<p>So I went to my orientation yesterday at UVA and we had to sign up for classes. I knew that i wanted to do pre-med but i had not done enough research on which classes to take because i thought my advisor would tell me. I figured i would start this semester with chem, bio, calc, and two random interesting classes. Then when somone talked to me they said chem and bio together would be wayy too overwhelming so i changed it to chem and applied calc. Then i asked him if i should take english but he said he avoided it. So i took three random classes like film noir, documentary photography, and how things work. Now i came hone and did some research, but i feel like those last classes are such a waste because my next three years will be even harder now. What should i do? Should i go back and change my schedule or is it too late? Was the guy right? I feel like i needed a true pre-med advisor but i didn't have one. I have never freaked out this much in my life.</p>
<p>I guess the important question is what is your intended major?</p>
<p>In the sciences and engineering, you will need to fulfill pre-reqs before you can move on to upper level required courses. Delaying the lower level pre-reqs can and will impact your ability to take more advanced courses and may affect your ability to graduate on time.</p>
<p>Consider laying out a 4 year sample course pathway using the course catalog and your departmental requirements. (HINT: most departments have a sample curriculum on the departmental website.) That way you can see what you will need to take when.</p>
<p>Plenty of premed programs recommend taking either chem or bio, but not both the first semester. GPA is key and learning good study skills is essential. You will still be able to get all pre-requisite classes in over the first three years and take the MCAT spring of junior year.
If you want to take them both together, then reduce your class load down to give you ample time to study.
(As a caveat, I have a premed student that is doing the same plan, but it is on the advice of his premed advisor. She send a lot of guys to med school. He fought it his freshman year but his GPA is intact and he learned how to study)</p>
<p>After reading WayOutWestMom-agree that your major will change affect your schedule. DS is a psych major, so this works in his favor not to take more than two STEM classes a semester).</p>
<p>My guy’s school (Top 30) recommends pre-meds not take Bio, Chem, and Calc all together freshman fall semester…</p>
<p>(That said, my guy did it - plus an additional Brain & Cognitive class - and still got As in all of them… so it isn’t unheard of, but that certainly doesn’t mean everyone should follow his path. The recommendation isn’t there for nothing. There are a lot of distractions when you start college and many who have been at the top of their school now find they are middle of the pack at college. Many, for the first time, discover they need to study.)</p>
<p>Thank you for answering! The problem I have is that I am not sure what I want to major in, which is why i took classes to see if they interest me. What i am most worried about are how i am supposed to get all of my requirements in before i graduate. Is it ok to take it slow with just chem and applied calc and keep my schedule? Or am i just setting myself up for failure next year? (Seeing as i will need two semesters of physics, org chem, intro bio, and intro chem)</p>
<p>Usually, they tell us to take 2 difficult/major required classes a semester, so I think you’re on track with calc and chem. But maybe instead of one of the random classes, do one university requirement, then you’ll be fine to graduate in 4 yrs.</p>
<p>I’m sorta on the same boat as you except I decided to go with the classes xD I’ll be doing:
Gen.Chem I (or calculus if I don’t get off the waiting list for chem)
Biology
Psychology
and a bunch of other classes that are required</p>
<p>The only reason I chose to do this was because my school has a lot of pre-req’s to get to bio-chem which we will benefit from when we take the new MCAT. I’m not sure if your school’s the same, but I highly suggest looking up all the classes at your school and start planning out all 4 years of your college schedule. I’ve learned that i’m on a tight schedule when it comes to taking the classes I need, and being able to take the MCAT before my senior year 
Good luck! </p>
<p>EDIT: This was under the assumption you wanted to go to medical school btw xD</p>
<p>You’ll easily be able to move your schedule around during the add/ drop period, so don’t fret about that. Honestly, I don’t think that taking CHEM 1410 and BIO 2010 with their respective labs is too ridiculous for a first year (tons of kids do it).</p>
<p>OP…Go talk to Susan Salko in Career Planning/Services; she’s UVA’s pre-med advisor. Are you Echols? If so, I would suggest you keep bio or chem (probably not both although like soyeah said, lots do both) your first year, the corresponding labs, Applied Calc or Calc III if you had AP BC in high school and made a 5 (Calc II is a notorious weed-out/GPA killer at UVA), and an English (Narratives of Illness is a great course). Second semester I would suggest part II of chem (or another bio if you chose it first semester) + lab, Stat, and another English. Many wait to take physics until their third year. Our D took it first year alongside the 80 series (honor) Orgo/Gen Chem – nobody told her this was an insane idea. She did well, but it was a brutal first year especially with her time-consuming EC commitments. If you’re not Echols, trying to squeeze all your Gen E requirements in will be tough if you don’t have a considerable number of AP credits. It’s doable but tough. (She’s known some who’ve done it, but it was hard.) If you didn’t have a super strong chem/AP chem background in high school, I would strongly encourage you to take the 40 series chem as opposed to 80 series. The curve is better in the 80 series, but it’s a lot more challenging. Most pre-meds opt to take the 40 series. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>With your chem and calc credit, you’re well on your way being a chem major and a lot many other majors too. The 40 series is less hand holding and it is better for self-learners; especially since you have more options for the professor you want.
