<p>Hi everyone, i am a C.C transfer students to UCLA and major in chem. I saw some threads saying that "the chem. department is the most hated by students", is that true? And also, is it extremely tough in the upper-division class and do i need to compete with a lot of pre-med students since I find out almost all the major classes are impacted course.
Any suggestion for me? I would like to go to grad. school and specialize in organic or inorganic chem</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s quite the case. It’s just a matter of personal opinion and experience with the Chem Department. </p>
<p>I am making this post based as a first-year freshman, who used to do the chemistry track up until this quarter (decided to pursue another major but not due to the chem department). Of course, naturally, a senior would have better information, but there seems to be a lack of active chem majors on this forum, let alone upperclassmen chem majors. </p>
<p>I think the chem dept is alright. The lower division professors so far are okay. A mix of good and bad like any other department. I’ve actually heard the upper division classes are much easier than the lower division… something about it being easier to get a nicer grade. (Though I forgot the reason why.) I heard this actually for almost all the majors. While the material is definitely much harder, the grading is pretty nice. (Don’t ask me why, I got this from upperclassmen.)</p>
<p>There aren’t that many regular chem majors here for some reason. I’ve only met around maybe 3 chem majors that I was aware of. (LOL. In my Chem 20L lab section there were NO chemistry majors in there.) Pre-meds tend to be bio or biochem because those majors are supposedly easier (and therefore a better chance of get a high GPA and getting into grad school). I think if you need a class for your major, you could probably talk to the chem department or the professor to let you in the class. I think the only classes you should probably be worried about are lab classes. They fill up REALLY fast, and the chem department will not open up more spaces due to equipment limitations. </p>
<p>My personal gripe with the chem department is that they’re very bureaucratic and unfriendly, the undergraduate administrative staff anyways. (Specifically Denise, the one who handles enrollment and certain papers. The other one, Ageha/Agetha/Angela(?) is okay. She’s nicer but still not quite as helpful as I’ve found other departments to be.) I felt like anytime I had a question or need something from them, they basically directed me to a form to fill out, an information pamplet/document/website, or said “it’s out of [their] hands.” </p>
<p>I think the reason why someone might <em>hate</em> the chem department (beside having to deal with the staff) is because a lot of the lower division classes are taught like weeder courses because of the great number of pre-med at this school. </p>
<p>Honestly, I have no special recommendations if you want to get into grad school. (I’ve heard mainly that you should just go to an “easier” school because grad school doesn’t take into account the difficulty of a school. Though I don’t think that an option for you at this point.)</p>