<p>Hello everyone! I'm a 2015er who hopes to major in Chemistry. I had a few questions about the intensity of my freshman schedule.</p>
<p>I designed: </p>
<p>CHEM C3045 Intensive Organic Chemistry for First Years (3.5)
PHYS C1601x Physics I: Mechanics and Relativity (3.5)
MATH V1102 Calculus II (3)
HUMA C1001x Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy (4)
Engl C1010 University Writing (3)
BIOL C2908 First Year Seminar (1)
Total Points: 18 </p>
<p>for first semester and</p>
<p>CHEM C3046 Intensive Organic Chemistry for First Years (3.5)
CHEM C2507y Intensive General Chemistry Laboratory (3)
MATH V1201y Calculus III (3)
HUMA C1002y Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy (4)
SCNC C1001 Frontiers of Science (4)
CHEM C2408y First Year Seminar (1)
Total Points: 18.5</p>
<p>for second semester. This (OChem, Phys, Calc) seems quite difficult. I was wondering: is such a schedule common for freshmen in track 3 chemistry? Will I die? What other schedules do people in track 3 chemistry take?</p>
<p>PS. I'm also a John Jay Scholar, but I don't know how much time that will take.</p>
<p>Future,</p>
<p>Congratulations. Columbia College is a great place to be a science major.</p>
<p>A couple of comments. First, FoS and U Writing will be assigned to you randomly if the pattern holds, 1st half of the alphabet 15s will take FoS 1st semester and U Writing 2nd semester (thats the opposite of the 14s schedule). Most people (especially science people) consider FoS to be much easier and a lot less work than U Writing. </p>
<p>Second, Im not sure it makes sense to start the 1600 physics sequence then stop. Youll wind up spreading the 3 semester sequence over 3 years as its taught in a fall/spring/fall sequence only. It probably makes more sense to wait and start it in the fall of sophomore year also the year of calculus under your belt will help a lot. The 1600 sequence is not easy, and can be quite miserable depending on the teacher(s). </p>
<p>Finally, you have to decide how serious you want to be about lit-hum. Most people tend to skate (not do all the reading) for this, and the reality is that one can get a perfectly fine grade without reading every word of Herodotus. If you plan to actually do the reading, then thats another argument for waiting on the physics.
Maybe consider taking one of the global core requirements as your fifth class first semester. </p>
<p>Good luck, enjoy CC.</p>
<p>It depends on how difficult you want to make your academic career, but your schedule seems quite tough. First, congrats on being a John Jay scholar. I’m one of the scholars as well, and though the program is useless, it’s a good sign of academic qualifications as many scholars are at the top of their class.</p>
<p>1) Don’t take Intensive Organic Chemistry. The chemistry major (like most College majors) are light in requirements so you can graduate on time. Even if you want to do intense graduate level work, I would avoid this class. Breslow is old school, curves the class to a B/B+, and you’ll be competing against the smartest students in Chemistry. Slow down, take it easy, and get an A in orgo when the time comes. Bottom 50% of IOC prob would still get an A- in regular orgo.</p>
<p>2) Don’t take Physics 1600 unless you really want to pursue physics as an academic field. It’s quite challenging and stresses the comprehension of material over memorization. However, it’s quite time consuming versus 1400, which (depending on professor) is a cakewalk. </p>
<p>This courseload honestly comes down to what kind of life you want to lead in college. You can be the academic superstar and wow all the chemistry professors, get the great research positions, and slave away at graduate work. Or you could burn out and realize that chemistry wasn’t your passion in the first place. You’re in the college so you can do whatever the hell you want to as a freshman and still graduate.</p>
<p>If you’re slightly unsure of what you want to do and even have a pre-professional mindset, then for the love of you GPA, don’t take Intensive Orgo or 1600 Physics. It will be annoying.</p>
<p>^I want to be a scientific researcher.</p>