<p>I decided I'm going to take 4 courses for fall quarter for my freshman year:
Economics 1
Math 3
French 10
Biology 2</p>
<p>Would I be able to handle this course load? Is it extremely rigorous?</p>
<p>Keep in mind, that I have already taken Calc AB and aced it, and that I am semi-fluent in french.
I have also taken Economics before</p>
<p>Is it rigorous? no…the only semi-hard class on there is french, and econ 1 could be a lot of work depending on your prof.</p>
<p>Can you do it? maybe.</p>
<p>you’ll probably have to take Writing 5 (or 2/3) or your Seminar in the fall too. don’t forget that… the college will tell you when you have to do these things(though you could opt out technically) …</p>
<p>also, it’s your freshman fall! you don’t want to spend all that time studying…go out and meet people, find your niche, do things! you’ll never have another chance to really go out and meet people like you do those first few weeks. don’t waste them in the library.</p>
<p>^ i have to 
im planning on graduating in 3 years. I want to major in biology.
Yes, I will also be studying for 4 quarters instead of 3.</p>
<p>Why? 10char</p>
<p>If you’re planning on majoring in biology, why are you taking Biology 2? I don’t believe it counts toward the biology major.</p>
<p>And seriously, I would not take four classes your freshman fall–even if you want to graduate in three years. That’s a really bad plan, because you’ll be more isolated at a time when a lot of friendships could be formed.</p>
<p>i know…:(</p>
<p>but i just wanna help my parents financially…and i didn’t wanna choose a state school because i want to make it to the top 5 med schools in the nation.</p>
<p>well if you graduate in 3 years, where are u gonna find the time to do the research and volunteering work and such that top med schools consider? not to mention the time to study for the mcat and the difficulty of juggling a heavier courseload while maintaining the gpa.</p>
<p>Why are you taking Math 3 if you’ve aced Calculus AB? And why Economics 1 if you’ve taken it before?</p>
<p>It will be very hard, if not impossible, to get into a top 5 medical school while spending only three years in college. Not saying it can’t be done (I’m sure it can, and has been), but it makes things a lot more difficult. Furthermore, the top 5 medical schools really don’t mean all that much–medical schools are much more even across the board than undergrad schools, so unless you’re going into MD/PhD and research money is very important, top 5 medical schools aren’t a big deal. And even then, my friends who are in that pathway say that MD/PhD programs often won’t look at people who graduated college in three years. So either way…</p>
<p>Plus, don’t forget that it’s a very small percentage that actually sticks with the premed track. I think in my class, it was probably about 30%.</p>
<p>thanks wisconsinguy for the valuable advice, appreciate it man!..i ought to discuss this with a counselor then.</p>
<p>“well if you graduate in 3 years, where are u gonna find the time to do the research and volunteering work and such that top med schools consider? not to mention the time to study for the mcat and the difficulty of juggling a heavier courseload while maintaining the gpa.”</p>
<p>BING<em>BING</em>BING!!! We have a WINNER!</p>
<p>3 year plan = Fail.</p>
<p>And why do you “want to make it to the top 5 med schools in the nation” (grammatically incorrect, BTW- don’t you know doctors have to write quite a lot???)? Because you think it will make your life so much the better than going to a top 25 medical school? Dude, I would wager you will not even be interested in med school by graduation. So I would hedge your bets and stick to the prototypical track.</p>
<p>Hahaha, I went and watched a movie before I posted the reaction I wrote to the OP’s question, and wisconsinguy basically beat me to it.</p>
<p>While plenty of my peers took heavy first term schedules, I highly suggest a lighter 3 course load. It’s your freshman fall and it is something to be fully embraced. Do not bog yourself down with courses that will take alot of time because socially, you want to be out there meeting people and finding some sweet organizations. After fall term, it is true that friendships are more or less facilitated. </p>
<p>Also DO NOT go into Dartmouth with the ambitious goal of 1) going to med school and 2) going to a TOP 5 med school. Its already bad enough that you are so set on a bio major. Getting into any med school these days is hard, and you really have to evaluate during your time at Dartmouth if you truly want to go that path. It is rough. I was steering away from the path, but found that the humanities wasn’t my cake and so I might gravitate down the bio path for my next three years. USE THE FIRST YEAR TO EXPLORE. Most importantly, even if you hold these goals (ambitious but admirable I guess), don’t publicly tell people at D. We pride ourselves on our modesty and you don’t want to make a “self call”. </p>
<p>As for graduating in 3 years, I heard that such an event doesn’t occur very often. If it is for financial reasons, have you worked with the fin aid office? Nearly half the student body gets financial aid of some sort. By slicing off a year, you are compromising the chance to use dartmouth’s distrib requirements to really explore your academic interests, and superb research, volunteer, extracuric opportunities. Nobody wants to leave this place after 4 years apparently. </p>
<p>Best of luck 13</p>
<p>i really want to thank you for the great advice^…i hope to see u at dartmouth next year!!</p>