<p>I took AP chemistry and I loved it. I'm taking AP Bio right now and it's alright, but I think I liked Chemistry more. Maybe it's because it's more math-related and I really like math.</p>
<p>Anyways, I wanted to go to medical school so obviously, GPA is really important. How hard is it to major in chemistry. My chem teacher said General Chemistry was really easy, Organic Chemistry was challenging, but Physical Chemistry made him lose it. His joke is that he's bald because he thought too hard in Physical Chemistry. So that's what I'm really worried about. Has anyone took Physical Chemistry and has something to say about it?</p>
<p>I was a chem major. P-Chem is the hardest course that I ever had to take. It is VERY math-intensive. (Think Calculus III / differential equations). It was hard, but with a lot of work I managed an ‘A’ in the class.</p>
<p>If you like AP chemistry and math, then chemistry is probably a good choice for your pre-med major.</p>
<p>Calculus III? Wow. I was thinking of doing a chemistry major but I have very poor math skills. I don’t think I can barely handle Calc I let alone Calc III</p>
<p>My D is currently a chemistry major. At her school, Calculus II is a requirement for the chem major. (Things must have changed since I was a chem major – I needed Calc III).</p>
<p>She also needs two semesters of Physics, which is math-intensive. If you have very poor math skills, you should either work on improving them or reconsider the Chemistry major.</p>
<p>If you are interested in chemistry, then go for it. Just keep in mind you can always change your major and I’ve seen many undergrad students who change their major at least 2-3 times.</p>
<p>Your teacher must have sucked at math. Currently I’m taking the first semester of Physical Chemistry, which mainly deals with Thermodynamics. Last year I took Organic chem I & II, and got B+ and A, respectively. Though P-chem is often regarded as the toughest chem class, I don’t know if it’s safe to say if it’s harder or easier than O-chem since they are just different. O-chem has nearly no math involved, and it was all memorization of reactions and their mechanisms taught visually. P-chem, in contrast, will make you use tons of equations and employ problem-solving skills. I don’t know if you’re already a senior but Both Intro. Physics and P-chem involve lots of math (essentially calculus), so it’s not a bad idea to take AP Calc BC to have a little taste of what’s to come.</p>
<p>With that being said, I would say General Chemistry (pretty much similar to AP chem) is only a fraction of experience you can get as chemistry major. There are also Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic chemistry (which I hated the most thanks to a horrible teacher), and Biochemistry.</p>
<p>The advantage of majoring in chemistry, in your case, is that it can cover most of pre-med requirements, if not as much as Bio major does. Moreover, if you’re interested in research or if you like lab environment, you can contact chemistry professors whose research project is in your interest and ask them about working in their lab to gain some research experience. Not only it’s an icing on the cake to put on your resume it also provides knowledge outside of class and teaching lab. My roommates last year each started working in a lab in sophomore year. But it’s never too late.</p>
<p>Lastly, you can consider majoring in Biochemistry. I just didn’t do it because it was too much workload and I did not like bio.</p>
<p>mrsref: That’s interesting. At my school Calc III (if you meant Multivariable by that) is still required. Your D is also chem major just like you were? That’s sooo cute!</p>
<p>iamsounsure: Having weak calculus skills will definitely have an impact on your understanding of physical chemistry, but I don’t think you will ever have to use calculus if you become an organic chemist or a biochemist…</p>
<p>I’m a chemistry/biochem major and I do not like math or physics. I had to take up through Calc III and 2 semesters of Physics. Calculus III is easier than calculus II, so if you have to go up to calcII don’t even worry about multivariable calc… partial differentials are probably the easiest math problems you will ever do in college. </p>
<p>Don’t reconsider majoring in chemistry because of the math/physics. There are many different subjects to chemistry and most involve pretty simple math and a basic understanding of physics (as long as you don’t want to be a physical chemist). Everything weaves together and you’ll end up getting it in the end. Like someone said before, if you’re going to be an Organic/synthetic/biochemist there’s really no need to worry about math or physics.</p>
<p>Pchem sucks, hands down…there’s a reason I didn’t go into engineering and that’s physics/thermo. It’s definitely do-able though, even with my hatred for thermodynamics I still managed to get a B in it. Organic chemistry is actually one of the easier chem classes, you just have to get the “language” down pat. Of course this is all relative to the kind of student you are, but chemistry is a very flexible major fit for all sorts of people.</p>
<p>I just took my one and only P-chem midterm, which counts for 30% of the final grade. Boy it was chaotic, with only 4 problems for an hour and 15 minutes…</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s another thing my chem teacher said. He said that his tests were 3 hours long and there was only 6 questions and I can’t imagine how that’s possible. It literally blows my mind.</p>
guys help I just graduated high school and got accepted to university I want to major in chemistry but I heard that its a killer any usefull tips plz. :-B
Because GPA is highly rated in pharmacy school admission (https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/get-into-pharmacy-school.aspx), it might, in fact, improve your chances to do a BA Chemistry rather than a BS Chemistry or to do a field easier than chemistry (while still doing the pharmacy school prerequisites).
If you don’t make it into pharmacy school, you would largely have the prerequisites for a clinical lab scientist program (roughly one-year-long). People complain that it’s hard to get a good job with just a bachelor’s in chemistry (although it wasn’t for me) or biology.
I suppose for you I would say Pre-pharmacy. The ideal is to have a program that enables you to get just the courses you need for pharmacy school without unnecessary hard courses likely to diminish your GPA.
Note that at some colleges there is a functionally pre-pharmacy major with the “pre” helpfully left out of its name, such as the Pharmacology/Toxicology major at Univ. of Wisconsin (http://pharmacy.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/content/education/pharmacology-toxicology-bs/admissions/prerequisite-coursework/ToxGeneralGrid.pdf). In the event you seek career-type employment before or instead of pharmacy school, “Pre-pharmacy” is more likely than “Pharmacology,” Pharmaceutical Science," “Pharmacy” or “Toxicology” to suggest to employers that you will be a short-term employee who is likely to prioritize getting into pharmacy school over an extended commitment to the employer’s work.