I will start college on August being on the premed track. I am planning on majoring in Biology and finishing all classes that will get me ready for the MCAT by the end of my junior year. I plan on having straight A’s by studying really hard. I have taken AP Calculus in high school and plan on taking it in college as I do not want to transfer my AP credits. I will not transfer my credits because I do believe that I will get an A in AP Calc if I take the class with a teacher. So the classes I will be taking are, Principles of chemistry, Psychology(Behavior, Health Care and Society - Psychology for the Health Professions), and my school requires a seminar, which can be any subject. I am trying to decide between Calculus and economics. Additionally, I will be required to volunteer 10 hours a week and plan on being on the track team. So considering all of this, do you guys think this is too much for a freshman student?
Four classes/semester with 2 labs is the typical college course load for a science majors/pre-meds.
10 hours/week volunteering is do-able. (Many students work 10 hours/week as part of their work/study so nothing unusual there.)
The track team is the question mark? It depends upon how much time is required for practices & meets and how much travel that requires you to miss class is involved.
One question–why no biology classes your first semester if you are planning on majoring in biology? Unless your college has gen chem as a pre-req for bio classes, it’s usually necessary to start coursework in your declared major freshman year or you won’t be able to complete all the required classes and electives (~12 classes in major plus co-reqs) needed for an on-time graduation.
If you are planning on applying to med school after junior year, you need to underload your fall (and possibly your spring) semester senior year to allow for interview travel. Med school interviews are always during the week, usually Tues-Wed-Thurs and you will be missing (hopefully) a good deal of class time.
@WayOutWestMom , “One question–why no biology classes your first semester if you are planning on majoring in biology? Unless your college has gen chem as a pre-req for bio classes, it’s usually necessary to start coursework in your declared major freshman year or you won’t be able to complete all the required classes and electives (~12 classes in major plus co-reqs) needed for an on-time graduation.”
My school has this premed schedule for all premed students, so that’s why I will be taking the classes I mentioned. I can take Bio 111(intro Bio) if I want to.
Thank you for all the insightful information you comment on my questions! I highly appreciate it.
I think 16 credits for your first semester is pretty reasonable. Taking bio or not is up to you, but you want a lighter course load to boost your confidence as a premed.
@WayOutWestMom , I have attached the schedule premeds should follow. I know I have to take Bio 111, but I’m holding that off for my sophomore year since I’ll have enough space to fit in two more classes in addition to the ones listed on the premed route schedule. I might also consider Biochem as my potential major after I get used to the college environment and professors. And the reason why I am taking Calculus is because I might end up minoring in mathematics. Any suggestions on majoring in Biochem and minoring on Math? I’m guessing it’s going to be hard, but I have the passion for all three subjects.
Adding a minor in math will expand your post-college employability–which is important for pre-meds since the post-graduation job market in biochem is poor. I recommend it. (Full disclosure: both my daughters–both now MDs-- had math as one of their double majors.) So will having some basic programming or coding skills. JAVA, MATLab, PYTHON, PHP, SQL, SPSS are all desirable skills for science majors. (And please, if I can write code, anyone can. Not a science major. English Lit major.)
Although biochem is less math-dependent than a straight chem major, the more math you are able to take the better prepared you’ll be for for things like thermodynamic and kinetics (chem 341) or advanced analytic chem (chem 431).
Fitting it all into your schedule will be tricky. The easiest way would be to accept your AP credit (assuming you got a 4 or, even better, a 5) and start with Calc 2. AP Calc AB is adequate preparation for Calc 2. If you want to retake Calc 1, then take calc 1 as your 4th class for your fall semester. Earlham requires 6 classes for a minor. (FWIW, the minor doesn’t require multivariable calc or even differential equations! Which a math minor elsewhere else requires. Pretty weak. )
P.S. I looked at the website and the pre-med path looks like it doesn’t contain enough in-major credits to meet graduation requirements–please meet with your advisor once you get to college to set up a 4 year plan for your specific major.
@WayOutWestMom , I cannot even thank you enough! I will make sure to talk with an academic adviser when I arrive on campus. But before that, I will try taking your advise and incorporate all the required classes and plan my own 4-year schedule in order to graduate on time. Have a wonderful day! :)>-
General rule of thumb for pre-med in Freshman year is - DO NOT overload yourself with hard classes, particular the weeder science classes in your college (each college is different, some uses Bio, some uses Chem, some uses Phy). Freshman year is for adjustment from HS to college, and to your college rigor. No more than 2 pre-med science classes with lab in each semester, and fill the remaining classes with easy ones.
Remember once you overload yourself with hard classes and tank your GPA, it’s going to take “forever” to climb out of the big hole YOU dig yourself into.