I'm gonna be a Neuroscience major with a premed discipline.
Fall 2012
1.CHEM 110DL: HONORS CHEMISTRY w/Lab (1.0 Units)
CHEM 20: GEN. CHEM AP CREDIT (1.0 Units--NOT COUNTED IN MAX CREDIT PER SEMESTER)
2.FOCUS 195FS: SPECIAL TOPICS IN FOCUS (0.5 Units)
3.PUBPOL 184FS: SYNTHETIC GENOMICS (1.0 Units-FOCUS class)
4.PUBPOL 190FS: FOCUS PROGRAM SPECIAL TOPICS (1.0 Units-FOCUS class)
5.NEUROSCI 101: BIO BASES OF BEHAVIOR (1.0 Units)
Total Units: 4.5 Units, which is the max per semester for a freshman
I know it seems like a lot, but it adds up to 4.5 credits, and the FOCUS classes are fixed.
I'm gonna take WRITING 101 next semester. Thoughts?
What is your reasoning for taking Honors Chem rather than Orgo/regular Chem?
I've heard Honors Chem is an unnecessary amount of work that is not worth the "payoff" of having an honors course on your record. Otherwise, it looks like a well balanced schedule, between writing centered classes (FOCUS) and more scientific classes (Chem and Neurosci).
Also, what registration window are you? Neurosci fills up quite quickly.
Yeah, I'm leaning towards Regular Chem instead because GPA matters a lot. I'm still thinking though, but I feel taking "challenging courses" like in high school is totally different in college, at least for med school. My reg. window is July 12 at noon, so there isn't really any "filling up" because the freshman class is split into like 4 or so groups I think. I don't even think there is such a thing as "filling up" but I may be wrong.
Unless it is something infamous like Harvard Math 55, don't take it. Take a higher level class (Orgo) or a easier regular Chem. Besides Freshmen first semester Orgo is curved a whole letter grade higher than regular section Orgo.
Classes filling up is definitely an issue. Seniors, juniors, and sophomores have already registered, and Neurosci 101 currently has about 100/150 spots filled. If you're not first registration window of the Freshmen (there are three registration windows per year), you will likely have to alter your schedule as certain classes or sections of classes fill up. There are only so many seats per class, and once they're gone, they're gone. Sometimes you can email a professor and ask to be let into a class, but that is only possible if the room can hold more students.
include the old course numberings if you want upperclassmen to know what you're talking about. and you have to take a seminar your first year, which might be wise to do the first semester if you're taking writing 20 next semester. although focus might count as a seminar.
Freshmen Orgo isn't curved a whole letter higher than regular Orgo, at least it wasn't a few years ago. The best I've heard is from B/B+ to A- which is at most 2/3 of a letter grade. And that's just compared to the overall Orgo curve. Individual sections of Orgo may actually have a higher curve depending on the professor and the class performance. I know that my Orgo I teacher sophomore year curved at least to a B+ and tried as much as possible to aim for A-.
OP,
Your Focus counts towards the seminar credit. As for whether to take Chem 31 v. Chem 43 v. Chem 151 (old numbers), that's really up to you. I have heard that Chem 43 helps in preparation for Orgo; however, if you have AP credit of a 5, I would jump straight into Orgo 1. There is a slight advantage to taking Orgo 1 your first semester freshman year because of the curve, but as SBR mentioned, it is really not all that different in comparison to the alternate curve. Orgo's really not that difficult if you work hard and practice constantly. Unless you have Hong, which you won't. He held us to an exceptionally high standard because he was a fantastic professor.
