<p>According to Vanderbilt's course catalog, there are two courses (CHEM 218 and MATH 205) that are offered to freshmen who got 5's on the respective AP exams. CHEM 218 essentially allows you take organic chemistry without having taken CHEM 104 (the general chemistry class), while MATH 205 allows you to take multivariable calculus and linear algebra without having taken a single variable calculus course (such as MATH 155).</p>
<p>Can anyone give a bit of advice on whether or not it is advisable to take CHEM 218 and MATH 205?</p>
<p>I chatted with a girl at Admitted Students day in the Chem 218 who had made a five on AP Chem. She was also a Spanish major and a premed.</p>
<p>She stated that grading in this organic class was a tad kinder/gentler and she was very glad she went for this option…April of her freshman year she had no regrets. She felt she was getting good organic instruction.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest taking Chem 218, especially if Dr. Michelle Sullikowski is teaching it (her husband is good too, but she is fun and freshmen friendly).</p>
<p>I think MATH 205 is dependent upon what your goals are and what direction you plan on heading into. I can offer an opinion if you give us a little more insight as to your direction.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice, Faline2 and GCN2!</p>
<p>As for my goals… I am thinking of majoring in chemistry or something related to biology. I’m not sure about the specifics yet, since I have next to no experience in either field. Also, if this information is relevant, I most likely will not be a pre-med.</p>
<p>It seems like Dr. Kaszynski, instead of Dr. Sulikowski, will be teaching Chem 218 this year, and Math 205 will be taught by Dr. Aldroubi. Does anyone know anything about these two professors?</p>
<p>And also, how important is the AP chem/general chem material to the organic chemistry course?</p>
<p>Since you are not focusing on an engineering subject or Math, I would not suggest MATH 205, especially if Aldroubi is teaching it. (i would suggest avoiding his class).</p>
<p>I would still recommend CHEM 218, you need almost no general chemistry for it.</p>
<p>Kaszynski is a bit hard to understand; I know a lot of people in his class this year also sat in on Sulikowski’s CHEM 220 (non-freshman orgo) lectures because she is clearer and explains things better. Also keep in mind that CHEM 218A is an 8am MWF class…which</p>
<p>I took Math 175 (regular multivariable calc) instead of 205A, and there were many freshman in my class. My understanding from my pre-major advisor, a math prof, is that 205 is very proof-based, while 175 is not. I do not like proofs, so I chose 175.</p>
<p>I had J. Rafter for multivariable; he was really good but grades hard; many people I knew, including myself, struggled in his class. He gave quizzes everyday; tests were long but we were allowed a page of notes. He is pretty funny. There are so many different sections it really depends on which professor you end up with.</p>
<p>I took 218, but we had M. Sulikowski (who taught 220) sub for Kaszynski a couple times. Kaszynski is very old-school and more of a researcher-professor than a teacher-professor. I only took one semester of orgo (not a science major, just wanted to satisfy the science req), but I have heard the second semester 218B prof (Kaszynski only teaches 218A) is ridiculously easy. The material taught in the two classes are the same and follow the same textbook. I didn’t do very well in 218 because it was early, I skipped too often, and let myself get behind on the reading; it’s not hard as long as you put in the effort.
Both 218 and 220 students take the same organic lab, CHEM 219; for what it’s worth, I did very well in the lab, and the last time I’d done a chem lab was in AP Chem 10th grade.</p>
<p>Williamsf1 fan, do you know if freshmen have to get some kind of permission to take Math 175, or can they just sign up for it?</p>
<p>Also, is it better to take Physics 116 (General Physics) or Physics 121 (Principles of Physics)? According to the catalog, the latter is “intended for first year students who plan to major in physics or pursue research oriented goals in science, engineering, or mathematics.” If I might major in chemistry, does that mean I should take it?</p>
<p>Nope, just go ahead and sign up for it.
I don’t know about Physics, but my roommate is an engineer and took 116, and they started it second semester of freshman year.
Have you looked at the different chemistry major programs in the catalog? The most rigorous one, program C “professional”'s sample course schedule puts the physics sequences in sophomore year, so unless you really want to take a physics course next year, I’d probably wait until you make sure you want to be a chem major and then talk to someone in the chem department and figure out what your specific goals in chemistry are.</p>
<p>Do you know if freshmen are allowed to make Chem 220 instead of 218? Thought this might be an option to take the class but possible get a better teacher and timeslot.</p>
<p>If you are premed, you may want to consider just taking gen chem your freshman year. Some med schools require two years of college chemistry, regardless of ap status. Thus, you will either have to go back and take gen chem later or take a higher level chem course.</p>
<p>Assuming you are an engineer, you must take ES 140 12-1 MWF, meaning you must take your 219 lab on either Tuesday or Thursday afternoon (12:25-4:15).</p>
<p>Therefore, it is impossible to take both 218 and 205 (which is TR 1:10-2:25), unless of course you plan to skip every other math class…</p>
<p>This is the problem I ran into, so I decided I would just stick with the easier math course - 175 - and go ahead and take the orgo class. </p>
<p>Any suggestions/corrections to what I said?</p>