<p>Sorry about all the questions today, I am going through my list- As I’ve mentioned I’m not going to BB, so I would like S to have a good idea of the direction he might be going in prior to meeting with his advisor.</p>
<p>I know I have read honors classes are not any harder than the regular classes. They are most likely smaller and perhaps more in-depth. </p>
<p>He will probably start in the pre-med track so he has to take Cal1, Bio & Chem the first year. Math has never been his strongest subject(he took AP Stats this year instead of AP Cal). What is the difference between honors Calc & regular?</p>
<p>Also Honors Bio requires you to take Chem first while regular Bio does not. (if I am reading the prereq’s correct) Honors Chem requires you to place into Cal1, but non honors does not.</p>
<p>So, they sound harder with the prereqs. He has not taken AP BIO, Chem or Physics. He took AP Envi Sci.</p>
<p>I also know you need to take 18 honors credits (right) so you have to get them through some of the intro classes, so these may be the only places to take them as APs may cover a bunch of the other intro classes.</p>
<p>If math is not one of his stronger subjects, I would suggest that he takes the regular section. From what I’ve read on CC (including many of m2ck’s posts) GPA and MCAT scores are the most important factors when applying to medical schools, so keep that in mind when choosing courses. Many honors students do take the honors version of General Chemistry (CH 117/118) and admit that they are not easy courses, though neither are non-honors versions (CH 101/102) . Rest assured that getting a B in honors chem is not the end of the world. :)</p>
<p>First of all…none of the pre-med pre-reqs will be easy no matter if they are honors or not. Courses like Gen Chem and OChem are weeder classes. The pre-med pre-reqs are the “more serious” versions in Bio and Chem. The non-majors and nursing majors are taking less-demanding versions. </p>
<p>A school will start out with X kids saying that they’re “pre-med majors” and end up with 75% fewer by the end of year 2. This does not mean that a school intentionally weeds kids; it just means that many kids (not your son) really don’t have what it takes, but they begin school thinking that they do. </p>
<p>For the best med school chances, GPA needs to be 3.7+ overall and in science/math. MCAT needs to be 30+. And ACT score is a good predictor of MCAT (plus or minus a few points) and GPA performance in science/math. This is why when someone with a modest ACT says that he is pre-med, it’s unlikely that he will end up with the science/math GPA and MCAT to go to med school. </p>
<p>The MOST important issue will be WHO is teaching each class (this is true for all schools). So, if you think that the best prof is teaching non-honors, than take that.</p>
<p>med schools don’t care if the classes are honors or not. </p>
<p>Some of the honors versions of DEPARTMENT courses, may be a bit harder (but should not be a lot harder). Those are different from UHP classes.</p>
<p>I know that honors physics required some programming, while reg physics didn’t. </p>
<p>That all said, again, I would be more concerned about WHO is teaching each class. If you need recommended names, I (and others) can get those for you. Also, rate my professor is good, too. My son LOVED the new prof Dr. Marco Bonizzoni…He’s from Italy, speaks excellent English, and did his post-doc at UTexas-Austin. Dr. B also “teaches” a Chem research class. Son also liked Kevin H. Shaughnessy for Chem.</p>
<p>Tx,
I will have him start with the professors and work from there. I will ask for some recommended names for Cal 1 & Bio as I would assume he might start with those.
