Freshman Year: Chaos ensues

Student Lounge College Life
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Why is your advisor recommending that you take two sciences with lab that first semester? “Because I’m a premed” doesn’t make sense - most premeds don’t do that. Considering that you feel that English classes will be easy for you, and considering that the English major overview class is P/F, then the appropriate schedule for you for first semester is that one semester Chem class with lab because it’s the only one that fits into the premed sequence and leads into Organic chem, the recommended French class that you tested into, since it will then satisfy your language requirement, (the farther away you get from French, the harder it will be, no matter what your past level of mastery of French has been), the P/F English overview class if it is mandatory for English majors, and a Freshman comp type class. That is 4.5 classes, only one science with lab (it has to be Chem first since Bio requires some Chem, and if you’re gonna bomb out on Chem, you need to know it asap and adjust your career goals accordingly), an easy for you French class, a writing class (your forte you say), and the P/F English overview class, which should be easy. That will leave you with some time for riding and research, and give you the best chance to get A’s in everything, but especially in the Chem class. But none of this is new. Every time you go back to advising, you seem to come out with yet another absolutely killer schedule that practically guarantees torpedoing your premed dreams, and that totally ignores your medical issues that make an absurdly heavy schedule even more inappropriate.

The reality is that you have a history of trouble with math. You did not do well on the Chem placement exam (and yes, I realize that you took Chem a couple of years ago, but so did almost every other entering student, and that doesn’t change the fact that right now your chem knowledge is not great in terms of being ready for college chem). The only non-subjective hard data point in your history that is completely independent of a classroom teacher’s subjective grading is a 1 on the AP lang exam (and you say that English is your best, easiest for you subject), and then you never took a standardized test again.

Please listen to reason and adjust your schedule accordingly. Your optimistic personality is a valuable trait, but when it leads you into accepting these ridiculously difficult schedules that advising keeps putting you into, it’s hurting you, rather than helping you. The schedule that advising has signed you up for is a recipe for disaster. You are adamant that medical school is the only career you want, is your dream. Please, give yourself your best chance of succeeding in achieving that dream by taking a reasonable first semester.

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This 19 credits thing seems to a Northeastern weirdness. Even for an English major, the proposed plan of study shows 17 credits the first semester. Most of their classes seem to be 4 hours. I don’t know if they are more work than the 3 credit classes that are common at a lot of colleges.

That said, if 19 credits is the maximum allowed, then it’s not a good idea to take that many in the 1st semester.

Finally, as a pre-med major, you will not spend time with family any summer because you will be doing internship/research/volunteer work etc.

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Many universities are set up on the four 4 credit courses per semester model. In the Boston area Northeastern, BU and Harvard use this model. BC and UMass Boston use the five 3 credit courses per semester model. There is nothing weird about it.

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Correction- I got a 1 on the APUSH exam, not the AP Lang exam. I actually never took the AP Lang exam. /sheepishly

But I got As all throughout my English classes regardless. /adding on

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Yup! I’ve been registered with them for awhile now, and since they gave me the reduced courseload option, I’m actually thinking on it again after what everyone’s saying… /thoughtful

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I’ve lost track of your high school things. Did you take the SAT or ACT, and if so what were your scores? Any other AP scores beside a 1 on APUSH?

ETA…I found it…

I’m going test-optional as I really didn’t have time to take either the SAT/ACT, honestly.

I’m going to add a couple more metrics to your decision making.

  1. You need a Plan B if you are planning to apply to medical school. Less than 40% of applicants get accepted to even one med school. So…make sure your course of study, whatever it turns out to be, gives you a decent Plan B.

  2. And while you are making this decision, please remember, there is no such thing as going test optional for medical school, or really accommodations during rotations and residency. Residents often work 80 hours a week, in varying shifts (days, late day, overnight). No choice about this either.

  3. Being a doctor requires test, after test after test…after test. And you get to pay for every single one, and they are not cheap.

So…please…have a good Plan B.

