<p>I just got accepted into CALS as a bio major. I was wondering, if there are any CALS bio majors on here, which courses I should take my first two semesters, considering that I wanna go on a pre-med track. Any reccomendations from bio majors or just current Cornellians who happen to know would be greatly appreciated!! =P</p>
<p>bump...are there really no bio majors here?</p>
<p>I'm a bio major/premed but in CAS (same major though). You should take intro bio (Bio 101-104) and gen chem (Chem 207-208) your freshman year if you're premed. I don't know CALS' requirements so I won't suggest any more classes. Bio 278 Evol bio might be another good class to do if you have time your freshman year. Otherwise, just take intro bio and gen chem.</p>
<p>hey norcal, are those the classes that you took as a freshman?</p>
<p>norcal wat about the other intro bio course i think its like...107-108? is there a difference between the two or just a couple differnet sections of the same course?</p>
<p>AASSDDFF: No:) I took Bio 101-104 but I ended up taking Chem 215-216 which is the honors version of Chem 207-208. That was a mistake. Chem 207-208 is for premeds. Chem 215-216 is for chem majors. The kinds of things you learn in Chem 216 (quantum mechanics, transition metal complexes, valence bond theory, memorizing the first 12 MO orbitals and how they shift, using calc to derive and normalize wave functions, symmetry elements, etc.) are entirely useless for the MCAT.</p>
<p>Mr. Ducky: The other intro bio course you speak of is the autotutorial version of intro bio. It is a legitamite substitute for Bio 101-104. However, I personally don't recommend autotutorial courses for freshman. There are no lectures in autotuturial courses and very little structure. You basically teach yourself and get help from TA's when needed. It sounds great until you discover you can't handle all of the flexibility.</p>
<p>The sequence I recommended is the traditional course that most people take. It has regular lectures, prelims, and labs.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm a CALS bio major. As norcalguy said, take intro bio and chem 207/208 (most premeds don't take 215/216). If you don't have AP credit, I suggest getting the semester of calculus that is required out of the way first semester. Bio EE 278 (evolutionary bio) wasn't very hard, but it might be annoying to take with intro bio (I had AP credit for intro bio, so I skipped it). If you have AP credit for many of your requirements, like me, you could try taking the physics requirement freshman year.</p>
<p>im takin ap bio this year and ap calc this year
basically the only two courses imma focus on when i go back to school</p>
<p>some ppl said i shoudltn op to skip. spanks wat do u think? do u regret skipping?</p>
<p>I say don't skip intro chem, but bio is okay to skip, since it's just a survey course. Some med schools require that you take intro bio, but must don't (there is a list online somewhere), as long as you take upper level courses. I'm in evolutionary bio and scored well above the mean on the last test, so I don't think not repeating intro bio has hurt me. My advisor told me to skip intro bio, as she doesn't see the point in taking a class twice. She also said advisors have mixed opinions on the matter, so I guess it comes down to personal preference.</p>