<p>I’m going to be a freshman next year at Tufts. I have no idea how difficult college courses are, or what to expect as far as how much homework/work it involves. I have taken several AP classes, and have always managed to get high A’s in them, and I took a calculus class at a small business college nearby ( I didn’t really learn anything because the professor almost never showed up for class, but I got a 94). However, I expect college to be more difficult than AP classes. How much more difficult?</p>
<p>I’m planning on going to medical school. But I want to double major in Anthropology and Biology, with maybe a minor in French.</p>
<p>For fall freshman courses how difficult would this schedule be:</p>
<ul>
<li>Intro to Calc</li>
<li>Cells and Organisms w/lab</li>
<li>Elementary French II or Intermediate French I - depending what level I test into</li>
<li>Nonfiction Writing</li>
<li>Intro to Sociocultural Anthropology</li>
</ul>
<p>Would it be smarter to take only 4 classes instead of 5? How rigorous is Cells and Organisms w/ lab? How difficult is it to get an A - assuming I’m willing to work my butt off.</p>
<p>Take four classes for fall of your freshman year.</p>
<p>I’m a proponent generally (so this doesn’t have much to do with the specifics of your question) of taking 5 classes, with the fifth class being a course with essentially no coursework - something really easy and fun. Classes through advising programs, some ExCollege Courses, particular drama/art/dance classes, and others.</p>
<p>The reason for this is that if you find that your coursework is too much for you in your first semester, you can drop a course as late as Thanksgiving without any penalty. Taking 4 courses doesn’t leave you that flexibility; if you’re struggling, you have to continue to struggle. Whereas 4 + 1 Easy Course puts makes it possible to drop one of your four more challenging courses, if necessary. And if it becomes clear that you can handle the workload and won’t need the buffer, you can always drop that 5th easy class.</p>
<p>Add/drop is one of the things I didn’t totally understand about College, and how there is no stigma on dropping courses. Don’t be afraid to use the drop option if you need to.</p>
<p>One way you can check on courses and professors is to go to jumboaccess.com. It isn’t updated very often but I’ve used it in the past when thinking about potential classes. I’m not sure if there are any more recent sites for course recommendations (I’m only 2 years out of Tufts and a lot has already changed so I wouldn’t be surprised).</p>
<p>I agree with Dan. Each semester, I’ve done the 4+1 easier class, so I had the option of dropping, except for last semester, when I did 4. I did do better with just 4 rather than 5, though that could have just been the classes I took. I would recommend 5 and drop 1 your 1st semester, just so you have some wiggle room and can experiment a little bit. Depending on your AP scores, you may not need to have 5 credits, but it’s reassuring to know that you can drop a class if it’s just not working out.</p>
<p>Does the 4+1 work for premed track?</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely. Most premed kids I know have 4 classes per semester, b.c the time consuming labs and recitations make it difficult to fit in a 5th class anyway.</p>
<p>Your schedule sounds interesting and well-rounded, and I think if you get into all 5 and then drop one you’ll do fine. Or if you can manage the workload, keep them all - but don’t feel like you can’t drop; freshmen have an absurdly long time to decide whether or not they should drop a class for this reason. It’s like past midterms, so if you all of a sudden get a bad grade and wish to leave, you won’t suffer any penalty on your transcript. Take advantage of that really long drop period!</p>
<p>I do, however, like Dan’s option of making one of the 5 classes a just-for-fun one.</p>
<p>question about classes</p>
<p>are the advising options considered classes? so would I take 4 + an advising OR four + one easy + an advising</p>
<p>Well, most of the advising options aside from Host Advising do count as actual classes. (it’s a good question - one that I didn’t understand when I signed up for advising, lol.) So we would suggest 4 classes plus your advising class, but only if you really do like the advising class :)</p>
<p>Do any of the non-CAP advising classes fulfill distribution requirements? Some of the CAP classes say which reqs. they fulfill, but I don’t think the others do.</p>
<p>Also, <em>all</em> programs have a faculty advisor, right? So, even though Explorations and Perspectives are student-run, I would have a faculty advisor to meet with?</p>
<p>All classes have a faculty adviser who will act as your academic adviser until you decide to pick a new one. </p>