He would also like later classes, but that is another issue ;)</p>
<p>I am certain he can hack it. Whether he will want to is the question. I don’t think he envisioned taking 24 credits of pure science in college. I took OChem 3 times, ha ha, I kept dropping it when I saw where my grades were headed. I finally took it over the summer and got a good grade. I’ve also heard med schools don’t like you to do that.</p>
<p>I was a little concerned about S completing the 18 honors credit hours, since he won’t need to take English- he’s got 6 credits from AP plus he took Eng102, History or Psych 101, but it looks like its only 1 or 2 classes- then you can do the rest as departmental honors. Hopefully they have enough there. He is going to major in Psych.</p>
<p>Later classes are a good idea, if you can manage such a schedule. My older son is graduating next month, and he managed to go 7 semesters without any early classes. This semester, he willingly signed up for an 8 am Weight Lifting class…just for fun. But, his first “real” class doesn’t start til 10.</p>
<p>I don’t think ANY frosh should be taking 8 am classes UNLESS they are a natural early riser. </p>
<p>My D really enjoyed the two Honors Freshman Seminars that she’s taken (they are designated as UH 155.) They are small (10-15 students) with in depth discussion & she’s gotten to know the students in those classes fairly well. Same thing with the IHP 155. And the topics are very interesting; something for everyone. She’s done with the 18 credit honors requirement at the end of this semester already, but still plans on taking more because she’s likes the format and topics.</p>
<p>If he is going to do premed, I believe he should take both chemistry and biology in his first semesters. The intro bio classes are not difficult and the teachers are typically pretty good, so he should be fine. By not taking chemistry in the first semester, he will be limiting his options for classes later on down the road. He has to take the first two general chemistries and then the next two organic chemistries. Because some classes require the second organic chemistry as a prerequisite (for example BSC 450 which is biochemistry), putting off taking them is a bad idea. </p>
<p>Also, the chemistry department has a way of putting the better teachers in the traditional sequence instead of the off sequence. For example, I took CH 101 in the spring with Dr. Thrasher, and CH 102 in the Fall with Dr. Timkovich. You can look them up on rate my professor, but know that they are awful. The CH 101 teachers in the fall are typically better and the same can be said for CH 102 in the spring. Also, all of the organic chemistry teachers are very good so do not worry as much about that. </p>
<p>DO NOT TAKE HONORS CHEM. It is a very difficult class that few people are happy they took. Honors Biology is much less demanding than Honors Chemistry.</p>
<p>Do not be worried about your son not getting enough honors credits. Many of the University honors classes and not very difficult, so that is a good source for honors credit. Also, some upper level teachers will allow a student to do honors by contract. This means that they will do additional work in the class and receive honors credit. This varies by teacher and not all will agree to this. A few more classes many students take to receive honors credit are Honors Intro to Psychology (3 hours), Honors Intro to Ethics (3 hours), Honors Literature classes (3 hours each), and Honors Introductory History classes (3 hours each). If he were to take those in addition to his UH classes, he would have fulfilled his honors requirements. Although taking honors classes in his major are probably more convenient because he is getting two requirements out of the way at once, there are other options available if he does not feel comfortable taking science honors classes.</p>
<p>This is a helpful list of classes that students use to fulfill their general requirements. Many of those classes are also listed with their honors sections.</p>
<p>Tx, it sounds like he won’t have a problem with getting the honors credits then, he is going to try to do ihp as well, so he could get some there.</p>
<p>S is going to AA and was also looking at a 1 credit Fr. Seminar. He is coming in with AP Eng, US History, Mod Euro, Stats, AP Envi Sci, Eng 102, Psych 101 and possibly writing/art credits-6 from a UCSD program(we will see about that one). So probably close to 30 I would think. I don’t think he will get the 6 credits for english plus 102, which would have been good to know before he took 102, but oh well. </p>
<p>I know bio & chem are recommended first semester. Bio, Chem & Calculus (plus probably one psych class) sound like a bummer first semester though. I thought Bio & Calc only would give him a better idea if he really wanted to do it or not. He needs a Bio(although not nec the premed one) for psych & calc is a good idea in case his plans change and he wants to get an mba or something.</p>
<p>PR is right. For pre-med, you really do need to take bio, chem, and Cal 1 the first semester. To somewhat lighten, the 4th class should be an easy class.</p>
<p>For pre-med, it tends to work like this</p>
<p>Frosh Fall
Bio
Gen Chem
Cal (if Cal isn’t a pre-req, then Cal could be delayed til Spring to keep first semester light)
easy class</p>
<p>Frosh Spring
Bio II
Gen Chem II
Cal (unless taken in the fall)
some other class</p>
<p>Soph Fall</p>
<p>OChem
Physics
something
something</p>
<p>Soph Spring
OChem II
Physics II
something
something</p>
<p>Junior and Senior years…finish req’ts for major.</p>
<p>Spring of Junior year …take MCAT</p>
<p>Summer before senior year…submit med school apps</p>
<p>Fall of senior year …take lightish load to allow for med school interviews…try to arrange a schedule that doesn’t meet on Fridays. </p>
<p>Since frosh Fall semester can be hectic (new at school and football game distractions), if taking Cal I can be delayed until Spring, I would do that.</p>
<p>I know med schools like to see that Bio, and don’t want the AP Bio, but if you have AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP Psychology, and your AP English with all A’s and 5’s on the exams with a school that offers strong AP’s what should your schedule look like?
