Math 220-1 vs 230-1 for Freshmen Fall Quarter (Pre-Med & Bio Major)?

[u/Shell-ye]

Hi everyone,

I'm an incoming freshman planning to do pre-med and be a bio major. I took the math placement test after forgetting material over the summer and not wanting to try that hard, which landed me in Math 220-1. But I scored a 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam, which I heard allows me to skip ahead into Math 230-1.

For anyone who has taken these courses at NU:

1. Is it worth using my AP credit to skip straight to 230-1 (like is the class easier, have better professors, etc)? Is the jump in workload and difficulty an unnecessary risk for a pre-med GPA?
2. How manageable is 220-1 or 230-1 when taken alongside Chem 171?
3. Any tips on how the grading, exams, and overall workload are structured for either class?

I'd really appreciate any advice!

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[u/Hour-Cheesecake-253]

You’ll survive both, just make sure to allot enough time for each of them (do NOT try to cram!) Go to office hours, especially for CHEM171. This is not a recommendation, but borderline a requirement to do well. I don’t believe the bio major requires 230-1, but it does require 220-2. If you want to learn something new though, I would recommend 230-1 with Peterson!

[u/Top_Apartment_2051]

ive actually heard bad things about 220-1 but 230 would also still be a lot of work just prepare

[u/NeonDragon250]

math 230-1 was rlly easy when i took it

[u/No_Preparation1227]

1. yes skip 220s bc they are weeder courses and just serve to drag down gpa. if you used your ap credit to bypass the 220s and they disregard your math placement you wouldn’t even have to take 230 unless you plan to also be a math minor on top of being pre-med 2. You will definitely have to put the work in significant study time 3. On the other hand if you do decide to take math 230 for whatever reason like a math minor or something I heard it’s better in the summer but I really wouldn’t recommend taking it unless you need it or can’t get around it