<p>Surprisingly, I have yet to see a neuroscience thread, which is one of the reputable academic areas that the University of Michigan is known for. So, I have taken the liberty to correct this serious oversight in this forum, and hope those who view this thread will entertain my gesture. I am fascinated by this subject, and plan on following the course-plan, as laid out by the "Department of Psychology and the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB)." </p>
<p>Here's the link: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/undergrad/program/concentrations/neuroscience/Neuroscience_worksheet.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/undergrad/program/concentrations/neuroscience/Neuroscience_worksheet.pdf</a></p>
<p>I pose these questions towards those acquainted with and knowledgeable about this program per se:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it worth making this an honors concentration, and doing independent research and an honors thesis?</p></li>
<li><p>I know that AP Biology is given credit as a pre-requisite. But are there other AP Courses or college courses that can replace some of the other requirements of this concentration?</p></li>
<li><p>It says to meet with an advisor at least once a year to discuss our academic progress. Details?, What advisors?, What will they ask us to do?, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, I have posted my fall-term freshman schedule in another thread. I am willing to make that a tentative schedule if there are any recommendation people can make as to what courses are best suited for freshmen following this route. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks! General chatter about this concentration is also welcome :)</p>
<p>I’m interested too.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, I have yet to see a neuroscience thread, which is (just) one of the (many)reputable academic areas that the University of Michigan is known for. :-)</p>
<p>Hey! So I’m going to be a sophomore this fall & I’m a neuroscience major so maybe I can answer some of your questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it worth making this an honors concentration, and doing independent research and an honors thesis?
-That’s kind of subjective. If you want to go to grad school for neuroscience I’m sure that doing the honors concentration would help, but UM is a world renowned school so it’s not like you need the honors & independent research to compensate for the undergraduate institution. Research is great idea & independent study can be used as an upper level lab requirement but I personally would just go with UROP where you’re in an established lab and then have people who could possibly write you a letter of recommendation in the future. Also, keep in mind that the science/engineering/econ/mathematics departments are notoriously difficult here. That being said, I would argue that neuroscience is one of the more difficult majors at UM so an honors concentration might stretch you a little thin as far as having a life outside of class is concerned.</p></li>
<li><p>I know that AP Biology is given credit as a pre-requisite. But are there other AP Courses or college courses that can replace some of the other requirements of this concentration?
-AP Bio is pretty much all you’re gonna get. If you have AP chem it’s a bonus because you can start on Orgo I & II faster so you can declare earlier. If you take the placement test and place into Organic Chemistry and feel like you’re suited for it then that’s a good option as well without needing the AP credit. AP Psych is good too because you can go ahead and take the upper level psych courses you need. As far as everything else, you’re kind of out of luck. In our case AP credits give you credits towards graduation but not towards your major (if that makes any sense). </p></li>
<li><p>It says to meet with an advisor at least once a year to discuss our academic progress. Details?, What advisors?, What will they ask us to do?
-Basically once you declare or decide you really want to do neuroscience you attend a psychology/neuroscience/bbcs orientation and can start meeting with the advisors. They just want to make sure you’re taking classes that put you on your way to completing your degree in 4 years. They’re also a good resource if you are looking for internships/research/volunteer opportunities. You can also talk to peer advisors as well if you ever have any scheduling questions.</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, I have posted my fall-term freshman schedule in another thread. I am willing to make that a tentative schedule if there are any recommendation people can make as to what courses are best suited for freshmen following this route.
-Hmmm. Personally it depends on how your credits work out but I would say don’t waste any time but also don’t pile it on too much. Obviously take English 124/125 because you need English to graduate and you don’t want to be a sophomore (like me lol) taking English 125. I would take Psych 240/230/345 if they have it available & if you have AP credit. (keep in mind some psych classes aren’t offered every semester & some will be full because returning students have already registered) If you don’t have AP credit Psych 111 would be a good class to take. Some sort of Chemistry would be a good bet, & if you have AP bio credit already I wouldn’t jump into an upper level one just yet. Maybe a math of your choice would be good (Stats 250, Math 115 & 116 all count towards the major) Or if you want to take it easy you could just take the Bio Lab (173) which you don’t get credit for from AP. If you took English, Psych, Chem&Lab, & a Math that’s 17 credits which is kind of a lot but not impossible (I did it last semester). If you took English, Psych, Chem&Lab, and Bio Lab that’s 15 credits which is a little more reasonable. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Overall recommendation would be two challenging classes & two not-so-challenging classes per semester. That way when you’re studying you can really focus on the harder subjects without feeling like you’re falling behind in the others.</p>
<p>Wooh that was really long lol. But if you have anymore questions let me know. Welcome to UM neuroscience haha</p>
<p>My mistake rjkofnovi.</p>
<p>Thank you very very much omgitsang!! That was very helpful! I don’t think I will opt for an honors concentration in neuroscience, because I don’t want to deal with all that stress, and I do seek a social life. </p>
<p>Also, my actual schedule differs greatly from the intended schedule I posted earlier. My academic adviser recommended that I start off with Orgo right off the bat, because I’ve taken Calc II and AP Chem, and also got a 100% on the math placement exam and scored in the 98th percentile on the Chemistry placement exam. </p>
<p>Here it is: </p>
<p>CHEM 210 Structure and Reactivity
CHEM 211 Investigative Chemistry
LING 209 Language and Mind (It says this course is cross-listed with PSYCH 242 Language and Mind. What does that mean? And how will it appear on my transcript?)
