<p>Hi. I am going to be a freshman at UMich next year, and I have high aspirations: I am following the pre-med path and hope to be in contention for top-tier medical schools (including Michigan's) in the future. And I know it's easier said than done, but I am willing to give it my all in order to get a 4.0. Excuse me for my lack of modesty, but I wouldn't say I'm completely hopeless aptitude-wise. Some notable achievements include a 35-ACT, good high school GPA, AP Scholar, 800 Math Level II and Chemistry. I'm sure that many smarter than me have tried and failed, but it doesn't hurt to try right? </p>
<p>The superfluous blabber aside, here's what I need others' opinions for. . .
Is this a manageable freshman first semester schedule (for 4.0)?</p>
<p>ENG 125 College Writing
MATH 285 Honors Calculus III
PHYSICS 135 Physics for the Life Sciences
PHYSICS 136 Physics for the Life Sciences
BIOPHYS 120 The Discovery of the DNA Double-Helix and Its Mysteries</p>
<p>I'm also doing biomedical research for UROP for credit, which is another six hours a week. </p>
<p>My orientation is coming up fast (June 27), so I really need help. Please give me feedback on whether or not the aforementioned courses are doable for a freshman in the college atmosphere. Also, if any of you have taken any of these courses before, I would appreciate any advice or tips you have.</p>
<p>why are you taking biophys 120?</p>
<p>and yes, you can get a 4.0 in all those classes</p>
<p>No reason actually; I just wanted another class for credits. I’m pretty sure I’ve done everything in that class in AP Bio, but I think it would be an easy A if I do my homework and stuff.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply :)</p>
<p>Schedule looks good. I may recommend gen. chem or orgo instead of that random biophys class. 285 is tough (I have taken it), but the curve is generous. You don’t really need it for the pre-med route.</p>
<p>Thanks blackpen. I actually considered taking orgo, but I heard it was very difficult, so I decided to save it for the second semester of freshman year (after I have transitioned completely to college life). As for 285, it meets the quantitative cognate requirement for a neuroscience concentration, which is what I intend to “major” in…</p>
<p>Most people do stats for that requirement, and that is much easier/relevant class. I wouldn’t recommend orgo starting in the winter unless you plan on taking spring classes. It’s best to take the orgo 1 +2 sequence fall to winter.</p>
<p>True, but in my opinion, calculus is more enjoyable and objective than statistics. Now, I could be wrong about this, because I am biased from my experience with my AP Statistics teacher in high school. He always marked people down on tests for no reason, and I, like many others, struggled to get an A. Calculus was much more enjoyable, as work+correct answer always equated to a good grade. And thank you for the advice! I’m still trying to avoid having to take such a challenging course in the fall, but I intend to heed your winter-spring recommendation.</p>
<p>Michigan will make you hate math. I would stick to statistics if I were you, but if you enjoy calculus, go for it. Just know that your GPA might take a hit. I would have to say I agree with Blackpen. Gen Chem is more relevant than 285, which is not necessary for being premed at all.</p>
<p>I wonder if its better to take Physics 135 instead of 140?</p>
<p>i would recommend not taking classes that you’ve already gotten credits for – it’s a waste of time and you’ll probably be bored.</p>
<p>and if you do enjoy calc and you’re half-decent at math (which judging from your initial post your are) then 285 should be an easy A.</p>
<p>Entertainer–Thank you for your input, but I am confident that I will succeed in 285. However, based on what I’ve heard so far, I have decided to drop BIOPHYS 120. Perhaps not general chemistry, but I will consider replacing this class with something in the chemistry department. And I am taking Physics 135 because I am not nearly as confident in my physics abilities as I am in my aptitude for math. You see, I was never able to develop a strong foundation in this subject. I took Honors Physics in a three week course at Northwestern University through The Center For Talent Development. Then, I immediately took AP Physics my sophomore year, and only managed a 4 on the ap exam. I hope this introductory physics class (135) will provide for the intuition if you will that you receive from taking any new class.<br>
nubswitstubs–Thank you. I intend to continue with Calc 3. I was hoping you could offer insight into Differential Equations and Linear Algebra as well. I understand that pursuing such courses is not necessary for a pre-med student; however, they are recommended by the medical schools I hope to attend in the future. Supposedly, they serve as advisory prerequisites prior to matriculation.</p>
<p>If you are good at math, then physics should be no problem.</p>
<p>I have not taken a strict differential equations course, but I took math 214 (Linear Algebra & Differential Equations) last winter. The course name for 214 is a bit misleading since I feel like we didn’t touch on diff eq. that much. </p>
<p>I actually really enjoyed 214 because the prof (Volker Elling) was great. The course is geared towards IOE students, so it’s supposed to be mostly computational; however, he exposed us to a good amount of proofs as well.</p>
<p>That being said, if you are interested in linear algebra I would recommend taking math 217. I feel like if it wasn’t for my professor, Math 214 would’ve been really bland and way too easy. Math 217 is more theoretical and proof-based. </p>
<p>For differential equations, you should take either 216, 286, or 316. In this case, 286 is the hardest of the bunch – don’t assume higher course numbers are always more difficult. Most people take either 216/286 I believe; 316 assumes prior knowledge of linear algebra. Also note that the difference in difficulty between 216/286 is significantly larger than the gap between 215/285.</p>
<p>Sorry if any of this was unclear, but if you have any other questions just let me know.</p>
<p>and now that I think of it, I believe Volker Elling is teaching math 316 this upcoming Fall semester. So if you want a great prof, I highly recommend looking into that course. Again, it assumes some knowledge of linear algebra, but I spoke to him about what’s needed and it’s nothing you can’t make up.</p>
<p>Thank nubswitstubs! That really helped! I checked the LSA course guide, and all the courses you mentioned, including 286 which is not being offered this fall, seem very interesting. I also plan to look into Professor Elling again next semester, and will try to join one of his courses. Thank you again.</p>
<p>285 is not that bad if you know what you are doing.</p>
<p>286 on the other hand is pretty hard.</p>
<p>If course I had an awesome Hispanic dude for 285 and a really hard to understand Chinese guy for 286.</p>
<p>286 also goes like 60%you further than 216.</p>
<p>Is Physics 136 just the “pansy physics”? I took 140 and it wasn’t very hard. If you’ve had any physics experience you should be good. You just got to attend all the classes (I<clicker) and do all the HW</p>
<p>I can’t speak fir the other two.</p>
<p>Thank you purpleduckman! I’m still debating on whether I should just take the easy route of 215/216 over 285/286, so that I won’t have to worry as much. Do you know if it’s possible to mix and match? 215/286 or 285/216? Because I’m not majoring in math, but I do enjoy it, and would like to get a feel for both these levels of difficulty.</p>
<p>Yes, you can take 215/286 or 285/216 if you want.</p>
<p>If you want to ensure that you get an A/A+ in differential equations, though, you might not want to take 286. Like purpleduckman said above, it’s difficult.</p>
<p>Ok, thank you all for your help!</p>