Taking classes together

[kingjameslbj]

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Can i take chem,physics, and biology together? Is that even possible? Can my prereqs be completed in 3 semesters, i need calc chem 2, organ 1&2, physics 1&2. How long is this honestly going to take 🙁 . I did a search but haven't really found one that answers my question directly

 

[deleted407021]

All of those classes have labs, so with other coursework, you are looking at a tough semester. Some people take them individually (bio I&II freshman, Chem I&II sophomore etc.). That's probably not the best way to do it. I took the bio and gen chem sequences together during my freshman year and I had no problems at all. I'm now taking the second half of ochem and physics, with human genetics to boot. Again, no problems. I would recommend others follow a similar plan.

 

[knv2u]

Yes, but I recommend that you postpone at least some of the labs. They are time consuming for the number of credit hours.

 

[GreenBlade]

Semester I
Bio I w/ lab
Chem I w/ lab
Precal/ Calc (depending on placement)
English I

Semester II
Bio II w/ lab
Chem II w/ lab
Calc I
English II

Semester III
Ochem I w/ lab
Physics I w/lab
Genetics
Stats

Semester IV
Ochem II
Physics II w/ lab
Some other Bio course

This is the normal sequence for Biology majors at most universities.

 

[kingjameslbj]

All of those classes have labs, so with other coursework, you are looking at a tough semester. Some people take them individually (bio I&II freshman, Chem I&II sophomore etc.). That's probably not the best way to do it. I took the bio and gen chem sequences together during my freshman year and I had no problems at all. I'm now taking the second half of ochem and physics, with human genetics to boot. Again, no problems. I would recommend others follow a similar plan.

Well i just took a loan out to support myself to go full time and dedicate 100% of my time and moved back with mommy. I just didnt know if it was possible to take them together. Should i wait to take physics until i get to ochem?

 

[knv2u]

Semester I
Bio I w/ lab
Chem I w/ lab
Precal/ Calc (depending on placement)
English I

Semester II
Bio II w/ lab
Chem II w/ lab
Calc I
English II

Semester III
Ochem I w/ lab
Physics I w/lab
Genetics
Stats

Semester IV
Ochem II
Physics II w/ lab
Some other Bio course

This is the normal sequence for Biology majors at most universities.

I think that's an overgeneralization. At my school, most premedical students didn't start biology until after the completion of general chemistry and genetics would have been a junior year class along with cell.

 

[kingjameslbj]

Yes, but I recommend that you postpone at least some of the labs. They are time consuming for the number of credit hours.

It looks like at my university the labs are attached to the class itself??? idk i just transferred from another university that was not life that, so i may not have a choice? But do you think the labs will be hard if i take them the semester after i take the class? If its even possible

 

[knv2u]

Well i just took a loan out to support myself to go full time and dedicate 100% of my time and moved back with mommy. I just didnt know if it was possible to take them together. Should i wait to take physics until i get to ochem?

A lot of this depends on the school, but we were advised against taking organic chemistry (which many found to be time consuming) along with physics. It depends on how rigorous your school's curriculum is and the other classes you are taking.

 

[deleted407021]

Well i just took a loan out to support myself to go full time and dedicate 100% of my time and moved back with mommy. I just didnt know if it was possible to take them together. Should i wait to take physics until i get to ochem?

You need to have finished gen chem before ochem, as it is generally a prerequisite, but you could take all the others in any order you like.

 

[GreenBlade]

I think that's an overgeneralization. At my school, most premedical students didn't start biology until after the completion of general completion and genetics would have been a junior year class along with cell.

I know UT Austin is like that. That's silly and a waste of time. Take that **** when you want and don't pack on too many UD science courses.

 

[kingjameslbj]

Semester I
Bio I w/ lab
Chem I w/ lab
Precal/ Calc (depending on placement)
English I

Semester II
Bio II w/ lab
Chem II w/ lab
Calc I
English II

Semester III
Ochem I w/ lab
Physics I w/lab
Genetics
Stats

Semester IV
Ochem II
Physics II w/ lab
Some other Bio course

This is the normal sequence for Biology majors at most universities.

Thanks for the structure, i dont need english but its a good reference. Would you guys recommend stats as well?

 

[kingjameslbj]

I know UT Austin is like that. That's silly and a waste of time. Take that **** when you want and don't pack on too many UD science courses.

Im doing post bac so i just need the science classes. How many is too many?

 

[kingjameslbj]

You need to have finished gen chem before ochem, as it is generally a prerequisite, but you could take all the others in any order you like.

Alright so i should be able to take ochem second semester. Would you recommend any classes before hopping into physics?

 

[Lucca]

I know UT Austin is like that. That's silly and a waste of time. Take that **** when you want and don't pack on too many UD science courses.

Actually you can just take 315H and 325H (Genetics Honors 1 and Genetics Honors 2) if you are in honors or apply to take them if you took the AP test and can skip the first two and skip to the third semester. Also you could've gotten AP credit. So you don't necessarily have to take the three semester sequence.

Personally, I think taking three intro sciences is fine but it's the labs that are killer. Labs are so annoying and intro labs are an especially awful waste of time. Delay as many as possible imo.

 

[GreenBlade]

Im doing post bac so i just need the science classes. How many is too many?

