Easier classes towards junior and senior year

[xprodigy92]

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I have always challenged myself in my two years of college and I have nearly finished my chemistry major as well as my liberal arts requirements. I was wondering if I could take some easier courses for math and chemistry. I.E I wanted to take this next semester:

Physical Chemistry I
Physical Chemistry I Lab
Quantitative Analysis
Methods of Chemical Research
Early Christian Texts
Chemistry of Art (this is a freshmen level course usually for non science majors)
Seminar and Research (essentially research under a professor)

I also wanted to take finite mathematics in the spring. I will mention I have recently taken multivariable calculus.

Any thoughts?

 

[EnginrTheFuture]

What is easy for you may be insanely hard for anyone here and vice versa. For instance, p-chem was an absolute joke class for me. I never had to lose a night's sleep and kind of just "got it", same for Orgo. Chem classes just came easily for me whereas people I helped/tutored had a really hard time despite all of their effort. In contrast, put me in a psychology class and watch me struggle like someone under the cruciatus curse.

With that said, this is one of the only times in your life where you can very freely go and explore something challenging and interesting. I assume you don't have kids, a family, a full tiime job, a mortgage. In the spirit of the 4th of July...your freedom and potential is near limitless. I never chose the "easy class" in school for its rigor because I never cared about how it would effect my GPA. I did choose some easier classes because they genuinely interested me more. For a lot of my undergrad I didn't think I would be applying to med school and as an engineer, anything 3.2+ is great. I don't regret taking that policy for a second. Taking a more advanced biochem, taking independent research over another humanities class... these were great endeavors for me.

For me, I'll focus on purposefully choosing the easy route for retirement. But to each their own. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine no matter what you take!

 

[tenndoc]

don't slack off in the final years. adcoms will look at that. they would rather see you take high sciences or diversify and take higher history, psych, micro, etc classes

 

[Oxygen206]

I don't know about your school, but at mine most people taking p-chem and quant at the same time were pulling their hair out. Are these ridiculously easy courses for you or something? If so, your schedule doesn't look easy so I dunno what you're worried about.

 

[xprodigy92]

the class chemistry of art is the easy class i'm referring to. is that going to hurt me if i take that with p chem and quant?

 

[Praefectus]

the class chemistry of art is the easy class i'm referring to. is that going to hurt me if i take that with p chem and quant?

If you're taking P-chem and quant, you aren't slacking off.

 

[Oxygen206]

the class chemistry of art is the easy class i'm referring to. is that going to hurt me if i take that with p chem and quant?

You may run the risk of it looking as though you're trying to pad your GPA...unless you've showed interest in art in other areas of your application?? Otherwise why are you taking a 100-level chemistry class?

 

[xprodigy92]

honestly it is a 100 level course and it is to pad my gpa. but its a chemistry class and im a chemistry major which i would hope explain it some what.

 

[kpcrew]

What is easy for you may be insanely hard for anyone here and vice versa. For instance, p-chem was an absolute joke class for me. I never had to lose a night's sleep and kind of just "got it", same for Orgo. Chem classes just came easily for me whereas people I helped/tutored had a really hard time despite all of their effort. In contrast, put me in a psychology class and watch me struggle like someone under the cruciatus curse.

With that said, this is one of the only times in your life where you can very freely go and explore something challenging and interesting. I assume you don't have kids, a family, a full tiime job, a mortgage. In the spirit of the 4th of July...your freedom and potential is near limitless. I never chose the "easy class" in school for its rigor because I never cared about how it would effect my GPA. I did choose some easier classes because they genuinely interested me more. For a lot of my undergrad I didn't think I would be applying to med school and as an engineer, anything 3.2+ is great. I don't regret taking that policy for a second. Taking a more advanced biochem, taking independent research over another humanities class... these were great endeavors for me.

For me, I'll focus on purposefully choosing the easy route for retirement. But to each their own. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine no matter what you take!

I envy you. I had no trouble with gen chem or orgo but p. chem was pretty tough. Quantum mechanics is not very intuitive at all.

 

[Oxygen206]

honestly it is a 100 level course and it is to pad my gpa. but its a chemistry class and im a chemistry major which i would hope explain it some what.

People do this all the time with 100 level chem or bio courses, its frowned upon but wont keep you out of med school or anything. Why don't you take an easy 100 level course in another discipline?

 

[BHaus9]

You're fine. Even if an adcom recognizes "Chemistry of Art" as a blow-off class, you've tacked it onto a load of credits that will provide ample challenge and workload. Furthermore, given the broad range of majors accepted into medical school, I have a difficult time believing that what courses you take outside the pre-reqs really matters anyway. What does matter is a strong GPA. Having changed majors a couple of times, pretty much all my courses were 100 or 200-level, and I don't feel I was penalized for that at all.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Senior year is going to be pretty hard for me... Pharmacology, toxicology, and pharm biochem, and medicinal something or other... Blahhhh... I envy those that are able to take it a little easier near the end.