<p>Does anyone have recommendations for relatively simple pre med classes that won't affect my GPA in a negative way? Physics and organic chem are personally really hard for me, so I'd take those classes later on. All I want to do is start off college with easy courses just to get used to college work/tests.</p>
<p>This is the lamest thread I’ve ever seen. Don’t be shy. Take the orgos and physics early on. If you can’t handle, then you won’t make it in pre-med.</p>
<p>You’re not going to be any smarter later. Better get them done right away. Plus, like blackpen2008 said, you should take these classes sooner rather than later to see if you can handle the pre-med track. Also, many of these classes are pre-requisites for other classes, so you have to take them early on anyway. </p>
<p>I think it would be a good idea to take simpler classes in the first semester with one hard class (like fulfill calc requirement or something) then step it up the next semester after you’re more accustomed to college life.</p>
<p>I would recommend taking a variety of classes. Take some harder classes and some less difficult classes to balance it out and knock out distribution requirements. I had an honors chem class and great books my first semester and took Anthro 101 to balance it out because there were no papers and no final.</p>
<p>black pen and Aaya stop being condescending. its a legitimate concern. TC watch out theres a lot of bitter premed kids here on campus who are more than willing to give bad advice</p>
<p>its not most of the premed classes are prereqs for other classes. the only enforced prereq for common premed classes are intro bios. most other classes have advisory prereqs. and don’t tell the TC to take orgo and physics together his/her first year. Did you get 4.0s in those when you took it? </p>
<p>TC, If you are premed your GPA is important. I suggest taking a semester with classes you know or feel you can handle well, develop good study skills, time management, and confidence. Worst case scenario take a couple spring classes to catch up. Don’t do what a lot of kids do and get a bunch of A-'s or B’s in premed classes and fight your way up from a lower science gpa. you don’t need all prereqs done by the time you apply or take the MCAT so don’t feel pressured to “get them done right away”, though you should still have a plan or idea. also do you plan on doing a science/bio major? if you are a BS needs 60 BS credits fyi</p>
<p>I can understand where rocketboys is coming from. One may not necessarily “be any smarter later” in college, but one semester of college is definitely enough experience to acquire better study habits and time management skills. </p>
<p>With that said, I recommend at least 1 hard class to add structure to your schedule, or else you might slack too much. Combined with your writing and language requirement, you should have a decent schedule.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is to get your feet wet. So what if you take physics or orgo another term? Its about yourself and maximizing your gpa. From personal experience, I feel if I didnt take a light load my first semester, I wouldn’t have done so well. I turned my attitude around second semester, and even with harder classes, was able to perform with a lot more confidence and had even more free time to chill/ECs because of a lot better approach.</p>
<p>Bottom line, do what your comfortable with for your first semester. Its not a sprint. By second term you should have the feel of college life and classes. I disagree with Aaya. People DO get smarter: in how they manage classes/time management. At the end of the day, nobodys born knowing what orgo is or what reactions are. Its all about your study habits. Everyone can do well if they put in the time and dedication. It’s not about being “shy”, its about being smart ;)</p>
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<p>I completely agree. If you’re really unsure of what you think you can do, only take one hard class. You’re going to have to fulfill the distribution in the end, so you might as well take classes in whichever subjects seem interesting to you (it will be nearly impossible to waste a class = take beyond the necessary requirement in a single classification in your first semester). I personally recommend philosophy, political science, or psychology (or all three). All very interesting (and not very difficult subjects at the introductory level). I took one of each first semester freshman year (in addition to a math class) because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in, I knew I had to fulfill distribution anyway, and I figured I might as well just take interesting looking classes until I got a feel for how the whole academic thing and what I wanted to do at Michigan (and they did turn out to be quite interesting).</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I’m not premed so this may not be the approach you want to take.</p>
<p>I may be the odd one out, but I recommend taking the hard pre-med classes as soon as possible. They are pre-recs for other more difficult courses and makes studying for the mcat much easier.</p>