Hi Noelia,
 
I hope you are doing well!
 
First, in terms of feeling like you are falling behind, I would recommend making a tentative four-year plan for your course work. By doing this, you can plan out what you need to take and when based on when you want to take the MCAT, whether you want to take a gap year(s), etc. In terms of courses you should take for the pre-med track, here is a checklist provided by the Pre-Health Advising Office! Also, if you want to come to our office hours and create this plan with one of our advisors, please feel free to do so!
 
In deciding what to take with CHEM 210+CHEM 211, this really depends on your course work preference and familiarity with these subjects. CHEM 210 is generally (not necessarily for everyone) considered one of the harder pre-med courses here at UMich. Since most people haven’t been exposed to organic chemistry, if you are just learning about the topics for the first time in this class, CHEM 210 might take up more of your time and attention. Many people take CHEM 210+CHEM 211 on their own to get acquainted with this tough subject and start coupling classes with CHEM 215+CHEM 216 since they now have exposure to organic chemistry. So, don’t feel like you necessarily have to take another pre-med requirement with it as you don’t want to overload yourself if CHEM 210 appears to be challenging for you.
 
But if you do want to try coupling either PHYSIOL 201 or PHYSICS 250 with CHEM 210, then I would think about which course you feel best suits you. I didn’t take either of these courses with CHEM 210, but I have taken PHYSICS 250 (back when it was PHYSICS 235), though not PHYSIOL 201 (but I have friends who took it). Both of these courses are tough and will require a lot of time/effort to be successful, but they differ in preparation style. PHYSIOL 201 will be like most biology classes, where it requires a large portion of memorization, but also goes beyond by having exams comprised of very conceptual and applicative questions. I have also linked a post where one of our E-Board members goes into more depth about PHYSIOL 201. Rather, PHYSICS 250 is a math-based course that will require you to not only understand the concepts taught in lecture, but apply those to new situations on the exams. When I took PHYSICS 235, it used to require less time/dedication, but I have heard from others that the change to PHYSICS 250 has made the course require more time that needs to be put in. So, if you are more of a biology person or prefer memorization and application in the context of biology, then I would recommend taking PHYSIOL 201. Though, if you enjoy physics and math, I would go with PHYSICS 250.
 
Ultimately, deciding which course to take depends on your learning style. Again, while you don’t HAVE to pair a class up with CHEM 210, if you decide to, I would stick with CHEM 210+CHEM 211, PHYSIOL 201 OR PHYSICS 250, and a light workload course as these pre-med classes will keep you busy.
 
I hope this helps! Feel free to stop by our advising hours (on Sunday – Wednesday from 6 – 10 PM) if you have any further questions!
 
Best,
Raheem, PMH Advisor