Question: Bio I & Chem I in the same semester?

[ikeepthinking]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Why am I hearing it's not a good idea to take Bio I and General Chem I at the same time? For those of you who've taken it at the same time, what did you all think? I'm not looking for a vague answer, like "oh, it's hard". Is it doable? Do you recommend it? Not recommend it? Why? Is it near impossible?

Even my pre-med is advisor is suggesting take Chem I before Bio I. I can't get a straight up answer as to why.

I'm a transfer student from a 2-year college, and I'm not starting the requirements til January so I could avoid the "2 year bias".

 

[Dendrite]

Why am I hearing it's not a good idea to take Bio I and General Chem I at the same time? For those of you who've taken it at the same time, what did you all think? I'm not looking for a vague answer, like "oh, it's hard". Is it doable? Do you recommend it? Not recommend it? Why? Is it near impossible?

Even my pre-med is advisor is suggesting take Chem I before Bio I. I can't get a straight up answer as to why.

I'm a transfer student from a 2-year college, and I'm not starting the requirements til January so I could avoid the "2 year bias".

I don't see the problem. Chem I is a pre-req for Bio I at many four-year universities, which is why your advisor recommended taking Chem I first. However, if you have a foundation in chemistry and biology, it is no problem, as long as you feel as though you are capable of handling the material. It is risky because these are important pre-reqs for med school. I did both my first semester of college, and things turned out okay.

 

[GoHop]

i took chem 1 and physics my freshman year. i thought it was more than doable and wish i would have taken bio also. instead i'm taking bio and orgo now and have to wait until junior year to take biochem 🙁

 

[TheRealMD]

Err... maybe if you were a freshman and you weren't that confident in your study habits, but other than that, you should be fine.

Edit: Actually, I'd definitely do it. You see, it's generally not a good idea to take the first part of a course in Spring because profs usually are... "bleh". The good professors will teach class I in fall and class II in Spring. Not that it has THAT much effect, but it's something I've seen over time.

 

[lumanyika]

it is doable. That's how i did it. both those classes are lab heavy, and it could be a nightmare with the wrong instructor/professor. if you are working full time i wouldn't recommend it tho'. taking three classes that have lab is a stretch, but two is definitely doable.

Note: i hope you aren't taking any computer science class(es) because they are quite demanding and require a fair amount of "lab" work also.

good luck

 

[Yuyukachoo]

I'm currently doing that right now with a 100 in chem and it's lab and a b+/A in bio and it's lab. It's really doable, I'm not studying as much as I thought I would be and the material is easy to follow and at some points relates to what you're doing in the other class. 🙂 Good luck

 

[NYUM]

I did both at the same time and I was fine. Enjoy your lower level classes!🙂

 

[free_radical]

it's totally doable- just be preapred to work hard

 

[Tenacity]

You don't need Chemistry I for Biology I that much. If you paid attention in high school, you're fine. Work hard and don't slack off too much!

 

[GoldShadow]

Nobody here knows your own abilities but you.

That said, I did it as a freshman last year... bio I, chem I, calc I (among my science/math classes). Same thing second semester (bio II, chem II, calc II). Very manageable.

 

[ncguy2005]

I did it last year. If I could give you one reason why you should do one before the other it's that learning the concepts in chem I (like polarity, bonding, ect.) makes introductory biology a little bit easier. thats just my opinion looking back on things.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

It's totally doable but remember those labs suck up alot of time.


I didn't think I could do it because I needed better study habits. I just took chem my freshman year then physics, bio, and ochem my soph year.

 

[vandyland10]

I think it also depends on the school...in my "intro" bio class last year, the average on the second exam was a 56. I've actually heard upperclassmen here say that the intro bio class was harder than orgo or physics 😕. I still managed to do fairly well in them, but I definitely had far less of a social life than many of my friends (I took gen chem, bio, and calc). Looking back, I'm very glad I did it...this year it seems that all of the bio/orgo tests are within a day of each other, and the people who waited until this year to take bio are pretty much miserable.

 

[skyeblue0610]

I'm about to take them both next quarter and I've spoke to people who have done it and they say it's fine.

And I guess it helps that they did away with the Bio I lab here but Chem I has a sucky 4 hour lab....but I know I can handle both.

Next I'm taking Bio II and Chem II together🙂

 

[luv2sd]

both are easy classes

please... take them both and ace them

 

[AKN]

I'm currently taking Bio I, Chem I, and Physics I. I'm a nontrad, so I'm trying to fit them in as quickly as possible. I'm also working about 30 hours/week. I think you can do it 😀

 

[pakbabydoll]

Biology is easy. Chem is hard ( for me at least)

 

[WantsThisBad]

Why am I hearing it's not a good idea to take Bio I and General Chem I at the same time? For those of you who've taken it at the same time, what did you all think? I'm not looking for a vague answer, like "oh, it's hard". Is it doable? Do you recommend it? Not recommend it? Why? Is it near impossible?

Even my pre-med is advisor is suggesting take Chem I before Bio I. I can't get a straight up answer as to why.

