Freshman course load

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

I’m an intended Integrative Biology major and I’m taking Chem 1A/1AL during Freshman Edge this summer. On the IB website’s sample schedule for IB Track 2, Chem 3A/3AL is suggested as the second science you take. Considering the amount of science classes I’ll have to take, would it be a good idea to take Chem 3A/3AL in the fall of my freshman year? I know it’s a rigorous course and I’ve heard that it shouldn’t be taken before you’re actually used to the school and I’m not sure if the Chem 1A/1AL summer sessions will be enough preparation. I was also considering taking a break from science in the fall; I was planning on taking Math 10A, History 7B, College Writing R1A and either Bio 1B or Chem 3A/3AL in the fall before I realized how many units that would be and now I’m trying to decide which 3 of these classes to take and which to put off until spring.

Also, on a different note, should I plan on taking Chem 3B/3BL before or after Bio 1B and Bio 1A/1AL? I’m trying to plan ahead for what I should take the summer after freshman year.

2

If you can handle 8 units of courses in the summer, you should be able to handle 15-16 units of courses in a fall or spring semester. However, labs are often more work than their unit values indicate, so be careful of taking too many lab courses at the same time.

Note that College Writing R1A is a 6 unit course for students who have not fulfilled the entry level writing requirement. If you fulfill the entry level writing requirement already, then you can choose College Writing R4A or any other reading and composition A course (offered by numerous humanities and social studies departments, typically with readings in those subjects), which are generally 4 unit courses (except Classics R44 which is 5 units).