I wouldn’t worry about bio for first semester. I did bio,chem (w/ lab), and math my second semester, and while I was ok with it, I wouldn’t do it again since chem and bio are both time consuming while math is practice. However, I definitely think that if there is anytime good to take this is freshman year. Contrary to what others think, freshmen are a lot more alert and you have a bigger drive. College course schedule made me a little tired by sophomore year and I would have liked the alertness I had for freshman year.
An english coursework would be highly recommended (especially the advanced writing class) since you can demonstrate writing competence. It’s easier to have that out of the way earlier so try to see if you can still get that sometime soon. </p>
<p>One way to complete gen eds early is to check up on certain courses and see how many gen ed requirements each fills. These classes fill up fast but if you really want to have one in your schedule, you can just sit in the class on the first day and ask the professor. Most are pretty welcoming. I’ve had three kids sit through an upper level math course and it was only half way through the semester that the kids were drafted in the class; of course, the professor was alright and welcomed everyone knowing that majority of initial student volume drops by half semester. As long as the professor is ok, the staff will do their best to get you in the course (the only thing hindering capacity is classroom fire safety recommendations).
I recommend getting gen eds completed within your first 2 years since later you can take whatever humanities courses you want. With AP, I was able to complete them with 1.5 years, taking 1-2 courses each semester. At one time I even thought of minoring in history, which was pretty cool to recognize.
Calc II is a weed out course but so is every other intro math and science class. I took it and I definitely think that you should look at professor ratings to get a gist of their personality. Some use webassign/mastering and some don’t. I prefer the masteringcalc professors since the program is pretty good to navigate with and it makes you feel good that your only grade isn’t based on just 2-3 exams. My professor also did biweekly quizzes which I think were tricky but if you had worked pretty hard you should do well. Again, much better than the few exams you’ll receive. Calc III was similar except we didn’t get to do the quizzes. I really had to be on my toes with the material presented since the exam was tricky and hard. However, I think that if you choose the better professor and knew that they don’t like to outdo themselves with tricking people (as in presenting something you have not gone over in class much), then you should be fine. </p>
<p>Some majors like chemistry will also like you to take physics which is calc based if you want a bs degree. This will definitely help you understand calc III, which is technically physics. I know that this might become a requirement for some specialized combined med programs for the 2016 entering class. Alongside, math beyond linear algebra will also be recommended (which makes me think that a chem major will be to the best benefit to people since bs chem majors are definitely required to do higher level math). However, this is definitely not reflective of the majority of programs. So just a thought as you shape your major.
Another class I’d recommend you to take is econ. It is a good class to have some background in and if you want to go into some special administrative programs down the road, it can help you fulfill the requirements page much easier. I know I didn’t do this, but I kind of wish I had since it’s a good experience to have.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Also another quick question: The Film Noir class is a 1510 ENWR class. Does that mean I am good on english for the semester?</p>
<p>I know that the 1510 ENWR is a course in which you can select a specialty and study that with a group of people. For example, Film noir would be one of the specialties. From my experience, I think it would be considered english and intensive writing depending on your professor’s expectations. Nevertheless, you should definitely take the course if the professor is rated good; especially since this is a requirement based on your writing score. It’ll be pretty chill and can help you transition into the school. If you’re interested in any other subject, the week before classes is when a lot of kids tend to switch. This course is one of the few where it might be hard to sit in and get admitted due to small class size.
Another thing: History, religious, and other humanities could fulfill the intense writing requirement for med schools. I took english and then the following semester an intense upper level history course that had multiple papers due. So you don’t have to take higher level english perse.</p>