<p>Hi everyone,
Im going to be a freshman at osu this fall, my orientation is in 2 weeks. I’ll be majoring in biology and im doing the pre med thing.
Ive heard that chem121/122 at OSU is ridiculously hard. Now, i am just looking through [Rate</a> My Professors | Find and rate your professor, campus and more - RateMyProfessors.com](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5DRate”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com), do you guys know any “good” chemistry TA or professor who teach it? any suggestion? How hard is it to get an A?
Also, should i take bio 113/114 at the same time ? i feel like that’s going to kill me completely. since i have to take math class too (havent taken placement test yet, im scared) lol any suggestion on choosing professor for math and bio ?
what are some easy A’s elective classes to take ? i heard psychology is easy. I need a great booster.
ps. I took both AP biology and AP chem in high school, but didnt take the ap tests. just background info. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for myself, as I haven’t taken that chem series, but most of my honors program pre-med friends had grades in the A-B range for those classes, and they are very smart people who have excellent study skills. I wouldn’t expect an A unless you are the same, and don’t worry about the occasional A- or B+. </p>
<p>Also, buckeyelink does not have professors listed yet for chem 1210, which means you may not have a choice in what professor you get, if they aren’t listed by the date of your orientation. </p>
<p>Intro to psychology is fairly easy, with a lot of terms to memorize, and the material’s not difficult to understand. Intro to anthropology is also fairly easy and interesting.</p>
<p>For most math and science classes the professor isn’t posted until about 2 weeks before the class starts. It is better to just pick the time that works best. I took 121/122 and they are as hard as everyone says. Having AP chem should be helpful as they cover about the same content. You will need to study more than highschool just to pass. The class is curved by about 10 percent and most professors say that you will get a D- with half of the total points. When I took it an A was an 82%. Feel free to ask any more questions</p>
<p>@maybell would you define “excellent study skills” for me, please ? </p>
<p>In high school, i’ve spent 22 hrs studying for ap chem midterm/final whatever they called it and I still ended up with a B in class. My teacher was amazing, but our grades were solely based on our performance on tests and quizzes. You guys are scaring the crap out of my mind right now tbh. lol. and we cant choose professors?!?!? omg i pay for my education and i cant choose!? well, I need to get good grades in order to keep my full ride scholarship + the scholar program status.
out of the topics here, how do you manage your time ?
oh and how hard is chem lab ? the curve is 10% of As i thought, so if there’s 300 kids, 30 of them will get As ?</p>
<p>For many of the large intro classes for bio and chem, the instructors are rarely listed (usually it says “Staff” under instructor). You might be able to contact the departments to ask about the teaching schedule but there are so many sections I doubt they will tell you who is teaching each section. Even if you did know and had a preference, you might not be able to get that section depending on how registration is handled at orientation and whether sections are filled with current students. So don’t worry about it. </p>
<p>If you take AP exams and do well, you may not have to take some of the intro classes but most med schools prefer that you take the classes rather than using AP credit for them. However, AP classes are a good prep for the intro science classes.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the math placement test. The worst you’ll do is be placed in an easier section which might be better for your GPA than being placed in a harder upper section.</p>
<p>I found the lab to be the easier part of the class although it is time consuming. The lab procedure is clearly outlined for 121/122 so all you need to do is follow directions. The labs are three hours but you need to move quickly. You will need to copy the entire procedure into your notebook which could take some time and there is a weekly lab report which also takes a few hours. This is clearly explained in class and there is a help room open every day. As far as studying goes it sounds like you will be fine. The way the curve works is that the middle 50 percent of the class gets a c+ c or c- based on previous quarters.</p>
<p>What I mean regarding study skills isn’t so much about the time you spend studying, but figuring out how best to absorb the information you need, and be able to anticipate what you will be tested on. </p>
<p>I didn’t have to try in high school to get As, so when I took my first calc class in college, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the material, and how much was covered in a class. I wasn’t prepared to spend a lot of time teaching myself the material, because I expected the professors and TA to spend enough time explaining it that I would just “get it”. </p>
<p>The students with good study skills have the discipline to study on their own time, to seek out help if needed from TAs and help centers, and they keep up with the work rather than trying to do it all at the last minute. Also, they study in ways that work for them–they aren’t just rereading the text or making flashcards. A lot of high achieving high school students have never had to develop good study skills, because being naturally smart was good enough in high school. It isn’t that way in college.</p>
<p>thank you everyone for your responses! @maybell yeah, i still have to figure out which study method would be best for me and allow me to absorb the info i need. So, How do you study ? any tips ? </p>
<p>One of my friends who goes to OSU told me “DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND ALL SUGGESTED PROBLEMS” for science/ math classes. He said a lot of people dont do them and they dont do well in class.
