Biology, chemistry, and english???

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shaq93

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Well guys, right now I am a senior in high school and this spring I will be attending University of Alabama (UA) as a biology major (I may transfer to University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall because they have 5 on campus hospitals). Right now I shadow a doctor at a local clinic and he has bought me the Barron's Mcat book which i review everyday. But anyways, I wanted to know would taking biology, chemistry, english, and some easy class be too much on my plate at one time? I wanted to have all of my pre reqs out of the way before the Mcat so I didnt want to waste any time. I keep hearing about people failing chem and bio but I think that I can pull it through. Also, I may tke the second part of these classes this summer at a communuty college. Anybody who took two or more hard classes in the same semister want to give a young man like me some advice?

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If you want to have all your prereqs complete by the time you take the MCAT (which is obviously ideal) then be prepared to take at least two science courses each semester throughout undergrad.

Consider it as part of your preparation for med school where everything you wil be learning is science related. Almost everyone I know who is a science major is juggling two or more science courses plus other non-science classes at the same time.

It's not that difficult as long as you develop good time management and a strong work ethic.

Best of luck in college:thumbup:
 
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I took two bio, one chem, one phys, one calc, and one English course in my first term in my freshman year. I managed to do pretty well.

And it's way too early for you to be prepping for the MCAT, bro. Just relax and enjoy high school.

+1

Great advice that I didn't think to mention the first time. Don't worry about the MCAT right now. The best thing you can do for yourself going into college is to concentrate on mastery of each subject.

If you truly understand the material then the A's will come and when it comes time to actually start studying for the MCAT (3-4 months before the test) then you'll have a solid base off which to begin.
 
Yes, start getting those science pre-reqs in as soon as you can, especially if you plan on being a biology major. I waited until my sophomore year to start most of the bio & chem sequences... fast forward to senior year and I have to need 24 hrs. of biology this year to finish my B.S. on time!

& ditto the above about waiting to think about the MCAT. you have plenty of time.
 
That will probably be one of your easiest semesters in college. Make the best of it.
 
I'd recommend limiting your difficult sciences to two per semester. That schedule sounds easy to be honest. You will be fine with that assuming you work hard. This is generally the case though isn't it?
 
Thank you guys for the responses, the doctor who I shadow is really inspirational and he keeps telling me that I will do well like you guys say. I have also been thinking of changing my major to psychology simply for the "fun" experience. I need to know what exactly a bio major studies; is it just cells cells cells or will you learn about animals, human bodies, etc? That MCAT book seems like biology is all cells and it can be boring at times. I love to learn about human body parts and the doctor who i follow majored in biochem so he really can't chime in much on what exactly bio majors studies.
 
Thank you guys for the responses, the doctor who I shadow is really inspirational and he keeps telling me that I will do well like you guys say. I have also been thinking of changing my major to psychology simply for the "fun" experience. I need to know what exactly a bio major studies; is it just cells cells cells or will you learn about animals, human bodies, etc? That MCAT book seems like biology is all cells and it can be boring at times. I love to learn about human body parts and the doctor who i follow majored in biochem so he really can't chime in much on what exactly bio majors studies.

I found too much biology to be dry. Some parts are interesting, but I chose to major in neuroscience and I love every class. Psych is probably the closest thing, and maybe your school offers more interesting psych classes than just intro or developmental. Look into it if you're interested. It won't hurt your chances at med school one bit. Bio majors at my school get some electives to take neuro-biological or other interesting classes. Check your school's website.
 
What math classes did you guys take before physics? I took mth112 at a local cc this summer.
 
Wow, its scary how identical our profiles are. However, I am one year ahead of you.

I'm currently going to UA and I am a freshman (second semester). I took Biology (take Caldwell), Chemistry (Vincent, or non-honors), and Spanish. It's a very easy course load and you'll do great. However, remember to go to your classes and dont get easily side tracked with all of the partying UA has to offer me which I was not so fortunate to avoid. Anyway, I suggest that you dont transfer to UAB not because its not a great school, but you'll have equal opportunities at UA.