<p>None of the pass/fail options count towards your distribution credits. And neither would any other class taken on a Pass/Fail basis. I would encourage you not to worry about distribution requirements that much when selecting your first semester courses - instead looking for classes that will let you explore potential majors. Just about every class you take for a grade (the exception being some ExCollege classes) will fulfill a distribution requirement. From past experience, I know that most of your distribution requirements will take care of themselves as you take the courses that sound interesting to you. For the ones that won’t fulfill themselves (like a math class if you don’t like math or an arts class if you’re me) just keep your ears open for interesting classes in that area as you go along rather than taking math 5 in your first year just to knock out one of the requirements.</p>
<p>yeah, for example, my science-oriented friends didn’t think highly of the fine arts requirement, but they ended up enjoying History of Rock and Roll.</p>
<p>would it be crazy for me to take 4 classes + a fine art + an advising</p>
<p>cause i really want to take a fine arts class but 3 classes + one fine art seems like nothing to me and i think the advising options are super cool</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t worry about taking 3 + a fine art + an advising. That, to me, sounds like an acceptable course load during your first semester freshman year. Of course, if you want to take more classes during your first semester, you can do so and its reasonable to sign up for 4 + F.A. + Advising, with the option of dropping a class later on if you need to. </p>
<p>Remember the drop option. If you’ve chosen classes with some flexibility, and then it turns out you were crazy - just drop a class. Dropping is easy and penalty-less.</p>
<p>Well the thing is that 4 classes + F.A. + advising is 6 classes, for which you have to petition. Unless the F.A. is a half credit, in which case 5.5 is the limit for liberal arts students without a petition.</p>
<p>Hi I’m an incoming freshman and I want to know if it’s advisable to take two science courses – bio and chem-- in my first semester.</p>
<p>Some advice about the introductory science courses that I hope will prove useful. Most people that I know (who were premed) took either biology or chemistry for their first semester, though some took physics. Biology 13 (Cells and Organisms) is not like a typical AP Biology course. The emphasis in the course is both on understanding the material well and applying your knowledge to solving questions that go beyond reciting the textbook back. There are 3 exams, 1 final, a lab practical (where you are tested on laboratory techniques), and random lab quizzes during the semester. Lab reports and assignments are interspersed throughout the semester. If you took AP Bio you should be well prepared, but be forewarned that though many people take AP Bio they still find Bio 13 hard. </p>
<p>Chemistry 1 or 2 (Intro Chem) are introductory chemistry courses and are geared towards both learning the material and solving problems. Labs are weekly for up to 3+ hours and have weekly laboratory reports (some labs are shorter than others, some are longer). There are usually also 3 exams and a final in the course. Chem 1 and 2 almost certainly have weekly problem sets and recitations that are helpful to attend. If you place out of Chem 1 into Chem 11 (Gen Chem), be certain you have a good AP Chemistry background because Chem 11 is geared to a higher level. You will be expected to have a solid background in chemistry and then solve more challenging and complicated problems. </p>
<p>Taking both chemistry and biology in a semester is doable, if you feel confident in your abilities to keep up in the reading, labs, and problem sets. Remember that taking Chem 1/11 and Bio 13 will lead to 6 hours of lab a week, 1-2 lab reports, a problem set, one two recitations, and the added class time. If you are thinking of an upper biology course without a lab, there you will be expected to have a strong background in what Bio 13/14 teach.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice, guildsman!! However I never took AP Bio, so I guess Bio 13 might be too challenging for me. As for chemistry, I self-studied for AP Chemistry and I don’t really think I have a strong background in it (though I’m completely fine with solving the problems), so I doubt I will go for Chem 11.</p>
<p>Chem 11 is still an intro level course - [New</a> Introductory Chemistry Courses](<a href=“http://chem.tufts.edu/newcourses.html]New”>http://chem.tufts.edu/newcourses.html) - it’s just a little more comprehensive than Chem 1. The topics are the same, the difference lies in its intensity. Chem 11 has more course time and tends to be a more difficult course, but if you’re planning on taking a chemistry/science related major, I strongly encourage you to look into taking Chem 11 regardless of your AP background - 11 is the course that will best prepare you for the major. </p>
<p>If you aren’t planning on a science related major, then I’m not sure why you’d be so keen on taking bio and chem at the same time.</p>