UCI Bio Major/Freshman

[collegenow]

Hey...
had a few questions...I'm an incoming freshman this fall, bio sci major at UCI.
was wondering what classes some UCI undergrads/grads would recommend for a pre-med?
currently signed up for bio93,chem1a,writing39b, and math2b..is that too much? should i take human core?
what's ur experience?
thanks in advance!

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[wolverinepwns]

Hey...
had a few questions...I'm an incoming freshman this fall, bio sci major at UCI.
was wondering what classes some UCI undergrads/grads would recommend for a pre-med?
currently signed up for bio93,chem1a,writing39b, and math2b..is that too much? should i take human core?
what's ur experience?
thanks in advance!

Although I didn't go to UCI, but since ucla follows the same pattern relatively, I can tell you that the first two years you will pretty much be taking core classes, ie. physics, chem, ochem, core classes, math, lifesciences. my advice is to make sure you do well in all of them! and keep you GPA high from the start!

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Hey...
had a few questions...I'm an incoming freshman this fall, bio sci major at UCI.
was wondering what classes some UCI undergrads/grads would recommend for a pre-med?
currently signed up for bio93,chem1a,writing39b, and math2b..is that too much? should i take human core?
what's ur experience?
thanks in advance!

First of all, don't take humcore. Humcore is a lot of work, you're much better off just taking the 3 (or 2 if you took the AP test) writing classes.

Other than that the bio major at UCI will fulfill all your requirements for med school no matter which specialization you pick. The only thing I would say you should take in addition to your major/GE requirements is an upper division English class. It looks like you took AP credit for 39A and since many med schools require 1 year of english and some don't accept AP credit, you'd be better off having 3 quarters of english instead of the 2 bio majors regularly take (this is because 100L satisfies the upper div writing requirement for bio majors, but since it isn't an english class you can't report it as such when you apply).

 

[collegenow]

^ but what about taking math2b in the fall freshman year...is that too much? cuz everyones been saying that to me...
and thanks for the headsup about writing req!

 

[LuciusVorenus]

^ but what about taking math2b in the fall freshman year...is that too much? cuz everyones been saying that to me...
and thanks for the headsup about writing req!

It depends how good you are at math. Math 2b is all integration techniques so if you fall behind you'll have a lot of catching up to do. Math classes at UCI aren't curved so it all comes down to who you have as a teacher. Lehman was great for example. If you have a bad teacher, or you're worried, drop it and just take biosci 7 or a GE if biosci 7 is full, you'll have plenty of time for math later. Bio 93 was just AP bio, chem 1a is pretty basic (lewis structures, etc), but I will say that the writing class is quite a bit of work. Not as much work as humcore, but the writing classes aren't curved either, so out of a class of 30 people there's usually 1 A and 1 A- (at least for the two classes I took). UCI has a strong graduate comparative literature/English program so all your TAs are going to be from Harvard, Brown, etc and they usually require quite a bit out of their students. Just hope you get lucky and have a nice one.

EDIT: One good thing about math classes at UCI is they're pretty lenient about how many weeks can pass before you can drop without a W. When I took math it was 6 weeks. In a 10 week course that's pretty much after the first midterm and halfway into the second midterm. I would double check this though to make sure it hasn't changed over the past 2 years.

 

[collegenow]

^ there's only one A in a writing course?! O.O that's scary...wow...ic
ok then that's what i'll do with math i guess than
thanks!
any tips for the writing course??

 

[LuciusVorenus]

^ there's only one A in a writing course?! O.O that's scary...wow...ic
ok then that's what i'll do with math i guess than
thanks!
any tips for the writing course??

Read the book! I got through AP lit in high school without reading any of the books but you can't do the same thing here anymore. Participate in class. It's usually a big part of your grade. Make sure you don't leave your essay until the last second, it takes a lot of revision to get it up to an A. Don't be afraid of asking her to read it over if you're worried, the instructors I had were usually really nice about it if you asked respectfully (don't just email it to her and be like "correct this" which a lot of people apparently do). Also, take the peer review thing you have to do reallllly seriously. I didn't and it bumped my grade down from an A to an A-, not joking. Good news is that the final project in 39B is usually fun and it was kind of an easy A in my class. The topic for the classes are different so if you don't like your topic and don't think you'll be interested try and see if you can switch over to another empty section, although writing classes give you a really limited amount of time (don't show up for the first 2 days and you're dropped). 39C is just supposed to teach you how to write research papers so people tend to have an easier time with it.

 

[collegenow]

^haha ok! thanks for the advice! 🙂

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Welcome to the UCI family of anteaters and bio majors! 🙂

As an incoming fourth year who was once in your shoes, I just thought I'd give you some advice. I'll preface it with this--Humanities Core's prompts and lecture assignments/exams were very similar to the type of writing I had done in high schoool, so I came in well-prepared. I would suggest taking HumCore, since it takes care of two requirements at the same time--humanities and writing.

I am not very good at writing, and received mostly B+s/A's between the lecture and writing component of HumCore, but I think it was worth it and would not want to take a course that was solely focused on writing.

That being said, the decision to take Math 2B and Humanities Core or Writing will fall on you. You'll need to decide based on your own high school preparation and how well you feel you have already mastered the subjects. As someone who took a lot of AP courses in high school, my first and most of my 2nd year was a lot of review of things I had already learned in high school. Honors general chemistry, bio 93, 94, 97, and part of 98/99 was review of what we had covered in high school. In AP English, we read a lot of the same authors that we had read in Humanities Core, so it wasn't too unfamiliar, but I won't say it wasn't a lot of work. If you have had sufficient exposure to the material or feel that you can spend time to "study the material" (and are prepared to devote a lot of your time to studying if that's the case) then you should be okay!

