Mondo

Good choice on taking Chem 23L instead of Chem151L. The only flaw I see is that all freshmen in Trinity have to take a seminar. If you really want to take five courses second semester, may I recommend getting rid of Bio 118 and replacing it with a 49S seminar?

I haven't heard too many nice stories about Bio 118, for a freshman to take that, that must mean you are an uber-overachiever.

chill101

I'm considering dropping a class this semester but am not sure if that is frowned upon at Duke. I got in ED but don't want to do all the work I did the previous semester for this one (already in Calc AP, Law H, LitCrit AP, Econ AP, and phsyics). So I was wondering if anyone could give me advice as to Duke's policy on this subject and who I should contact at Duke to let them know of my schedule change (French AP is the class)

mafool

Call the admissions office and ask them. I'd leave out the part about not wanting to work so hard. But the ad office will know whom you need to inform/consult.

DukeEgr93

I would imagine that early folks are admitted based on documented past performance and the promise to not *really* tank a semester. To paraphrase Jed Babbin, "You know frankly, going to school without AP French is like going deer hunting without an accordion."

sockpuppet

My sister, a biology and chem double major, helped me plan this course load, at least for the first 2 years. She's trying to get me in as many bio classes before the MCATS sophomore summer.

Evidently she forgot about the seminar. We may have to play around a bit more.

SBR

MCATs sophomore summer? What's the big rush?

sockpuppet

Well, in her experience it worked well for her. She thought studying the MCAT and prep classes sophomore summer was easier than doing in during junior year. We aren't the same mold, but if I ever feel rushed or like I can't handle the class load, I figure I can always cut back.

SBR

eh I always thought putting it off is a good idea

SirGecko

I just took it today and I'd say that Junior year in January is an ideal test date. (of course I couldn't have taken it in the summer due to conflicts with study abroad any my other summer requirements, your mileage may vary)

SBR

SG: that's when I'm planning on it

mkcooper52

Yesterday I interviewed with a Duke alumnus and he said that students can take certain classes in Chapel Hill if they are not offered at Duke. Is this true? And if so, are there any current students here who have done this? Thanks for the help!

DukeEgr93

There's an Interinstitutional Agreement among NC State, NC Central, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, and Duke for taking classes not offered at the "home" institution at one of the others: Inter-Institutional Courses

hola

hey matta,

I am a first year engineer at duke, but since a lot of engineers try to take econ I know a lttle about it. There is no requirement for when you have to take any of those courses, you would just have to finish your econ major before you graduate. First you have to take Econ 51D and then Econ 55D which should give you a good grounding in both micro and macro (the teachers is Econ are generally realy good). You can skip out of Econ 51D withan AP credit though I wouldn't reccomend it cuz Ap covers like 1/4 of the stuff Econ 51 covers. After that you have access to a lot of different courses in Econ...you'll have to meet certain requirements but there are a variety of different courses you can take to get that Econ Major once you take 51 and 55. You'll also have to getup to a certain level of Math. A minor takes 5 credits (so Econ 51, 55, and then three more) I don't know how much a major takes. There are a million Econ majors at Duke so hopefully someone will reply soon. If not contact the department directly...the best person to contact would be the DUS (Diretor of Undergraduate Studies) for Econ. Duke Econ has great teachers and judging from the billion banking companies I see on campus...a good reputation...and once you get here your advisors will walk you through every step so I wouldn't worry too much about it. They'll work you hard here....but they take care of you too :-)

hola

I am a first year engineer at duke, but since a lot of engineers try to take econ I know a lttle about it. There is no requirement for when you have to take any of those courses, you would just have to finish your econ major before you graduate. First you have to take Econ 51D and then Econ 55D which should give you a good grounding in both micro and macro (the teachers is Econ are generally realy good). You can skip out of Econ 51D withan AP credit though I wouldn't reccomend it cuz Ap covers like 1/4 of the stuff Econ 51 covers. After that you have access to a lot of different courses in Econ...you'll have to meet certain requirements but there are a variety of different courses you can take to get that Econ Major once you take 51 and 55. You'll also have to getup to a certain level of Math. A minor takes 5 credits (so Econ 51, 55, and then three more) I don't know how much a major takes. There are a million Econ majors at Duke so hopefully someone will reply soon. If not contact the department directly...the best person to contact would be the DUS (Diretor of Undergraduate Studies) for Econ. Duke Econ has great teachers and judging from the billion banking companies I see on campus...a good reputation...and once you get here your advisors will walk you through every step so I wouldn't worry too much about it. They'll work you hard here....but they take care of you too :-)

godevils2011

Hah, both Econ 55 teachers this year ended up being pretty bad. They're both visiting professors though, so the teachers next year will hopefully be better. Also, to hola: I didn't take 51, but I had friends who did, and it seems like they covered LESS than what AP does. In fact, I'm in 55 now, and we're learning some stuff we did in AP that they didn't do in 51 (like perfect competition, monopolies, etc.).

sockpuppet: that's some kind of schedule you got there. I'll be honest: Chem 23, Math 103, Econ 105, Bio 26, and Bio 118 are all considered pretty difficult classes (Econ 55 is too, to a lesser extent), and all language courses are pretty time consuming. Depending on your professor, writing can be too. You might want to take it a bit easier than that, especially your first semester as you test the waters. I've seen many people struggle because they thought they could handle really tough schedules (and yours would be about as tough as any freshman's could get). Just a fair warning.

Also, I would not take Chem 23, especially if you are comfortable with AP Chem. It's a colossal waste of time. It basically covers topics from AP, but on a much deeper and theoretical level that is not really necessary for orgo. It's also curved to a B- (meaning about half the kids get A's and B's and half the kids get C's and D's). And most freshmen who jumped straight into orgo are struggling with the organic chemistry, not the general chemistry.