E asked 6 months ago
I was mainly concerned about the combo of bio 225 and 226 with chem 230 because I’ve heard chem 230 was one of the hardest classes here and people usually take it by itself. Would anyone who has taken both of these courses say it’s manageable? I’m currently a junior but I have a bunch of science classes I still need to take, so I would need to take multiple science classes each term.
Mary Show answered 6 months ago
Hi E,
hope you’re doing well! First off, I would take any advice pertaining to “this was the hardest class here” with a grain of salt. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. I personally did not think Chem 230 was that bad, but I am a chem major and disliked the biology classes here. Overall, you’re going to be fine! Chem 230 has so many opportunities for student support (office hours, piazza, team-based learning). The exams are also very fair for the most part if you’re on top of everything! It won’t be an easy A but definitely is manageable.
In terms of coupling it with bio 225 and 226, I think that’s a great idea! I always advised pre-meds that if they double up on science classes, make sure to assess their compatibility based on workload and main technique of studying. What I do is couple together a science class that requires mainly memorization with a science class that requires mainly problem-solving. This is essentially what you did. Bio 225/226 is definitely more memorization-based, while Chem 230 is more problem-solving and math-based. With this balance, you hopefully won’t feel too overwhelmed. I would probably just advise against adding any more extremely time-consuming classes to your schedule because this combination, although manageable, will require you to have good time management.
I hope that helps, let us know if you have any other questions!
~Mary Show, PMH Advisor