Understandable but that’s the case for most students. Most take one science class each year of HS.
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That’s a good idea! If I choose to stay in Bio/Eng combined, would it still be possible to make the courseload lighter? /wondering
And I’ll be sure to self-study over the summer, starting next week properly. For now, I’m gonna go back to gaming! (and i’ll try to do some Chem today too) /happily
That’s where figuring out a spreadsheet will be helpful – it will give you the information you need to see what is possible!
Good luck!
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That is something you can work out by mapping out a 4-year plan (excellent suggestion upthread) and reviewing it with both your academic and pre-health advisors.
I would also discuss taking only one science your first semester. I realize you presented a sample schedule so hopefully your advisor would suggest that anyway. Many schools actually limit first semester schedules to a max of 12-13 hours in acknowledgement of the challenge of adjusting to college life. I don’t know about NEU, but please take that into serious consideration.
Note: cross-posted with MMRose
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Making a spreadsheet of your course plan would be the best way to figure this out.
But as a rough guess, I just counted the credit hours of the requirements for the combined major and they come to at least 129. So that requires 16 per semester. I didn’t include NUPath requirements (except the first year writing course) or the pre-med courses not covered by your combined major (there are probably a couple not covered but the rest should be covered by the biology major.)
Now how much would it help you if you switched to English major but remained pre-med? I don’t know. All your pre-med requirements would need to be electives in that case. Will that reduce your course load by much? Probably not is my guess. Again a detailed spreadsheet would be very useful in figuring out the difference.
As a rule, anyone on the pre-med track promises to never sleep until they are practicing as a doctor many years later.
My kid is not on the pre-med track. But the way we worked on her course plan was that she knew what majors/minors she was interested in. We created a spreadsheet based on the requirements. Then she added in any courses that appealed to her. Every semester she goes over her course plan and it gets major revisions because her interests change or she’s not able to register for a class because it has a conflict with another, etc.
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This has to be the most hilarious yet accurate quote I’ve seen ever about medicine. /grinning
And I’ll take a close and detailed look to decide whether or not to change the major. /happily
Excellent advice for this and any student.
We do the same and at times it has highlighted the need to address an issue with her advisor (for example, an override to get off a waitlist). My kid also used it to work in the possibility of a semester abroad. Due to her college’s policy on accepting credits for lab sciences taken at other institutions (not happening!), she determined a full semester abroad would not be possible with her previous major. For her, the experience of a full semester abroad outweighed the major of choice. She will still complete all premed requirements but now is in a major with fewer lab requirements.
Big picture goals and the ability to pivot will serve one well.
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I see BIOL 3611 Biochemistry listed in the requirements.
Wait so would the Bio/Eng combined major work after all?? /curious
Also for context, I took two 3-credit college classes in HS, and those credits will be transferred over for elective credits so I’m pretty sure it’ll give me 2 electives to take or just cover w/those credits. Not 100% on how it works, but we have a courses virtual workshop today w/NEU advisors so I’ll ask and see! /thoughtful
I could probably take Psych or Socio for an elective since it’s for the MCAT anyways /musing
The combined major has no space for non-major electives at all, though you might need some for the NUPath or pre-med requirements.
Regarding the two college courses you took, check with your advisor if/how they would transfer.
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I think you need some structure for prep work for this summer. Unfortunately, the community college near you only offers the chem and math you need in their first session, which they’ve already begun about 12 days ago, so it’s too late to join that. However, modernstates.org has the coursework you need, with free online lectures given by teachers from great schools. You don’t have to take the CLEP exams that go with it, so don’t worry about that. How about if you were to make yourself a daily schedule of several hours a day in two sessions to do all the lectures and classwork online over the summer for General Chemistry and PreCalc (which I’m worried you have not mastered) and then Calculus, after the PreCalc. If you really wanted to, you could also do the Biology lectures, too, but I don’t think that you should double up on science this year. You can schedule in breaks for fun, days off for riding, etc. This is a way that you can get familiar with the course material at home, on your own schedule, for free over the summer. You will be shocked at how fast college classes move. You need to be familiar with the material before Sept for your best chance at a successful launch.
