Pre-med class advice

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hey everyone, I'll be a freshman at Berkeley this fall intending to be a pre-med history major. However, I am not dead set on history and am open to pretty much every major. This includes life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, humanities, etc... Also, if I discover that I can't get good enough grades in my pre-med classes or that I don't want to go into medicine still, I will drop being a pre-med. But I'm 99.9% sure I want to go into medicine. That being said, I have two questions:
1. Should I take math 16 or math 53? I got a 5 on BC and am really comfortable with all the material, but I'm worried that I'll end up doing poorly in 53. On the other hand, 16A looks like a breeze (based on previous exams), but I won't be learning anything new. Also, if I do 16A, I won't be able to go into many science majors.
2. Should I take physics 7 series or 8 series? The situation is similar to the math one in that taking 8A will block from from non-life science science majors. Also, having taken Physics C Mechanics, I really like the calculus in physics and it seems from previous exams that there is very little calc in the 8 series. The 7 series, however, will be harder and worse for me GPA.</p>

<p>FYI I'm planing to take these two this fall, along with a RC course and a history course.</p>

2

<p>If you want to keep open the possibility of majors like physics, chemistry, or any type of engineering*, you need to take Math 1 or 53 and Physics 7. Note that the chemistry major requires Chemistry 4 and 112 instead of Chemistry 1 and 3 as well.</p>

<p>On the other hand, you can defer the decision on which math and physics course to take by a semester and not be “behind” for any major that requires them (assuming that your knowledge of math is enough to start in 1B, 53, or 54 – check the old final exams for 1A and 1B). But if you are considering majoring in chemistry (or chemical engineering*), you need to take Chemistry 4A first semester.</p>

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<li>But note that changing to an engineering major in the College of Engineering or College of Chemistry can be difficult.</li>
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