<p>Do current students have any input?</p>
<p>31X is a lot more fun.</p>
<p>hey hksangha, well i am new at this forum but i will try to help you as much as i can: i agree chem 31X was more fun and i think a bit easier in the sense that with a/b there is so much nit-picky detail...its too tiresome. most a/b students have not taken chemistry AP in HS or they have and just want to re-learn it. </p>
<p>go here: <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/chemistry/academic/under/faqs.html#premed%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/chemistry/academic/under/faqs.html#premed</a></p>
<p>i think the only diff really is that 31x test questions are a little harder/more advanced.
You also have to take into consideration that you will be wasting an extra quarter on chem. 1 if you take a/b</p>
<p>And if you have decent chem background, feel free to skip the 31 set altogether and just go into 33 (they're pretty much unrelated).</p>
<p>well i asked my freshman neighbor and she said she thought a/b was a bit tougher (maybe she meant more tiresome) b/c they go into much more detail as compared to 31x students.</p>
<p>A/B is definitely more tiresome--X is nicer in the sense that since there's less time, they cover less material.</p>
<p>Thank you so far for all of the input. I took Basic Chem in 9th and AP Chem in 10th....So, it's definitely been a while! When I did Chem, I was pretty good at it as far as understanding/conceptualizing/etc. But, I'm more or less worried that a lot of it now is above and beyond my head. </p>
<p>Chem 31x sounds more appropriate....now, how hard is the placement test?</p>
<p>Um...there's no placement test.....</p>
<p>Placement and Advising</p>
<p>How do I choose between the two sequences?
A placement test is offered during New Student Orientation for entering students who wish to take Chem 31X and who do not have AP credit (a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Chemistry exam). You will receive feedback about your recommended placement based on your performance on that test. If you are told that either sequence is recommended for you, then you should compare the content and pace of the two sequences (the syllabus for Chem 31A is posted at <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/class/chem31a)%5B/url%5D">www.stanford.edu/class/chem31a)</a>. You can shop both classes and decide after you have determined which pace best suits you. If you shop both courses, it is wise to make a decision in a week or less.</p>
<p>So....is the placement test...optional?</p>
<p>they updated something on the approaching stanford website and said that if you didn't get a 5 on the ap test you have to take a placement test for 31x</p>
<p>Really. Hmm. I would still just consider these things to be...recommendations, if you will. The only time placement tests have actually been kinda important is for the language courses. I would be quite surprised if they made a big fuss about it. And I would probably ignore that you can shop both courses, around a hundred people every year who take 31X drop down to 31A after the first midterm, so you can just start with X (1 midterm will not have that bad of an impact on your grade, unless you did just absolutely dismally).</p>
<p>If you're really worried about this, and you're pre-med, again, I would really think about just not taking 31 series. There's no need to subject yourself to the first level of weeding out. 33 begins a whole new subject, so it's unrelated.</p>
<p>jwj, are you sure it's good to advise not taking the 31 series? I thought you needed a certain amount of inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry for most medical schools. 31 is the only inorganic class most people take... I think this is a question for a premed advisor. Ask when you get here.</p>
<p>It's not really "required". Basically if you do well on the MCAT it's not a problem, since it's a part of it. Besides which, no medical school in the nation is going to take the time to sift through applications and make sure you took a stinkin' gen chem class. I know for a fact that primary readers just skim over classes. As long as you've got the general mix of sciences, no one cares.</p>
<p>Sooo... general consensus is that a 5 on the AP test means you should probably try to take 31x?</p>
<p>I say ask your advisor.</p>
<p>Don't choose between the two based on any particular score you got, be it an AP score, placement test score, or otherwise. I would start out in 31X, then drop down if you feel that it is way too hard or too far over your head, but don't assume that from the outset. By going down to 31A/B what you gain in 'easiness' you will pay for with that extra quarter or what amounts to useless chemistry.</p>