<p>Hi, incoming first year here.
I'm trying to piece together some semblance of a course schedule to take to orientation, but I'm having a few difficulties.</p>
<p>First, my current proposed schedule looks something like this:
Intro Calc MATH 131
Intro Bio BIO 210
Intro Chem CHEM 141
and all the associated labs.</p>
<p>That adds up to 14 hours, which is about average, but I'm only taking three classes (Don't most take five?). I would like to add a fourth class, preferably a language. Is that too much for my first semester of college?</p>
<p>Also, I'm not really sure whether I should be taking CHEM 141 or 181. The Record merely says that 181 is more "rigorous," but I have no point of reference to know what that really means. Some personal history: I got a 3 on the AP chem test, because I never took AP Chem and had no idea what any of the nuclear and electrochemistry stuff was. I got a 740 on the SAT Subject test. Should I stick to 141?</p>
<p>I guess adding another class wouldn't be that bad. Did you take the APs of these in HS? If so then it should be pretty easy.</p>
<p>As for Chemistry take what you want. I don't think it matters that much, but maybe 141 only because you have 2 labs. It depends if you want an easy or hard class.</p>
<p>Why are you taking bio and chem at the same semster?
Are you a PreMed student? If so, they recommend taking Chem and Calc the first year, Bio and Org Chem the next yr, and then Physics and some science class.</p>
<p>I am going to do pre-med too. Here are the courses that I plan to take this fall and add up to 18 credits. I got 5 on my AP bio so I don't need to take the introduction class and plan to take the level 3 next year. Any comments?</p>
<p>I wouldn't take 18 hrs unless you speak Chinese in your household, and if that's the case, why bother taking CHIN 101? Are you trying to raise your GPA?</p>
<p>I am American born Chinese and know nothing about the Chinese characters.
I will be taking only 4 courses but because of all the labs so add up to 18 credit hours. Should I take the Physics next year?</p>
<p>I suggest not taking more than 15 hours. Defer the class that you think might take the most time. I would vote for physics, especially if you are relatively weak in calc.</p>
<p>I know many pre-meds, and they all take physics third year. They do chem/calc first year, or do chem/bio. Then, they do either calc/bio and orgo second year. Physics is third year. My roommate is pre-med and she took first semester chem/first semester of bio her first year (at JMU), then took orgo both semesters and rest of chem/bio second year, and is doing physics/calc junior year. Really, it doesn't matter that much other than fullfilling pre-reqs for orgo before second year.
Also, I would only take 14-16 credits first semester. 18 is a lot to handle right off the bat. You want time to be able to relax and get to know college. Take the heavier load second semester.</p>
<p>Also, powderpuff is pre-med i'm pretty sure. Hopefully she can comment..</p>
<p>Think of the Bio and Chem Labs as additional subjects. That gives you five subjects and 14 credit hours. The Biology Lab has two fairly difficult midterm exams. Mr. Kittlesen's quizzes and exams will require that you interpret and apply concepts, not just memorize facts, which can be quite challenging at times. Also there's a fairly large formal lab report and notebook that has to be prepared and submitted for grading.</p>
<p>Chem 141 versus 181 is a tough call. Normally 141 is a bit easier than 181, although the actual degree of difficulty has a lot to do with the instructor. I've heard that the 181 Lab is tougher than the 141 Lab, but I'm not sure if that's true. Mr. Harman is an awesome teacher.</p>
<p>I like the Bio and Chem combo for first years, and Calculus rounds out your schedule very well, unless Math is a struggle for you.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend AGAINST taking any more than 15 hours during your first semester at UVa. If you decide to take a language class first semester, then I'd defer the Math 131 class to some later date. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>If I don't take Physcis this year, I will only have 13 credits from the following classes. Due to the AP Bio I had in H.S., I don't need to take Bio 201, 202. I have worked at a lab before so I can skip Bio 203. What other courses should I take? Should I take one of those elective classes ( art studio-sculpture) or the Writing II class? By the way, I plan to go to medical school in the future. Any suggestions from the pre-med students. </p>
<p>Chem 141 (3)<br>
Chem 141L (2)
Math 131 (4)
Chinese Language 101 (4)</p>
<p>You could add in a USEM for 2 credits. The 2nd writing requirement is usually able to be fulfilled by a course in your major (there's even a math class that fulfills this requirement), so don't worry about that until later. Do you know what you want to major in? (You don't have to major in Bio to be pre-med of course.) You could take a class in that. Or you could fulfill other general education requirements (humanities, social sciences, history, etc) if you don't have all of those covered from AP credits. Try and vary it up, don't take all science/math or you'll go crazy. A humanities-oriented class would definitely help round out your schedule.</p>
<p>If you want to go to med school, you need to take a couple BIOL classes and labs. AP Bio is either frowned upon or outright rejected by med schools. You could take 201 and 202 or take some upper level courses like BIOL 301 later.</p>
