<p>Does any one know how hard the College of Chemistry is to get into especially for the Chemistry major?
Thanks</p>
<p>I dunno but i got in…but im transferring out lol. got in with 2040 sat 800 math IIC and 740 chem. 3.95 ucgpa…</p>
<p>For applications to the College of Letters and Science, Natural Resources and Environmental Design, no consideration is given to the indicated major in the review process. However, for the professional colleges of Chemistry and Engineering, demonstrated interest in the major is also taken into consideration. Furthermore, in the colleges of Chemistry and Engineering, Berkeley faculty in these disciplines have also asked that readers place added emphasis on sustained achievement in mathematics and science, and have indicated a preference that these applicants take the Math Level 2 SAT Subject Test and a science test (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) that is closely related to the applicant’s intended major.</p>
<p>wow. i didn’t know that lol</p>
<p>How come you’re transferring out?</p>
<p>I don’t like chemistry as much as i thought + i wasn’t as good as i thought I was + it’s research based + i want to do pre-pharm maybe.</p>
<p>oh ok, does everyone in the college of chemistry have 700+ SAT II scores? I got into UCLA for Chemistry but I’m just worried about UCB.</p>
<p>Hmm. i dunno. I didn’t get into ucla last year… but i forgot what i applied as. (I think chem but not sure).</p>
<p>Eight 8’s: </p>
<p>What kind of chemistry classes have you taken (OChem / Biochem / PChem)? What did you not like about it?</p>
<p>lol just regular chem 4a. Well it was research based. which i don’t intend on doing. so im switching out.</p>
<p>For all you thinking about majoring chemistry or chemical engineering, both offered by the college of chemistry, this is my advice: DON’T DO IT!! You will regret it.</p>
<p>Before I rant about the college of chemistry, let me release my test scores:
Year of entrance: 1996
SAT I: 1380
SAT II: writing, 630; math II, 760, chem 670</p>
<p>The classes were always overcrowded. Chem 1A had 800 students in the lecture section in fall 1996. Even upper division chem and cheme classes had over 100 students. The rooms for classes almost always never had enough seats for all students and there were always 10-20 student that had to sit on the floor during lecture. </p>
<p>The professors and GSIs were horrible. Whenever i went to their office hours for help on homework/projects, they would say something like “have you spent enough time on the homework”, or “most berkeley students get the answers on their own”, and told me to get lost. They only wanted to deal with A students. B and C students were left in the dust.</p>
<p>Good luck trying to makes friends in the college of chemistry, unless you are an A student. I tried repeatedly to befriend my classmates. But the 3.70+ gpa crowd always summarily rejected me and other “stupid” students. The Bs/Cs students were no friendly people. The Bs/Cs students looked at each other with suspicion and blamed each other for their low grades (like Bs and Cs), because classes were graded on curves and only 10-20% of students can get As. Whenever i happened to walk by the As students, they always snickered at my “stupidity” or dropped a few comments about how the Bs/Cs students got accepted to Berkeley. </p>
<p>It’s been nine years since I graduated from Berkeley and I still have occasion nightmares about my experience there.</p>
<p>I hope this gives your guys an inside look at the workings of college chemistry. So if you want to experiment, don’t do chemistry or chemical engineering.</p>
<p>chemebrown would be happy to know that the colllege of chem is no longer like that. Chem majors take Chem 4A which is much smaller and much more personal than 1A and everyone I’ve met so far has been quite friendly. Upper division classes aren’t monstruous and ther are always plenty of seats in my experience.</p>
<p>I am sad to hear you had such a bad experience though.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the straight forward Chemistry major is the minority in CoC out of the three (ChemBio, Chem, ChemE).</p>
<p>source: [College</a> of Chemistry Facts](<a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/about/facts.html]College”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/about/facts.html)</p>
<p>2006-2007 Majors -</p>
<p>ChemE: 373
ChemBio: 272
Chem: 223</p>
<p>Stay AWAY from the College of Chemistry. With CoC you don’t have any room to decide the classes you’re taking and you’re stuck with an unhelpful group of people. This includes GSI’s, professors, counselors, etc.</p>
<p>If you’re not the best at chemistry…if you didn’t go to a high school that had a good lab program…chances are you will sink and GSI’s will NOT help you. The GSI’s for Chemistry 4A-4B are not helpful–they will try to answer your questions as lacking as possible despite how much help you need.</p>
<p>Berkeley is the #1 school for Chemistry in essentially the world. However, that also means that it’s very difficult and really the ones most capable should be majoring in it. If you believe that you’re really up top even before college begins, more power to you. If not, you’d better watch out…it might break you.</p>
<p>But hey, this is all my opinion.</p>
<p>I applied to CoC this year too… >_< I don’t know how difficult it is to get in, but if I get in with my 700 SAT II chem (low compared to a lot of ppl), then it’s either b/c of my essays (why i chose chem) or b/c it’s not too hard to get in.</p>