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Nope, I was test optional (major burnout was why), and I only took the APUSH AP exam. But I took about 4 APs and 2 DE classes. /sighing

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I’m planning on having a backup plan. I have a family friend who is on the med school admissions committee for a well known school so I’ll ask her as well for tips, etc. /warmly

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I’m glad you are thinking on it and I’m sure you will discuss with your family, DRC and advisors. I just want to reiterate that we all want you to have the best transition to college so please do not be discouraged by any of our posts. :slight_smile: Our recommendations are based on personal experience and that of our kids. If Northeastern considers 12-16 hours a full schedule (as someone mentioned upthread), staying on the low side of that would be my recommendation… and at this point we are only suggesting a lighter schedule for your first semester, even though the DRC has given you the option for your time at NEU. After that first semester you will have a better idea of what academic workload you can handle successfully while also having time for the activities you enjoy.

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I think you need to really think seriously about your back up plan without someone from a medical school. But that medical school person might know the rigors of medical school…and that is something you very much need to hear.

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Do you have to declare a major, and hence must you take that English major overview class in your first semester? Why not hold off on that? Wasn’t there also a Bio major overview class? Do they have one for each major? Undecideds must be able to wait on the overview class.

It seems to me that with your strong research interest in genetic conditions, that you might find becoming a genetics counselor to be a good backup option There is significant overlap between the premeds, your biology interest, and this career. I don’t want you to lose any motivation, and it’s early on - you haven’t even started yet! But I agree, you should also be thinking about backup careers.

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They say we should declare a major if we know what it is, although changing it is easy to do. That’s why I have the English overview class, since I’m an English major. /explaining

And that career does sound like a good backup plan! Thanks for suggesting that. /warmly

Also yes every major has an overview class /warmly

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With you being unsure of your major (as are many entering freshmen), I think that taking a major overview class first semester is premature. Fact is, even those who go in certain of one major, often wind up switching, sometimes a couple of times. I could see people taking three of these major overview classes before their junior year. Isn’t that major overview class only one credit? If you didn’t have it, you’d be carrying three classes (Chem, French, English comp) plus a lab. That would be at least 12 credits, and more like 14 in a system where lab is considered an additional half a class. But I imagine that you would probably enjoy the English overview class, so maybe just take it anyway.

I strongly encourage you to look up profs and classes on Ratemyprofessor (although they purged all the data on it a couple of years ago, and now it has only vague statements, similar to the change in report cards from A-F to ratings like “meeting expectations”. Also, most colleges have some kind of internal class review system that you should be able to access, to help you figure it out. If you don’t do this, you run the risk of winding up in classes with poor teachers and killer grading.

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I don’t think I’m unsure about my major at all, I’m perfectly happy with English on the premed track. Rather, I’m unsure about how the courseload should be versus what it is right now. /hopefully that clears it up a bit

Well, I just got a response from my advisor. Going to process + make some calls first before updating y’all later. /warmly

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I already looked them up on my ratemyprofessor, and they’re all easy graders, thankfully. Most/all are pretty good teachers, so. /happily

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My D was premed, and was also a very competitive applicant for med school. She changed her mind after graduating when she realized that genetic counseling really zeroed in on her love for genetics, without all of the schooling that being a geneticist (MD) entails.

A few words about GC. Every program has different prerequisites, but overall (depending on the program) you will need genetics, stats, biochemistry, embryology, biology, chemistry, psych, organic chemistry, etc. So, you will still need the hard sciences, and you will still be taking them with premeds at Northeastern.

What about gpa? Yes, you can get the occasional B but as this field becomes more popular the applicants are getting more and more competitive. The school websites state a 3.0, but most who interview have at least a 3.7 and my kid had a 4.0 (not at all uncommon). The students in my D’s incoming first year cohort have impressive backgrounds, including PhDs in biology fields (not required) and multiple publications.

It’s a match program. Each individual program has about an 8% acceptance rate but the overall acceptance rate is about 25%. There are about 2000 applicants nationally for approx 510 spots. Half who apply get interviews, and half who interview match. My D’s program had 200 applicants for a class of 12. Other programs take a little more (highest is 27) but they also have 400 applicants. Most programs have a cohort of 6-12 (about 200-300 applicants).