again, thank you for your advice. it was helpful. :)</p>
<p>I’m still working on my method for super efficient studying, and I’m spent three years in college. My biggest mistake is “reading” over notes or textbook chapters when I’m too bored or too unfocused to actually absorb any information. I wait until I feel motivated to study (or write papers), and then I do a lot of productive work at once. I like to break down ideas or concepts in my mind or out loud as though I am explaining them to someone else who doesn’t get it, which makes it stick in my memory better. I also find that writing, not typing, out a study guide for myself helps me to remember information better. The more I write it out, the more memorable the information becomes. Everyone’s mind works differently, and you will figure out what works for you. </p>
<p>You really ought to do as many suggested problems as you can stomach for any math class, unless you just get the concept without drilling yourself with practice. Doing the homework goes without saying. There will be people in your classes who won’t study, won’t do the homework, and will talk about it as though they will do fine anyway, but their version of fine is usually a C, not an A.</p>
<p>So, I took math placement test and it gave me a U(undetermined) code and im so upset right now. I have to take another test at orientation at 7am in the morning!? Oh noo Why did i get a U ??? does anyone know ? I dont want to be placing in dumb math classes. :(</p>
<p>buckeyesw1–I think I saw earlier in this post, or a similar thread, that a “U” is given if your placement test score compared to your ACT or SAT scores indicates too much of a variation for them to be sure what level to place you at. </p>
<p>My S hasn’t taken the placement test yet, he is currently taking Honors Calc…did you find the test easier or harder than expected? Were the questions mostly algebra, trig and analysis based? any pre-calc?</p>
<p>Just checked–look at the OSU math placement test thread–a U does indicate they aren’t sure due to a difference between ACT and placement test results…</p>
<p>Nova88- I found the test to be what i expected (HARD), they gave me 75 mins for 25 questions. I finished it with 1 min to spare, which is not so great. I took the D version. It was mostly precal, trg, and algebra. I took Alg3 as a senior and my last day of high school was May 10th, my brain doesnt retain those info anymore. HAHA. I did studied tho.
GOOD LUCK! im sure your son will do fine!
The U code frustrated me cuz i dont want to wake up at 7 am and take math test that early. Beside that i have to take Spanish also! :(</p>
<p>Buckeyesw1, good luck with the second test, I’m sure you’ll do fine. When do you go to orientation? Keep us posted on what happens with your placement.</p>
<p>My S graduates next week (late here in NJ), but he took algebra as a soph and trig and analysis as a jr…so he is really tapping ancient history taking this D placement test. He would do fine if a calc test!! LOL He is also taking the Spanish placement at orientation (he hasn’t taken a language–Sp 3–since freshman year–so that will be fun, not!!) UGH! But he doesn’t plan to take any Spanish at OSU, if he decides to take a language, it will be a new one. He goes to orientation in early July, first session available for pre-business students. He just can’t wait to get these placement tests out of the way and choose his classes. :)</p>
<p>I went to orientation on 14th and 15th. It was fun and very informative. The first day was quite tiring for me. I didnt get home til midnight cuz i stayed for evening activities. Since I live 30 mins away, i decided not to stay in residential hall. I took the second math placement test in the morning and scored lower than the first one by 3 points, but those count! I have to take Precal instread of Cal. But thats fine! then I took Spanish placement in the afternoon, i only have to take 1 yr of spanish. I could have done better but i dont really care about Spanish. There was a lot of fun things to do, for students at least. 2nd day, i attended the meeting for scholar program and then scheduling classes. A lot of students went straight to computer lab but i had a chance to talk to my advisor. She was really nice and her advices were very useful. im taking 5 classes first semester (16 credit hrs). I wouldnt recommend more than that tho. Apart from that i also made a lot of friends from my orientation group. now, i cant wait to see them in the fall!
good luck to yall
GO BUCKS! :)</p>
