<p>No. I am a chemistry major and Orgo is really hard.</p>
<p>picaro,
orgo is kinda different from other science classes; science/math/engg majors don't seem to have much of an edge over others.</p>
<p>when I talked to a student, she gave me this insight on nu orgo. If you are not a chem major, take the 210 orgo sequence. Yes it is longer, but she said the workload is very do-able. the 212 sequence, the one for chem majors, is shorter, but will be very difficult, and something you don't want your freshman year. so, if you got a 5 on the ap chem exam, don't retake gen chem...go for the orgo, but take the easier track</p>
<p>Which orgo professor for the 210 sequence would you recommend?</p>
<p>how much more difficult is chemistry 171 than chem 101?</p>
<p>im definetly new to this, but whats grade inflation/deflation?
it seemed interesting, do some colleges use it to boost student gpa or deflate to make themselves look better in some aspect</p>
<p>I also would like to know this too. For someone who has an AP score of 4, is it better to take Chem 171 or still start with Chem 101? Are the grading curves similar for both classes? Thanks</p>
<p>^ i am wondering the same.</p>
<p>Just an added FYI- orgo is also required for bio majors at NU. Only 2 quarters are needed but if you are pre-med you have to take all 3 classes. If you take orgo at any school other than NU, it will not count for credit if you are planning on majoring in any of the sciences. </p>
<p>DS took the orgo and bio sequences separately and he is glad he did. He is a bio major and found the bio sequence harder than orgo. The “curve” in orgo was a bit more generous than in bio, not that either one had much of a curve. If I remember correctly, there was no curve at all in bio. He did get A’s in orgo so it is not impossible to do. He liked his orgo profs very much and has used one of them as a reference for med school. </p>
<p>Be careful if you are planning on using science AP credits to get out of some of the science courses. If you major in bio,you cannot use AP bio credits and that goes for the other science sequences too. The credits can be applied to an elective but will not get you out of the course.</p>
<p>The important thing though is that med schools frown upon using AP credits to replace the sciences. Some don’t mind, but others do. Check out the pre-med forum - there are multiple threads about this.</p>
<p>you say that your son took bio/orgo separately and is applying to med school? is he applying for the fall immediately after senior year or taking a gap year? i’m curious because that sounds like a much better route to take! what was the basic layout of his science schedule at nu through the years?</p>
<p>DS is a senior now. He has decided to apply to med school this summer and start a year from now. He is working on his secondary apps right now and keeping his fingers crossed that he gets some interviews soon. About half of his friends have decided to take a gap year and the other half have decided to apply. His adviser told him to wait until he got his MCAT and see the last 2 qtrs of his jr year went before deciding to which way to go. He did very well the past 2 qtrs, has a great GPA and did very well on the MCAT. </p>
<p>It is not just the grades and MCAT that were important. The adviser also wanted him to make sure he had plenty of hospital volunteer experience and research experience. </p>
<p>He started his research spring qtr of freshman year and did that for a year and a half. He also got involved in a couple clubs and a sport. This past year NU started to offer a special program for Junior pre med majors. It allowed him to do a shadowing experience at the downtown hospital, which he thoroughly enjoyed and had a doctor that was enthusiastic about precepting premeds. The residents liked taking him around and showing him things. He even got to observe surgery. From there, he got a volunteer job at the hospital and goes once a week for several hours. It has been a great experience for him. </p>
<p>As for his science sequence - 1 yr gen bio with lab, 1 yr gen chem with lab, 1 yr orgo with lab, 1 yr physics with lab. Plus his bio major courses.
He took gen chem freshman year, orgo over the first summer break, gen bio sophomore year and started physics the third qtr (don’t have to take physics in sequence) and finished physics jr year. He purposefully planned it so that all of his science courses were completed before taking the MCAT. In between all that, he has taken his bio courses. He is a dual major and has been working on his other major courses as time permits. Except for one class, he is done with bio and will just focus on his second major senior year. </p>
<p>I know many people advise against taking orgo over the summer months since med schools tend to look on that negatively. They think you are taking the easy way. I can’t really tell you if that is true or not since DS has not started his interviews yet. I will tell you that summer orgo is very, very intense. A lot of kids at NU take summer orgo. You do not have to take all 3 orgo courses over the summer, you can take 1 or 2 and then take the rest during the regular school year. Several of DS friends dropped out of summer orgo due to their grades and ended up finishing up the sequence during the sophomore year. You have to choose what works best for you.</p>
<p>BTW_-Not just orgo is offered during the summer. I think gen chem and gen bio are also offered.</p>
<p>Thanks for your info. My son is a HS senior and is trying to figure out where to go. it helps to know some of what’s involved once college starts. We had been considering LACs, but he wants a nat’l school and likes research. he’s weighing NU, UChicago, WUSL, and Rice. BTW, I’m mom3boys! Son #2 is starting @ NU this fall.</p>
<p>So…I just graduated NU and am now applying to med schools.</p>
<p>I think NU is a fantastic place to do premed IF you are willing to give it your all (literally).</p>
<p>The thing is, if you can do well in Orgo / Bio at NU, med schools will pay attention to you. Med schools know how hard the sciences (especially Orgo) are at NU. They absolutely appreciate those of us who succeed here.</p>
<p>I guess what you all need to decide is how gung-ho you want to be about premed during your undergrad. If you want to be in a ridiculously intense, potentially high reward, environment, then NU is your place. If you want a more relaxed premed route, then maybe consider a less competitive school.</p>
<p>For me it was perfect. Orgo was my fav college class. Yah, it was ridiculous. But damn was I proud of myself after earning those A’s. An incredible experience. </p>
<p>Also, everyone at NU gets stuff done. Seriously, all of the campus groups are very prolific and accomplish great things. If you are extremely motivated and want to be around others like yourself this will be mecca for you.</p>
<p>It is only august, and I have 5 med school interviews…so if you do well at NU, you will get into med school.</p>
<p>My advice: come here, do well, and you will be on your way to a top school for medicine.</p>
<p>Also: I advise taking a year off before med school. Enjoy your college years! They will be gone too quickly. I delayed starting my premed courses to my sophomore year…so I had all freshman year to get situated and accustomed to life at NU. Best decision I ever made. We all have so much time to figure our futures out, make sure you enjoy the process. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>uchicago is a wonderful school. my brother goes there. my father went there. my brother is a very sucessful chemistry major. he has just recently won the goldwater scholarship. however, he told my younger brother that uchicago is the wrong place for premed. uchicago is incredibly difficult and the premed advising sucks. go elsewhere for premed.</p>
<p>Just curious. As an incoming frosh to WCAS, could I take Bio 110 instead of 210. Or do most med schools prefer the 210? I’m planning on majoring in the humanities, but I wanted to try to take Bio and Physics freshman year, but saw that you needed Orgo to take Bio 210.</p>
<p>Normal pre-med course is general chemistry (if not excused), then orgo, then bio. Take phyiscs and chem frosh year.</p>
<p>Tell us a few more times how brilliant your nephew is.</p>
<p>so it is acceptable to skip general chem.? Is it looked down upon by med schools? Inorganic chemistry is a basic requirement…</p>
<p>orgo is sooo hard</p>