Hi, so I’ll be entering as a freshman fall 2017 as a MCB major.
I’ve been doing some research and am worried about which classes I should take to fulfill medical school reqs.
My major doesn’t accept math 16 series. Should I take Math 10A or 1A? Which is considered “easier?” Is there a big difference if I took one or the other? I got a 5 in AP Calc BC but am definitely not that good at math. I also barely have any stats background.
Does Bio 1B have any prereqs? I was considering taking Bio 1B fall sem and then Chem 1A spring. Is there any difference in taking either courses fall vs. spring? Also what about chem 1AL? Should I take that instead?
Any suggestions on how many units I should take? What do pre-meds usually take at cal?
Thanks so much!
To answer a part of your question, students usually take Chem 1AL and Chem 1A at the same time. Chem 1AL is the lab class for Chem 1A.
For math, 10A and 10B cover calculus, statistics, and other topics of interest to biology majors and pre-meds, while 1A and 1B is a calculus sequence for those intending to take subsequent math courses (e.g. for those majoring in math, physics, or engineering).
Have you looked at these pages? The MCB major covers most of the pre-med courses.
https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepPrereq
http://mcb.berkeley.edu/undergrad/major/major-requirements/requirements
The nice thing about MCB, as well as other Biology majors is that you can fulfill all Pre-Med courses within the major itself. The best thing to do is to talk to one of the Berkeley counselors. They want to get you out as soon as they can, so they will help you develop the best plan to fulfill everything you need to finish. However, you would want to be prepared so take a look at this page on the MCB undergrad page:
http://mcb.berkeley.edu/undergrad/prospective-students/high-school
Click on any one of the emphases, maybe one your most interested in, and you should find a Sample 4-year plan. This will give you an idea of how to best take the courses you need for the major. The lower division requirements for math are Math 10A and 10B, which someone else already explained are for. Pre-Med requirements for Math are 1 semester of statistics and 1 semester of calculus. The Math 10 series at Berkeley fulfills BOTH requirements. Take a look at this link direct from Cal Career Center:
https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepPrereq
Also, it looks like Bio 1B doesn’t have much, if any prereqs, and is a seperate course from Bio 1A/1AL so I think it is okay to take in Fall. You do not have to take one before the other.
Hope this helps!