<p>Maybe take an English class. Or take COM 273 (personal finance). Too many doctors used to invest in emu farms. Now they need to figure out how to manage their debt.</p>
<p>FYI, Comm 273 is restricted to 4th year students. That's not an option for you this year.</p>
<p>If Medical School is in your future, you may want to think seriously about the wisdom of taking the Intro level Bio courses, especially if you're thinking of majoring in Biology. My son chose to take these courses, and he's very glad he did. You might want to discuss the pros and cons of taking these courses with someone in the Biology Department and also someone in University Career Planning's Pre-Professional Advisory Program. You may end up deciding to skip the lecture class but wanting or needing to take the labs.</p>
<p>I'd be careful not to overload your schedule first semester. If you keep the classes you listed above and pick up a USEM, I'd suggest you try to find one that doesn't have an overwhelming workload for the two credit hours, unless it's a topic you're REALLY interested in. </p>
<p>If you add another class other than a USEM, it should be something you are likely to enjoy and won't work you to death. That probably won't be a class that meets the second writing requirement. Most of those courses involve a lot of reading and a fair amount of writing. Hazelorb's right on with that - wait until later to deal with that requirement. Look for something "lighter" that will count toward one of the College's Area Requirements.</p>
<p>Sorry to bring back this thread, but I wanted to re-ask one of the questions the OP posted, since it wasn't answered very clearly -- is CHEM 181 for people who've already gotten AP credit? I took AP Chem in high school but I got a 3 on the AP. The course description notes that it's very similar to CHEM 141, just more rigorous and geared towards students "with a good background in high school chemistry." I personally don't feel like I'm very good at chemistry, but I've heard amazing things about Harman (who teaches it), and I don't know if having already had two years of chem in high school makes me a little more prepared for the class.</p>
<p>Oh, and the chem class would be the only science I'm taking this semester, by the way. With CHEM 181 + Lab, I'd have a total of 15 credits. Also, I'm a rising first year.</p>
<p>Well, I know that credit is only given to students receiving 4s or 5s on the Chem AP. They get exempt out of CHEM 141 and 142 but not the labs.</p>
<p>That's not my question, though; I'm wondering about what kind of students take CHEM 181. What does "good background in high school chemistry" entail? Is the class generally filled with people who get 5s on APs and also take the Chem Olympiad and do research at labs during the summer? Or is it just kids who have just taken one or two high school chemistry classes and are exceptionally motivated?</p>
<p>It's generally pre-meds who want a better preparation for Ochem, people who took AP in high school but didn't get a 4 or 5 or just want to re-take it, or pre-meds who got a 4 or 5 on AP but need to take it for med school (they usually don't accept APs), or people with a good background in chem who want more of a challenge. The people I know who took 141 took it just for the science credit. Any pre-med I know took 181, as well as biology majors.</p>
<p>Since you took the AP test and got a 3 (which isn't bad at all), I'd go for Harman. I've heard good things as well about that class. I think you'll be okay, especially since you have a perfect number of credits.</p>
<p>Here is a belated thank you to all who've replied!
I just got back from Orientation and have a few follow-up questions. To start, my revised schedule:</p>
<p>CHEM181
CHEM181L
MATH131
BIO201
USEM180</p>
<p>Allow me to explain. While I'm fairly certain I will stay on the pre-med track, I'm not certain whether I want to major in biology or chemistry. So it's not just a matter of fulfilling requirements: I also want to get a better feel for both subjects at the college level, and I figured the earlier I did that, the better.
I chose 181 because I've heard Harman is a wonderful teacher and I wanted to keep the door open for a major in chemistry (I know the 40-series is acceptable, but 80 seems to be looked at as more legitimate for majors).
However, ISIS disagreed.
Everything worked fine except for biology. I got the lecture, but the lab lecture and lab were both filled.</p>
<p>Soooo, question: how weird would my schedule become if I just took the bio lecture? Could I even progress to bio202 next semester, since I assume I can't take bio204 without bio203? Is such a route even remotely advisable? </p>
<p>Also: suppose I defer bio until next year. I could take a language, which would be nice, and my schedule would be diversified. However, supposing I ultimately opted to be a biology major, how easy would it be to catch up (as I would be 1 year behind)?</p>
<p>You should be ready to be a serious student. You are taking quite a few epic weed out classes to be an incoming freshman. </p>
<p>Also, please do not think you have to major in a hard science subject to be attractive to med school adcoms, that is not true whatsoever. If I were you, I would take the chem 141/141L, Math 131 and drop the Bio201 (even though Kittlesen is a great professor). Take an interesting class and do bio your second year.</p>