Tons of people enter college unsure of what they want to major in. You’ve been absolutely adamant about wanting to go to med school to become an MD who does both research and clinical practice in the area of genetic diseases. So put your premeds, and getting A’s in them, first. You can worry about your major later on. You should major in something that you absolutely love, that is very easy for you to get A’s in. Med schools really like applicants who majored in different humanities, things other than Bio and BioChem. Better for you to take stuff you like at first, then decide on a major later on. You can be a French major, or an English major, or anything else you like, and still take genetics without being a Bio major.
So, again, I recommend taking general Chem with lab, on a slower, 2 semester track if possible. Math, probably Calc 1 if you can be ready for it in time for September (and if you’re not able to prep yourself for it over this summer, don’t take it until you’ve prepped yourself for it over next summer). The best sounding English class you can get into, with the best teacher. And if the teacher for French is good, the level of French that you tested into. You can take a semester of Stats later on (it’s easier than Calc) - best to get the semester of Calc out of the way now, after having prepped for it over the summer.
Are you planning on continuing lab research this summer, or in the fall? You already have an in with a lab, so you don’t have to try to start over at NEU, except for the convenience of it being on campus. If so, that’s another reason to keep the load light.
Don’t worry about the possible Bio major right now. That can come later on.
If you are successful in the 2 semester gen chem sequence, and are still planning on being a premed, but without majoring in science at NEU, then I would suggest that you plan on taking both semesters of orgo next summer at a 4 yr public college near you. If you’re going to major in a science at NEU, you’d have to check to see whether they’d take the credits from orgo at the 4 yr public college. Then you could take both semesters of Bio in soph year, and both semesters of Physics in junior year. You will also have to take a semester of Psych or Sociology, for many med schools, probably also Biochem, and two semesters of English with writing.
As you can see, this doesn’t leave you a ton of room for other classes. If you figure that you’ll take 32 classes plus labs, (because really, taking more than 4.5 classes a semester is too much what with living, riding, research, etc.), you can see that the premeds are 15 classes plus their 8 labs; 13 and 6 labs if you can do orgo over a summer at a state college. That leaves you 17 or 19 other classes at NEU, depending upon where you do the organic. Enough for a major, for sure, plus some exploring, genetics, French, etc. This is probably the least high pressure way to get through the premeds.
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This is a very truncated way to take organic chemistry…and summer sessions are even more fast paced than during the academic year. My kid took organic chemistry, the full year, during one summer and she said it was the worst summer of her life. Courses were M-F from 9-4. She studied every single night until about 10. She worked Saturday mornings from 9-1, and took the rest of that day off. Then she studied all day Sunday. Rinse and repeat all summer long.
Yes, it was the only course she was taking, but she said it was absolutely THE hardest course she had ever taken…and she was an engineering and biology double major.
Please think carefully about taking the full year of organic chemistry in the summer.
My opinion (and that of my kid who did this)
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My daughter took organic chemistry over the summer as well. A full semester condensed into a few weeks. Very, very fast paced and a ton of work every night. I do not recommend it for this student. I think taking it as a regular (non-summer) course would be in her best interest.
My daughter was a biology major with a chemistry (automatic minor) and Hispanic Studies double minor.
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Decided to do an English major and French minor, on the premed track- would that work? Even without the minor (for now), English on the premed track? /musing
Note- haven’t made the official change yet but I’ll do it after a bit tonight /warmly
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I think you are smart to have one major instead of two.
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Re: French – in my opinion, the goal isn’t the minor, it’s fluency. Could you do one of your co-ops in France? Or Quebec?
My oldest did that – an immersion program over the summer, and then an internship in an office in Belgium. He was one class shy of meeting the minor’s requirements.
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I’m sure I could. I’m at the C1 level fluency wise, so I’m at the level of a native speaker. I’d been meaning to do a study abroad in Paris or something to the likes of that. /happily, musing
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You don’t need to pick a minor now (or ever!) You can love a subject, take the first class in the sequence, and see how it goes. I promise. You are boxing yourself in here by committing to many, many required classes without knowing how many other things you are going to want to study! And frankly, without knowing whether your math foundational skills are going to be strong enough to get you through the required math, physics and chem you’ll need to be pre-med.
Just focus- for now- on a manageable load for your first semester. You need to eat and sleep to keep your health in check!
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Everybody is cheering you on, but I also think it’s important to think about a Plan B. Hopefully you will not need it, but it’s nice (and important) to have just in case you do.
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Please please do look for a variety of options. There are lots of ways one can contribute to health care without being a doctor.
This might give you some great ideas:
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