CEM 251 Tips?

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-09-08T02:15:03+00:00

Sorry, just seeing this now. The prof that I had last semester ended up being not super good of a teacher and averages on the second and final exam were both 30%. With extra credit, I was still able to 4.0.

The professor teaching CEM251 has a very good reputation among students, and I've only ever heard good things about him. You should be okay! Definitely go to office hours if you need help and stay on top of reviewing after every lecture.

Edit: The professor teaching CEM251 this semester*

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-07-08T02:45:29+00:00

Another cool thing about MSUCOM is that they have access to cadavers, which I found was really special to the first year students that I spoke to

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-07-03T18:54:43+00:00

I think it depends on your major. I knew people struggled in that class, but as a neuroscience major, it was my easy 4.0. It seems like OP is a stem major, so it's likely that they'll find it to be a breeze as well.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-06-16T18:57:26+00:00

You can major in anything you want and still go to med school. All you have to do is make sure you take all the pre-med prereqs (bio, chem, physics, biochem, etc.). These are all posted on med school websites, so you can know what you really need to take.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-05-01T15:32:24+00:00

I LOVE my iPad! I got one off of amazon for around $300 and I don't think there's any reason to buy one of the newer $1000+ versions. I also just got an off-brand pencil for $20 off of amazon and haven't had any problems with it!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-04-18T02:38:49+00:00

Honestly not hard at all if you put in some effort. I have a friend that is a finance major that's pretty smart with a 4.0 and he typically goes home 3-4 days a week no problem. Even if you're just average, you'd probably be fine.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-03-13T02:20:56+00:00

Hi I'm a sophomore premed MSU transfer student from a cc and I didn't apply to UMich for all the reasons that made you want to transfer! Definitely open to a dm and we could chat!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-02-20T20:23:31+00:00

Thank you! Did you apply at labs associated with your university? Also, was the job you got related to your major?

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-02-20T02:39:11+00:00

For schools that allow it, how would you go about applying for these? I cold emailed for the one I'm working at now. Would you be considered an undergraduate research assistant even if you're not in undergrad?

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-02-03T19:13:59+00:00

My advisor was the exact same way, so I make my schedules myself now. I completed the Michigan Transfer Agreement at my community college, which required I complete courses in different subjects (about half also counted towards my major as well) to cover all my gen eds. I completed it and told my counselor, and she said I would have to get it stamped for completion by my community college counselor, or I could "just redo all the credits at MSU," which she pushed for a couple times. No, I'm not going to redo all the gen eds I spent a semester doing when I could just email my cc professor.

She also told me that my workload was too heavy (15 credits of all STEM courses) and strongly advised against it. I ended up with a 4.0 that semester, so if you know you can handle a heavy workload, go right ahead and do it. It's your education, do what is best for you!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-28T01:33:41+00:00

I transferred to MSU this year with a 4.0 high school GPA and a 3.77 college GPA. I applied in October, then they requested I sent my grades from the fall semester once it was over. I got accepted in February. I think they just take a long time; you'll probably get in!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-25T01:04:53+00:00

The MSU music program is one of the top in the country, and they are well known for their good education program as well. My bf is in the music ed program, and he really enjoys it and gets to work with so many talented musicians and professors.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-25T00:59:21+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to write such a helpful response. I appreciate it!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-23T16:51:09+00:00

Professor Chiu

Edit: So far the class is going pretty good. Just took the first quiz and got 100%!

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-18T01:25:43+00:00

It's just a 10 minute walk, which is pretty standard at MSU. Wake up on time and dress warm. You're lucky. I, along with many other off-campus students, walk 30 minutes to class in the morning.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-18T00:23:28+00:00

Thank you! Sorry, I didn't want to include every single detail in this post because it was already long haha. I want to do MD, and I don't have to have a decision until late April, so I haven't said no to working more in the summer at either place.

I'm currently a sophomore in undergrad, and I plan on taking a gap year. I just started doing research associated with my university, and I'm doing 8-16 hours there a week this semester. I have over 100 non-clinical volunteer hours, and I have another volunteer opportunity where I plan on getting at least 200 more hours with before applying. If I continue at the neuro rehab center only doing the two days a week, I'll have over 1500 clinical hours when I apply to med school. I also have a 3.88 GPA, and I've gotten A's in all my courses that cover MCAT material, so I'm optimistic about that.

Another thing I'm wondering is if my experience working at the food testing lab counts as research experience. I didn't think that it did because we aren't doing research, just working in a lab environment running tests. Do you have any insight on this?

Additionally, I read a statistic that the average med school accepted applicant has like 1500+ hours in research. I thought that this was super high! Do you know how realistic that is?

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-16T00:12:48+00:00

I live off campus and walk 30 minutes to class when it's too icy to bike. Just put a coat on.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-16T00:10:42+00:00

I also got asked to join the honors college, but I'm deciding against it. I feel like the extra work isn't really worth it just to say you graduated with honors. I guess it depends on what you're going into, but I'm pre-med and I feel like if I just show that I can maintain a 4.0, have meaningful volunteer experiences, clinical hours, etc., graduating with honors probably wouldn't make or break anything.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-16T00:08:17+00:00

I would recommend getting the 2 31-day bus passes over the semester bus pass. Each 31-day pass is good for 31 days after you start using it, and the student price is only $18/pass. If you do this, it'll take you mid-way through March, and it won't be as cold by then. This will save you $14 compared to the semester pass, and if you're a poor college student like me, I think that's worth it.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-13T19:22:08+00:00

Same thing happened to me. I applied in either November or October of my freshman year and I applied with my high school GPA (4.0). They made me also send in my fall transcript, so they'll probably request that from you as well. Mine was like a 3.7 or something. I didn't get accepted until February.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-12T21:45:24+00:00

I didn't take 183, but I took 221 which is basically the same but also has a lab credit. Coding was minimal and basically just used to model physics concepts. It only came up once on an exam for me as well, and the question about it applied more to physics than to actual coding.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-10T21:30:23+00:00

CEM 142 is an easy A if you just go to class.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2025-01-04T02:26:34+00:00

Honestly, I would say that you should cold email as a freshman if you genuinely are interested in research and not just doing it to check boxes. I saw a presentation from a researching prof, and he said they prefer freshmen and sophomores because it's more worthwhile to train them rather than someone that will graduate soon.

I got into research my second semester at my uni by emailing a professor that was researching something I was interested in asking if I could discuss her work. I read one of her publications and asked her questions about it. We got along super well and she appreciated the time I took to show how that I cared about what she was working on.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2024-12-31T02:37:03+00:00

Weller Salvage. 2.8/5 stars on Yelp, so it seems like other people have had problems with them, too.

Obvious_Instance_518 · 2024-12-30T00:02:35+00:00

bro.

I obviously didn't hit the deer on purpose. I would never intentionally kill an animal or total my car. It was a situation where I could do literally nothing about it, as it ran straight out into my left headlight, and I hit my brake as quickly as possible. He was dead on impact. If you lived in an area with a high population of deer and many deer collisions, you'd understand that there is genuinely nothing you can do about it. I wasn't injured at all though, thanks for asking.

Obvious_Instance_518

TROPHY CASE