<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>After freshman year at ND, I plan on taking Organic Chem in the Summer 2007 for the full credits. I always thought it was weird that people take classes in the summer not because of the reason that "hey man you're still in college" but rather the fact that I thought grad schools don't give so much importance to the fact that you did a course in 3 months time rather than 5 months. But now I understand that you have an extra class per week and more workload. So coming to my question.</p>
<p>1.) As a premed, I plan on actually taking Organic Chem in the Summer 2007 because I do not wish to simultaneously take 2 science LAB courses (Organic Chem and Molecular Biology at the same time during my sophmore year at ND) so is this possible and would it be valued equally?</p>
<p>2.) I guess taking one course for an entire summer seems like dedicating your whole time to one subject, so I guess what I was wondering is if I can take Organic Chem and another non-science course like Statistics or Philosophy as well..</p>
<p>Anyways, what are your guys opinions on this?</p>
<p>No way can you do anything but Orgo if you do it over the summer...you are restricted to only doing less than 8 credits I believe if you choose to persue summer school. I believe you will use 7 to do the orgo if you actually do this. </p>
<p>Be prepared to spend 3-4 hours at least in the classroom M-F and 2-3 afternoons in the lab for multiple hours each day. If you think this is going to be easier than doing it during the school year...eh. Not sure if it is or not. My only question to you is if you think you can't hack doing two lab sciences at once than what will you do when you get to Med School...also cell bio lab has traditionally been restricted to only being available for those who are either bio or biochem majors I believe. I don't know of a premed who has done the lab component. This is not a normal lab, you are working with a faculty advisor, tayloring how to do your experiments and research and presenting projects. I will double check for the details, a friend of mine who is junior TA's the lab component for the sophomores taking the class.</p>
<p>one other thing, the normal pre-med program is to be doing BIO and ORGO your sophomore year with the accompanying labs. It isn't until your junior year that the current premeds are doing things like vertebrate physiology, anatomy or molecular cell biology. </p>
<p>The above information could be wrong, I know the premed program is in a transitional state (and I've heard that SCPP will thankfully be vanishing in the future)...so FighingIrish01 do you know for a fact you could do MolBio sophomore year or is this your own plan?</p>
<p>Also be aware that the current atmosphere up here has been to "highly discourage" anyone from using AP credits to place out of Gen Chem or Biology...if this is changed feel free to contradict me anyone. I just know what I've been hearing up to the start of the current school year...</p>
<p>Ok well my goal was to lighten my schedule for premed thats all, not to avoid work or anything like that. I wanted to just take Inorganic Chem frosh year, organic chem in the summer, then soph year, I wanted to jump into Genetics and Molecular Biology (only science that year)... then junior year I wanted to do Vertebrate Physiology in the Fall term plus Physics (full year).. I hope thats not a tough schedule.</p>
<p>For starters...Freshman year you will be doing General Chemistry...there actually is a separate upper level course entitled Inorganic Chemistry, somehow I doubt you will be doing that Freshman year.</p>
<p>So do you plan on doing a major such as bio or are you going to be doing ALPP or SCPP? The only reason I ask is because I can't remember ever running across a premed who bothered to do Genetics...all the more power to you if you choose to do the class. The only other thing is you never have addressed my question as to what you plan on doing with Biology....It would be great if you came in with AP credit, at the same point and time, as I've alluded to before in this thread and in several others the predominant position of this university is to "encourage" you to re-take the General Biology two course sequence plus lab. This would be traditionally done during your sophomore year. If you have to do this, since sophomore year is when premeds take Bio, then you obviously can't be doing your Genetics of MolBio at that point (why Premeds normally do upper division elective classes junior and senior year)...</p>
<p>As a general disclaimer I would remind you that the info I've posted here is only the general norm for what is done, specific plans or special case scenarios should be answered only by the appropriate people in the Pre-Professional depts...</p>
<p>Sorry, my I meant to say General Chem- they tend to be interchangeable terms for the mere fact that carbon is excluded mostly. </p>
<p>Well, I plan on doing ALPP and as you mentioned, in addition to 1 year Gen Bio, 2 years Chem (General + Organice), ND - unlike any other top university - states that you have to take 3 extra semeseters of lab science to fulfill the ALPP major PLUS you have to do another major. My only goal was to lighten up that load in the first two years. I wanted to take Genetics, though I do not even plan on becoming a science major, because Genetics + Mol Bio + Vertebrate Physiology were my 3 extra semesters of science to fullfill the ALPP major.</p>
<p>I hope you understand my point of view. I suppose that I have set a non-norm, aspiring goal to do Ulevel Bio courses during Soph year but then again think about those kids at other schools who use their 5s, though strongly discouraged to place into Ulevel courses Frosh year! I feel like it is not an irregular placement or what not. I have heard so many storeis where people wish they could have used their AP credits becase General Bio actually was harder in terms of grading and weeding people out and that upper level courses are actually friendly graders. I am not sure about ND's experience relating to their premed system.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>