CLCIV Ancient Greek World-English (Unfortunately, all the ENGLISH 124 and 125 classes were closed and I want to get my FYWR out of the way, and this and SLAVIC were all that were left.)</p>
<p>I’m doing UROP already which makes five classes, so I don’t know if I want to take a math class (most likely 215-Calc III if I do). And like you said, I am considering taking the bio lab (173) as well. Which one do you think I should take, if any? And is taking six classes (including UROP) too much for a freshman who wants to enjoy college life his first semester? </p>
<p>Also, here are the professors that I got for each class. Do you know any of these people, and if so, do you have any recommendations or advice?</p>
<p>CHEM 210- John Montgomery
CHEM 211- Kathleen Nolta
CLCIV 101- Francessca Schironi
LING 209-Samuel Epstein (discussion GSI- Jae-Young Shim)</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help!</p>
<p>I heard orgo is pretty easy despite what many people say. It does, however, require quite a bit of time. </p>
<p>I do not have any previous knowledge of LING 209, but if the information in the following link is in any way a true reflection of the course, then it seems super easy.
[U</a> of M - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | LING 209 - Lang And Human Mind | MyEdu](<a href=“http://www.myedu.com/LING-209-Lang-And-Human-Mind/course/s/1698538]U”>http://www.myedu.com/LING-209-Lang-And-Human-Mind/course/s/1698538)</p>
<p>You could fit math 215 in depending on how many credits you’re doing UROP for.</p>
<p>The difficulty of your schedule only matters in the context of how smart you are and how well you work, which no one on CC can really gauge.</p>
<p>I’ve actually looked into myedu, *******, and ratemyprofessors.com. And I am confident that classic civ. and linguistics will be blow-off classes. I’m just not completely reassured that I can maintain a high gpa in Orgo, which is the reason I made sure that none of my other classes were challenging. </p>
<p>Orgo is also the reason why I am anxious about the work load that will come MATH 215. Not to mention I have to spare around ten hours a week for UROP. Even though I am only doing UROP for one credit, I need to work at least ten hours weekly to make the most of my work-study award.</p>
<p>Math 215 involves very little work – just weekly homework, which is mostly computational with an occasional proof.</p>
<p>The thing about UROP is you have virtually no homework besides seminar assignments, which are usually really short and easy.</p>
<p>ok thanks! I think I might takes MATH 215 then. And what kind of things are assigned in UROP seminar? And in your opinion, is it difficult to get an A in UROP for your research?</p>
<p>The assignments vary based on what seminar you’re in. Each seminar has about 25-30 kids and is led by a junior or senior. The leaders will choose the assignments. I did UROP this past year, and most of the assignments were just short reflection pieces on the previous week’s seminar.</p>
<p>Since you are doing UROP for work-study, I believe 80% of your grade is based on a grade your seminar leader gives you while the remaining 20% is based on the grade your research sponsor gives you – I’m fairly sure those percentages are right, but not 100% certain. The vast majority of people receive A’s in UROP. As long as you go to seminar and do the assignments, I find it difficult to imagine how you wouldn’t get an A.</p>
<p>I checked your statistics regarding grading for those who opted to take UROP for work-study, and you are correct. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I am glad I read this thread. Thank you for the helpful information about UROP!</p>
<p>Montgomery isn’t thought very highly of (I’m going to have Wolfe) but honestly it’s not like you have to go to his class all the time, you could go to the other ones. I think you should stick with what you have & the UROP. Any more might be overwhelming first semester. If you feel like it was too easy by the time you register for second semester, you’ll have a great gpa & the confidence to take more classes second semester</p>