Course load questions (Bio & Chem)

[EverythingDisappears]

Hey guys, brand new to the forums and just had a few questions. I'm currently entering my 2nd semester of CC with hopes to transfer to a 4 year school in the near future. I'm planning on taking gen. Bio 1 and gen. Chem 1, both with labs next semester (along with pre-calc), but don't know if it's generally recommended to take two science courses at the same time? I've never taken college level science courses and not sure what to expect. GPA is very important to me (sitting at a 4.0 right now but with relatively easy gen. ed's only), but I also don't want to be forever getting my degree.

 

Also, I've heard that the science courses need to be taken is subsequent semesters so important information is forgotten. If I take Bio 1 and Chem 1 in the fall, do I need to take Bio 2 and Chem 2 in the spring?

 

Thanks everyone!

[Oakland132]

I'm in the last part of my senior year and taking nothing by science classes and I have to tell you it's pretty rough. I did take that exact same load my sophomore year though (gen bio, gen chem and calc) and it wasn't too bad, and got a 4.0. But math is generally easy for me and I was only working about 15 hours a week. It will be hard but it's completely doable if you manage your time well, set your priorities and study your face off. I know schools look at your course load as well so it will be a strong point in your application if your take heavy loads AND do well. 

 

If you take bio 1 and chem 1 in the fall you should absolutely take bio 2 and chem 2 in the spring. I would say this is more important for chem them bio but I would recommend not taking any gaps in your series courses. 

 

Hope that helps. 

[EverythingDisappears]

I'm in the last part of my senior year and taking nothing by science classes and I have to tell you it's pretty rough. I did take that exact same load my sophomore year though (gen bio, gen chem and calc) and it wasn't too bad, and got a 4.0. But math is generally easy for me and I was only working about 15 hours a week. It will be hard but it's completely doable if you manage your time well, set your priorities and study your face off. I know schools look at your course load as well so it will be a strong point in your application if your take heavy loads AND do well. 

 

If you take bio 1 and chem 1 in the fall you should absolutely take bio 2 and chem 2 in the spring. I would say this is more important for chem them bio but I would recommend not taking any gaps in your series courses. 

 

Hope that helps. 

 

Hey, thanks for the response. Must feel good to be almost done despite the challenge! I realize that course load is important as well, but I don't want that to come at the expense of my grades. I'll most likely stick to what I have planned though. 

 

Okay, yea, I've heard similar suggestions regarding chem. My school splits its general biology 1 into two courses 101 and 102, so I wasn't sure how much one relied upon the other (in terms of material recollection).

 

Thanks again!

[Maynard]

Many PA admissions programs do not give CC credits the just dues. It's certainly not a deal-breaker, but it is better to take the courses at a university if that's an equivalent option. Most people on this forum seem to disagree with me on this point, but I've seen plenty of evidence that this is the case, and by "evidence" I mean words spoken by multiple people who actually make admissions decisions. The only decent evidence I've seen to the contrary is that many people get into top PA schools with CC credits (someone will probably respond to that effect before this thread is over). While that does show that it's not a deal breaker (which I've always said), it doesn't prove that they're regarded as equivalent. Many people get into top PA schools with a 'B' in chemistry. That doesn't mean it's as good as an 'A'.

 

If you save some of your science for when you transfer out of CC, it will be held in higher esteem by many adcoms and it will likely not differ much in difficulty from the class you would have taken at CC (it might even be easier). There are a lot of factors to weigh when deciding when and where to take your courses, but I think this is a valid concern. If you have no idea what else you need to take then I would say go ahead with your current plan. It's not likely to make a huge difference. But if you're deciding between taking English or Chemistry at CC, then I would advise English.

 

A lot also depends on what you intend to major in. If you want to major in Bio, then it'd probably be good to get Bio 1 & 2 out of the way, since these are required prerequisites for the higher courses and it won't matter at all that you took this at CC if you do well in higher Bio at the university level.

 

Final piece of advice: if you haven't taken college-level chemistry then you are probably not aware of how math-intensive it is. I don't know the details of your situation or how much you should factor this in or how rusty your math is, but just be aware that the "easiest" time to take chem is when your math is at its sharpest.

[EverythingDisappears]

Many PA admissions programs do not give CC credits the just dues. It's certainly not a deal-breaker, but it is better to take the courses at a university if that's an equivalent option. Most people on this forum seem to disagree with me on this point, but I've seen plenty of evidence that this is the case, and by "evidence" I mean words spoken by multiple people who actually make admissions decisions. The only decent evidence I've seen to the contrary is that many people get into top PA schools with CC credits (someone will probably respond to that effect before this thread is over). While that does show that it's not a deal breaker (which I've always said), it doesn't prove that they're regarded as equivalent. Many people get into top PA schools with a 'B' in chemistry. That doesn't mean it's as good as an 'A'.

 

If you save some of your science for when you transfer out of CC, it will be held in higher esteem by many adcoms and it will likely not differ much in difficulty from the class you would have taken at CC (it might even be easier). There are a lot of factors to weigh when deciding when and where to take your courses, but I think this is a valid concern. If you have no idea what else you need to take then I would say go ahead with your current plan. It's not likely to make a huge difference. But if you're deciding between taking English or Chemistry at CC, then I would advise English.

 

A lot also depends on what you intend to major in. If you want to major in Bio, then it'd probably be good to get Bio 1 & 2 out of the way, since these are required prerequisites for the higher courses and it won't matter at all that you took this at CC if you do well in higher Bio at the university level.

 

Final piece of advice: if you haven't taken college-level chemistry then you are probably not aware of how math-intensive it is. I don't know the details of your situation or how much you should factor this in or how rusty your math is, but just be aware that the "easiest" time to take chem is when your math is at its sharpest.

 

First of all, I really appreciate the response. I was weary at first about taking pre-reqs at CC, but if I don't, I'll be trying to cram a bunch of courses in my last two years while at a uni. The savings thus far at CC have been great- I'm really not able to afford a four year school right now so I was planning on transferring after completing two years here.

 

To be on the safe side, I only plan to take Bio 1 and 2 along with Chem 1 and 2 at CC and will save the rest for a four year. I'm not absolutely sure what I'm going to major in yet (thinking bio or psych, or major/minor in one or the other).