<p>I am going to Boston College next year, and I was wondering how good the pre-med advising is, and I most definitely want to be a pre-med student. Thank you! In addition, how is the bio dept.?</p>
<p>BC is great for premed. The Core provides an excellent balance between hume/lit and the sciences. (Of course, science geeks may prefer colleges with a lot less readin’ & writin’.) Bio is a staple at any undergrad college, so it’s hard to do poorly. That being said, BC has revamped its bio courses – to the better, IMO – such that you start doing real research in Bio 1 lab.</p>
<p>BC has a premed committee that provides excellent advising. </p>
<p>Please understand, however, that many US med schools accept zero internationals. Attending a US college will not be of much benefit in obtaining admission to a US med school. Thus, your advising requirements are unique.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you :). I live abroad, but I am a US citizen, so med school admission hopefully should not be a problem, but yes, my first concern is college right now. So research begins in freshman year, if take the Bio 1 lab then? I’m actually also interested in the Classics, so I plan to take some courses in that subject area as well.</p>
<p>You might consider holding off Bio until your Soph year, so you don’t OD on labs. The bio lab is now one semester, 2x per week.</p>
<p>You could take Chem & Calc/Stats and English and perhaps Perspectives. Or a classics course. Or other elective of interest.</p>
<p>so u suggest not to take chem and bio freshman year?</p>
<p>[Preparation</a> - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/premed/preparation.html]Preparation”>http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/premed/preparation.html)</p>
<p>Your Frosh schedule depends a lot on your major. You will receive full details about class choices during orientation.</p>
<p>For those that want to read ahead, download the academic workbook at catalog.</p>
<p>[Preparing</a> for Orientation - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/offices/fye/orientation/prepare.html]Preparing”>http://www.bc.edu/offices/fye/orientation/prepare.html)</p>
<p>All of my friends that were on the strict pre-med track took Bio, Chem+lab, Calc and then the rest of their classes. I was not positive I would be sticking with pre-med so I only took Bio and Calc. </p>
<p>I would say it depends on how comfortable you are, but the thing is, is that if you don’t take the normal load freshman year then you will be a bit behind later. That might mean summer classes or overloading.</p>
<p>You should take an introduction to Biology class, general chemistry + lab, and calculus. You could even hold off calculus until spring if you want. Do not take the biology lab freshman year…most people wait to take that sophomore year.</p>
<p>dont you have to take the bio lab with the course?</p>
<p>Wittlefelluh: No, you do not. The new bio lab is a 3-credit lab for one semester, and it does not need to be taken with any class.</p>
<p>Yes, as a three credit course, it meets 2x/wk for three hours each time. A wonderful college lab covering some unique material, IMO, but it is a LOT of work. Even the bio Dept. suggests an underload, depending on the rest of your schedule. And since you cannot underload Frosh year…</p>
<p>oh i see. So the chem lab would be your only lab right?</p>
<p>Not sure what you question is. </p>
<p>Chem comes with a lab. Each Chem lab is one unit.</p>
<p>Bio comes with a lab. The Bio Lab is now three units. Essentially the Bio department combined two semesters’ worth of work into one semester.</p>
<p>The difference is that Bio changed it’s lab from a one unit course taught over two semesters to a two-unit course (3 for next year) taught over one semester. (The students who took the 2-unit course this year are screwed for some inexplicable reason.) Since the Bio lab is now considered a full course, it can be taken separately at the time as Bio 2. </p>
<p>So yes, depending on your Frosh schedule, you could take: </p>
<p>Chem 1 + lab, and Bio 1, first semester. You would need to add three electives.</p>
<p>Chem 2 + lab, and Bio 2, and Bio Lab, second semester. You would need to add two other courses. However, that would mean Labs three days a week, which could be brutal if you haven’t fully adjusted to college rigor. But perhaps not too bad if you have a really strong background in Chem and Bio (AP courses, perhaps?).</p>
<p>Or, if you have AP credits…check the Bio Dept webpage for all of the possibilities.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. </p>
<p>So bio 2 = the bio lab (3 credit course)? Or am i still missing it? lol</p>
<p>yeah, I think you have it. When I wrote Bio 1 and Chem 1, I meant first semester of the typical first year course. Bio 2/Chem 2 is second semester.</p>
<p>But, the real nomenclature at BC is:</p>
<p>Bio 200: Molecules & Cells (lecture + discussion)
Bio 201: Ecology & Evolution (lecture + discussion)</p>
<p>Bio 204: Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology (this is the standalone 3-unit lab, which used to be two one-unit courses which were taken at the same time with 200/201)</p>
<p>[Courses</a> for Biology Majors - Biology Department - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/biology/courses/bio-electives.html]Courses”>http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/biology/courses/bio-electives.html)</p>
<p>cool…thanks again. </p>
<p>I too think its better this way than the other.</p>
<p>So this route would seem ok?</p>
<p>Freshman year:</p>
<p>bio
chem
calc
writing seminar
elective/core</p>
<p>Sophomore year: </p>
<p>bio lab
orgo
core/elective x 3</p>
<p>And then junior year physics along with core/electives etc.</p>