I am an entering freshman to UCLA this upcoming fall, with Biology as my major. I intend to take the typical pre med class schedule. As far as freshman year, I know this is starting the chem 14 series and math 3 series. I have heard from some people that chem 14A fall quarter is hard and that I should wait until winter quarter to start. They said to start life science (LS 1) fall quarter instead. So my proposed fall schedule would have either CHEM 14A or LS 1, does anybody have any input on this?! Anything helps!! Also, does anybody know if I should take EngComp3 or Eng4W?? I am not sure what their differences are.
Chem 14 is just one of the challenging classes you’ll take on your march towards a Bio degree. Instead of trying to “game” this one class, its better, IMHO, to resolve to do well enough to be at the top of your peers. Furthermore there were 4 classes of Chem14A offered in Fall 2014, but only 2 in Winter 2015. If it was me I’d rather have the choice of 4 profs (using Bruinwalk as a guide) than 2, plus with 4 classes you have more flexibility in arranging your schedule unless you happen to be a fan of 8am or 3:45pm classes.
Back to that point about doing well… The sad thing is that even though research has found ways for people to learn more effectively (2 of the leading researchers are actually at UCLA!) you’ll never learn about them in a typical HS (or college) education. If you haven’t stumbled onto effective methods on your own then you’re leaving points on the table. There is a book I strongly urge you to get titled “Make it Stick” (http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674729018&content=reviews with reviews plus some other informative links). You should also have an understanding of the effort it takes. Kids in college like to give others the impression it all comes easy to them, not bookworms are they. Maybe some ARE that smart, but most kids doing well find it takes 6-10 hours each week outside of class for each math/science class in order to really master the material. Part of that time is doing your own practice and review, past what is assigned in class. There are books such as the REA Problem Solver series for Chem, Math, Bio, etc. that have thousands of worked problems you can use to drill and test yourself.
With an interest in medicine, you should also understand what the process involves past just the classes. Read thru the very informative FAQ at http://www.rhodes.edu/hpa/15890.asp They also have a nice writeup in the PreMed Essentials link on the left side of that page. At UCLA advising is available as are workshops and the like, but you need to make the effort to take advantage of them.