<p>How hard are the upper div chem classes, is everyone (everyone being a majority) at CoC of unimaginable and curve-screwing intelligence, and how hands-on are the lab upper divs? I'm thinking about chem but I am having second doubts... I am generally bad at equipment and laboratory procedures and I am not a valedictorian as everyone else in Chem 4A seemed to be, haha.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>Many upper division chemistry courses are curved to an average grade of B. I would say the material is hard, but certainly manageable if you study effectively. I wouldn’t say everyone at CoC is of unimaginable and curve-screwing intelligence, but I will say that students I’ve met in CoC taking upper division courses are very hard-working. That’s probably feasible because most of us have made it past Chem 4A, which is pretty much designed to weed out a lot of freshmen from Chemistry. (That, of course, depends on your professor, but ours introduced quantum mechanics by the third lecture and once we got to particle-in-a-box and vibrational spectroscopy, half of the students dropped from the College of Chemistry). </p>
<p>Lab upper division courses aren’t so bad. For organic chemistry (112 series) the labs we do come from the same textbook the 3-series use. I would say you’ll learn a lot of basic organic chemistry techniques from that class that you’ll use if you’re going into research i.e. TLC, NMR, extraction, recrystallization, etc. There are other lab required courses such as 125, which is a physical chemistry lab course. From what I’ve heard, that is a very hands-on course where you’re exposed to a lot of lab techniques and you’re able to use some cool machines to do experiments. Don’t worry if the 4A labs seem to bog you down; they pretty much made life miserable for everyone (that I know) who’s taken it.</p>
<p>In terms of grading, I think (personally) it’s hard to get an A/A. Most upper division courses have a grading distribution of about 15-20% As. Some classes are less generous than others. My physical chemistry class had a distribution of approximately 10% As, and there were only about 60 students in the class. It may vary from semester to semester though. In my opinion, a lot of smart, bright, and definitely hard-working students (including myself) end up getting something like a B+, and it doesn’t mean we don’t understand the material; sometimes the grading is just rough. I think if you get an A in an upper division chemistry course it means you’re REALLY good at the subject and are quite exceptional. </p>
<p>You’ll find that each upper division chemistry course will teach you to think differently, in ways that general chemistry probably won’t teach you. For example, organic chemistry requires more of an intuition so you know general principles on how a reaction mechanism should proceed. Inorganic chemistry requires more spatial reasoning to figure out group theory. Physical chemistry (other than being hell, but kind of fun) will make your brain bleed (you’ll learn more about the abstract topics in chemistry like quantum mechanics and yes, there will be excruciating calculations). </p>
<p>If you love chemistry, don’t doubt yourself. The college has some pretty good resources.</p>
<p>Spontaneity, thank you for the thoughtful response! I am currently in L&S but I’ve taken the 3 series and 4A (which was a pain but enlightening and enjoyable… kinda?), and I am planning to switch into the CoC. The 10% A’s thing though is the thing that scares me the most. Thanks again though.</p>
<p>^Speaking of which, I just realized I should ask this question before making any assumptions - how hard is it to get in to the CoC from L&S? I got a B+ in Chem 4A and A’s in the 3 series, and I’m taking 4B this semester. Chance me?</p>
<p>You’re in. </p>
<p>lol it’s not hard at all. CoC always welcomes students from other colleges (since so many of them drop out of the college in the first place!)</p>