<p>redzune, I don’t think they’re intentionally unhelpful. I actually think that it’s just berkeley being berkeley. it’s a tough school. in ANY major at berkeley, you have to be able to hold out on your own and tough it out. there ain’t no hand holding at berkeley. Even some 20-30 years ago, when my parents and one of my teachers went to berkeley, on the first day, the dean told them in a speech, “look to your left. now look to your right. one of you will probably drop out in your time at berkeley.” Why? 'cause berkeley ain’t for the faint-hearted.</p>
<p>big deal, the GSIs won’t help you. do you really need to have your hand held all the way? honestly, find other resources. older students who have taken the class, classmates, outside tutors, figuring it out on your own with the internet–seriously, there are SO many other ways to cope with not understanding something. haven’t you had horrible teachers in high school? I have, and what I’ve learned to do is to band up with friends, tough it out, find help from tutors, or find help online.</p>
<p>Actually, nw09, they ARE intentionally unhelpful. Unlike you, I’ve spent quite a while here to know that. They weed out anyone who’s not capable of getting a solid B or A. They try their best to do that. It’s moreso than any other introductory course–Chem 4A is a true weeder, arguably more of a weeder than a lot of the other signature weeder courses. CoC loses a large population of it’s students just because of Chem 4A. Moreover, GSI’s have full say over your lab grade which is a HUGE chunk of your overall grade. Therefore, if your GSI has reason to believe you’re not cut out for it–they’ll make it look apparent in your lab report scores.</p>
<p>The reality is, right now all you seniors THINK you’re prepared for Berkeley. You think you “know” it’s tough here. But you don’t even know the half of it until you actually experience it. You guys haven’t been here. That’s why we’re here to give you tips and warn you about what’s going on here. I’ve warned you, but you can see it for yourself.</p>
<p>The student learning center doesn’t cater to Chem 4A questions–there are no study groups you can join. It’s really difficult to make study groups with friends in Chem 4A because a lot of them don’t see the point of studying with someone else unless that person has an A. Most people have a “what’s in it for me” attitude. Freshmen often don’t see the purpose of studying with others. Sometimes, even if you do, it doesn’t matter.
Reality: You get left by yourself almost all the time and if you need help on labs…you’re screwed unless you’ve got SOLID experience. CoC is not someplace you can come with weak experience and try to tough it out.</p>
<p>CoC is tough, beware, if you didn’t have the SOLID experience pre-Berkeley, I’d say stay away.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input redzune. Do you know how hard it is to exactly get into the College of Chemistry esp with Chemistry as the major?</p>
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<p>From what I understand, CoC is a research based curriculum. If students have graduate school aspirations, getting anything below a solid B or A should be a red flag to consider another field. A B.S. in chemistry does not hold as much value as a BS in engineering given the nature of its core curriculum, so people should quickly figure out if they’re ready for advanced studies - hence the “weeder” nature. If what you imply about GSIs is true, that is unfortunate.</p>
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<p>It’s highly regarded for its research program. The GSI’s and professors probably have very very high standards for what it takes to be a successful chemist as they all have graduated at the top of their class in their respective undergraduate programs.</p>
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<p>I cannot emphasize this point enough. This point is probably true in all levels of academia/work.</p>
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<p>I would argue that if you don’t have solid experience, you should be ready to work very hard - not necessarily to stay away.</p>
<p>On a positive note, what all this means is that success in the CoC can do wonders for people - more so than many other programs. It is always commendable for people to take on the toughest jobs/problems/activities to test themselves. If you make it out with a solid understanding of chemistry, you will most likely have many wonderful career choices.</p>
<p>I agree with redzune about CoC. It is not a college (alot with CoE) in which you want to hang out major-wise and experiment. If you get accepted to berkeley but don’t know what to major in, stay in College of L&S. </p>
<p>It is actually a good thing that CoC has made Chem 4AB mandatory. Chem 4AB is much harder than Chem 1AB. Chem 4AB will weed out students at the earliest oppurtunity and that will allow some student to switch to other majors. CoC can’t turn Chem 1AB into a weedout course because all freshmen take Chem 1A and so the course load in Chem 1A must be manageable. </p>
<p>Come to think of it, I now regret not taking Chem 4A in fall 1996, in which Chem 4A was optional. Had i taken Chem 4A, i definitely would have changed major. I took Chem 1A 1B and eked out an A- in both classes. But when i got to Chem 112AB and ChemEng 140, my grades dropped to Bs. In my last two years, my GPA was a dismal 2.3 </p>
<p>To all you CoC admits, GOOD LUCK!!!</p>
<p>“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.” -W. C. Fields</p>
<p>If you guys suck at chemistry, then why do you stay in the College of Chemistry and complain about how difficult it is? The fact is that you can’t handle the work. Move on, seek a different major that you’re actually good at.</p>