I’m curious about the Pre-Med Program at Penn State. Can any current/past students tell me about the science classes at PSU? I know they’re not easy classes and they take a lot of hard work to do well in but I was wondering what resources are available to students in these classes (ex. office hours, tutoring) and what science students did to get good grades. If I go there I’d be strictly committed on my academics because I’m interested in applying to Schreyer’s as a rising sophomore (and of course to be competitive for medical school). Penn State OOS tuition is very high and I want to make sure that if I enroll here I will get the resources needed to get my family’s money’s worth. It would be terrible to flunk out of classes and waste my parent’s money. Thanks in advance!
Bump…I want someone to answer too 
My son is bio major (going to med school) in Schreyer. It’s very competitive but doable. If you’re a gateway student, you don’t get the Schreyer $$ which is not good. Bio is rough, honors bio is worse. He studies a lot, as you carry honors courses as well as other courses. there’s good networking, good resources, but he hasn’t needed them. He stays in honors housing which is quieter, stay away from parties, you should do well.
The pre-med major is not as hard as the more rigorous quantitative majors such as Biochem and Molec bio, Chemistry or physics. However, the introductory classes are the same (Gen Chem , organic, Calc). The more rigorous majors require calculus-based physics (211-214, 3 semesters) while pre-med and bio only require PHYS251-252. In addition to a lower level of learning (but not low, of course), 251-252 is mostly occupied by life science majors shifting the curve.
ECoS has excellent resources for students. Such advising, tutoring and career services. They are located in the ritenour building. They have invested a significant amount of resources aimed at retaining students in their majors and improving their performance. But, its up to the students to utilize them. Instructors are required to have office hours. The truth is very few students take advantage of this very important resource, or do so only after they have done poorly on the first two exams. It’s all there for you… you just have to take advantage of them
One of the worst things someone can do is major in Premed. It could be a starting point if you really don’t know what else you might be interested in, but you might want to consider looking into other types of science majors eventually. If you don’t get into medical school or decide that medical school isn’t for you after your junior year, there’s really no going back. A better option is going for the science major. They are basically the same thing except you have a lot more career options with a more general major.
As for the science classes, bio is all memorization; chem is all conceptual. I personally like chemistry more, but it’s really not that much different content-wise from high school, at least at the introductory level. The biggest problem/challenge you’ll face as any kind of science major (premed, science, bio, anything really) is the nonstop science classes. Every semester, you’ll have at least 2 science courses (bio, chem, or physics) plus corresponding labs. It’s really hard in the first two years because they want to “weed out all of the people who aren’t serious about it” but then it gets better if you stick with it. (I did not make that up - pretty much every upperclassman I’ve talked to has agreed that it’s how it works)
Resources are fantastic at Penn State. There are guided study groups for every introductory science and math course. There are also TA, LA, and instructor office hours. Each are as helpful as the other and each have numerous hours that you can fit into your schedule. There are tons of online resources too. Bottom line: resources are great at Penn State.