@BiffBrown : And…a significant amount will be biosciences because it is Princeton which has for a long time, had strength in quantitative life sciences and has gotten its undergraduates involved in such a movement. Emory appears to be trying to do that now, but that is going to be hard when you can hardly convince some of the best bio and physics majors to try a calculus based physics class or upper division math courses even when they have the preparation. I imagine if more took it, it would enhance enrollment in the currently struggling quantitative oriented biology electives because if they do fine in a physics 15X, they may more open to trying them. The only other choice is to outright recruit students who already know they have an interest in computational neuro or life sciences, but this is hard given how established some other places are in it.
Most of even non-STEM majoring pre-meds at Emory will take calculus though (even though many med. schools do not have it as a requirement). I don’t see why not take an actual class to reinforce. In addition, I am comfortable with any non-STEM major taking basic physics, but STEM majors, especially Bachelors of Science majors should not.
Physics 15X usually does not usually have quality or rigorous instruction (I knew people who did Tech 3-2 and those who went into mechanical engineering for example, initially had a hard time adjusting because the physics 15X preparation was relatively underwhelming compared to the physics background required by Tech courses. Chemical Engineering majors had no such problems adjusting) and only has a single section (so no instructor choice) because it is so under-subscribed. Again, most schools have several tiers of CALCULUS (talking like 3 tiers…Emory doesn’t have engineering so can have 2) based physics including Chicago which does not have engineering. Emory should introduce a smaller higher tiered calculus based physics course with a low enrollment cap that could function as an honors course meanwhile lowering the seats in 14X and reallocating them. Emory is shooting itself in the foot by allowing so many students take the 14X route which should as you suggest, be reserved for a small group not majoring (or getting a B.Sc.) in STEM. I am very concerned that the amount of chemistry B.Sc. majors doing it is unusually high and that is unacceptable. The curriculum should be structured in a way that encourages or borderline forces students to make the better decision based upon their abilities. This will help the student and the institution in the long-run because Emory STEM majors (pre-health or non) will come out with more similar profiles to those at other elites as opposed to producing a solid amount of good but also a bunch of mess. It is also just better from an intellectual and character development point of view. I know in some ways universities behave like businesses, but that I believe still matters whether it is the first thing that comes to the "customers’ " (students’) minds or not.
*For Emory to get better (or to even be viewed as truly comparable to its near peers by outsiders), it needs start at least acting as if it has really good and ambitious students like most other places and stop acting like it must make curricular structures that suggest otherwise(or that suggests Emory overly caters to pre-healths in a manner that implies its pre-healths are not as tough or ambitious as counterparts at other schools. They are really only as tough as you push them to be like everywhere else). Students at Emory will usually rise to the level that is demanded of them with little complaint in comparison to other places. You are there now. Do you see freshmen falling to the ground and kicking and screaming because of the new chemistry classes? I could be wrong, but I have my doubts. Emory can raise the bar in certain areas of STEM for all while also catering to extremely prepared incoming students like many other places do.
This is especially the case with something like biology. They could either raise the level of that lecture sequence more or there are so many AP 4/5 that they can bring back biol 151/152 (was the honors sequence that focused on using research articles and project based learning to teach the material in 141/142 at a more advanced level. Apparently it suffered from pre-med syndrome early on because the MCAT problems and passages were not heavily based upon research scenarios back then so now would be a super ripe time to bring such an option back. Furthermore, it would be fairly novel as even among elites, especially those ranked lower than 10, an honors biology option has become ultra rare) by conversion of 1-2 sections of 141/142 to that. There is really no need for 6+ sections of questionable level bio 141/142 lecturers. Just make 2 of them honors for the AP/IB/research experienced folks and let them take the lab (maybe even a special lab section for the cohorts who select the honors lectures. They can do projects that are more independent than in regular 141/142 lab and also write lab reports, a component that apparently has been removed a couple of years ago).
If Emory wants to be recognized as elite, it should provide and produce elite products. It likes to have unique solutions, and that is cool, but there is nothing wrong at looking at some of the good things at peers and aiming to one up them especially since such “upgrades” actually existed in the not so distant (less than a decade ago) past.