Freshman Year: Chaos ensues

Student Lounge College Life
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OP- your enthusiasm is infectious!

Do NOT do orgo and calculus in the same semester. Just don’t. No matter who tells you “this is the recommended track” or “you need to take them now to be able to complete the double major plus the minor” that will be the universe telling you that this is a very bad idea.

Major in French and cover off the pre-med requirements. Or something else.

But you have been candid about your math challenges, and you are going to be shocked by college calculus. The class you need to take is going to be populated by kids who took Calc AB in HS (maybe got a 3 so they need to take it again) but they’ve seen 30% of the material already. It will be populated by some fantastic intuitive math kids who went to rural HS’s which didn’t offer calculus-- but they eat, breathe and sleep math. The Calc for science and engineering moves much faster and in much greater depth than any math class you have ever taken. So sure- combine it with a writing class, take it with a French class, but don’t go near orgo the same semester as your first college math class.

Play the long game here. You can’t burn out in March of freshman year!

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I want to note that Biology+ English degree doesn’t include biochem (which is basically a requirement for every med school in the country plus it’s 50% of the questions on biology section of the MCAT) nor does it include sociology or psych–which also have their own section of the MCAT. If you’d taken and scored well on AP classes for both, then you might be able to skip those classes and just self study to refresh your knowledge of the material, but otherwise you’re going to need to find time (and room in your schedule) to take that.

Freshman writing/first year writing is a time intensive class. You will be writing short (3-10 pages) theme papers basically every week, typically based on reading selections the instructor will assign. The course is typically finishes with a major research paper assignment.

I suggest that you don’t take 4 time-intensive classes your first semester. Drop one of the English classes or drop the Bio 1107. (Though the problem with dropping the BIO is it puts you off cycle by a semester. Check to see if NEU offers the first half of the course sequence during spring semester.)

And given you didn’t do so hot on the chem placement test, I will do my best dissuade you from taking what is essentially 8 credits of gen chem (1 semester gen chem) during a single semester. The course is very condensed and moves fast so if you miss mastering a single concept during the early part of the class–the rest of the course will be impossible do well in.

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I took two college classes in HS that are a total of 6 credits- I think enough to cover an elective or two that would leave space for me to take Biochem and Psych/Socio. /musing

And I’ll try to see if I can do the 2 semesters of gen chem instead, and push org chem out ahead somehow, so I can make sure to do well. I’ll keep you guys updated once I hear from my advisor. /warmly

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Sometimes not doing well on a placement exam is a gift.

Skipping ahead or advancing or plowing through sounds like a great plan- until it’s YOU!

Take it one semester at a time and be sure to give yourself time to eat and sleep and be a human. Kids show up at a college with different levels of preparation and different pockets of skills and deficits. You aren’t in a race here. Math was a struggle for you, and you can give yourself the luxury of time during the semesters that are math intensive (organic chem and calc particularly).

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The standard sequencing of chemistry for biology majors (without advanced placement) at Northeastern is:

1161/1162 (general) → 2311/2312 (organic 1) → 2313/2314 (organic 2)

If you need an additional non-organic chemistry course for pre-med purposes, there are additional ones possible among those taken by chemistry majors. But chemistry majors take a similar sequence, though they take a sequence of organic chemistry for chemistry majors that is different from the sequence for biology majors.

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Thanks for the update! I have to agree with others, the proposed general schedule from NEU is…intense and a bit unusual, based on my past experiences.
/Somewhat stunned at NEU’s sample first semester schedule for your major

I don’t know if you’ve already done this, so if so, please forgive me. Pull out the NEU course bulletin and figure out all your gen ed requirements, the requirements for your desired major and minor, and the premed reqs. Then, start mapping out your course sequence for 8 semesters. You may want to do this in Excel/Google Sheets where you have 8 columns (one for each semester) and attach corequisites together (i.e a class with its lab) so you know those always have to be taken together. Include the number of credit hours each class is.

You don’t have to finish all your prereqs in your first two years of college, either. If a semester seems overly intense on paper (as many people have been saying about the 1st semester plan at NEU), then see how classes can be switched out to make an easier schedule (i.e. pushing orgo back a year, etc). If you can’t seem to figure out an arrangement over 8 semesters, then think about maybe doing a summer program where you can help create some space in your regular school year schedule.

/Hoping I’m clear about I’d suggest you do

Yes, good advisors should be able help you do this. But, in my experience, it’s best to know all the information for yourself and then to get confirmation from the advisors that you’re right. Nobody will be as invested in you and your future than you. The advisors (from the student services office, pre-health advisors, regular academic advisors) will probably be able to look at your proposed 8-semester plan and point out potential issues (like the posters on this thread are doing), but they’re unlikely to create nearly as thoughtful a plan for you as you will yourself.

/Realistically

You want your first semester to be one of your easiest. Why? You are going through a MAJOR life transition. Moving from home, losing most of your social network, learning a new environment, foods, etc. That doesn’t even begin to touch the type of coursework, level of courses, etc. Nobody recommends that postpartum mothers go back to work ASAP or oversee home renovations with a baby (or toddler) in the house. Is it that it’s impossible? No. It’s just way too much unnecessary stress that can have unintended mistakes because they’re being spread too thin…when they could easily do it all at a different time and do it exceedingly well.