I'm a transfer student from a 2-year college, and I'm not starting the requirements til January so I could avoid the "2 year bias".

I didn't go to high school. In other words I had no experience with Biology or Chemistry. When I started college I took chem 1 and Bio 1 together and did fine and then took chem 2 and bio 2 together and did fine. This semester Im taking Orgo 1, Calculus, and a Bio elective and two labs....and still its not bad and could be a lot worse! If you can't handle chem 1 and bio 1 in the same semester then you will have some issues farther down the road. Its really not bad...just realize that chem will be more actual work and bio more memorizing things. G luck.

 

[Concordia]

It should be more than doable. I thought ChemI was definitely not enjoyable, but it is not horrible. BioI is fairly easy. So as long as you manage your time well, you should have no problems with the classes and the labs.

 

[Bacchus]

Isn't this the standard for any science major regardless of university?

 

[njbmd]

Why am I hearing it's not a good idea to take Bio I and General Chem I at the same time? For those of you who've taken it at the same time, what did you all think? I'm not looking for a vague answer, like "oh, it's hard". Is it doable? Do you recommend it? Not recommend it? Why? Is it near impossible?

Even my pre-med is advisor is suggesting take Chem I before Bio I. I can't get a straight up answer as to why.

I'm a transfer student from a 2-year college, and I'm not starting the requirements til January so I could avoid the "2 year bias".

This is the usual sequence for most Biology (or Chemistry) majors who are pre-med. The key to doing well in both of these courses is keeping up with the material. General Biology is not as computational as General Chemistry and thus you won't be doing loads of problems but both courses are pre-reqs and need your full attention.

If you think that you can't give both of these important courses the attention that they demand, ease up. The most difficult part of General Chemistry is that many students do not have the algebra/trig skills to work problems with ease and comfort. If your math is strong, General Chem is more enjoyable and more easily mastered. If you need a math "tune up" get this out of the way and just take General Biology. If necessary, you can pair Organic Chemistry with General Physics (another pre-req that needs good algebra/trig skills).

Just keep in mind that you have one shot to do well in your pre-req courses. You not only need strong grades but you need to have a solid knowledge base that you will apply to problems on the Medical College Admissions Test. Just make sure you can keep up and get the strong background that you need to do well.

 

[nabeel76]

I took chem 1 and bio 1 in the same semester, also took chem II and bio II the next semester. I am not sure about your school the only chemistry that I ever needed to know for bio I was covered in the first chapter of my bio 1 book. It was really basic stuff about the different types of intermolecular bonds, with an emphasis on Hydrogen bonding. It basically just defined them nothing in depth at all. I doubt you will need a chem course before taking an entry level bio course.

 

[TexanGal]

I'm currently taking Ochem I and Biology I together... it's a LOT of work, but it's manageable... so I think taking Chem I and Biology I is completely rational/doable 🙂

 

[TheRealMD]

Just hope you'll never be an idiot and do what I'm doing this semester:

Human Anatomy
Cell Bio
Biochem
Evolution
Medical Ethics

oh, and flying around for interviews sucks up time too. AND I have at least one test if not two, per week.

Trust me, you can manage!

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

OP: I'm taking 7 science classes ATM (including engineering).

It can be done.

If you can't handle 2 science courses, I'd question your fitness for med school.

 

[bluesTank]

 

[Isoprop]

OP: I'm taking 7 science classes ATM (including engineering).

It can be done.

If you can't handle 2 science courses, I'd question your fitness for med school.

this is a terrible thing to say. not everybody is ready to hack into medical school after 2 years of college. to the op: take it easy and get accustomed to the workload of a 4-year university's science classes. a university ugrad science class has its unique set of challenges like bigger class sizes and unavailable professors.

still, you have 2 years of college under your belt. honestly, there's nothing in bio 1 (imho) that absolutely requires chem 1. you seem like you have the potential to do well in both classes simultaneously.

 

[dakims]

its doable for sure. the only chemistry required for biology is probably the interactions of water and proteins folding, maybe a few other topics, but they are easy to teach yourself. dont wait another year to take bio as you probably dont want to double bio with orgo.

 

[wvupremed2]

it shouldn't be a problem at all. i've since transferred, but at WVU it was standard to take them in the same semester. I'm crazy when it comes to workload, though, since I'm currently taking Organic 1 (3hr lec, 2 hr lab), Physics (5 hr), Cell Bio (3 hr), and Behavioral Ecology (300-level) this semester. I would NOT recommend this.

 

[Food]

I really dont know why it's such a big deal. I think people should be doubling up on core sciences left and right, but tend to be too scared to do it. It's really not that bad, and in later years, you're going to have to double up on some hard classes (unless you are majoring food sci)

*food sci majors throw tomatoes at me*
(Oh comeon! it's such a joke major!)

Anyway, point is, chem 1 and bio 1 aren't even that hard compared to some classes you'll have to deal with later on. I say bite the bullet and take them both, and possibly physics 1 as well. I was joking about the last one, only do that if you are pretty smart.