does my schedule suck?

[reese07]

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I recently registered for my classes as a bio major, the bad thing was that i did poorly on my chemisty placement exam. I think the reason i failed it was because i totally forgot the basic stuff about chemistry, since the last time i took the class was when i was a sophomore in hs and plus i didnt study. I felt like if i took time to review the material i could of done better. So now my advisor is making me take two intro chemistry classes before i take any biology or other science classes. I kinda feel like the courses he's giving me are limiting my chances to finish the courses i need to prepare me for the mcat by junior year...im new to how the whole college course thingy works so im kinda confused. Im just worried that im starting at a really low point in preparing for med school, please critique my schedule and see if im wasting my time and if the courses im taking are covering any med school prerequisites.

fall sem:
eng composition
intro chem
intro chem lab
psychology
math element analysis

my advisor woudlnt give me insight at what i can take in the future because he doesnt know if i will pass my first semester or not. Its like hes basing my intelligence on a placement test that i know i could of did better on if i reviewed. I had decent chemistry grades (B+) in high school..

 

[brains]

I recently registered for my classes as a bio major, the bad thing was that i did poorly on my chemisty placement exam. I think the reason i failed it was because i totally forgot the basic stuff about chemistry, since the last time i took the class was when i was a sophomore in hs and plus i didnt study. I felt like if i took time to review the material i could of done better. So now my advisor is making me take two intro chemistry classes before i take any biology or other science classes. I kinda feel like the courses he's giving me are limiting my chances to finish the courses i need to prepare me for the mcat by junior year...im new to how the whole college course thingy works so im kinda confused. Im just worried that im starting at a really low point in preparing for med school, please critique my schedule and see if im wasting my time and if the courses im taking are covering any med school prerequisites.

fall sem:
eng composition
intro chem
intro chem lab
psychology
math element analysis

my advisor woudlnt give me insight at what i can take in the future because he doesnt know if i will pass my first semester or not. Its like hes basing my intelligence on a placement test that i know i could of did better on if i reviewed. I had decent chemistry grades (B+) in high school..

That intro to chem class is where I started, and I'm a chem major. In hs, I hated chem b/c my teacher sucked, and I was in a state of mind where I had no interest in learning anything. I did really well in chem, and I owe it all to the fact that I started at the very bottom to learn the basics. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be as good as i am now. Don't worry, just take your time.

 

[jochi1543]

Did you take AP chem? If not, it's quite logical that you were placed in Intro Chem regardless of whether you took regular chemistry in high school.

 

[littlealex]

At most colleges, unless you received a 4+ on the AP Chem exam, you have to start at intro Chem anyway. Relax, you'll get your classes in on time. All you really need is 2 years of chemistry, which you can easily do.

Why don't you take Physics this year too? Then next year you can take Ochem and Biology.

 

[emttim]

I recently registered for my classes as a bio major, the bad thing was that i did poorly on my chemisty placement exam. I think the reason i failed it was because i totally forgot the basic stuff about chemistry, since the last time i took the class was when i was a sophomore in hs and plus i didnt study. I felt like if i took time to review the material i could of done better. So now my advisor is making me take two intro chemistry classes before i take any biology or other science classes. I kinda feel like the courses he's giving me are limiting my chances to finish the courses i need to prepare me for the mcat by junior year...im new to how the whole college course thingy works so im kinda confused. Im just worried that im starting at a really low point in preparing for med school, please critique my schedule and see if im wasting my time and if the courses im taking are covering any med school prerequisites.

fall sem:
eng composition
intro chem
intro chem lab
psychology
math element analysis

my advisor woudlnt give me insight at what i can take in the future because he doesnt know if i will pass my first semester or not. Its like hes basing my intelligence on a placement test that i know i could of did better on if i reviewed. I had decent chemistry grades (B+) in high school..

Don't worry about it, and unless you're at a 4-year university and talking to a Health Sciences counselor, don't worry too much about what your counselor says since there's a lot of them who are complete idiots. I had to take intro chem myself...it's a good idea to take that intro class before diving into general chem because it's better to have gen chem 1 be mostly review than mostly hell. I wouldn't take a second intro class on it, however. I would see about going directly into gen chem 1 after your intro chem class...outside that, schedule looks pretty normal. English composition blows, but that's kinda expected, so meh.

 

[nick_carraway]

An important distinction needs to be made: is intro to chem at your school a remedial course for people who didn't pass the placement exam or is it merely the first course in the sequence (i.e. general chem 1)

If it's remedial, I'd find a way to get past it. Remedial courses at my school don't count for your GPA and it's a serious waste of your time. If it's the equivalent to gchem 1, however, take it because it'll give you a good foundation for later courses and everyone takes it anyway.

 

[reese07]

Did you take AP chem? If not, it's quite logical that you were placed in Intro Chem regardless of whether you took regular chemistry in high school.

yea i took ap

Don't worry about it, and unless you're at a 4-year university and talking to a Health Sciences counselor, don't worry too much about what your counselor says since there's a lot of them who are complete idiots. I had to take intro chem myself...it's a good idea to take that intro class before diving into general chem because it's better to have gen chem 1 be mostly review than mostly hell. I wouldn't take a second intro class on it, however. I would see about going directly into gen chem 1 after your intro chem class...outside that, schedule looks pretty normal. English composition blows, but that's kinda expected, so meh.

i am at a 4 year university so should I worry? Why shouldnt i take a second intro chem class?

also, what are the classes that i need to take before taking organic chemistry?

 

[emttim]

yea i took ap




i am at a 4 year university so should I worry? Why shouldnt i take a second intro chem class?

also, what are the classes that i need to take before taking organic chemistry?

No, I just meant that if you were at a 4-year and talking to a Health Sciences counselor, your chances of that counselor being an idiot would have been a lot higher so I wouldn't have put too much stock into what he/she said. Given that you /are/ at a 4-year, I'll give the counselor the benefit of the doubt.

It depends, actually if you're on the quarter system, you may need two quarters of intro chem to equal one semester of intro chem, I'm not sure. You need one year (two semesters or three quarters) of general chemistry before taking organic chemistry.

 

[reese07]

so is it a good idea to take general chemistry and biology during my sophomore yr then orgo during my junior yr? is orgo that big a deal when it comes to not giving you enough time to prepare for the mcat at the same time?

is there anyway someone can create the wisest 4 year schedule in order for me to prepare for the mcat if i do continue with my current schedule, like the courses i need to take each year starting from my sophomore yr to my senior yr if i start out with the classes im taking during freshman year...

 

[reese07]

bump

 

[masterMood]

Reese you should definitely take General Biology I (with lab) in the fall!


If you want a good chance of doing well on the MCAT, you need to finish all your pre-reqs by thte end of your sophomore year to stand a good shot.

You don't want to be in the position where you have taken some but not all of your requirements while studying for the MCAT. You will end up taking it later than you really need to and if you do bad the first time you want to have some time to restudy for it if you need to take it the 2nd time.


I would suggest you take in your fall semester:

General Bio/w lab
Chemistry w/ lab
Calculus I
(Insert very easy class here).

This should be about 15 credits.

Study hard and study diligently, use your review books to supplement you for chemistry.