Location: New Haven, CT (when I'm not at school, I live in California)
Posts: 214
they're hard, but do-able. like, you have to study, but if you do, you should be able to get a good grade. and, especially in chem and physics, there are so many different levels of pre-med intro classes that you should be able to select something that's right on your level.
... sorry, that probably wasn't very helpful. if you can tell me a bit about your chem, math, & physics background (sorry, i'm not in any of the bio classes) and, if you've had a chance to think about it, which "pre-med" chem & physics classes you're planning on taking (ie. chem 114/118/125/332; phys 180/200/260), i can try to give you a bit more personalized information...
probably Math 115, Phys 180, MCDB 120, Fren 130 and maybe some philosophy. Not sure about 5th course, students I spoke to advised not to take more than 4 courses first year.
I went to Phys 180 lecture (the topic was relativity) and felt quite comfortable with the material.
Location: New Haven, CT (when I'm not at school, I live in California)
Posts: 214
hey ladies and gents ~
I've been away from my computer all day (urgh, studying for my history final... I definitely have to work more for my non-science classes than my science ones, although that may be because I'm a bit of a science geek & problem-solving isn't as hard for me as courses w/lots of reading & writing...), but I'll see what I can do about answering your questions...
Chemistry - I took 118. The professor (Prof Johnson) is really cool (or so I thought - I've known a couple people who didn't like him, but most thought he was really good), and the curve's decent (basically, half the class gets As, the other half gets Bs). This is probably the best class for you if you've taken AP chem & got a 4 or a 5 but want a refresher before orgo, or if you took high-level honors chem in high school & scored well on the SAT II. This class does involve some calculus... it starts off with a lot of the stuff that's in high school chem, but Prof Johnson also goes into a lot of thermodynamics/pchem-ish stuff that's not on regular highschool/AP syllabi. It's really a class that's more than just general chem but less than PChem. Basically, it's for people who have a strong background in chemistry, but aren't quite confident enough about their skills to go straight into orgo or PChem.
Chem 125 is, according to my friends who are in it, not a fun class. Most of their complaints have to do with the professor, so if there's a new professor next year, it might not be so bad, but a lot of their complaints also stem from the fact that it tries to cram general chem review and orgo into one year, so a lot of the intro orgo stuff is really rushed and they don't feel like they've actually gotten to learn any of it. IF you qualify for/want to take orgo frosh year, you're probably better off taking 220 (if the chem dep't puts you in it), or waiting 'til 2nd semester and starting with 225 (which is, in my opinion, a really good class. But then again, prof Austin's an amazing professor, too... dunno if he'll be teaching it next year? That class alternates between a lot of different profs).
If you have no/little chem background, go for 113 or 114; if you're a chem whiz and you're AMAZING with math, you can try to place into PChem. There're usually only 6 or 7 people a year who do that, though, so it's not common.
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Physics:
I took 260/261, which was a good course for me to take b/c I have a really strong math and physics background, but this is NOT the class for you if you do not have a strong physics background (ie. AP Phys C) and a VERY strong math background (multivar calc). You can skimp a bit on the phys background, but if you don't have the math, you'll be in waaaaay over your head.
for people who've taken phys C and BC calc but not multivar calc, phys 200/201 is probably the best choice. For people who've taken AP phys B and AB calc, 180/181 is probably best. If you have no calculus background, you'll belong in 115 or 150/151. Really, the most important thing about choosing a physics class is how strong your math background is.
If you have questions about this, feel free to ask me, either in this thread or thru a PM. There'll be an info session with the chem/physics departments at the beginning of next year, but there are so many students who show up that it's not really helpful, so I'll try to help as much as I can :-P
~ jenny
p.s. ~ conwoman: the MCDB major requires two semesters of organic chemistry. general wisdom says that you should start the chemistry sequence freshman year, and that yes, it's a VERY bad idea to take more than 4.5 credits first semester frosh year (second semester, it's okay to take more). if you're looking at MCDB, i'd recommend you take math, intro chem + lab, MCDB 120, and a fourth course (ie. French). you'd probably be better off waiting 'til sophomore year for physics, especially since it's not really a prerequisite for any of the other MCDB courses (i honestly think the only reason physics is a requirement for that major is because it helps students get the pre-med requirements out of the way).
just wanted to give a quick shout-out for freshman orgo. It is a wonderfully taught class that teaches you a great deal of the history and background that goes into chemistry, giving you a better appreciation of the science. True, less time is devoted towards memorizing equations, but our understanding of the subject definitely doesn't lag behind the other orgo classes since we are taught more of the theory behind the reactions.
McBride, the teacher, is fantastic and very friendly and open although he may seem intimidating at first. Even though it really makes you work, most people you would talk to would say that the class is very rewarding as well as giving you a leg-up in the sciences. The friends that you make in freshman orgo truly stick with you forever!
Also, I'd urge everyone thinking about MCDB to also consider the MB&B major... it's an intense and challenging major that really gets at the cutting-edge of what's happening in the biological sciences today. While a lot of your lectures in bio may cover material from many decades ago, many of the MB&B lectures pull topics from findings and discoveries that have happened within the last 5, 10, and 20(at most!) years ago.
Location: New Haven, CT (when I'm not at school, I live in California)
Posts: 214
Hm, I suppose I've asked the wrong people about freshman orgo then. Several of my friends who are in it really don't like it. Perhaps it's a matter of personal preference?
How hard is Yale? I know that's hard to answer generally, but how much of your waking lives do current students spend devoted to homework? How much time is there for athletics and extracurriculars?
One alumni told me "80-90 hour workweeks," while another said it really wasn't that hard. They both studied at about the same time, (late 70s) one in Engineering and another in Economics.
i think that it totally depends on the person. Some people want to get every last drop of knowledge out of their classes, while others just want to get that 4.0 and go on to grad school. It totally depends on the person on how much work they will do every day... since the amount of work per class also differs. However, I would suggest (as a prefrosh LOL) that we should all find a medium. Being way too academically inclined makes us near-sighted and forget that there are things outside of school, but partying all day will make us waste our money (after all, college is about learning... whether thats from your professors or from your acquintances).
