Majoring in Chemistry

[WhitRachelle]

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I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and considering majoring in chemistry. It's my favorite subject and one that I'm very interested in. I have very good grades on most of the things we do in class. I'm planning on becoming a dentist, so I have a few questions. One of which is do you think that this would be a good major for me if becoming a dentist? And I've heard that it is very difficult to major in chemistry, but it's something I'd really like to do. Are there any chemistry majors who wish they would have went another direction? And how difficult was it?

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Chemistry is a tough major for certain. I don't know that you can really compare it to other majors as each major has different difficulties for different people.

However, I do think that it'd be a great major for dentistry applications. Why? Because you like it and think you will do well in it. Those are the most important choices in choosing a major. If you do well in it, and can express reasons why you enjoy it, it will be good enough for admissions committees.

 

[unimaginative]

I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and considering majoring in chemistry.

You won't have to decide this for at least 3 years, why don't you do something useful with your thinking power?

 

[GeneCoDoctor86]

If majoring in chemistry is something you would really like to do, then I say go for it! It is most important to major in something you are interested in as opposed to majoring in something just because you think it will look good on the application. You want to have passion for what you are studying. As long as you have good grades and complete the prereqs for the professional school, major really does not matter. Chemistry will have all the prereqs you need for dental school or any other professional school.

Im not a chemistry major but I am minoring in chemistry. But I can tell you that chemistry is a challenging subject. Nontheless, I really enjoy it, especailly biology based chemistry like organic and biochemistry. In general there is a lot of math but its not that difficult, you just have to know how to pick apart problems and modify formulas to solve them. There is also a lot of concepts to memorize. I have found if you know the concepts real well, you can save a lot of time during a test because you may not have to work out every single problem. (only do this when you are absolutely sure though.)

My advice would be if you want to major in chemistry, make sure you pay close attention to your chemistry classes in high school, take AP chemistry if you school offers it and when you take general chemistry in college, perform well and get a good grasp on the material as the more advanced courses build on the exact same material. Once you get the basics down, it makes chemistry a lot easier.

Good Luck!!😎

 

[seelee]

I majored in Chemistry and I agree that in general it is a great deal more difficult than biology. There is a lot of math. Physical chemistry is all multivariable calculus.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the study habits you need for a chemistry class are different that what you need for dentistry/medicine.

Chemistry you are learning concepts and learning how to apply them in different situations. In Biology, medicine, dentistry classes (at least for the first two years) it is rote memorization. I am not saying that a chemist can't memorize, but you need to be aware that if you really like problem solving and hate memorizing a laundry list of minutia then the first two years of med/dent school are going to be all the more difficult.

 

[GeneCoDoctor86]

I majored in Chemistry and I agree that in general it is a great deal more difficult than biology. There is a lot of math. Physical chemistry is all multivariable calculus.

Oh okay for my minor I don't need to take physical chemistry, so I didn't have to deal with the multivarialbe calculus part of it.

 

[Parthenon89]

did you ever consider biochemistry?

I'm a third year biochemistry major applying to medical school, the amount of molecular biology and chemistry you learn is incredibly useful for what you'll see in dental school.

But honestly, if chemistry is your passion, just go for it, but make sure you take some molecular biology courses such as Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics, or Cell Biology. With a strong understanding of chemistry, those biology courses will really open up to you as far as understanding of the material goes.

 

[seelee]

did you ever consider biochemistry?

I'm a third year biochemistry major applying to medical school, the amount of molecular biology and chemistry you learn is incredibly useful for what you'll see in dental school.

But honestly, if chemistry is your passion, just go for it, but make sure you take some molecular biology courses such as Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics, or Cell Biology. With a strong understanding of chemistry, those biology courses will really open up to you as far as understanding of the material goes.

The major reason I opted for chemistry over biology is the job market. Many many more jobs for chem majors than bio. This is an important thing to consider b/c you don't know if you will get into medical school or if you will even still want to do medicine in 6 years. IMO the best reason to pick a major is job potential (not everyone will agree though). Most advances are being made in the fields of molecular/cellular biology. Essentially these fields are just watered down versions of biochem.

 

[demh23]

Is Biochemistry more about rote memorization or more about applying concepts?

 

[seelee]

Is Biochemistry more about rote memorization or more about applying concepts?

depends on the class and on the teacher.
There is going to be a fair amount of both I'd say.

 

[FloatOn]

I'm a chemistry major about to graduate and I had a strong interest in chemistry coming into college. It was really the only subject I genuinely enjoyed in high school and could see myself continuing.

That being said, I liked my chem classes the first 2.5 years of college, but then pchem II (physical chemistry) hit and things just went downhill from there. I just lost interest in the subject as a whole. So, go for chem if you really like it. Just make sure to take a variety of classes to balance out your schedule so you don't drive yourself crazy.

Lastly, don't worry about college too much right now. Go enjoy high school because it'll be over before you know it!

 

[marieantoinette]

Lastly, don't worry about college too much right now. Go enjoy high school because it'll be over before you know it!