One last thing I wanted ot mention about Math 2b. I got a 5 on the AP Calc exam, so I don't know what 2B is like, but I did take Math 2D, and the course was ajoke, because my professor was a visiting prof who gave us practice tests that were identical to the actual exam. If you're lucky to have a good professor that can teach well AND makes easy tests, math will be a cake-walk. Also, a strong background in calculus will definitely help you. However, if you don't feel you've received adequate prep, be prepared to face some mild difficulty in math. I would honestly push Math towards later years, and take some summer school classes in order to "spread out your workload". Granted, 16 units/quarter is not too heavy, but not too light. You can probably do it if you have sufficient time to study.

Sorry for the long-ass post...good luck!

Do ask if you have any questions!

 

[Drexon]

To be honest I'm not sure its advisable to take 4 classes your first quarter. You have to be pretty disciplined to handle the unusual ( heavy or light, depends on your experience) amount of course load the classes will offer. I mean are you living in the dorms (with friends or randoms) or are you commuting? There are a ton of variables that can affect your ability to study and do well. I mean when I was a freshman, all i could think about was having fun (shocker).

I mean your best laid out plans can always go awry. Hum core will take care a lot of your units in college (6 unit course that counts towards a lot for GE requirements) so there is merit in taking it. However it's not a simple class to master. Being a 6 unit course it will weigh very heavily on your freshman year GPA if you decide to take all 3 courses of hum core in your freshman year if you don't do well IE B+ or higher. The writing series isn't as bad as one of the posters makes it out to be. I managed to do fairly well because I kept revising my essays and arguments. It all depends on how much time you decide to put in.

As for the math courses. I would suggest taking 2b in the winter or if you can take 2a instead of 2b. This is simply because I'm not sure how your math foundation is at the moment. I mean do you still remember all the calculus from 2a? Ie derivates, limits etc. If not then I'd suggest reviewing right now and take 2b or take 2a in fall and 2b in winter so you won't be disadvantaged.

Remember freshman year sets the pace of the rest of your college career. IE are you playing catch up to raise your GPA or are you trying to maintain stellar grades. So it's best advised to do your very best in the beginning to alleviate the stress. I know it's fairly simple and obvious logic but many people still fail to grasp it. Just look at a grade distribution curve for a midterm from bio 93 or chem 1a and you'll see what I mean.

My suggestion is to take a easier course load (3 classes bio/chem/writing) for your first quarter to test out the waters. This will allow you to enjoy your freshman quarter and hang out with new friends you'll make. Perhaps you'll start to join a few clubs the university has to offer and start working on your extra curricular activities.

Best of luck

 

[ModernAlchemist]

Take 3 classes your first quarter to get a feel for it. I would also take writing. This is the recommendation I made to all incoming freshmen when I was a spop staffer. It's better for it to be too easy and you get a 4.0 than you take a heavy courseload. I took 3 classes my entire first year and I graduated on time completing more science classes than required. Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I'm always down to help a fellow UCI bio major.

 

[Legacy87]

Here's what I did when I was a freshman. I took Bio 93, Chem 1A, and Math 2B and some seminar class, which gave me a grand total of 13 units. I kept it low because getting a good gpa in the beginning is paramount. Your gpa during your first two years is very volatile. So for the first year, I took a max of 14 units. Sounds low, but hey, I got the 4.0.

Don't take hum cores if you suck at analyzing/writing. I took writing 39a in the spring qtr, and 39b and c in the summer. It was a rush, but I managed to pull a A-/A/A. Even though Hum Core satisfies two sociology courses or something like that, I rather take the sociology courses because they're easy A's (i.e. Anthropology).

So my advice is to work up your workload as each year progresses. My college schedule was as followed:

Freshmen: avg 14 units (3.92) + no E.C.
Sophmore: avg 16 units (4.0) + Volunteering in the E.R.
Junior: avg 18-20 units (4.0) + E.R. + Research + Tutoring
Senoir: 10-12 units (4.0) + E.R. + Research + Volunteering + Tutoring + Working at the Homeless shelter + MCAT + Working on Med school apps

I didn't care what med school think about taking lower units in the end, because I showed that I can manage the load, and MCAT was more important.

Post-grad: Med school interviews + Being a bum after acceptance

Also, ignore your friends who think taking all these courses (Bio, Chem, Physics, Math, and Hum Core) in your freshmen year makes them look smart. Usually, they're just being a "super premed" and fail out by either their first or second qtr. I felt like I was falling behind my friends, but in the end it was the best decision I made.

Just like in medicine, your journey is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Hifey]

I guess I'll chime in with a little advice as well

UCI Alum here 🙂

I think your first quarter you should keep it VERY manageable. If you feel that one of your classes is becoming too hard, drop it. You need 12 units, and you're currently signed up for 16 so you have some room. I personally took humcore and loved it. It wasn't a cake walk for the most part. However, the one quarter I took the easy TA I was bored to tears. You don't want to sacrifice your grade of course, but don't be afraid to challenge yourself to actually learn. It also seemed that humcore was more efficient. At least to me. I had a lot of room in junior and senior year to take "whatever" courses and I did. I was able to foray into the humanities and social sciences freely because I had already finished other requirements.

Math-- It REALLY depends on your teacher. It is NOT curved. The best math teacher by far I had a UCI was Familgetti (sp?). she's AMAZING. I'm not particularly good at math, and I was able to get an A out of her class.

chem- It's really not that hard, especially A. Just stay on top of the material and practice problems in B and C because thats where things can go awry.

bio- cake. Very easy. Don't slack off but its really not hard to set the curve if you're dedicated.

good luck and welcome to the Anteater family! 🙂

 

[collegenow]

thank you all for the help!
do you guys recommend taking an easy ge first quarter? if so which one would be best to take??
thanks again!