Oh a post-bacc. You'll be fine. Nothing to really worry about other than biochemistry, but you won't have to stack it with anything. I'm talking about cell bio, biochem, immuno, and virology in one semester. That would be a long semester.

For the prereqs, stack them however you want. I'm taking calc I, physics I w/ lab, and ochem I w/lab with some junk classes too. It's all up to how much you think you can handle.

 

[Lucca]

Alright so i should be able to take ochem second semester. Would you recommend any classes before hopping into physics?

Calculus.

 

[deleted407021]

Alright so i should be able to take ochem second semester. Would you recommend any classes before hopping into physics?

If you take calc based, you will need calc I (also may be a phys I prereq), however not a lot of calculus will actually be used in physics. If you take trig based, you will want a solid background in trigonometry.

 

[masaraksh]

Seriously?

You can take all the critical pre-reqs in one year. Its just 4 classes: bio + genchem + ochem + physics. Usually a lab is one afternoon a week for these classes (so thats 3 afternoons of your 5 day week).

But since genchem is usually a pre-req for ochem, you would probably need 2 academic years. That splits it into: bio, genchem, physics ( all w/ lab) - this may be time consuming but its really not that much.

After you can take ochem 1 &2 + add other things like stats, genetics, biochem, etc

 

[knv2u]

OP, I also believe strongly in taking summer classes to help out with rigorous courses.

If I had to the opportunity to redo college, here is how I would have structured my schedule:

Fall Freshman Year: Chemistry I with Lab, Calculus, English, and 2 electives.
Spring Freshman Year: Chemistry II with Lab, Calculus 2 or Statistics, electives.
Summer Freshman Year: Organic Chemistry I and II with labs.
Fall Sophomore Year: Biology I with lab, Physics I with lab, electives
Spring Sophomore Year: Biology II with lab, Physics II with lab, electives
Junior + Senior: Electives/finishing out major requirements, etc.

 

[knv2u]

Seriously?

You can take all the critical pre-reqs in one year. Its just 4 classes: bio + genchem + ochem + physics. Usually a lab is one afternoon a week for these classes (so thats 3 afternoons of your 5 day week).

There are post bac programs that do this all the time. Moreover, if you postpone the labs (which a good number of universities treat as separate courses), then it is definitely doable. I could see someone taking Chem 101 (3.0), Bio 101 (3.0), Physics 101 or calc based (3.0 credits), and a 3-5 credit elective or some lab work for 12-14 credit hours.

 

[knv2u]

Im doing post bac so i just need the science classes. How many is too many?

It all depends on you.

 

[kingjameslbj]

Thanks for the insight and help everyone.

 

[kingjameslbj]

OP, I also believe strongly in taking summer classes to help out with rigorous courses.

If I had to the opportunity to redo college, here is how I would have structured my schedule:

Fall Freshman Year: Chemistry I with Lab, Calculus, English, and 2 electives.
Spring Freshman Year: Chemistry II with Lab, Calculus 2 or Statistics, electives.
Summer Freshman Year: Organic Chemistry I and II with labs.
Fall Sophomore Year: Biology I with lab, Physics I with lab, electives
Spring Sophomore Year: Biology II with lab, Physics II with lab, electives
Junior + Senior: Electives/finishing out major requirements, etc.

Thanks for the thorough structure response.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Here's the way I did things (when I actually got serious about completing my pre-reqs):

YEAR 1:
Gen Bio
Gen Chem

SUMMER TERM, YEAR 1:
Physics (Yes, I did it over 12 weeks in the summer. I did NOT want to spend 9 months on this subject...)

YEAR 2:
Ochem
Other prereqs (Biochem, Calculus, Physiology, etc... depending on what schools you're applying to.)



You can easily have all your prereqs done in 2 years without straining yourself. Years 3 and 4 will be open for you to study whatever you want (get your major done!)

Good luck!

 

[kingjameslbj]

Here's the way I did things (when I actually got serious about completing my pre-reqs):

YEAR 1:
Gen Bio
Gen Chem

SUMMER TERM, YEAR 1:
Physics (Yes, I did it over 12 weeks in the summer. I did NOT want to spend 9 months on this subject...)

YEAR 2:
Ochem
Other prereqs (Biochem, Calculus, Physiology, etc... depending on what schools you're applying to.)



You can easily have all your prereqs done in 2 years without straining yourself. Years 3 and 4 will be open for you to study whatever you want (get your major done!)

Good luck!

I have a bachelors already and i would rather not stretch it to two years though. I start my sciences this summer and taking physics over the summer sounds like a plan because i def dont want to spend that much time on it either lol. Thanks for the insight. I should of just got a bachelors in science im stupid!

 

[heelsfan94]

It's very doable. Last semester, I had ochem 1 w/lab, genetics w/lab, and calculus 1 on top of an english course (busy work) and a religion course (busy work), earned my 4.0. You can do it, just be committed!

 

[juliuspepperwood]

I took bio 1, chem 1 and physics 2 with all the labs (2 a week for bio/chem and 1 for physics) in the same semester. If you stay on top of everything it's fine, but if you slack I could see it getting messy.

 

[mehc012]

I think that's an overgeneralization. At my school, most premedical students didn't start biology until after the completion of general completion and genetics would have been a junior year class along with cell.

And at mine it was a sophomore year class (and I took it freshman fall!)
Pretty much any schedule will work out for you. Just take it as it comes and you'll be done before you know it!