👍

It's great to think about college and make plans, but make sure not to stress too much and be open to changing your mind!

 

[orgohacks]

I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and considering majoring in chemistry. It's my favorite subject and one that I'm very interested in. I have very good grades on most of the things we do in class. I'm planning on becoming a dentist, so I have a few questions. One of which is do you think that this would be a good major for me if becoming a dentist? And I've heard that it is very difficult to major in chemistry, but it's something I'd really like to do. Are there any chemistry majors who wish they would have went another direction? And how difficult was it?

Chemistry is very deep and has a lot of applications to every day life. A good undergraduate training in chemistry will help you see the whole world in a different way, from paints to plastics to pharmaceuticals and everything else in the world around you. You can go in all kinds of different directions with a training in chemistry. For me, my attraction to chemistry came first and it was only later that I figured out where I wanted to go with my training. Best to go that way, I think.

 

[Acp2010]

I'm a chemistry major about to graduate and I had a strong interest in chemistry coming into college. It was really the only subject I genuinely enjoyed in high school and could see myself continuing.

I just graduated from college and was a chemistry major. Like you said, chemistry was the only class in high school that I truly loved and wanted to learn more about. Life as a chemistry major was tough, especially since I was also pre-med (i'm currently applying to med school). The hardest part of being a chem major for me was organic chemistry, which I took as a freshman. I also took analytical chemistry, physical chem, inorganic chem, and biochemistry. biochemistry is more chemistry based than it is biology based, and i found it very interesting. Chemistry was the right major for me, and though it was hard, i kept my grades up and learned a lot. if you're passionate about it, i would try to major in it, if it doesn't work out you can always switch majors

 

[loveoforganic]

Chemistry is very deep and has a lot of applications to every day life. A good undergraduate training in chemistry will help you see the whole world in a different way, from paints to plastics to pharmaceuticals and everything else in the world around you.

I had a general chem teacher that based the entire class around real world applications. Made me fall in love with it and switch majors. 👍

@OP - My school offers a pre-health track chemistry major that allows you to take a baby version of p. chem (noncalc-based). I went this route because I'd AP'd calc I/II, didn't feel like I knew them well enough to jump back into it, and was really just interested in the subject matter - not pursuing it as a career if medicine doesn't play out (going this route would hurt your marketability to masters / phd programs). Needless to say, pchem is the real killer, and without it, it's not that rough of a major, depending on your professors. Something to potentially look into.

 

[indya]

if you don't like chemistry, don't major in chemistry.
if you do like chemistry, don't major in chemistry.

medical schools look at 1) GPA, 2) MCAT scores, 3) EC's

1) GPA will obviously be lower that if you majored in business or something.
2) MCAT only tests the PRE-REQS! taking "Biochemical Applications to Neuroengineering in Zero G" will not help you.
3) You will have less developed EC's because you will spend all your time memorizing formulas for p-chem instead of running for President of the Society of Environmentally Conscientious Christian Athletes.

 

[loveoforganic]

There's more to college than getting into med school.

 

[indya]

There's more to college than getting into med school.

but, if you are dead set on becoming a physician, it is mostly about getting into medical school. it is just a hoop you have to jump through.

 

[Acp2010]

if you don't like chemistry, don't major in chemistry.
if you do like chemistry, don't major in chemistry.

medical schools look at 1) GPA, 2) MCAT scores, 3) EC's

1) GPA will obviously be lower that if you majored in business or something.
2) MCAT only tests the PRE-REQS! taking "Biochemical Applications to Neuroengineering in Zero G" will not help you.
3) You will have less developed EC's because you will spend all your time memorizing formulas for p-chem instead of running for President of the Society of Environmentally Conscientious Christian Athletes.

major in chemistry if you like it! i did, and i still managed to maintain a high GPA, get a great MCAT score, and do a bunch of cool EC's. you CAN do it if you really put your mind to it.

 

[slm266]

Majoring in biology will be more helpful in preparing you for the DAT than majoring in chemistry will.

Don't worry about it for now, just do well and get into a school that will prepare you for dental school.

 

[huskerdye]

I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and considering majoring in chemistry. It's my favorite subject and one that I'm very interested in. I have very good grades on most of the things we do in class. I'm planning on becoming a dentist, so I have a few questions. One of which is do you think that this would be a good major for me if becoming a dentist? And I've heard that it is very difficult to major in chemistry, but it's something I'd really like to do. Are there any chemistry majors who wish they would have went another direction? And how difficult was it?

First off,

You're only a sophomore.. Don't worry about it right now, shadow some dentists and stuff to see if you like it. You'll probably change your mind a hundred times about what you want to do..

But to answer you're question if you were to go into pre-dental you would most likely major in Chemistry. You could also maybe major in human biology, but would basically take the same classes..

Yes Chemistry is difficult, but it's also awesome! If you go into with the right attitude you'll be okay. But yes, Organic, Analytical, etc.. all suck

 

[indya]

also, biology will prepare for study habits which will be most useful in dental school.

chemistry is about understanding. biology is about memorizing. from what i've heard, dental and medical school is all about memorizing.