Is taking basic Biology & Chemistry together a bad choice?

HU_nurse · May 24, 2004

If only I had know that Bio and Chem would be one of the more "easier" courses. I have one more year left so I have been thru all of the patho's, the A&P"s the Med-Surg and peds, etc. SO looking back those classes were a breeze compared to what you have to look forward too. I say go for it!

GracefulRN · May 24, 2004

At UT it was required that before you could take biology you had to take chemistry. I think that this is a good idea because molecular biology (which is what the 1st semester of biology is) has tons of chemistry in it. I have a bachelors in molecular biology, so if you want my advice, take chemistry first and then biology. Good luck.

gemini08 · May 25, 2004

I was talking to my 16yr. old niece who is in Honors Chem. now in HS and her teacher said that ideally Chem. should be taken first then Biology because Bio stems from what you learned in Chem. as what the last poster said. I really am nervous though because I need to take a Math coure(s) too because it has been a LONG time since I've been in college. I just don't know what to do now :uhoh21: I hear conflicting opinions and I really want to do well in BOTH courses. Help!

lady_jezebel · May 25, 2004

No, but it's tough. The problem are the labs -- they can last up to 4 hours each week, each class. Take no more than 2 lab classes each semester, or your grades will likely suffer.

lilbiskit78 · May 25, 2004

You can take them together, it is alot of hard work though. My first semester in I took A&P II (backwards, I took II first, was very tough), Chemistry, Psych and Sociology + I worked. It can be done & you can do well in them. Of course, I was a little mentally ill after the semester was over (ha ha ha), but survived. Only you know how much you can handle; be prepared to spend a lot of time in the lab!

FutureNurse2005 · May 25, 2004

i'll be taking bio 2 and chem 2 at the same time... :uhoh3:

mariedoreen · May 25, 2004

Well of course it can be done. All depends on how hard you want to suffer for it, lol. I tried to space all my "hard" classes out so I was only doing one hard class a term and then adding something like sociology or writing or psych etc.. with it. Occasionally I would suck it up and take a term with more than one of what I define as difficult classes (Organic Chem and Statistics for example) but I tried not to do that often. Of course I went to school part-time and had the option of dragging things out a little. I've seen others take it on and excel tho. One of my friends is doing Biochem, Statistics and Micro this term. Just depends on your work/family situation and the amount of time you have to commit. Just make no mistake about it: Chem and Bio will most likely be a load.. then decide if you have the time to handle that kind of load.

ChrisA · May 25, 2004

Yeah, it all depends. I work full time, and 1 class at a time feels about all I can do at the moment. I think if I *was* going to take 2 classes at the same time it would be the intro to Bio and the intro to Chem. This summer I was thinking about taking A&P I and perhaps an online statistics cource, but now I've come to my senses and I'm only going to take the A&P. We'll see.

Oh, and someone said that chem before bio makes more sense. This is what I have heard time and time again. The whole first third of biology is going to be biochem, so if you do the chemistry first, you're getting a big lead.

Does your school allow you to drop classes a few weeks in and get reimbursed? You could always just give it a try.

AnnaN5 · May 25, 2004

I am walking proof that it is possible - it may not be the funnest semester of your life but if you have good time management it is certainly possible. I have had the unfortunate luck of having to take 3-4 bio/chem/genetics/micro/etc type classes every semester for my 4 year BS degree in order to be done in 4 years. I worked around 20 hours a week also but I am single person with no kids so family would definately add another element to that. It certainly isn't the most fun thing to do but if you are motivated it is definately possible.

As someone said before, if your school has a period where you can drop a class after the semester starts you could always try it out and get a feel for it then make a decision. Good luck!

Frau Blucher · May 26, 2004

In mt humble opinion it all depends on how bad you want it. I took A&P II, Pharm, Micro and Chem I togather and I got straight A's. BUT I wanted it more than anything and I nearly went nuts doing it! No I didn't, yes I did, shut up I'm talking, not you shut up! Damn I guess I may have exagerated the "nearly" part If you want it you can do it, but there is always a price. Good luck!!

LOL. I know what you mean.

I've just completed Microbiology, A&P II and Medical Terminology.

I got straight A's in all three classes and maintained my 4.0 GPA, however I had to organize my study methods, so I wouldn't go nuts. :uhoh3:

Thankfully, I had three of the best college professors who made the classes fun and the subject matter fascinating!

Also, when you apply for science classes, students have to remember that sometimes the labs are separate and can be a class within themselves.

purplekath · May 26, 2004

We don't get a choice - we do something called "bioscience" which is chem, biology, micro, anatomy, physics and nursing all rolled into one. I'm going to be crazy by the end of it! lol - exam on the 11th of June then it's OVER!

You'll do fine as long as you manage your time. In fact, if you're like me, it will help to do your scientific subjects together and your more spacial ones together....I find it better if I can just use one side of my brain at once! lol

marcieg · May 26, 2004

I did it last semester, it was tough, but some of the material crossed over, so it was actually helpful, especially near the end of biology. I am glad I did it, but I would never do it again, mostly because I had Chemistry from 9-4 on Saturdays for 15 weeks.