GC is not something you can do on a whim your junior year if you decide against medical school. Students do not get in if they apply on a whim their junior year; those who do gain an acceptance had a plan as a freshman and went full speed ahead.

You will need to volunteer long term with people who have disabilities, you will need to volunteer long term with people who are different than you (my D worked with refugees and worked at a title 1 school), you will need crisis counseling experience and advocacy work, you will need to engage in discussions involving ethics- for up to 8 hours, you will need to shadow GCs, gather informational interviews with GCs, attend conferences and have a deep understanding for the field etc. Then, when all of this is finished, you need to research schools and hope to get interviews.

My D had a 4.0, was premed, had 5 publications and completed everything necessary for this field. She worked first for a few years. Applied to 15 schools, had 12 interviews, and matched (yay- she didn’t think she would and it was a source of intense stress).

Sorry to go off on a tangent. I wrote this as a warning that GC is not a back up for medical school, in the sense that you can’t just apply suddenly if you realize your junior year that med school is not for you.

You need time to finish your volunteering, various activities, and do your research so that you apply wisely. One school may see you as a great fit, while another may not and you will not get an interview. Many, many applicants apply 2-3 times before getting in. Schools look for different things. My D interviewed a GC who worked in research at an Ivy League school- she got in her third cycle.

My advice is as follows: I feel this could be a good alternative for you, but you need to plan for it and you will likely need a year or 2 after graduation, unless you change your mind very early on at Northeastern and drop your premed intention.

Sorry for the long post but GC is often mentioned on CC as a backup for medical school. It can be of course, but it has a very grueling application process and there is a lot involved (this is true with many backup plans).

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Well. I appreciate the advice and honesty. I mean, it is still extremely early to be thinking about a Plan B if med school doesn’t pan out (for whatever reason), and I definitely would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit discouraged, haha, because of all of this. That being said, I’m just trying to take one step at a time and focus on the path I want to do (MD/PhD). Right now, I’m just trying to get my courseload sorted for my first semester. /warmly

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I would start by taking a lighter course load. That is your first step in a very grueling and long process.

As noted, your optimism is an excellent quality to have, but it is going to take more than that and we all want you to succeed.

And a plan B is important, even if it is tucked away in your back pocket. And recognize that a plan B might involve taking a year or 2 after college to do what needs to be done.

Best wishes!

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A Plan B is interesting.

Personally, I think kids need to pursue the dream and you don’t want to get them off track.

However, in my Junior year at Syracuse, my bj professor said to me - you know, not all people in the industry work on air. There are producers and writers and all the other, etc. He was basically telling me - no way in hell was I gonna be on camera. I didn’t realize it then - but he was saying - with all the money my dad spent sending me to Newhouse at Syraucuse - you need a Plan B.

And my kid wants to work with refugees - that’s the dream / goal - but her internship (a great one) is with the state transport department and as she goes to DC for fall semester, many jobs pay and she has an interview with an internship agency - unpaid - and prefers a car (she won’t have) - and she wants to get paid and she’s starting to realize - maybe I’ll have to contribute otherwise.

So I think it’s definitely premature to push a plan B on the student. She hasn’t started her pursuit of the dream at the collegiate level.

But I do think - should time come for a Plan B for anyone in any major - when it’s appropriate it will happen.

But for now, yes, absolutely get the schedule in order and if English and a French minor is your jam, do the best you can and get those pre-med classes in as well. And in 6 months from now, after your first semester, you take a deep breath and see if anything has changed or you continue the march ahead. The student has worked hard for this - and should take every opportunity to focus solely on the dream ahead and nothing else (IMHO).

Best of luck.

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Noting it would technically be 18 credits if it wasn’t for the TA discussion/recitation we have for Chem. /adding on

i am going to step away from CC (excuse me but i’m in tears trying to figure this all out) so i’ll see y’all later. /sighing