<p>Hi, I'm attending Duke this fall as a BME major and most likely pre-med student. I was wondering what Chem class to take. I took AP Chem my junior year and got a 5. Although I forgot a lot of it, I'm not too worried because I have all my AP review books to look over this summer. I was wondering, what class should I take? I wanted to skip right into orgo my second semester but then these things came to my attention:</p>
<p>-The all freshman orgo with an easier curve is offered only fall semester.
-The all freshman orgo is rumored to have all "die-hard" pre-med fanatics.
-Lots of medical schools may not accept AP Chem credit as general chemistry.
-Duke Biochem, after two semesters of orgo, does not have a lab and therefore does not count as general chem with lab or something like that.</p>
<p>I already read both the threads on this forum and on Facebook but I still am lost as to what I should take. If I don't take orgo my first semester, then I'd be taking Math 103, Egr 53, and my two Focus classes.</p>
<p>Please respond! I have to register for classes on the 9th! Thank you!</p>
<p>So this question has been around for a while, and every year someone asks it. In fact, I had a PM convo about this very subject just recently so I’ll post my response here to avoid retyping everything:</p>
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<p>So that’s my take on it. You were probably expecting a clear cut answer that requires you to choice one over the other. But in this matter, it really is personal preference. Many people have gone both ways and ended up in med school. It sounds like you have most of the fact anyway, just bite the bullet and make a choice, it probably won’t be that big of a deal down the road.</p>
<p>SBR is the man, he helped me in December. After careful consideration I chose to enroll in Chem 43. </p>
<p>1) It is supposed to be completely different than Chem 23 taught by Toone (which recieved bad reviews). There is a new teacher and a revamped curriculum, which should apparently be more focused (according to the Chemistry Department).</p>
<p>2) Many med schools won’t accept the skip to orgo. I thought there was no point in eliminating medical schools before I had even taken the MCAT, so I decided it would also be best to keep my options open. That would be either take an advanced chem class with lab or do Chem 43 as a precursor to Orgo.</p>
<p>In the end I think either option would allow you to go to medical school.</p>
<p>I think I will be taking Math 103, EGR 53, and my two focus classes my first semester and then decide on a chemistry class later. After all, those classes are supposed to be helpful for the MCATs so it can’t hurt to take them later on in the year closer to my junior year. </p>
<p>Is this good logic? If not, I can still drop Math 103 and take Chem 43 instead. Argh… still deciding.</p>
<p>You really don’t want to drop math. Since you are in engineering, you’ll have a lot of math which you should try to finish ASAP. Also, the deans really frown on not taking math. </p>
<p>As for taking the MCAT, it’d be nice to have those things fresh in your mind, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to schedule them close to the test. If you learned it well, it shouldn’t take anything more than a review book to bring it back.</p>
i’ll keep those words in mind.</p>