Your opinion matters :/

[Dhmeylol]

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Hello future doctors 😀,

I'm a freshman and this will be my schedule;

Biol 1210 (Principles of Biology) 4 credits

ESL 1040 (english as a second language) 3 credits

Math 990 (elementary algebra) 3 credits

Fine Arts 2060 (non major photography) 3 credits

A question;
does non major photography require me to acquire a personal camera, or is it provided from the university it self? (u of utah)

Goals:
A 4.0 GPA
Losing some weight
Volunteer if possible

your opinion matters, thanks!

 

[tarheel1408]

What exactly did you want an opinion on? If that schedule looks good?

If so, it looks pretty light to me, but a lot of people need a breezy semester to adjust to college.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

What exactly did you want an opinion on? If that schedule looks good?

If so, it looks pretty light to me, but a lot of people need a breezy semester to adjust to college.

Yeah OP, I'm not really seeing the question here. And for the camera, yes you do have to buy your own, but this forum isn't for camera buying tips.

 

[Bangersandmash]

Can you bump up your math at all? You're going to have a long road ahead of you if you are only starting with elementary algebra and one science.

 

[TxResident]

Like Bangersandmash said, you might want to bump up your math!

Suggestion: drop the math and take chemistry in place of it. For math, instead take that at a community college where you KNOW it will transfer, call up the admissions office of either one to check to see if their courses will transfer over and take the prereqs into Calculus and take Calculus at your university. (also saves some $$$)

Edit: Oh I guess I didn't answer the question, darn, yeah you're probably going to have to buy your own camera. I know most of my friends who have taken camera classes to go ahead and buy expensive cameras of their own volition (spending about ~$800, you probably won't be forced to buy a camera that expensive though). You're probably going to have to take photos of certain styles/lights/textures.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

Can you bump up your math at all? You're going to have a long road ahead of you if you are only starting with elementary algebra and one science.

+1
Yeah OP I had to start from the bottom of the barrel on math but worked up to calculus, I would REALLY recommend trying to get into a higher math. I felt like I was wasting my time in algebra and trigonometry.

 

[mimelim]

You must be coming out of a fairly weak high school if that is your plan for your first semester of college. If I recall correctly, my high school offered Algebra 1 (in a track of Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Calc, Multi-variable, non-linear dynamics) to students in 8th grade to 11th grade. So, 13-16 year olds... Most medical schools are looking for at least Calculus 1 and 2, so you are looking at at least 4 if not 5 semesters of mathematics which is a lot for a standard pre-med.

Everyone is coming out of a different background when they enter undergrad. If you need a slow start, then take it and try to catch up with people who were more accelerated in high school, but be aware that there are no excuses for 'not catching up'. Being a pre-med requires some dedication and if you are already behind the prototypical pre-med, it will require even more.

 

[Josh7]

Can you bump up your math at all? You're going to have a long road ahead of you if you are only starting with elementary algebra and one science.

Agreed... Most of us probably took that class in 8th grade.

Your schedule looks pretty easy. Good luck

 

[Richard Dawkins]

You must be coming out of a fairly weak high school if that is your plan for your first semester of college. If I recall correctly, my high school offered Algebra 1 (in a track of Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Calc, Multi-variable, non-linear dynamics) to students in 8th grade to 11th grade. So, 13-16 year olds... Most medical schools are looking for at least Calculus 1 and 2, so you are looking at at least 4 if not 5 semesters of mathematics which is a lot for a standard pre-med.

no

 

[mariamonte]

I'd add chemistry.

But hey, if you think this is what you can handle right now by all means stay with this schedule. Don't go adding more classes just because everyone is telling you you're going to get behind. Do things at your own pace. Evaluate yourself and think whether you can handle the load. 🙂 best of luck.

 

[mimelim]

no

http://hms.harvard.edu/content/requirements-admission

4. Mathematics One year of calculus is the minimum requirement. Advanced placement credits may satisfy this requirement (Calculus AB = 1 semester, Calculus BC = 2 semesters).

