Butler University

 Hey All... There's a good chance I might be going to Butler next year, and I was wondering what the work load at the beginning of freshman year is like.  Is it hard to adjust from high school?

 

Matt

Hey Matt,

 I saw that you were looking at playing on the golf team, and I played on the Butler golf team for the first two and a half years of college, so I know exactly what it's like to balance school and golf! The freshman work load isn't terrible at all, but it will really depend on your major and what classes you took in high school. For example, if you took AP Chemistry in high school, and then take regular General Chemistry in college, you're already going to have had a lot of the material and you won't have to study as much. Although freshman year is easily manageable, I would still suggest working hard. Getting good grades your freshman year when your classes are easier will help your GPA later on in college when you're struggling in harder classes. Being an athlete can make school more difficult. You have to practice for a couple hours everyday, which means that you'll have less free time. You have to get really good at getting assignments done early, because you might not have time to finish things later. Tournaments are generally Monday and Tuesday, which means that during the season you can miss a lot of class, especially if you make the travelling team for multiple weeks in a row. Make sure you get to know your professors well, because they'll help you manage the work load if you start to struggle as long as they know that you usually give a good effort.

Hey there Matt I am currently a Freshman, and as said before your workload really depends on your major. I tried to schedule all my required classes first semester a. so the workload would be manageable b. so my gpa wouldn't be horrible right off the bat c. so i wouldn't have to worry about getting them done later for example, I'm taking both of my PE classes (101 and 102) this semester so I can get them out of the way. If you are pre pharmacy or health sciences your schedule is pretty much planned out for you. Its a difficult workload from what I hear--Calculus is the killer. I'm an Exploratory major so I basically just picked classes I thought sounded interesting, and related to a major I might possibly pick. For me it isn't the workload thats the problem, its time management. I've tried to get involved in a variety of different clubs and such, so typically we meet in the late afternoon/evening. Its really tempting to come back from class and lay down and take a nap until the meetings begin. Later in the evening, around 9ish sometimes people will decide to go out and get something to eat or just chill in someone's room to watch a movie and its really hard to say no, even though you know there's a big stack of homework piled on your desk and its a school night. I guess what I am trying to say is that yes, some of the work is difficult, but getting around to actually DO the work is harder, in my opinion. No matter where you go to school the workloads probably going to be relatively similar, just depends on how many credit hours you're taking and what classes!

Ashlen:

I know you're a PharmD major, maybe you can help me...I've taken honors/AP bio, chem, and am taking physics and anatomy & physio this year as electives. I'm also taking pre-calculus. I plan on taking all the pre-pharm prerequisites in college, and only use general courses like AP English and Economics for college credit.  I usually get A's in everything but spend more time on math than other subjects (doing extra problems, etc). because I don't think I'm naturally good at it, I just work hard to make sure I understand it!  If calculus is "the killer", as Liz said, and I want to maintain a high gpa in pre-pharm, should I think about taking calculus at a local college over the summer?  I'd still take it again next year, but was thinking a better foundation might be helpful.

Also, do many pharmacy students at Butler take courses over the summer to lighten their load?

Gabbie, If you are taking that type of workload now, you will be in great shape. The anatomy and physio will help you greatly I am sure and the general chemistry courses should come fairly easy to you. To be totally honest with you (I am a P2 pharmacy student now), the Calculus Final I took my first semester, to this day, remains as the hardest test I have ever taken at Butler University.... not to freak you out or anything. But it was written by an outside professor who had no knowledge of what material we had covered, so I think they have since changed that. I still wound up with an A- in the class.... but it would probably be best to come in with some calculus background. As far as taking summer courses, I have only taken 1 summer course.... which was Immunology between my sophomore and junior years. Some students choose to take Organic Chemistry after their freshman year. This takes 10 credit hours off their course load for the next 2 semesters, which a lot of students find convenient. However, this requires a lot of class over the summer, so if you are planning on working, it is not the best idea. -Jake

Those are some GREAT questions! It sounds like you're taking a lot of good courses in high school to prepare you well for pharmacy - I think my biggest difficult in pre-pharmacy was that I didn't have enough science background in high school. It's a good idea to still take all the pre-pharmacy prerequisites again in college - it's a good review and with your background you should be able to get some good grades to boost your GPA. One suggestion I have for you if you come to Butler is to take General Chemistry in two semesters, even though the entire year is offered as a one semester course for people with a good background. It's actually easier to take the course in two semesters; I heard of a few people that took the one semester course and they struggled a lot.

