undergraduate courseload

[dnrich2007]

Hello everyone! I'm a senior in high school, and in about three weeks I'm going to register for my classes at my undergraduate college of choice. I think I want to major in chemistry because I had a lot of fun with chemistry in high school. Will there be many fun chemistry labs in college? I'm also considering majoring in biology. I think learning about the body as a whole would be interesting, but I only want to do this if we aren't going to have as much fun as I'm hoping for in chemistry labs. Anyway, I'd like to know what kind of classes I should take my freshman year of college. This is my "first step" on the road to medical school, and I don't want to mess anything up! Please give me some ideas as to what classes I should take in order to come off as a well-rounded individual. Thank you!!

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[AnesthesiaMD]

Hello everyone! I'm a senior in high school, and in about three weeks I'm going to register for my classes at my undergraduate college of choice. I think I want to major in chemistry because I had a lot of fun with chemistry in high school. Will there be many fun chemistry labs in college? I'm also considering majoring in biology. I think learning about the body as a whole would be interesting, but I only want to do this if we aren't going to have as much fun as I'm hoping for in chemistry labs. Anyway, I'd like to know what kind of classes I should take my freshman year of college. This is my "first step" on the road to medical school, and I don't want to mess anything up! Please give me some ideas as to what classes I should take in order to come off as a well-rounded individual. Thank you!!

Gen Chem 1, Bio 1, some fun "general ed" classes that you'd enjoy and that will go toward graduation. Take about 14-17 credits, enjoy your first semester, and of course, study hard! Good luck to you!

 

[WantsThisBad]

Hello everyone! I'm a senior in high school, and in about three weeks I'm going to register for my classes at my undergraduate college of choice. I think I want to major in chemistry because I had a lot of fun with chemistry in high school. Will there be many fun chemistry labs in college? I'm also considering majoring in biology. I think learning about the body as a whole would be interesting, but I only want to do this if we aren't going to have as much fun as I'm hoping for in chemistry labs. Anyway, I'd like to know what kind of classes I should take my freshman year of college. This is my "first step" on the road to medical school, and I don't want to mess anything up! Please give me some ideas as to what classes I should take in order to come off as a well-rounded individual. Thank you!!

Chem labs in college are fun if you like chemistry and playing with chemicals in a lab, however depending on your school and professor they can add a lot to your work load. As a freshamn pre-med (or anything for that matter) your freshman semester doesnt really need to be to intense. You should take a normal sequence of maybe 1 or 2 sciences and maybe a math or 2 other courses that arent science related. I wouldnt stress out too much, you prolly dont even need to declare a major right away. If I were you and I thought I could handle it I would take Bio and Chem and see which you like more and talk to other students and faculty. Good luck with school.

 

[DrBowtie]

I thought chem labs were pretty lame. Dilutions and Titrations were a good percentage of gen chem lab. Orgo was a little bit cooler but it was a lot of waiting and recrystalization is enough to make me glad I'll never have to take it again.

Take Gen Chem 1 and Bio 1 and Calculus/Pre-Calc your first semester. That will let you go either Bio or Chem major.

 

[Crazy4F1]

my first semester freshman year was gen chem 1 (with lab), bio 1 (with lab), calculus, and a freshman seminar (reading/writing intensive history course)


try to enjoy it - bio or chem will only get *much* harder from here. i never partied as hard (or got such good grades) as i did freshman year.

 

[Bacchus]

I'm a biochemistry major and have switched into it from chemistry. I'll be a junior in the fall and this is the point in the curriculum where both areas of study start to diverge. My first semester I took Principles of gen chem (the course req'd for the major) and Introductory bio (over gen bio which was for non bio/chem majors). I also took pre-calc, English, and my required chem sciences orientation class. It was a bit of a transition for me and I'm lucky I didn't take more than 15 credits. If you have any questions about the curriculum you'll face as a chem major drop me a message.

 

[mdm2fly]

getting good professors is the key to chem happiness...i decided to go into biochem after a great professor in one of my gen chem classes. if your school has a professor ratings website/forum, i would make sure to go there. i was sorely disappointed when i signed up for courses that were "oddly" not already packed with students (i come from a big school where getting classes is difficult), and suffered through some classes.

good luck!

 

[spospo]

i would say definitely take gen chem 1 and intro bio 1. at my school, that puts you at about 9 hours. i would suggest (if you are at a semester school) taking 2 more classes in nonscience areas. at my school, we had a ton of core classes we had to take, so i did those. but you could always take a class in an area you are somewhat interested. even if you aren't interested, i would suggest trying a few things your first year just to be sure you aren't ruling things out. you can get into med school without a science degree, so don't worry if you find that you really like some other subject. overall, i would suggest limiting yourself to about 15-16 hours and keeping an open mind about different subjects.