<p>
I would also suggest taking 3.091 in the fall rather than the spring, maybe even more strongly. Most people take chemistry in the fall, and the people who take it in the spring are disproportionally people who failed it in the fall. </p>
<p>
I know what you mean, and it’s taught very differently than that at MIT. 
</p>
<p>But if you’re not interested in bio at all, 7.013 in the spring might be an even better choice – it’s traditionally considered to be easier than 7.012. (For either class, there will be endlessly put-upon course 7 people in your living group whose raison d’etre is to get their engineering friends through 7.01x.) You could also check out 7.014, which has more of an environmental focus. At any rate, you don’t need to take biology your freshman year – it’s the one science GIR people often put off until junior or senior year – and you could wait to take it until you have a good handle on what it takes for you to get through an MIT class.</p>
<p>Sorry to be pushing this so hard. It’s just that spring chemistry is generally considered to be Not a Good Idea.</p>
<p>
I haven’t commented on this just because I don’t know much about MISTI. Shoot LauraN an email/PM – I think she did MISTI Spain one summer, and she might know more about the other programs. </p>
<p>
Yes, it’s true that most people do UROPs continuously from the school year to the summer to the school year again. And it’s useful to have spent serious time and effort on a small number of projects, in terms of grad school admissions. But it’s not automatically detrimental to have gaps in your UROP time, particularly if the gap is because you spent that time doing something else interesting and useful.</p>