University of Miami pre-med first semester course load.

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John Weezal

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I am taking General Bio with lab, General Chem with lab, beginners Calculus and Accelerated Elementary Spanish for a total of 16 credits my first freshman semester. Is this too much?

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No, but I would advise against it.
Drop the Bio and add it in once you get used to college courses and getting all As.
Add something easy to keep at 15 credits
 
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Agree with the poster above; wish my advisor gave me this advice when I was a freshman.

You want to set a strong foundational GPA. Accomplish this by playing it safe and easing your way through your first year.
 
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I agree with the other two posters above me. Since this is your first semester as a college student you need to figure out how to study and how to handle time management.

Try to get a 4.0 this first year to start off on the right foot.
 
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My first and second semester I only took 12 credits. I made my brother do the same in community college and the university he transferred to as a junior. You need to get used to the environment there and then adjust.


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No, but I would advise against it.
Drop the Bio and add it in once you get used to college courses and getting all As.
Add something easy to keep at 15 credits
That makes sense. I already have a concrete foundation in Spanish so the course I was placed in will not be a challenge. In HS I excelled in both Biology and Chemistry and I feel as if my schedule won't be too arduous, but that is a moot point considering that other pre-meds with the same mindset fail or drop the courses. The degree I am seeking is a B.S. in Health Science: Pre-Medicine, so I also need to take two semesters of orgo chem, two semesters of physics, and a myriad of other health-related courses such as epidemiology, biochemistry, genetics, nutrition, and anatomy and physiology before my MCAT junior year. Ergo, I figured that doing biology and chemistry together my first year would definitely open up some space for scheduling down the road.
 
Thanks for your input everyone! I will provide some background information on how I came to the decision behind my schedule.
I already have a concrete foundation in Spanish so the course I was placed in will not be a challenge. In HS I excelled in both Biology and Chemistry and I feel as if my schedule won't be too arduous, but that is a moot point considering that other pre-meds with the same mindset fail or drop the courses. The degree I am seeking is a B.S. in Health Science: Pre-Medicine, so I also need to take two semesters of orgo chem, two semesters of physics, and a myriad of other health-related courses such as epidemiology, biochemistry, genetics, nutrition, and anatomy and physiology before my MCAT junior year. Ergo, I figured that doing biology and chemistry together my first year would definitely open up some space for scheduling down the road. My pre-med roommate and my friends are also taking a similar course load.
 
I didn’t go to UM undergrad but I’m a med student at UM Miller now.

When I tried bio and chem at the same time as a freshman flamed out, failed bio, and got a C in chem. Maybe try one at a time. If I were you I’d take chem, calc, or bio In the summer.

But if you’re confident as a student go for it and hope for the best. Also that’ll be a much easier schedule for a math person (I was not) since gen chem is mostly a math class.
 
For my university the first two bio classes were insanely hard (weeder courses). 1st bio class about 40% of premeds drop. 2nd bio class 50% of premeds drop.
 
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