<p>So my counselor/adviser gave me the option of being able to either take Chem 1A under the Architecture major the 1st semester and transfer into Chem Engineering the 2nd(going into 4B), or take Chem 4A under the ChemE major 1st semester.</p>
<p>Would there be any disadvantage to taking Chem 1A instead of Chem 4A the first semester? I don't really care about the workload, but is the workload/material of 4A heavy enough as to encourage me to take 1A? I just want to make sure that I will be able to transition smoothly into Chem 4B and, thus, CoC.</p>
<p>As a temporary Architecture major(which I originally chose mainly because the major encompasses a variety of subjects and wasn't narrowly focused, but I grew to like ChemE more after I submitted my app), would I be required to take any courses the first semester like Environmental Design 1?</p>
<p>Chem 4A is a lot harder than Chem 1A. You should really decide what you want to do because you will kick yourself if you end up going into architecture and had to go through the misery of 4A.</p>
<p>You should do 4A and start on the Chem major path (4A/4B and 112A/B instead of 1A and 3A/B). You learn a lot more in the 4 series than in 1A because it’s designed for chem majors. And you will have to take at an extra analytical chemistry class later if you don’t do the 4 series.</p>
<p>Well, if I go under Architecture for first sem, there’s no need to take Chem 1A.</p>
<p>And yeah, that was what I was concerned about-- the necessity of 4A. I mean, the adviser did give me a chance to replace 4A with 1A, so I don’t know about the required extra analytical chemistry class.</p>
<p>The analytical class is 4B. 4A is a lot more work and more difficult material compared to 1A, and I don’t necessarily think 4A will help you out more than 1A in the upper-div classes. 4A will prepare you more for 4B, not in terms of material, but in terms of learning how to study and forming connections with your classmates/forming study groups. For me, before I came to Berkeley, I thought I wanted to be some sort of bio major. I took Chem 1A first semester, got an A+, thought it was a breeze. I thought I loved chem and wanted to transfer into CoC, and then 4B kicked my butt. Haha. </p>
<p>So personally, if I started out in College of Chem with 4A, I don’t know if I’d have continued on that path or been discouraged from it right then and there. When I was done with 4B, though, I thought I might as well stick it out all the way since I’d done 4B. So I transferred into CoC and now I sure as hell am glad I did. The 4 series is not pleasant, but if you truly love chemistry, the upper-division classes will be interesting and rewarding to you. General chemistry is largely a rehash of what you may have learned in high school AP Chem (I didn’t learn anything new in 1A; people did learn new stuff in 4A, though), so the upper-divs have been really fun and enlightening because now we can finally understand the stuff they’d been telling us in high school in greater depth, from many different perspectives; in terms of molecular orbitals, microscopic fluctuations, periodic trends, etc. I definitely prefer chem to bio now (purely in terms of course material and structure; I think bio research is or has the potential to be more interesting) so I’m glad I switched in. </p>
<p>Just keep in mind that when you first switch in, you’ll know few people in CoC and they’ll all know each other already. It feels a little lonely at first, but do some hardcore networking and you’ll be good to go. People are really friendly and chill, especially the non-ChemE’s. (Just kidding…partially)</p>
<p>I would take 4A. It’s a weeder class for a reason; Not everyone can cut it in Chemical Engineering. My friend dropped out of CoC after taking Chem 4A and he loved Chemistry in high school. You get a taste of what the years ahead will be like by taking Chem 4A. I would suggest taking it even though it’s a lot of hard work. Say you get an A in Chem 1A. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to be a Chemical Engineering major.</p>
<p>Like I said, 4A is not necessarily relevant to your upper-division classes. So far I have not noticed a disadvantage to not taking 4A material-wise, though it may have helped with study habits. Also, Chem E has very little to do with Chem, or what you have learned about Chem… As long as you know how to balance equations, you’re set. You do expand on things like thermodynamics and kinetics, though, which you’ll also cover in physics. So, 4A may be nothing but a discouragement if you start out that way.</p>
<p>To reiterate: If you already know you want to transfer in, you wouldn’t be hurt by taking 1A and then 4B. This saves you from having to take an analytical class later. If you don’t take 4B freshman year, take 1B or 15 instead because 4B is such a pain. If you have the chance, though, you should take it freshman year in order to catch up on networking so that you’ll at least know people once you transfer in.</p>
<p>Danke for the informative posts AppleJuice! It seems as tho forming bonds with others is the key to success in the CoC, lol. At least that’s what I’ve been reading…no one being able to brave the 4 series by themselves basically. I’ll probably hang out with CoC ppl then, and maybe help them out since my course load will be somewhat lighter(w/ 1A instead of you know)</p>
<p>Well, I think you pretty much convinced me to stick to Arch and 1A for a semester.</p>
<p>As for Spontaneity, I wish you luck on your project. Have fun!</p>
<p>Hey Sagert, if an incoming freshman is interested in the ChemE major, what should he/she do to pursue a switch to the College of Chemistry? My friend is going to be in Letters/Science and he isn’t really sure what to do as far as contacting a counselor/adviser about it. Since you were in a similar position once, could you shed some light on this? Thanks.</p>
<p>To transfer from L&S into ColChem, your friend should email Maura Daly (<a href=“mailto:mdaly@berkeley.edu”>mdaly@berkeley.edu</a>) asap about it, and at TeleBears, sign up for the classes he wants to take for his desired chem major.</p>
<p>It should work since that’s exactly what I’m doing :-)</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the help, termantimes. Is it possible for my friend to switch in before the semester starts? Or would this be after the first semester?</p>
<p>If you took AP Chem before, it should be pretty easy to switch in before the semester starts. Otherwise, just wait it out a semester; it’s no big deal.</p>
<p>What does having taken AP Chemistry have to do with switching to CoC before the semester starts? If you want to switch in CoC and take Chem4A, you can definitely enroll for Fall 2010. We always welcome new victims–uh, students haha.</p>
<p>Yeah, getting into College of Chemistry is not hard at all since so many people from College of Chemistry wants to get out because of a certain class… or two.</p>