<p>Hey guys, I know it's a bit early to start thinking about this, but I just wanted to get some sort of idea what a realistic freshman schedule would be. I've heard you shouldn't take more than two pset courses per semester, especially freshman year.</p>
<p>This was the schedule I was hoping to take:</p>
<p>Chem 17: Organic Chemistry
Life Sciences 1a
Math 19a: Modeling and DiffEQ for the Life Sciences
Freshman seminar</p>
<p>Is it too ambitious to try two science classes and a math class? The reason why I can sort of justify this is because I have already taken Multivariable calculus at my local college, so Math 19a would just be a review of that with some cool biology applications. Also, I feel that I'm pretty well versed in bio (just took the placement exam yesterday and didn't have many problems with it) so I would think ls1a would be pretty manageable. Organic chemistry will of course be a challenge but I have a very good feel for chemistry as well. If I had to drop one of the three, I'd probably drop the math course and replace it with some gen ed. </p>
<p>Also, what do you guys think of Organismic and Ev. Biology courses? On the cue guide they are rated as significantly less work than other science classes.</p>
<p>Well, the seminar is P/F, so that should alleviate some stress. I never found the math p-sets to be particularly involved (took the 21s, and I know the 19s have similarities). As for the sciences, I am trying to think of how common it was for a first year to take orgo (tended to be more of a sophomore year class). Life Sci, on the other hand, quite the popular first year course. My personal thoughts are to drop orgo and take either a gen ed or something in an intended concentration. All in all, wait to see how shopping goes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, I plan to major in chemistry or something related, which is why I picked orgo. I know it’s not the chem major orgo, but I’m more interested in biochem anyway and both fulfill the concentration requirements. I feel like I want to do it because it would be my only class with “new” material, because I already learned the math material and because I’m pretty well versed in molecular biology.</p>
<p>In addition, some freshman seminars are difficult to get into because they are oversubscribed (100 students want to register, but professor takes 12 kids), so many students do not get any of their choices. I would look for a back-up class to fill that time-slot just in case.</p>
<p>Do you happen to know how the students are chosen for acceptance into freshman seminars (is it by lottery)? I’m also interested in taking a freshman seminar and I’m wondering if there’s anything one can do to maximize their chances of getting into a top-choice class.</p>
<p>Also, would it be unrealistic to try to take CS50 and Math 23 at the same time? I’ve heard great things about CS50, but apparently its psets can be fairly time-consuming (as can those from Math 23). Would it be better to take Math 21 even if I have prior experience with multivariable calc/linear algebra?</p>
<p>And finally - sorry for all the questions! - is it better to take a language during one’s first or second year? I’m interested in learning Arabic but I’m not sure if I can fit it into my schedule this year (and I’m worried that next year I’ll end up regretting not having already taken it).</p>
<p>@000000: Forget to mention Expos. One semester your freshman year you will be assigned to freshman expos (you don’t get a choice of which semester).</p>
<p>@strangecharm: If a freshman seminar is over subscribed, placement is by lottery. For some seminar’s the professor may also have you write an essay and s/he will select students after reading everyone’s essay.</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s very rare to take chem 17 as a freshman, and yeah, I do think it would be challenging. </li>
<li>If you’re thinking about a chemistry concentration, you should really hold out for chem 20. </li>
</ol>
<p>Is it actively discouraged to take Chem 17 as a freshman? I can’t see any pre reqs listed for it on the course guide, so is it just because of how hard the class is?</p>
<p>Also, I was thinking something more along the lines of the Chemical and Physical Biology concentration, I guess, so I like that the 17/27 sequence has a bio component.</p>
<p>Prerequisite: Open to freshmen with a score of 750 or higher in the College Boards or the Chemistry Placement Examination; to students who scored 4 or 5 on the Chemistry Advanced Placement Examination; and to students who achieved a grade of B or higher in either Physical Sciences 1, 10, 11, or another college-level introductory chemistry course. Others may enter only by permission of the instructor.</p>
<p>If you have any of those things, you might be okay. But it’s a time-consuming, if not intellectually tough, class for anyone, and I’d be hesitant to take it during freshman fall. It makes more sense if you’re looking into a bio concentration, though. Shop it and see what you think. But as a junior, I’m anticipating that it will be pretty challenging - I’ll be taking it this fall. </p>
<p>You might want to get some Gen Eds in early and/or explore other areas. That’s what freshman year is for!</p>
<p>If you have the background and are not afraid of devoting a lot of time to this class, I think you’ll enjoy orgo more by taking the Chem20/30 series, which is taken by a lot of freshmen in the spring semester. Not only is the class smaller, it goes more in-depth on the actual chemistry components than Chem17/27 and are taken by people who are more serious about chemistry, IMO. If you want the biology aspect, you can take chem27 after chem30.</p>
<p>Also, note that most freshmen who have fulfilled all the prerequisites for chem17 (like AP chem or the SAT score) will still choose to leave chem17 to sophomore year. </p>
<p>I don’t know if others would agree, but I found in my experience that people oftentimes will retake the classes that they already had exposure to in high school, which in a way makes sense because you would want a solid foundation for future courses in your concentration, but it does make some intro classes harder than you would expect.</p>
<p>Calico makes a good point that I hadn’t realized: you can take chem 20 and then chem 27, and probably be better off for the really thorough introduction that 20 will give you. I would take 20, but scheduling conflicts (and my late concentration decision) have made it impossible, and I regret it. 20 is better than 17 in most ways. And while there will be SOME freshmen who take 17 in the fall, like Calico said, the majority will leave it for sophomore year.</p>