<p>Hi, I was wondering how many bio majors (non-pre-meds) take the AP 5 sequence their first year. I've heard it's really hard and sometimes been advised to take it my 2nd year, but I want to start taking the advanced classes ASAP (just because I love bio, specially cell biology, genetics, and molecular). Also, someone on another thread advised to double major because bio was so easy. Is that true?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, Bio is far from an easy major. I have a friend at UChicago right now, and she’s currently planning to major in Bio (pre-med), and she says so many students come in as Bio majors but then quickly change because of the difficulty. I have no firsthand experience, though, so I can’t tell you for sure.</p>
<p>As a Bio major, I’d advise to take the AP5 sequence your first year no matter what your advisor tells you. You can also take Gen (or O-) Chem as well your first year, but know if you do that it’ll be a decent amount of work with 2 lab classes (although you will have to double up at some point anyway so just realize that). I suggest taking it first year because, for me, the class was a great introduction to how to really think about Biology and getting started with tackling primary research articles. The class really allowed me to realize my passion for the subject and that has really helped me focus my studies here. Others have taken it and definitely don’t feel the same way, however, but i’ll argue it’s better to get that feeling 1st year than 2nd year when you have more leeway in terms of classes.</p>
<p>As for it being an easy major, well it depends what classes you take. If you take the 180s and non-challenging electives I can imagine that it would be a fairly straightforward major. But there are many challenging classes offered within the major, including the AP5 sequence, so if you want a challenge you can find one.</p>
<p>how’s the neuroscience specialization sequence?</p>
<p>@WindSlicer: Thanks for your advice, I wanted to take the AP 5 sequence along with gen chem (not honors), calc, and hum. What courses did you take your first year? I’m up for a challenge, but I don’t want to go overboard. </p>
<p>@insomniac159: I wasn’t sure whether or not to be pre-med (my parents wanted me to be pre-med), but I finally decide it against it. I guess for pre-meds, to whom GPAs are extremely important, taking the AP 5 sequence their 1st year can negatively affect their grades.</p>