<p>Would it be extremely unwise? Or doable, and perhaps beneficial, as you're studying chemistry entirely?</p>
<p>If not, would taking Physics 8A and Chem 3A/3AL (without having taken chem 1a) be a good idea?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Chem 3A is notoriously terrible for anyone who hasn’t touched organic chemistry before. It’s completely different from Chem 1A. Almost no relation at all. Not to mention you’ll have two 4-hour labs. I wouldn’t advise taking both at the same time.</p>
<p>Just skip Chem 1A if you had no problems getting a 5 on AP Chem. In that case, Physics 8A and Chem 3A/L at the same time are fine… just don’t pile on another difficult technical class on top of that.</p>
<p>I only received a 4 on the AP Chem exam, and I took it in Junior year of high school. I also heard that it’s wiser to take classes in their off-seasons for better curves. Should I take Chem 1A instead of Chem 3A/3AL during spring semester instead?</p>
<p>Chem 3A works MUCH more nicely with my schedule, however :(</p>
<p>Organic chem focuses more on the “conceptual” part of chem, i.e. intermolecular forces, dipole moments, types of reactions, molecular shapes, etc. If all you had difficulty with was the math in AP chem, then you’ll be fine in Chem 3A. If you didn’t get the concepts, though… then you should consider consolidating your existing chem knowledge with Chem 1A. Also, if you’re thinking of doing more chem courses in future, then you should go that route too.</p>