<p>Exactly how difficult is Bio 25/26 and why are there all these horror stories? How hard is it to get an A in these classes? Or any Bio class for that matter. </p>
<p>Would the following schedule be a killer as a freshman: </p>
<p>Math 32L
Bio 25L
Chem 21L
Writing 20</p>
<p>How much lab do you do for Chem and Bio? Should I perhaps push one of those to the spring semester? Also what is the difference between Math 32 and 32L and which is recommended?</p>
<p>I'd suggest replacing Bio with a foreign language to get that out of the way.</p>
<p>I haven't (and won't be) taking math at Duke, so I'm not really a reliable source, but I'm pretty sure that it's best to take math with the lab because it's a grade booster.</p>
<p>I agree with Fiftyfive that you should push Bio to next semester and take a foreign language. Gen Chem has more out-of-lab work than it probably should, including weekly reports, pre-lab writeups, and formal reports.</p>
<p>Hm... the problem is that I was planning to start with Japanese 2, instead of Japanese 1, which is only offered during the Spring semester.</p>
<p>You could always try to start fulfilling some other T-Reqs with that slot.</p>
<p>Nah. J2 won't save you any time -- you'll still need to take three semesters. So may as well go into J1 and run from there.</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm somewhat hijacking this thread..
Would</p>
<p>FOCUS (Hopefully "Exploring the Mind"...)
Chem 151L
Math 32</p>
<p>Be a killer schedule?</p>
<p>I'm right now planning on premed.. but am not completely sure.</p>
<p>Wait, why won't J2 save me any time? I'll just take J2, J63, J64 as my 3 semesters. I've already taken some Japanese so it would be a kind of boring for me to start ALL over.</p>
<p>Albedo I think he just inferred that you felt that starting in J2 would save you time. If you are doing J2 because you are already passed the J1 level then go for it. You will have to be taking 3 semesters anyway. He just assumed you were doing it thinking you could take only 2 semesters I'm assuming.</p>
<p>I'm thinking to take the following courses:</p>
<p>Spanish 76
Writing 20/Seminar
Chem 151L
Bio 118</p>
<p>Are these too much for freshman? Would my grade will suffer considerably?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Would my grade will suffer considerably?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Obviously there's no way to predict this. It depends on how your study habits will change when you get into college, how well prepared you are for these courses, etc. Many students would have trouble with such a schedule; some will not.</p>
<p>I was wondering...should I take Math 103 or Math 103x if I qualify for both? I am going to major in history or political science by the way.</p>
<p>Which combo would be more feasible for a freshman?
Chem 151L & Bio 118
OR
Chem 151L & Physics 53L</p>
<p>Because I'm planning to finish my 4 bio courses by end of soph to take the MCAT in the beginning of junior year, the latter choice will have me taking 2 bio classes in the same semester soph year. Should I even out my bio courseload among my 4 semesters?</p>
<p>I did Chem 151 and Bio 118 in the same semester. But I was a sophomore, so I know that it is possible to do those together. I'm not sure how great of an idea it would be for a freshman to take both, because I'd almost factor in getting used to campus as like half a class or something. I'll go ahead and say it is feasible.</p>
<p>I also had a friend take orgo and physics at the same time. She survived as well. She also did this during her sophomore year.</p>
<p>You also might not have much of a choice, because there are only like 20 spots left in physics, and about 80 in bio.</p>
<p>I was accepted off the waitlist and will most likely be accepting the offer tomorrow when the admissions office is open. I know that I have already missed the focus registration. Is there any way to still do that? I wouldn't be that devastated as I'm not sure I want to. </p>
<p>Seahorse, how do you know how many spots are left in each class? When do we register for classes? (Again, I don't have any paperwork or anything as I haven't actually accepted admission yet, because of the long weekend)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.siss.duke.edu/schedule/1220%5B/url%5D">http://www.siss.duke.edu/schedule/1220</a></p>
<p>This is the current course schedule for the fall semester. It is current through sophomore registration. You'll get your registration stuff when they send your packet. You have plenty of time, though... registration for incoming freshmen will be mid-July.</p>
<p>If you want to try and do FOCUS, you can email the program (<a href="mailto:focus@duke.edu">focus@duke.edu</a>). The deadline was this past Friday, so you didn't miss it by that much, and if you were to explain that you were just accepted, they might be lenient. It's up to you, though.</p>
<p>Seahorse, are you applying to med school soon? If you do, what BIO courses have you taken or planning to take before your MCAT test? When do you plan to take your MCAT? Any recommendation for the good profs for both chem 151 & BIO 118?</p>
<p>I am not taking the MCAT because I am not pre-med. I can still help with your questions, though. I think most of my pre-med friends plan on taking their MCATs at the end of their junior year. I have some friends who were juniors this year and took an MCAT prep class during the spring semester and are now preparing to take the test within the next month. I think it's a pretty good idea, because school has been out for over two weeks, and they've had the entire time to study.</p>
<p>I believe it is recommended that pre-med students take their intro bio courses (25 [if you don't have AP credit] and 26) as well as bio 118 before taking the MCAT.</p>
<p>As for professors, orgo teachers can be sort of hit or miss. I had a great experience in 151 with Sebahar. Baldwin is also supposed to be really good. I had many problems with Coltart in 152 and would not recommend him for either semester. Those are the only ones I have any experience with, but I can also say that Dr. Roy is good (he's currently teaching 151 during Summer Session I).</p>
<p>For Bio 118, I had Hill and Bejsovec. I thought they were both good, though some of my friends in the class didn't like Dr. B because they thought she was too blunt (or something like that). I really enjoyed 118 because the material was really interesting, so I feel like they could have more or less read from the textbook and I would have been a happy camper. Not everyone feels that way about the class, however, because it goes into so much detail about every process (if you do take the class, be sure to keep distinguished in your mind when you are discussion transcription vs. translation, and which enzymes are used in prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes). One of these professors is teaching the class again next semester, but her partner is some new guy I haven't heard of.</p>
<p>No 26 for the MCATs.</p>
<p>I just reliazed that BIO 118 is not recommended for 1st semester (from HPAC website). Since I'm not planning to major in BIO and planning to take AP BIO credit, is there other BIO course (upper level?) that I could take for the 1st semester?</p>
<p>Also, do you recommend to take sciences classes during summer session? Isn't that too short to learn a science class especially the upper level one?</p>