I was told:
1. Not all teachers are created equal. Ask around and check ratings to pick a teacher that’s more likely to allow you to pass the class.
2. Textbooks are heavy on the wallet, and in the backpack too. So check libgen.io to see if you can get a free pdf of your textbook.
3. Biotech seems interesting… Is it? See if you’ll actually like what you learn in a major by taking an intermediate to advance class in that disciplinary during your first or second year to get a taste of what you’ll get later on.
Lastly, this is just my personal opinion, but consider keeping notes on your computer than writing them all out. Reasons being:
1. Paper notes are heavy, hard to look through, and often gets thrown away quite soon. (Plus, if you move dorms, paper notes are going to accumulate into a heavy and bulky pile.)
2. Meanwhile, online notes on onenote, evernote, or google docs can be accessed from any computer, searched through easily, and also don’t get lost easily. You can also print parts out as needed to study.
3. Though writing on paper helps w/ memorization more than typing, typing still does help w/ retaining the info as long as you focus, and it takes less time. That means you have more time to actually study and internalize what you just typed.
So usually, unless the class specifies paper notes, I keep all my notes online. Before midterms/finals though, I usually read through the notes/textbook and fill just one printer page sheet w/ short notes about things I feel like are important, but haven’t memorized yet. Then I memorize that ‘cheatsheet.’