Thanks, you guys ROCK!!:)</p>
<p>If you decide to take the AP science credits, then you need to show the “next level” of course (including courses with labs).</p>
<p>So, if you decide to use your AP Bio credits, you might take BioChem or Human Anatomy or Micro Bio or Cell Bio or Genetics (I wouldn’t recommend taking Cell Bio or Genetics as a frosh unless super strong in bio).</p>
<p>If you take the AP Chem credit, then taking OChem I and II and some other Chem classes will work also. There is a BioChem in the Chem dept as well. Also…BioChem II, Medicinal Chemistry, Intermediate OChem, PChem, Undergrad research, etc.</p>
<p>Sometimes a person’s major already requires some of these more advanced science courses.</p>
<p>Good point about Cal mom2ck. My only thought it would be longer and longer away from math. He took AP stats this year instead of math. Wonder if that would make it harder. </p>
<p>Can Physics be left until Jr. year, or is that not a good idea? It would be nice to be done with all the requirement before Jr year.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m also looking at the premed requirements. Right now my major is Political Science, and I’ve thought about doing a minor in biology. I have two questions. I’ve taken BIO 201/202 through dual enrollment. Will this qualify me to take a higher-level course? Also, I don’t think I will be able to take Calculus first semester as I will probably have to take a lower-level math first. (I haven’t had math in over a year right now due to my school’s scheduling). Will that end up being a problem with the pre-med requirements? Thanks!</p>
<p>*Can Physics be left until Jr. year, or is that not a good idea? It would be nice to be done with all the requirement before Jr year. *</p>
<p>You could do that. But, that would mean that you would not be completely done with Physics when you take the MCAT in spring of junior year. It may not be a big deal since not that much physics is on the MCAT. </p>
<p>As for math…your son may want to take pre-cal for Fall and Cal for Spring…if he’s concerned. Or, he could take a pre-cal class over the summer, and then take Cal in the fall.</p>
<p>No matter what, tell your son to immediately sign up for math tutoring so that he doesn’t ever get behind. Center of Teaching and Learning gives free tutoring. My older son is graduating, but my younger son will still be tutoring math.</p>
<p>*I have two questions. I’ve taken BIO 201/202 through dual enrollment. Will this qualify me to take a higher-level course? </p>
<p>Also, I don’t think I will be able to take Calculus first semester as I will probably have to take a lower-level math first. (I haven’t had math in over a year right now due to my school’s scheduling). Will that end up being a problem with the pre-med requirements?*</p>
<p>Those should qualify to move to the next levels…what were your grades? What were those Bio classes called? Are they the bio classes that bio majors take?</p>
<p>It’s totally ok if you need to start with pre-cal. It’s only usually a problem if you’re a Eng’g major. As a matter of fact, since math classes count for Science GPA, you will want to be as strong as you can, if taking pre-cal will make you stronger in math, then do so.</p>
<p>Also, be sure to check out profs’ reps. Many here can give you good names…</p>
<p>Gleason
Trace
Hadji
Martin
James Wang
Zhao
Evans</p>
<p>My son who is a rising 3rd year at Bama and is pre-med. He just made his selections based on who was teaching and his desired schedule. </p>
<p>He took Honors Cal II. Some honors math profs don’t require the honors students to turn in assigned homework. It’s kind of an honors system…you just need to do what you think you need to practice with homework. However, I don’t know if all honors math profs have that policy. </p>
<p>He opted to skip bio and chem by using AP credits and take higher level Bio and Chem classes so the honors/non-honors issue didn’t matter for him. Since med schools don’t accept AP credits, you have to take higher level courses to make up for them…if you want to use AP credits for college.</p>
<p>So…protect your GPA at all costs. Balance you schedule each semester so you’re not overwhelmed. </p>
<p>Your “Cum GPA” and your “Science GPA” are what’s important for med school (along with MCAT). Med schools don’t give bonus points for an honors class, so if you like the prof for non-honors, take that one.</p>
<p>I saw this was a pre-med/ honors scheduling question post so I’ve decided to tag along. When I tell people my schedule, they all tend to cringe and I just want honest opinions as to whether or not this schedule will be too difficult for a first semester freshman. As of right now, I have FR 202, MATH 145, BSC 300, CH 231, and TH 114. I’m a strong student (NMF), and after four years of high school i’m looking for a challenge. I just don’t want to ruin my GPA in the process. All profs get great reviews on ratemyprofessors with the exception of math which is TBA. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m not overly familiar with the premed curriculum, but it looks like you have a great schedule! Remember to not overload your social calendar and you should be fine.</p>