<p>I've been looking at some of the classes I'm planning to take, and I'm kind of worried about the difficulty of taking them as a freshman. </p>
<p>Math 103
German I
Organic Chemistry
Writing 20 - Am Rev Identity</p>
<p>I took both AP Chem and AP Calc BC this year (expecting 5s on both), but do you think both of these classes prepared me enough to take Math 103 AND Organic Chemistry? </p>
<p>Duke's chem department recommends taking Organic if you made a 5 on the Chem exam, but then again the Math department suggests Math 104 to future math majors (me) if they've already taken BC. </p>
<p>Also, what advice would you give about seminars? There's a math one, but that class requires me to prepare 2 25 minute lectures along with a 20 page paper. Should I try to find another seminar, and if so, in what area? I have the second registration window so I'm hoping I'll still have room for writing 20.</p>
<p>I think Math 103 and Orgo would be horrible, to be honest. I'd advise against it as well.</p>
<p>If you want to do a Math major, start out with Math 103, to see if you genuinely enjoy the department and WANT to continue with math (I entered a math major, but after 103 decided it wasn't for me!). That way if you DO want to continue you have a leg up. </p>
<p>In terms of Orgo, I'd hold off until later. Orgo is SO different from AP Chem/Gen Chem, so you won't, you know, forget crucial things you need to know or anything. If you're pre-med, you'll definitely have time to take it your sophomore year, as the vast majority of pre-meds do. Freshman orgo is tough, and combined with math 103 I think you'll be in for a shock once you get to campus. Ease into it. You have 8 semesters at Duke!</p>
<p>how's the german class after intro german? i think intermediate german or something like that... i've taken AP but definitely didn't get credit (3, at best)... i think that means i take the intermediate class since i've had some background</p>
<p>I've actually only taken German 1...taking German 2 in the fall, so I can't comment on the class in particular, but I'd imagine the classes are comparable.</p>
<p>The department is great. Students in the classes WANT to be taking the classes/learning the language, and the professors genuinely want students to do well. To me, there was less busy work than the Spanish classes I took as well. Tests were self-explanatory if you knew the material. The big difference for me was the class atmosphere. The group was much smaller, and it was just a very open class environment compared to Spanish. I absolutely love the German department.</p>
<p>You should enroll in the Intermediate class...chances are you'll be fine, and if you aren't the professor will definitely let you know where you should be...no big deal at all since there's a lot of class shuffling the first 2 weeks.</p>
<p>Looks about the same as my freshman first semester schedule, except you replaced Engineering 53 with German 1. Assuming those two classes require the same amount of work (I hope that you'll agree that in reality EGR 53 requires more than German 1), I'd say you're in for a challenging first semester. Now, I'm not saying that to scare you into changing your schedule - in fact I hope you don't; I'm saying so to let you know that you've taken a great first step into immersing yourself into life at Duke and that you need to make sure you stay on top of your academic work. If you do so, you should be fine.</p>