that of other students. </p>
<p>In short, concentrating in either sounds like way more trouble than it’s worth. You can just take two intro sequences to get “basic knowledge”.</p>
<p>And calc I is a coreq for the first semester of physics 1400, while calc II is a coreq for the second semester.</p>
<p>Thank you very much, demeter, for your insights. Anyone else care to pitch in?</p>