Help for possible pre-med: Trade-off between learning and GPA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hi everyone, I'm considering pre-med and right now for my schedule I basically just have Math 1A, Chem 1A and I think I want to add Chinese also. My brother, who graduated from berkeley two years ago, had some advice for me though (he was also a pre-med), and that was to take easy classes just for the GPA. I know I've heard this around everywhere regarding premeds, but I'm in a bit of a dilemma here.</p>

<p>For example, my brother suggested I take Math 16A instead of Math 1A, even though I already took AP Calc AB in high school and I think I did really well in it (still waiting for test scores though). Also, he said I should not skip out of Chem 1A (which I wasn't planning to do anyways) and for the Chinese, to purposely do poorly on the placement exam so as to be placed in an easier class. While I understand that there is this mentality that you must protect your GPA at all costs if you are a premed, I really find it lame that it has become the status quo to do this. </p>

<p>I love learning stuff and I'm afraid I will be bored with the subject material if I take classes that are purposely easy. For example, I REALLY want to learn Chinese well because it's part of my heritage and I want to be able to actually use it and be able to read it, etc. but if I take my brother's suggestion, I'm afraid I won't learn much more than I already know. Has anyone else gone through this dilemma and what was your reaction to it? Help! :P</p>

<p>And on an unrelated note, I'm waiting for my AP Lit score but I think I did well enough on it to pass out of R1A and R1B, but apparently med schools still want you to take a year of english regardless of AP Credit. Should I stick to R1A/R1B classes or maybe take something higher since I can skip out of those classes? I guess it's a bit on the same note because it would be more interesting to take the harder classes but those classes would be . . . well, harder ;p</p>

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<p>Quick question about your question, lol: your brother told you to take Math 16A instead. Does that mean Math 16A would be one of the easier math classes? Would the high school “equivalent” of Math 16A be something like Intro Calc, or…?</p>

<p>Either way, I think you should go ahead with the Mandarin. When there’s someone who seems as passionate as you are to learn something (especially something you have a connection to, like your heritage) I think you can easily find it in yourself to study hard and push away any procrastination, etc. I mean, only you know how much of a workload you can take, but of course start with a Beginner class or whatever class you think matches your fluency. It seems like your curiosity would be enough to push you forward, in my opinion. Who knows, maybe in the long run your “breaking away” from the status quo will stand out to Med Schools? :)</p>

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<p>I agree with Lemoncat- since you are so passionate about Chinese-just take whatever class the placement test puts you in. Liking a subject immensely will go a long way in motivating you to study. The language courses aren’t that difficult, so as long as you put in the work, you should still be able to pull off the A. You don’t want to perpetuate the premed stereotype- taking classes for the sake of GPA. The whole point in college is to explore and expand your knowledge.</p>

<p>As for other premed reqs- it is not advisable to skip out of anything. For english, I would recommend taking the R1A/1B, unless you enjoy english and want to take classes with a more specific emphasis. I have to agree with your brother for math. Unless you are insistent on declaring MCB/plan to take math beyond a year, there is no need to take the 1 series. It is a lot of work, and frankly, is a GPA killer for many students. The 16 series is very manageable and is basically a free A. </p>

<p>Hope this helps. PM me if you have any more questions.</p>

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<p>Oh thanks for the replies, I didn’t see this until today :)</p>

<p>@LemonCat - Yeah, 16A is considered the less in-depth class and easier than 1A, and is more meant for life sciences majors whereas 1A is for physical science majors and engineers. I ended up passing out of 1A with my AP Calc AB score but I think I will go with 16A . . . but I’m still not 100% decided. I have one friend who is telling me to take harder classes and he gives a lot of good arguments why. He wasn’t premed but he skipped out of a lot of classes and maintained a really good GPA anyways (about 3.8) and is trying to convince me to do the same, though I’m really conflicted because the majority of people are telling me to take the bare minimum / easiest classes possible.</p>

<p>I think I will take at least a few Chinese classes during college, I ended up placing 10X for the placement test (I didn’t purposely do bad like my brother told me to, but I didn’t try to guess on ones I didn’t know as there was an option for “did not understand.” It would have inflated my score a lot since there were only 3 choices so you have a 33% chance of a correct answer just by guessing). Probably spring semester since I don’t think it’s offered in fall.</p>

<p>@hrhcow, thank you a lot for the advice. I definitely don’t want to perpetuate the stereotype and I think I won’t purposely dumb my schedule down but instead take classes I am genuinely interested in even if they are known as pretty hard classes. </p>

