Freshman 1st semester - number of classes/credits (14 vs 19)

Your daughter should ask her advisor, especially with regard to having no biology to start, if she is a biology major (the intro course may be covered by AP, but they might have a recommendation).

The 1 credit lab in chemistry is anything but 1 credit worth of time requirement. At most universities, the time actually spent in the lab already accounts for all of the work one is supposed to do for 1 credit. However, she will need to prepare for the lab before going to it, and there may be pre-lab quizzes. Then there will be data analysis and writing the lab report, even if the lab report is not elaborate. On top of that, the topics covered via the lab may be different from the topics covered in the lecture class, so there is mastering the material prior to preparing for the specific lab work.

I generally would not advise students to start out light, but if 14 or 18 credits are the only two options, I would recommend 14.

@ASKMother , my D, CS premed at Vandy , took Chem, physics, intro to engineering and writing seminar, 14 hours the first semester, which allowed her to have some ECs she enjoys. For example, she writes for three publications at Vandy Her second semester, she had 16 hours, cal3, programming and problem solving, chem, etc. She had several friends who overloaded the 1st semester and ended up quitting premed or engineering. The average for Chem is C, and the classes are more problem solving oriented and it took D until 3rd mid term to learn how to get As on the chem tests. Best of luck to your D!

@SincererLove (and everyone else above who may have been directing much appreciated advice my/our way) D18 is a dual major with Chem and Education so has to start strong in Chemistry as she has many more classes to go! She has completed 3 years of IB Chem HL (yes aware it’s not the same but… 3 years) so has been introduced to material at least. She has talked with several other Chem majors at various schools and feels good about taking 3 hour labs now having just finished several essays for IB in the same manner as lab reports would be written (she says it’s fresh on her mind). I’m more concerned about the Physics as she hasn’t had any exposure there… but she will reach out to resources which supposedly are in abundance. At current she has 15 hours, if gets off waitlist she’ll have 18. I’m hoping for just the 15 but as @scubadive said, she does better when she’s busy!

@askmom: she shouldn’t take both Physics AND Calculus along with Chemistry - she wants to start strong and she’s doesn’t want to take the risk of taking on too much and losing her spot. If she’s not had physics before do keep in mind most of her classmates likely did and having three very difficult, “weedout” classes at once.
Psychology is a normal freshman class, not weedout. She’ll get it and should drop physics then.

I think 14 is plenty - between time in the classroom and time outside, she will be thanking her lucky starts that she didn’t take on more. There is nothing wrong in easing into your first semester at college. And, yes, as some have pointed out, don’t be fooled by a 1-unit lab: labs are a lot of work!

@ASKMother where is she going that they won’t accept HL chemistry for first-year? My daughter took HL chemistry plus 1 year of honors chemistry before that and there is no way I would recommend she take General chemistry again.

@VickiSoCal Why not take it? Even if she’s seen the material good to review and be certain? Get Lab experience at a University level? She hasn’t gotten IB scores back yet.

Because I TAed General chemistry at a University of California campus and I saw what my daughter did in HL chemistry and iit would be entirely review. I’m not talking a little review here and there.

@VickiSoCal at this point I honestly cannot tell her ANYTHING that doesn’t just get the eye-roll… because apparently I know nothing about science because I was just a Business major. But knowing that she is going to probably get in the weeds with Physics and Calculus (she is insisting to take these!), having Intro Chem be a little more familiar might be a good thing. Just thoughts… she will not listen to either of us… and H knows his sciences!! {sigh}

Oh she absolutely needs to take physics if she’s going to be a chemistry major. But I really see no reason to repeat general chemistry if she gets a 6 or 7.

If the student knows the material well, the time and tuition spent in college would better be used learning something new in a more advanced course or free elective instead of taking the course that repeats what she already knows well. (She can check her knowledge by trying the old final exams of the college course that she is allowed to skip with the IB HL score.)

Granted, students with some goals that require grade/GPA chasing (e.g. pre-med, or entrance to competitive majors at the college) may have to compromise on such academic idealism and minimize grade/GPA risks, though they should be aware that many students repeating what they already know do not earn A grades.

^I agree that Chem HL should give her credit for Chem1-2, so she should be able to start in Chem 2 to get used to college rather than Chem1. (Starting in Chem2 allows her to avoid starting in Orgo, which is a killer class even for sophomores).

My HL Chem kid got an A- in OChem as a first year. She was required ot take a condensed one semester gen class first semester that was designed to get everyone to the same level coming in from different countries/prep level and it was all review and she got an A+.

Aargh. An honors student being told to take it easy??? I was an honors chem major eons ago. The chemistry was 5 credits, including labs and more than a 1:1 hours to credits ratio. Then calc was 5 credits (no AP back in the day). Regular German- 4 credits and a 3 credit honors lit class. Got my best grades. Son did honors math and physics plus other classes.

She should look for some fun breadth electives she could round out her semester with to prepare for her class selection. As mentioned- she definitely needs to follow her advisor’s advice. I am so glad we never had junky “honors seminar” classes in our honors program. One size does not fit all honors students- majors vary greatly. I would much rather spend my credits on one solid subject than touch on many, no matter how geared for top students.

Classes need different credits based on time in class, labs getting more time than credits (organic labs were separate from lectures- 2 credits for 8 and 9 lab hours in a top ten U). Doing problem sets and lab reports can be just as time consuming as writing papers, btw.

College is for an education, in the classroom as well as outside of it. The students who get the most out of it put the most into it. Especially those who challenge themselves with honors versions.

Perhaps her equestrian time could be factored in as a time consuming elective and fewer credits taken. This is something she and her advisor will discuss.

We just came home from orientation. That schedule is lighter than the recommended schedule of the kids in my son’s science/engineering program. It is lighter than he is taking.

After going to parent orientation, here is what I learned: she should do what is standard for her major so that she doesn’t end up off-sequence. She shouldn’t think that a high school AP or HL class is the equivalent of a STEM oriented science class.

Ok…so I asked my science major kid what the freshman first term courses were…she was on the quarter system…

English Literature 3 credits
Biology plus lab 4 credits
Chemistry plus lab 4 credits
Calculus 3 credits
Intro to Engineering 3 credits
Orchestra 1 credit
Private instrument instruction 1 credit

Total 19 credits which on a quarter system is a lot of credits.

All were three credit except orchestra was 2 and instrument lessons were 1.

As an FYI…orchestra rehearsed four days a week.

She says she was busy, but that was fine. She was LESS busy than in high school where she had out of school things and her ECs after the school day ended.

She had a similar schedule her second two quarters freshman year.

An AP isn’t but an HL most definitely is .

IB HL may be a lot of work, but not necessarily the same material as a college course. Physics HL is non calculus, so it is not accepted for credit when physics with calculus is required.

Chemistry HL is a pretty thorough equivalent to chem 1 and parts or all of 2. Physics HL is a good algebra based physics course. There’s more than content to getting used to college +hence the recommendation of taking the second class in the seuence after than the first) but IB is much closer to the methods and approaches used in college courses than AP.

What does a science major need with an algebra based chemistry class, even if it is a good one?