<p>Hello, I have the option in my freshman year of either taking calculus I in the fall and calculus II in the spring OR chemistry I in the fall, chemistry II in the spring, AND calculus I in the spring.</p>
<p>I only took pre-calc (junior year) in high school and am concerned that pushing back calculus another semester would only hinder me. Not to mention, I'd still have to worry about calculus II my sophomore year in addition to organic chemistry (a class that is best to take right after gen chem). </p>
<p>On the other hand, would not taking a chemistry class my freshman year "keep me behind"? Especially if I'm considering studying abroad?</p>
<p>I would take both Gen Chem I and Calc I during your first semester freshmen year. That is certainly a doable combo, especially if you are planning to go the premed route with your studies.</p>
<p>I wish I could cwryan1, but my school will not allow me to take both my first semester as it causes an overflow of credits and the school won’t give me a petition to get around it.</p>
<p>Most of my friends who are Pre-Med generally took Chemistry, Physics, or Biology AND Math the first year in college. Its not a rule, so don’t feel bad if you can’t it perfectly fine to take them later.</p>
<p>What are you taking exactly, b/c that might very well determine what course you should take. </p>
<p>Personally given you’re not an Engineer, Chem might be a better router b/c then you’re open to take Orgo, Biochem, etc [pre-requisite being General Chemistry], whereas Calc only has pre-req’s for more advanced Physics and other Physical Science/Engineering courses.</p>
<p>Gen. Chem and Calc are both very easy. Usually pre-meds take at least 2 or more science classes with bio being most difficult one. Orgo has almost nothing to do with Gen Chem.</p>
<p>It is generally recommended to start taking chemistry in freshman year, because Gen. Chem. is definitely a pre-req to many follow-on science courses.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP: Why did you say bio is the most difficult one? Depending on which school you go to, the set of the difficult classes may be different. I always thought that each school has its share of challenging premed classes.</p>
<p>I did hear from my child once that in the year after he took the bio 101, it became much more difficult to get a good grade from that class and he said he was glad he happened to take it one year earlier. (The difficulty is not so much because of the contents; it is because of the curve – Too many students are good testers and the TA/graders still need to find some way to distinguish the excellent ones from the good ones as they can not give out too many As. Some students feel that TAs sometimes try to find a fault out of nothing wrong, like a student needs to literally use the same words/phrases/sentences from the textbook in order to avoid a point or two being deducted. It was my child’s least enjoyable class in his freshman year even though he got an A in the end. He likes his upper-division bio though. This correlates well with what many said on this board: pre-med classes are hard not necessarily due to its difficult contents; rather, they are hard because of the highly motivated students competing against each other.)</p>
<p>mcat2,
you are correct, in D’s school the first Bio was weed out killer, and all higher Bio’s remain very hard, the other schools might be different. She goes to state school, I assume that elite schools might have it harder, not easier, but I do not know.</p>
<p>If you take chem as a freshman it lets you take orgo sooner. Orgo might not be realted to gen chem, but gen chem is a prereq that many schools will not let you skip. Take Calc I in the spring so that way you have the option to start orgo and physics before junior year.</p>
<p>@MiamiDAP: General Biology at Johns Hopkins University is very, very easy! I mean you have to do the basic work to learn all the material, etc. but the professors will NOT trick you and exams are straight forward if you done the work and kept up with the studying </p>
<p>Now the Systems Bioengineering I, II and III for my BME major is a different story, haha</p>
<p>vader1990,
It shows that different schools have very different programs. D. did not have General Biology at all. First class was BMZ - Botany, Microbiology, Zoology and was taught by 3 profs simulteniusly (all 3 in classroom at the same time). All other majors are avoiding this class. It is designed to weed out those who are not tough enough after first semester instead of waiting for Orgo in 2nd year. However, Orgo was not walk in a park either. I agree, Engineering major would be toughest of them all.</p>