Yeah, my S24 is a probable Bio major, less likely but possible pre-med, at WashU, and all that is super intense. They are now basically encouraging pre-meds to take at least one stretch year, but if you try to do it in four years, it is a packed schedule. And everyone is very grade conscious from the start, competition for research positions is looming, and so on.
So any sort of advantage you can get in terms of preparation for the core early classes seems well worth it.