I'm actually not sure what I get; the only reason I say C- is because a student is guaranteed that grade if he puts forth a good effort (since it's an Honors class, I guess). Right now I have a C- uncurved, but I am wary about the final. It's possible that I'll end up with an uncurved C or C-, but I have no idea how the curve even works, so I guess a better grade is possible.
As for easier classes, I plan on taking 153 next quarter, so that should be easier. And yes, I'm planning on 120s physics (if I take physics here and not, say, over the summer; I took AP Physics B in HS and did well so that seems possible). The only problem there is that I still have to take my year of Bio, Physics, Chem, and O-Chem since I didn't sign up for any of those sequences this year. Unless I become a Bio or Chem major, that sounds pretty difficult w/o summer classes...
BTW they still offer Analysis (and Honors Analysis) to maybe 20 freshmen, and I often see Paul Sally roaming the halls before my Calc class.
A C- uncurved isn't too bad! Look, I don't want to give you false hope in case it does turn out to be the grade you get, but do you mean you got C/C-s on your midterms uncurved? Cause isn't that usually the class average? And that usually translates to at least a letter grade better. Did your professor tell you what the midterm scores curved would be? All my professors used to list what the curved grades for the midterms would translate into. Also, are you taking into account your homework? That should give you a little boost if you've done all of them. In first quarter of algebra, I got Cs on both midterms, but I did much better on the final, had done all my homework so I ended up getting a B+ in the course. About the final, sometimes I feel that it's actually not as hard as one would think. Mostly b/c I noticed that by then, you know the material better and also b/c they seem to use very similiar type of questions as from the midterm. Anyway I do sympathize with you. Since I took regular Analysis, and the "slower" track of that too (I don't know if they still do this subtle differentiation; same textbook, just slower pace), it might've been easier than Honors Calc, but man, jumping into it my first quarter not having any idea of how to write proofs...it was really hard.
I think you're right that physics 120s will be fairly doable for you, especially since you're good enough in math to place into Honors Calc. Can't comment on gen chem since I didn't take it but when I was there, they only had two sequences, regular versus honors. But now I notice there's a third sequence, which is supposedly geared towards bio majors/pre-meds, so that might be doable. As for Ochem, mmm, yeah it was a lot of work, especially Honors Ochem, but it wasn't impossibly hard. A lot depended on the TA I felt. First two quarters, I had a really good TA who would let us stay later in lab to finish up, let us take prob sets/quizzes (during mandatory prob sessions) home for 80% of the full score if we really couldn't finish the prob, made really helpful study sheets for us, etc. I thought regular OChem wasn't too hard, but just very time consuming, especially lab prep. As for bio, if you're just doing pre-med requirements, you need 1 year's worth of bio right? But do they specify what it has to be? You might be able to get away with some upper level bio courses that are actually easier than intro ones, especially if they don't have labs!
Are you thinking about going straight from undergrad to med school? B/c if you're willing to take a gap year, you could do gen chem 2nd year, ochem 3rd year and physics 4th year. Actually, since you've taken AP physics, if you brush up on your physics, you might even be able to take the MCAT and do well before you actually take physics, so you'd still be able to apply as a senior and go straight to med school after graduation. Otherwise you're gonna have to double up on gen chem + physics or ochem + physics, though I think the latter is much worse. Anyway good luck with everything!