<p>My scores got back and I can pass out of R1A/R1B and Chem 1A, but I think I won’t skip Chem 1A and I’ll look at a few of the higher english courses to see if any of them interest me, if so I’ll probably look at doing R1B/higher english course. I think I will take your advice and take 16A. If eventually I decide to change majors I can always finish 16A and then take 1B since I already have 1A credit, right? Or will I have to finish 16B first before 1B?</p>

<p>Lemoncat, are you an incoming freshman also? And hrhcow I was wondering what your freshman schedule was like just out of curiousity and possibly to help my own schedule forming as well. Right now here’s what my schedule looks like tentatively . . .</p>

<p>Math 16A (3 units)
Chem 1A (4 units)</p>

<h2>NUSCTX 10 (3 units)</h2>

<p>Art 23AC (4 units) (not sure, might add in phase 2)
VIS SCI 23 Sec. 1 (1 unit) (I really want to take this seminar but it’s full! All the seminars seem to be full since I’ve started choosing classes so late)</p>

<p>I don’t think I’m going to take an english first semester, so as to lower the amount of reading during my first semester while I’m getting acclimated to college.</p>

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<p>I agree with the previous posters on taking 16A; you don’t need to stress yourself out if 16A fulfills a pre-med requirement! Just use your knowledge from Calc AB to your advantage, and it’ll give you more time and opportunity to focus on other classes you’ll be interested in. :)</p>

<p>As a fellow incoming freshman, I’m also facing a similar kind of dilemma since I’m thinking about going pre-Haas, but still want to explore other subjects. So far, my schedule looks like this:</p>

<p>UGBA 10 (3 units)
Physics 10C (3 units)</p>

<h2>Anthro 3AC (4 units)</h2>

<p>Chinese 1A (I’m thinking about adding this during Phase 2)</p>

<p>Even though Chinese will only be an elective and fulfills no pre-Haas requirements, I’m still eager to sign up for it for personal reasons. :slight_smile: So, I’ll just go with this and, if it doesn’t work out, I can still change my schedule around a bit during the Adjustment Period after school starts.</p>

<p>Also! I’m not sure if it applies in all cases, but I have read somewhere on the berkeley website that you can go 16A -> 1B. You might want to verify it, though!</p>

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<p>It’s best to keep within the same series (i.e. 1A => 1B, 16A => 16B) You might not be able to get full credit (i.e. if you take 1A, then transfer to 16B, you will get 2 unit credits instead of 3). </p>

<p>My first semester for Fall I took Chem 1A, Math 1A, History 5, and German R5A.
For Spring I took Math 1B, Chem 3A/L, Poli Sci 2, History 4B.</p>

<p>I understand now that Chem 1A is actually split into lecture and lab, so it is total of 5 units. Your schedule is pretty manageable though I think. Chem 1A is pretty easy if you took AP Chem, and even if you didn’t, it’s not too difficult. Even though I didn’t take the 16 series, I looked at my roommate’s hw, and was surprised by how it easy it was (I want to say the class is like 30-40% A’s but don’t quote me on that). I took Nutrisci 10 in my sophomore year, and thought it was pretty easy.</p>

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<p>Ah sweet :slight_smile: Thanks for posting your freshman schedule ^^ Did you take AP classes in highschool? I see a lot of interesting classes that you took like poli sci (which I might be interested in) and history, and I was wondering what did you end up majoring in? Also do the curves work differently for each class if 30-40% of people are able to get A’s?</p>

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<p>I had also signed up for math 16a at Calso but after reviewing the MCB handbook <a href=“http://mcb.berkeley.edu/undergrad/images/stories/forms/handbook/mcbhandbook.pdf[/url]”>http://mcb.berkeley.edu/undergrad/images/stories/forms/handbook/mcbhandbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt; I noticed the section that said once we take 1a/1b then no credit will be given for the 16 series and figured it was better just to do 1 now. Despite being a harder class and filled with more math orientated majors, I received a 5 on calc BC this year and have enjoyed math so I am not worried too much. </p>

<p>That said if you are non-mcb premed, just do 16.</p>

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<p>if you enjoy math, take 1a/1b. mcb only takes the 1 series, though i have heard in some circumstances, they will let it go if you are a neuro/cdb emphasis (rarely)</p>

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<p>Back again thinking about taking an english course over the summer. I’ve already passed out of the R&C requirements but premed still requires a year of English. So I’m debating on whether just settling for an R&C class, or perhaps taking just an English Department class that might be harder but could possibly be more interesting / help me more in the future when I write? Are there any suggestions to good classes anyone recommends / any experiences with English classes anyone would be able to share? Thanks!</p>