And, I agree with everyone else about the MCAT prep. Chill for now and start worrying about it in college.

Let me know if you have any further questions regarding the college, etc.
 
Wow, its scary how identical our profiles are. However, I am one year ahead of you.

I'm currently going to UA and I am a freshman (second semester). I took Biology (take Caldwell), Chemistry (Vincent, or non-honors), and Spanish. It's a very easy course load and you'll do great. However, remember to go to your classes and dont get easily side tracked with all of the partying UA has to offer me which I was not so fortunate to avoid. Anyway, I suggest that you dont transfer to UAB not because its not a great school, but you'll have equal opportunities at UA.

And, I agree with everyone else about the MCAT prep. Chill for now and start worrying about it in college.

Let me know if you have any further questions regarding the college, etc.
Thats cool that you go to UA, If you see a guy with a box (like Kid n Play or Fresh Prince) haircut, that is me
 
Is the high school forum broken or something? There has been a lot of high schoolers asking questions on here as of late.
 
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Is the high school forum broken or something? There has been a lot of high schoolers asking questions on here as of late.
My bad, im sorry. I thought that it would be ok since i actually start college in january so I assumed that I was a freshman in college :oops:
 
My bad, im sorry. I thought that it would be ok since i actually start college in january so I assumed that I was a freshman in college :oops:

No,no... Don't misunderstand now. You welcome to ask questions here all you want it is just I figured that this kind of stuff would sit better in the High school forum because it would benefit them the most.
 
I'm a psych major and I find it very interesting. If you want some "fun"' then id recommend psychology.
 
I'm a senior chemistry and psychology major at UA. If you want any specific info about professors, the psychology program, whatever, feel free to PM me.
 
My degree is in psychology. I chose to get the B.S. which required additional science classes. For my degree I took psychopharm, neuroanatomy, biological basis of behavior, drug abuse and addiction, health psychology, abnormal, among others. At my alma mater, the upper division psych courses were pretty rigorous (esp neuro). But, it was definitely fun and I was able to add in some of my pre-reqs for pharm school during my last two years (I did the rest post bac). It was also something to talk about in an interview because it was different from all the chem, cell bio, and biochem majors. In the end, the major doesn't seem to matter that much- just that you have all the checkmarks in the right places (including great grades in your pre-reqs).
 
Ok fellows, I took mth112 at a local cc this summer as i said earlier and I was wondering if I took mth113, Would that be all I need to get into medical school? Also, would that be enough math for physics & the mcat?
 
You may not be aware but at UAB 1 chemistry course is 3 classes. Hour plus lecture, hour recitation, 2 hour lab.
 
MCAT's easy to score a 40+ on as long as you're not from some dumb hickville state. Oh wait..
 
Well guys, right now I am a senior in high school and this spring I will be attending University of Alabama (UA) as a biology major (I may transfer to University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall because they have 5 on campus hospitals). Right now I shadow a doctor at a local clinic and he has bought me the Barron's Mcat book which i review everyday. But anyways, I wanted to know would taking biology, chemistry, english, and some easy class be too much on my plate at one time? I wanted to have all of my pre reqs out of the way before the Mcat so I didnt want to waste any time. I keep hearing about people failing chem and bio but I think that I can pull it through. Also, I may tke the second part of these classes this summer at a communuty college. Anybody who took two or more hard classes in the same semister want to give a young man like me some advice?

FYI, Barron's MCAT Review is notorious for being the worst BY FAR. Do some SDN searches about it. Seriously, not to disrespect your doc, but the first step is to toss/burn that book and disregard everything you may have learned from it.
 
Did anybody on here major in philosophy? What as your experiences?
 
So this past sunday I moved into my dorm at UA but I wanted to come back home to finish my senior year with my class so I moved out the next day. I wanted to take engl,chem, and bio at a local cc but they didnt offer chem at that time. Bio and engl were over $1,000 together so I just signed up for bio and I start class on wednesday. In the fall I am planning to either go back to UA or enroll at UAB, by that time I will have 10 credits so I can take some light semesters whenever needed.
 
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