<p>So the title basically says it all. I'm going to be a freshman at CAS this fall and looking to follow the pre-med route (bio major). Any suggestions/tips before this semester starts? Anything to look out for? Any way to get research with a good professor as a freshman?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I’ll be majoring in bio or chem, under the pre-med track as well!</p>
<p>Bio department is incompetent.</p>
<p>Pro tip for Bio: Study test banks! I forgot which ones the department got a lot of the questions off of but they are lazy and simply copy paste, maybe change a few words. They got caught and started making their own questions but I’m pretty sure they will default back to the banks. Buncha kids got A’s focusing all their studies on the banks (huge curve disruption). Amazing how we’re paying 60k a year and they can’t make their own questions. Hopefully it won’t be the same for your year. Class was literally a joke. Simply give your best shot at lab and then pray that you score above the class average lol. Turns into a guessing festival on some tests.</p>
<p>Chemistry: Halpin is the man. The guy knows what he is teaching and is good at it. AP Chemistry knowledge will help you a LOT. Brush up on Chemistry if you feel you are weak at it because the class goes at a moderate pace. If you fall behind, you’re going to have to make that extra effort to get back on track since there’s basically no curve. And one other thing, do not skimp out on labs because they are very important. Find some partners to do the Pre-Labs with. Have one person submit all wrong answers (you get multiple trials) and take a look at the answer key and figure out how to do the question correctly.</p>
<p>If u have any more questions PM me and I’ll try to answer. Can’t guarantee a prompt response though because I barely check this site.</p>
<p>I’m kind of confused on why bio would be difficult; isn’t bio mostly memorization? If you read the text and go over notes, shouldn’t you be fine? </p>
<p>Also, is it recommended to take honors courses? Would it make that much of a difference when applying to med school if a person is in regular or honors classes?</p>
<p>Don’t major in bio at NYU unless you absolutely love it. Most pre-meds are bio majors and you’re not going to stand out here unless you do something fantastic. </p>
<p>Getting reserach as a bio major is tough. Most of the research opportunities are pretty bland for the bio majors (eg. growing fruit flies every day…). I recommend going into engineering, biochemistry, physics, or even chemistry. The research opportunities are somewhat better for these guys and you will not be the typical pre med bio major at NYU</p>
<p>-First of all, about the Princ of Bio scandal last year with the test bank… That test was on classification of organisms that the test bank was used on and ~25 questions out of ~80 were test bank questions because how many ways can an instructor ask “what is a mollusk?” What’s worse, is the very NEXT test (Prof Desplan’s bodily systems test) was wholly written by him. And what did everyone do when they were handed an original test that actually made you think and apply your knowledge? Everyone whined and said it was 100x harder than the previous one and that the Prof didn’t know how to write his own test questions. Contrary to all the people who say Bio is a crapshoot, I sincerely believe that if you study and try to understand the topics (rather than memorize), you will do fine. I got A’s both semesters (And, guess what? My worst test score was on the “test bank” exam because it was all memorization, instead of real biology where you have to learn and apply your knowledge.) Like I always say… When you’re doing brain surgery on a person after you get your M.D., there won’t be a multiple choice question about where to put your scalpel next…<br>
^^Sorry, I just had to rant because everyone last year in Bio just complained and complained. And when the department did something about it, they just complained some more. I personally love the Bio department. I have a lab research position in the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology working with S. cerevisiae and I would say it wasn’t too terribly hard to get the position at all if you really want it…</p>
<p>-That being said, I would def recommend the Honors Bio Lecture. More face-to-face interaction and you have a recitation where you read research papers and learn more about the techniques & research discussed in class. You also have to write 3-4 paragraph/essay answers on each exam, but again biology shouldn’t all be multiple choice is the way I see it. As for med-school, they really don’t care. I think it’s more of a personal fulfillment choice than anything. (BUT, I would say that the Honors Bio actually helped my grade because the recitation is worth 10% of your overall grade, so it can make up for a bad lab practical or a shoddy test…) :P</p>
<p>-Gen Chem is amazing, I won’t lie. I’m not a big Chem person, so the class was challenging, but if you put in the effort, you won’t be let down. Do the sample-tests 3 times or more, and you should feel confident with yourself. The tests are always harder than the sample tests, because again, you have to apply the knowledge you have learned in class, not just recite it. You’ll love Halpin. You won’t love the 8am class time. haha</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post! I hope it helps, though. 
Message me if you want to chat. Get ready for a challenging but fulfilling first year of college!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your responses! Any other tips anyone?</p>
<p>@GreenwichGarcon</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand. Test bank questions were used in lots of tests prior to that one. Only when the Bio department was called out did they actually start making their own questions. I know a girl who literally read the textbook once and then did memorized bank questions. She got an A with ease. The problem is that for these tests if you score a 80%+ with a solid lab grade then you’re going to get an A. I got an A as well, but I can honestly say I did not learn anything from that class. Compared to Chemistry, I feel like Biology was a joke of a class. I did not settle to learn because I didn’t have to; the whole class was literally memorizing PowerPoints and scoring slightly above average to get your A-. This is especially true for the PoB II. PoB I requires somewhat understanding of the subject so it was decent. </p>
<p>Take Bio honors if you can. It’s not that much harder and you have a smaller class size. Probably will end up scoring higher if you are somewhat attentive and can write decent essays.</p>
<p>Avoid chemistry honors. Simply not worth it but others might disagree.</p>