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/admissions/md/process/requirements.html

iv. MATHEMATICS
Calculus and/or statistics, one year (6-8 semester hours).
Mathematics courses should enable the student to develop equations, to interpret graphical representations of function and to evaluate probability involved in testing hypotheses in the study of natural phenomena. Advanced placement credit for calculus, if acceptable to the student's undergraduate college, may be used in the fulfillment of the math requirement. Regardless of such credit, it is strongly recommended that applicants take at least one semester of statistics or epidemiology.

http://medadmissions.wustl.edu/HowtoApply/ApplicationProcess/Pages/Requirements.aspx

Required course work: A minimum of one year or equivalent advanced placement in

• Biology
• General or inorganic chemistry
• Organic chemistry*
• Physics
• Calculus through integral and differential equations

That took all of 2 minutes to look up. Every school that I applied to required it. I'm sure you will find some that don't. If you seriously want to be limited in the schools that you can apply to because of a mathematics requirement, be my guest. I also stated that it is what schools look for, NOT what is required. It is not a huge red flag or anything, but it will peak some eyebrows. I know coming out of Wash U. undergrad, our pre-med advisors pushed us to take through Diff Eq, ie. calc 1/2/3 + DE to maximize our competitiveness. Expecting students to be able to handle Calc 1/2 isn't exactly a high bar considering that high school students routinely take it at some point.

 

[TxResident]

no

To be fair, most undergrad degrees of premeds require Calculus I at the very least to graduate with a degree... And most medical schools look to see if you have a degree, so in a way hes partially right.

But then again I just looked up the first 3 schools on MSAR and they don't require calculus so you're partially right 👍

I stand partially corrected by the above post 🙁

 

[Dhmeylol]

thanks for the feedback guys, I screwed the Accuplacer, was too tired at the test... I'll do my best. See ya 😀

 

[Richard Dawkins]

http://hms.harvard.edu/content/requirements-admission



http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/admissions/md/process/requirements.html
http://medadmissions.wustl.edu/HowtoApply/ApplicationProcess/Pages/Requirements.aspx
That took all of 2 minutes to look up. Every school that I applied to required it. I'm sure you will find some that don't. If you seriously want to be limited in the schools that you can apply to because of a mathematics requirement, be my guest. I also stated that it is what schools look for, NOT what is required. It is not a huge red flag or anything, but it will peak some eyebrows. I know coming out of Wash U. undergrad, our pre-med advisors pushed us to take through Diff Eq, ie. calc 1/2/3 + DE to maximize our competitiveness. Expecting students to be able to handle Calc 1/2 isn't exactly a high bar considering that high school students routinely take it at some point.

maybe that was the case however many years ago you were applying to med school but now schools realize that calculus and above are irrelevant and are changing their requirements accordingly...needing 2 semesters of calc or 1 semester of calc and 1 semester of stats is the most you'll find and that's only at a few schools

 

[mimelim]

maybe that was the case however many years ago you were applying to med school but now schools realize that calculus and above are irrelevant and are changing their requirements accordingly...needing 2 semesters of calc or 1 semester of calc and 1 semester of stats is the most you'll find and that's only at a few schools

#1 I didn't apply to medical school very long ago.
#2 I have been involved with medical school admissions as recently as 2 years ago and it was plenty relevant. Content of calculus may not be directly applicable to medical school, but the same can easily be said about 95%+ of undergrad courses. I can't think of more than 2 or 3 classes that Wash U. offers in which the content resembles medical school content.
#3 I would make the argument, as would many adcoms, that calculus and any course that requires problem solving is more relevant than a lot of biology courses. Many courses focus on content, not critical thinking.
#4 I stated that most schools are looking for students to have completed Calc 1 and 2, you even quoted me. That is 2 semesters of calculus. You should probably re-read my original post given that what I stated is laid out in most school's 'requirements' and 'recommendation' sections.

 

[BigBlueBear]

I'd take the advice of a resident over a premed anyday! Go mimelim Go!

 

[Stumpyman]

Last I checked, Texas requires Calc 1 and/or stats, which is good enough for me 😀 (I hate math).

But yeah OP, I'm all for a relatively "light" first semester schedule, but if you can, it'd be wise to bump up to a higher math.

 

[Josh7]

I'd take the advice of a resident over a premed anyday! Go mimelim Go!

👍

It's somewhat sad people think that calc II is irrelevant. Apparently they don't plan on doing research that involves math. The whole "I hate math" attitude stopped being cool after 8th grade.

 

[Stumpyman]

👍

It's somewhat sad people think that calc II is irrelevant. Apparently they don't plan on doing research that involves math. The whole "I hate math" attitude stopped being cool after 8th grade.

It's not trying to be "cool," math is a subject in itself, and, surprise, some people don't like it as much.

