<p>Can we take Bio1A without having taken Chem1A?
When should we take bio1A? I heard it's really hard and considered a weeder.
Whats the easiest RCA to take?
How many units should I take for my first semester? Is 15 too much?
I am a pre-med planning to major in Public Health. For my first semester, I am planning to take Math16A and one RCa course but not sure which one. I need two more courses. It will either be Chem1A or Bio1B, help me decide. For the last course, I am not sure what to take.</p>
<p>Planning a schedule for college is definitely harder than in high school. There are so many requirements to fulfill and many possibilities to choose from. I am only beginning to plan out my schedule and I am already confused. Somebody give me some guidance. Thanks.</p>
<p>Oh and how do we know what day of the week each class will have its final when we register for our classes?</p>
<p>I’m not sure how Telebears operates with restrictions, but:</p>
<p>Bio 1A should be taken after Chem 3A, which in turn (to my knowledge) should be taken after Chem 1A. Telebears might let you sign up for it regardless, but it seems…unwise…to go in without some background in OChem.</p>
<p>15 units first semester is probably fine, though it’s going to depend largely on what classes and professors you’ve got.</p>
<p>I’m told Bio 1B is easier than Chem 1A. You’ll have to take both at some point if you’re applying to Med School, though.</p>
<p>Public Health is probably a good choice of major, just fyi. And yeah, scheduling can get overwhelming; I made the mistake of trying to plan out my entire four years before I started my first semester. That happened about a year ago, and my head still hurts.</p>
<p>I don’t know if the finals are actually scheduled until after class signups, but the classes are given Final Exam number blocks; you’ll be fine as long as you only have one class in each block.</p>
<p>What’s the easiest RCa and RCb I should take? Thanks to whoever will reply :)</p>
<p>jonno…does Physics 8A have any prereq or should I have some background in anything before taking it? I was going to do Chem 1A in the fall, but I heard it is easier in the spring and the teacher has better reviews for the spring so I dropped it and added Physics.</p>
<p>Also, should I take it in my first semester? What else have u heard about it? I’m also a MCB major.</p>
<p>Most take Chem 1A in the fall because it is a prereq to several of the bio major courses (chem 3a, chem 3b and bio 1a) as well as for pre-meds who want to complete their coursework in time to take MCATs.</p>
<p>Those who are taking it in spring are often neither bio majors nor premed students. The different population of students is part of the reason for different grades and experiences between fall and spring.</p>
<p>If I took Physics, should I take chem 1A at the same time then? Because if I weren’t, it wouldn’t matter would it? Since I would just be switching the two semesters for either subject? </p>
<p>Like for fall, my schedule would be Physics and other courses except Chem and in the spring i would take chem. </p>
<p>Or fall=chem, spring=physics. However, I wouldn’t fulfill any other science courses at the same time unless it wouldn’t be hard to manage.</p>
<p>most premed and mcb students defer physics to their second year. The order of the pre-req classes that are listed for the majors are also the approximate sequence or priority for taking them. Calc, Chem 1a, Chem 3a, Chem 3b, Bio 1a, Bio 1b, Phy 8a, Phy 8b. Many do take bio 1b before 1a or take bio 1a before chem 3b - the sequence is not a hard rule, just a general guideline. </p>
<p>That said, nothing at all wrong with taking phys 8a for your first semester.</p>
<p>Someone please help me by answering my original question: What’s the easiest RCa and RCb I should take? Thanks!</p>
<p>German R5A and R5B are the easiest. Also the most hotly contested. Very hard to land a spot unless the telebears scheduling gods have smiled on you.</p>
<p>At the moment German R5A/B still have quite a few spots left, so you can probably get in if you Phase I during your CalSO</p>
<p>I didn’t see R5B for german. Are u sure there is one? If so, I will grab that spot.</p>
<p>The new system of quotas by class level has left openings for freshmen - while sophs and juniors slots are full already. </p>
<p>No German R5B this fall, just R5A. They will likely do an R5B in spring instead.</p>
<p>Wow thanks Leftist, thats a nice plan. But may I ask why you squeezed Chem 3A and Bio 1B into one semester. Isn’t that too much? And would this plan work for Public Health because i know chem1A is not a pre req for the major. However, we need to take it for med school and bio1A which is a pre req for public health. And when I checked the schedule for German, there is no final exam group listed for it. It just says none so does this mean this class has no final exam?</p>
<p>bio 1b is relatively easy for most, unlike chem 3a, chem 3b and bio 1a. Since a premed would generally need to do more than one premed prereq per semester to be ready for the MCATs ‘on schedule’, combining the more gentle ones is the best workload management combo. Math and Chem 1A is commonly combined too. </p>
<p>Bio 1A requires Chem 3A as a pre-req. Chem 3A requires Chem 1A as a pre-req. Thus, the chain of requirements means you need chem 1a to take 3a to take bio 1a. </p>
<p>No final exam group because there is a big paper (several writign assignments) that constitute the grade for the class, not a final. </p>
<p>Some classes have no final. Some, like Bio 1AL lab, have the final before finals week. If there is a final exam group listed, there is an extremely high chance there is a final exam as part of the course.</p>
<p>Bio 1B is not easy; the correct analysis is that it is easier than Bio 1A/L and Chem 3A-B.</p>
<p>I suggest combining Bio 1B with Chem 3A/L because it is much less stressful than combining it with Chem 3B/L (FYI Chem 3BL is a major timesuck, so I’d recommend taking no other lab course with it)</p>
<p>yep - that is what I meant by “relatively easy” - but reinforcing the advice is worthwhile since the incoming students are bombarded by so much new information they might forget the really important survival tips among all the noise.</p>
<p>Hi guys, thanks for all the replies so far and sorry for asking a lot but I am just nervous about my first semester. Right now, I am planning to do Math16A, German R5A, and Chem1A. That is 11 units. I need 2 more units in order to meet the 13 units requirement. Should I just take Bio1B or is that too much for the first semester since I am already taking chem1A? What is another fourth class that I can take that is 2 units or more. Maybe one of the Social Science reqs for Public Health like Psych, Sociology, Econ, or Poli Sci or would that be an overload? Thanks.</p>
<p>I would recommend four classes. Try to add a 3-4 unit breadth course. If it is too much, you can always drop it or turn a class to P/NP</p>