<p>Hi everyone, im a freshman entering boston university this fall in the hopes of applying to medical school in the future.</p>
<p>My current schedule consists of:</p>
<p>Chem 109
Writing 100
Spanish 111
European History 264</p>
<p>This is a total of 16 credit hours but i have been considering adding calculus 1 to my course-load so i can take advantage of the fact that i will recall much of the information. (i took AP calculus AB senior year of hs)</p>
<p>I am just curious, would i be able to handle such a work-load? I have never been in college so i am unfamiliar with this. Please help!</p>
<p>I think 16 credits is already a lot, and you need to keep your grades up for medical school. I made the mistake of overloading because I wanted to rush through my classes, and now my GPA is not where it should be for medical school. I think you should just take the 16 units and allow yourself time to adjust to the college. You shouldn’t overload yourself too much especially because it is your first quarter/semester.</p>
<p>If you weren’t a freshman I would say its fine. Chem 109 will be tough class. Writing, spanish, and the history course would be work but not difficult and competitive. You’d still have to study for those classes of course but it won’t be stressful and if you memorize and write good essays you’ll be fine. Calc I shouldn’t be difficult since you’ve already taken AP Calc and that semester of calc is pretty simple in comparison.</p>
<p>However, you are a freshman so it might be better for you to hold off on calc I till next semester. I say this because you don’t how you’ll react to college coursework and the atmosphere of college. It might be tough to adjust to the freedom you have your first semester and kinda fall of track. Then again, if you can stay disciplined and manage your time well, force yourself to study when you have to, not go out when you cannot afford to etc… you will be fine.</p>
<p>I’m now entering my junior year and i’ve taken 17-20 credits every semester. The 17 credit semesters were the ones that I felt had challenging classes (1st semester orgo, 1st semester bio) and didn’t want to overload. The 20 credit semesters were balanced between some tough and some lighter classes. In reality most premed students take 17ish credits a semester. My reasons are that I’m a double major and I want a light schedule senior year for interviewing.</p>
<p>Hold at 16. Get the 4.0 in 16 and then expand yourself.</p>
<p>would it be advisable for me to drop the history and take calc?</p>
<p>Hmmm in some ways it would be since calc would be an intro class and judging by history’s course number its not intro level. If you switched you would have a pretty easy first semester. Is European History a class you really want to take and is it offered spring semester or next fall? Calc I should be offered every semester.</p>
<p>I do not know specifics of BU, but your schedule as of now is light with very easy classes. It is not clear also why do you need Calc 1 if you took AP Calc. However, it is another very easy class. Suggestion is to take college stats (at some point). Stats are much more usefull for pre-meds than Calc. Also keep in mind that you will need light schedule in Junior year to prep. for MCAT.</p>
<p>Not enough information to give advice, and in particular what is a ‘light’ schedule for you. It all depends on your background and work ethic. Did you have a strong math-science high school education? How competitive was your HS? What AP’s do you have that would fulfill core requirements? What was your AB score? Have you had Span before? Did you take AP Euro? What is your intended major? </p>
<p>If you are intending to major in the sciences, then yes, Calc would be preferred. But do NOT add a fifth class. Drop history or Spanish. You need A’s for med school. Since med schools don’t like AP courses, retaking Calc for the ‘easy A’ is a no-brainer. Stats is also a good suggestion.</p>
<p>“Since med schools don’t like AP courses, retaking Calc for the ‘easy A’ is a no-brainer.”</p>
<p>-Contact Med. Schools on your potential list. My D. did that, because she did not want to spend time taking math, which is “boring” for her, although very easy. Others might be in different situation, but she loves Bio and Phych. classes and also had minor in unrelated area of her personal interest. Schools that she contacted accept AP Calc credit. Of course if one is very interested in math, why not?</p>
<p>There is absolutely no way an 18-year-old, fresh out of high school senior should have a ‘list’, unless accepted into a 7/8 program. By the time that a credible list might be formed, taking Calc three years later (if it is required) is not a smart move. Moreover, just bcos a med school accepts AP Calc today doesn’t mean that they will four years hence.</p>
<p>Then he needs to toss a coin, unless he loves math and wants to take it no matter what. It is really up to him. My D. knew which schools she would apply eventually, everybody is different. She also knew that there is no way she would take math outside of requirement. She had her preferences, I imagine that OP has them also. In addition, there is no requirement to complete UG degree in 4 years, some people stretch it to 7 with awesome results at the end, or take gap year. One needs to hurry up, others might have different circumstances. Again, it is very personal matter.</p>
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<p>The only thing your D knew was that she had a 99% chance of attending med school at her undergrad college. What if your D had walked on undergrad water, and her Chem prof took a position at Harvard med, as top dog, and he strongly suggested that she apply to H Med? Without calc? Or change from H Med to any other school, perhaps one that would offer lotsa $$. “Stuff” happens over four years. Interests change. For every door that closes by virtue of class selection/limitation…</p>
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<p>Absolutely correct, so unless the OP is your Daughter, the standard generic answer than any college GC would provide is the ‘best’ response for the vast majority of kids.</p>
<p>^All wrong. She had her criteria known to her in HS - 4.5 hours driving from home, she did not listen to anybody, including her awesome pre-med advisor, even 6.5 hours was too far. And her UG does not have Med. School. As I said people are different. My D experience has nothing to do with anybody else. She happen to have very easy and boring time with math. I happen to have a passion for math. I understand both sides. Take if if you love it, do not take it if you do not need it. The original question was about total hours, as I mentioned, currently it seems a bit low, but again, we do not know many details.</p>
<p>Just add calc 1. It’s easy + definitely a good idea to take while AB is still semi-fresh in your mind (as it’s pretty much a simplified version of AB, almost no integration whatsoever until the last week or so).</p>