(I don't think that calc 2 is irrelevant)

 

[funtertaining15]

Hello future doctors 😀,

I'm a freshman and this will be my schedule;

Biol 1210 (Principles of Biology) 4 credits

ESL 1040 (english as a second language) 3 credits

Math 990 (elementary algebra) 3 credits

Fine Arts 2060 (non major photography) 3 credits

A question;
does non major photography require me to acquire a personal camera, or is it provided from the university it self? (u of utah)

Goals:
A 4.0 GPA
Losing some weight
Volunteer if possible

your opinion matters, thanks!

Looks fine, but maybe think about taking Statistics instead of elem. math; I know some of the med schools I'm interested in applying to recommend that you take Stats. There are some who don't even require math as a req', but I'd take it just in case. 🙂

 

[Richard Dawkins]

#1 I didn't apply to medical school very long ago.
#2 I have been involved with medical school admissions as recently as 2 years ago and it was plenty relevant. Content of calculus may not be directly applicable to medical school, but the same can easily be said about 95%+ of undergrad courses. I can't think of more than 2 or 3 classes that Wash U. offers in which the content resembles medical school content.
#3 I would make the argument, as would many adcoms, that calculus and any course that requires problem solving is more relevant than a lot of biology courses. Many courses focus on content, not critical thinking.
#4 I stated that most schools are looking for students to have completed Calc 1 and 2, you even quoted me. That is 2 semesters of calculus. You should probably re-read my original post given that what I stated is laid out in most school's 'requirements' and 'recommendation' sections.

I'd take the advice of a resident over a premed anyday! Go mimelim Go!

👍

It's somewhat sad people think that calc II is irrelevant. Apparently they don't plan on doing research that involves math. The whole "I hate math" attitude stopped being cool after 8th grade.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=12963478#post12963478

 

[funtertaining15]

Last I checked, Texas requires Calc 1 and/or stats, which is good enough for me 😀 (I hate math).

But yeah OP, I'm all for a relatively "light" first semester schedule, but if you can, it'd be wise to bump up to a higher math.

Yep! I don't think BCM listed math as a requirement, but I've already taken Life Science Calculus, which is essentially Calculus but recommended for science majors at my school. Heck, I would've taken Calc 1, but they recommended we take that instead. All I have to take it Intro to Prob and Stats my second semester so I'll have taken a year of math.

I'm actually really good at math. I grew up with a good foundation as a kid, so I've always loved it, but I can only take so much math. I took AP stats and AP calc my senior year, and I enjoyed it, but the less math, the better. I somehow managed to pull off a B in my LS Calc class my first semester freshman year, even though I did I didn't really study much, because if I had, I think I could've pulled off an A.

 

[funtertaining15]

Hey, thanks for that.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

👍

It's somewhat sad people think that calc II is irrelevant. Apparently they don't plan on doing research that involves math. The whole "I hate math" attitude stopped being cool after 8th grade.

Haha,

Math is incredibly important, and I wish more people took it seriously. A lot of pre-meds at my school told me "Don't take calculus!!!!!!" it will hurt your GPA!!!!!!!!!!

All I have to say is, shut the.... something up. I'm tired of the GPA advice people give here, just be a smart guy/gal who is interested in the world.

 

[Richard Dawkins]

Haha,

Math is incredibly important, and I wish more people took it seriously. A lot of pre-meds at my school told me "Don't take calculus!!!!!!" it will hurt your GPA!!!!!!!!!!

All I have to say is, shut the.... something up. I'm tired of the GPA advice people give here, just be a smart guy/gal who is interested in the world.

math is incredibly important for humanity; it is not very important for clinicians

OP: add general chemistry; you're going to have to take 5 or more semesters of chemistry so you need to get started

 

[Claudin]

I wish all premed classes are like calculus. Cuz that's the only course I had an A+ in

 

[La Presse]

Can you bump up your math at all? You're going to have a long road ahead of you if you are only starting with elementary algebra and one science.

That's how premeds do it at U or wherever I attend.

 

[Violagirl]

This raises a question on my end, if you do take lower level math courses below Calc I, do they count towards your sGPA?

 

[kpcrew]

Basic Algebra sounds bad and I would bump it up to Calc 1 or something as people have been saying but don't listen when they say your schedule is too easy. I went into college thinking that it would be a breeze. I started with 2 science courses + labs, calc 2 and 2 required courses and it wasn't easy for me. It takes time to learn about the different expectations and time management so feel free to take it easy your first semester as you adjust. You should probably take the bio lab concurrently with the bio lecture, it's a requirement anyway.