<p>Hi all, this post is mostly concerning my decision to change majors due to a dismal performance in the first semester of Organic Chemistry, has prompted me to change majors, and ditch pre-med.</p>
<p>First off, most people respond to this with "***, why are you such a worrying pussy?".</p>
<p>Here's what they haven't considered: I've tried my hardest in that class (studied 10hrs/day for 5 days during finals week) and still managed to mess it up. Lesson learned: I'm not smart enough or suitable for Orgo. Thing is, the Chemistry major doesn't get any easier, quantum chemistry and thermodynamics make Orgo look like Rocks4Jocks. </p>
<p>I could technically get through Chem with a B or lower major GPA, but good grads schools don't want that (a C in orgo looks bad no matter what your other grades are) and med school is out of the picture. In short, continuing chem would cripple my GPA and post-college options.</p>
<p>My school offers an environmental studies major with a chemistry focus, which include a core set of enviro courses, all intro and either easy or moderate in difficulty (with the exception of GIS). This way, I could graduate with B+/A- (I'm currently at 3.4 GPA, but it will drop inevitably as courses get harder).</p>
<p>My question is, are they any real opportunities for me after college? Are there any respectable graduate programs for E. Chem? I'd also appreciate opinions concerning my decision to change and whether or not it seems silly for the reasons I've provided.</p>
<p>Ok, as a biochem major at a pretty frickin hard school...the classes do get harder but the grades also get better (as long as you keep up your study habits). Btw, a 3.4 gpa is pretty good. Wouldn't this enviro studies thing have just as much chemistry? Like sure you wouldn't have to take physical or bio chem classes but you would probably have to take inorganic and maybe a second organic with a lab attached. Chemistry is a much wider major than enviro studies, with a lot more opportunities after college. I say stick with it, although I am a bit biased...especially if your looking for grad programs like E. Chem that require a thorough understanding of chemistry</p>
<p>A C in orgo doesn't kick you out of pre med. And who knows, some people(very few) are better in quantum and thermo. I'd say u continue orgo II and if you're failing take a W and then switch majors if you want to.</p>
<p>That's what I was thinking, but most people in my school who have taken quantum and higher lvl chemistry say that orgo looks easy after goin through quantum. Also, E. Chem at my school is only gen chem I&II and orgo I&II for the chemistry portion, meaning that I'm done with chemistry after orgo II and can focus on easier ES classes.</p>
<p>Most of this concern is coming from my dad who doubts that I have the ability to finish a chem major and still go to med school/grad school and as bad as that sounds for a parent to say, I kinda agree with his assessment. I tried my best and got an embarrassing C in orgo.</p>
<p>Which college do you attend? (Just out of curiosity) Is it a big state school that weeds kids out or a smaller school?</p>
<p>I attend Middlebury College, a small liberal arts college that is a magnet for language and environmental studies students.</p>
<p>Oh, Middlebury? That's a great school (I'll be attending Haverford next year, by the way).</p>
<p>Anyhow, I think the environmental chemistry idea is great considering that you will only have to go through orgo II. There's nothing wrong with an environmental chemistry degree!</p>
<p>Thanks for the support. I think I'll go enviro chem and still try to maintain a 3.4 for pre-med. Either way, I can either hpe for med school or grad school.</p>
<p>And oh yea, I applied ED to Haverford, but was rejected...somehow Middlebury wanted me back in 2007.</p>
<p>i think weather you think thermo/quatum chem/pchem/inorganic is harder or easier than orgo is more dependent on what you do better ... learn mechanisms or understand mathematical relationships ... fwiw... i sucked at orgo but enjoy thermo and pchem.</p>
<p>also, any real environmental chemistry class/series of courses is going to have a fair share of organic chem in there as well ... just a thought.</p>
<p>im not worried about finishing orgo, it's gotta be done for the EChem major anyways. I also have instrumental analysis, but at least i won't need to deal with upper chem classes.</p>