/Speaking my truth

Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It doesn’t matter how many of your prereqs get cleared out your freshman year. So long as you’re managing a pace that will lead to a graduation in 4 years with all your requirements completed, you’re doing what you need to be doing.

/Earnest

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It can matter more if you are doing biology as a major where those courses are needed as prerequisites for upper level courses in the major, as opposed to taking pre-med courses alongside another major. If doing the latter, there are a few upper level biology courses (e.g. biochemistry, genetics) to stay on track for, but that is a lot less to worry about than ensuring that you can complete all of the upper level biology major courses on time for graduation.

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I appreciate everyone’s advice! I’m definitely thinking of trying to get orgo pushed so I can do 2 semesters of gen chem instead. I’ll try to see how I can make my courseload easier, with my advisor. And @AustenNut, I’ll definitely take your advice about making the Excel sheet to map out 8 semesters, and then go over it with my advisor. /appreciative, thoughtful

I’ll keep y’all posted within the coming weeks! /warmly

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It does indeed seem to be a trend to shorten General Chemistry to one semester and then start Organic Chemistry second semester of freshman year. My d22 did that this year at Barnard.

OP, even if it is a trend, that doesn’t mean you have to just follow. You know best how you learn. I third the suggestion of mapping out all four years. There are so many ways to get where you want to be. There is no one right path.

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@premed_equestrian the other thing you absolutely need is a plan B in case medical school doesn’t happen. Every single student who is considering medical school needs this Plan B. This year, less than 40% of applicants to medical schools received an acceptance. So…while you are looking at your options…discuss this with your advisor.

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I was just taking a look at the major that you’re interested in. The combination major in Biology and English has 2 fewer bio classes than the regular bio major (2 advanced bio electives) with about 14 “full” classes and two 1-credit classes on intro to bio at college and intro to co-ops. It then adds 11 extra English classes (assuming that you select a diversity in lit class that overlaps with a different English requirement).

Looking at the plans of study, it looks like NEU generally has students taking 17-19 hours/semester, which tends to work out to around 4 classes/semester (considering lab classes as part of the “4” classes…even though they’re technically not).

Basically, you have about 32 “classes” that you can take at NEU, and this major will use about 25 of them. I didn’t look at the other gen ed requirements, but will spending 78% of your time on classes in your major make you happy? The French minor will require 5 classes, bringing you to 30 of 32 classes (i.e. 94% of your classes).

If all of this sounds appealing to you, great!
/Sincere…there are all kinds of people in the world and for some, this might sound like a dream.

If spending most of your time with the prescribed requirements above does not sound appealing, to you, I would reconsider what major you want, with no need to decide which one it is at this time. What is it about bio that interests you? English? Don’t forget that in college, many additional classes/departments exist that may incorporate the aspects that you liked in those fields. Also, college is one of the last times where you can explore an array of fields with experts and a community of similarly-interested peers. So if you want to be able to take a class on gender studies, or the depiction of Middle Easterners in film, or sculpture, or bioanthropology, or whatever, this is your chance. Maybe it will be through your major, or maybe you’ll want to leave additional space for electives in your 8-semester plan so that you can dabble as your interests lead you.

/Earnest words from a person who loved to dabble in departments across the university

Sources below:

https://catalog.northeastern.edu/undergraduate/social-sciences-humanities/cultures-societies-global-studies/french-minor/#minorrequirementstext

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Thank you for the advice! I will make a backup plan. /warmly

As for the major in itself- I’m perfectly happy doing most of my classes for the major itself! I’d enjoy it. /honest, happily

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Northeastern is very odd about courses. Labs and recitations have separate course numbers than the main course for example. Also there are a few 1 credit hour courses that students are expected to take in freshman year. I think some of the ones OP listed are those.

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My kid loves math, took AP Calc BC in 11th grade, and thus skipped Calculus I in college. She found that Calculus 2 & 3 were hard and a lot of work. So yes, Calculus will require a LOT of work.

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Highly recommend doing this. Also, some colleges have online degree audits and you can actually plan all your courses in that system too and it will (usually) tell you if your plan fulfills all degree requirements or not.

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This is the class you’d have gotten credit for if you had an AP French score (4 or 5). So 1 semester of French more than what you did in HS.

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This is already 19 hours. Northeastern requires 128 to graduate, so 16 per semester. If you add French, you have to drop one of the other courses.

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whelp- took a pause from gaming to answer this, but does that mean I wouldn’t be able to minor in French, and just instead do the Bio/Eng major? /confused, unsure

-which would be fine by me, just a little disappointing. /to clarify

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You don’t need to declare a minor right away! So first things first- a fall semester which won’t overwhelm you, respects your need for sleep, eating, socializing, and starts you on the Bio/English path because if you find you don’t like college level bio (which many people do not) you’ll have time for Plan B. Or if you decide you LOVE college level bio, and ADORE genetics and want to become a genetic counselor, not a physician. Or whatever.

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It looks like the requirements for your combined Biology & English major are quite extensive. Add in the pre-med requirements that are not covered in the major requirements and the distribution requirements Northeastern has. That alone will equal probably 18 credit hours a semester. French minor would mean about 12 extra credits (how many semesters of foreign language does Northeastern require?), so an average of 1.5 per semester. Are you up for 20 credits per semester?