Calculus - it can be a killer course for some people, but for people with a good background of calculus in high school or for people who are just really good at math, it's not that bad. Because you don't actually use calculus in pharmacy (I'm a P2 and I haven't seen calculus since I took the class) I would say that if you CAN place out of the course through AP tests, or by taking it at another college and getting a good grade, do it! It will reduce your workload freshman year, you won't risk getting a poor grade in a 5 credit hour class, and not taking the class at Butler won't hurt you in the long run. If you do take calculus at Butler, try to get professor Leatherman as a professor - he helped me a lot when I was struggling, he gives you practice problems and quizzes to help you study, and his tests accurately reflect what was taught in class. If you consider taking calculus at a local college make sure your credits will transfer before you sign up for the class. The college of pharmacy has a specific list of classes that transfer from other colleges and are considered "equivalent." However, a lot of those colleges are ones that are in the Midwest (because that's where a lot of Butler students are from). It might be something you want to look into, but as a warning, it might take a bit of paperwork, so you should start looking into it soon.

I would say that quite a few pharmacy students take summer classes at some point in their career, either at a school at home or at Butler. A lot of people take immunology between their sophomore and P1 year because immunology is a "biology" course and therefore its tests don't fall during the cluster schedule. I ended up taking first semester Organic Chemistry over the summer as well - I actually dropped calculus my freshman year because I wasn't doing well, took Organic Chemistry over the summer, and then took the full calculus course my sophomore year (and did just fine). The only problem was that I should have taken second semester Organic Chemistry over the summer as well. I wasn't prepared well enough over the summer for the regular second semester, and I had forgotten a lot when I took a semester off from the subject, and it made my life really difficult! If you're interested in going home for the summer and taking classes there, it might be easiest to complete your liberal arts requirements. They're easier to transfer than pre-pharmacy courses, and not having the assignments and tests from a liberal arts class during the school year can help reduce some of the work load. However, a lot of people find that they get more pharmacy experience by working in a pharmacy over the summer, and decide not to take classes for that reason. It's really a personal decision, and you'll start to realize what you need to do to succeed once you start the program.

I think the most important thing to remember is that you wouldn't be accepted if you couldn't handle the workload. If you get accepted, Butler has faith in you, and you can do it.

I agree with what everyone else said but I'll add my own suggestions, too : )

I took four AP classes and lots of Honors classes in high school and I found my freshman year to be easy compared to those becauase in college you don't have to go to all of your classes everyday (they only meet 1-3 times per week).  I wouldn't worry about it at all... just keep challenging yourself in high school. 

 When you do get to college, do all your reading, come to class ready to discuss, and make sure to meet with your professor if you have any questions - they are always more than willing to help!  It's also always a good idea to go to the (free!) Writer's Studio and have a peer tutor check out your first paper to make sure you are writing at the Butler level.  I may be biased as a Writer's Studio tutor... but it's a pretty great resource : )

Are there gen. ed. requirements? If so, what are they?

Yes. There are lots of Gen Eds. That's what a liberal arts education is all about.

 You have to take 1 lab science, a creative credit, public speaking, MA 104 or higher(finite math), A social Science, A freshman writing seminar, a Humanities, 2 Global and historical studies, and then more core curriculum is set in place depending on what college you are in. (Business/Administartion, Fine Arts, Pharmacy/Health Sciences, Liberal Arts/Sciences, Education)

This may seem like a lot but you have four years to do it. : )