pchem troubles should i drop

[walkerdavid]

Im a third year biochemistry student and Im only 3 classes shy from a biochem degree. The problem is pchem. My current gpa is on the lower side 3.5 and chemistry is not a my strong suit. Should i switch to a bio. degree instead? The reason Im hesitant on switching to a biology major is that i only have three classes for a biochem degree and i put in so much work. But ultimately i am pre-med and gpa is extremely important i would most likely get a c in pchem. What do you great people thing? should i drop the course? Also note i can drop pchem without receiving a withdrawal.

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[On_The_Way_Up]

If chemistry isn't your strong suit then why are you a chemistry major?

 

[walkerdavid]

Thats a great point. The reason is, i really enjoy biochemistry and biochemistry and chemistry are completely different subjects. It just happens that there are a few chemistry courses that i have to deal with in my biochemistry major. But because of pchem im questioning if a biochem degree is really worth it i guess.

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

My friend is majoring in chemistry. He says pchem is the toughest class and every one of his professors has told him it is. Sounds brutal. If you are just 3 classes shy I say go for it. How long would it take you to get another degree? I love chemistry. I tutor.

 

[Pasmal]

I did biochemistry and was an o-chem tutor (loved ochem), but even so for me p-chem was the most challenging class of college by far. Our prof totally knew it too, he rode us pretty hard in that class. It was also pretty interesting/stimulating though, I definitely don't regret taking it. Got a B FWIW. If you are willing to put in a similar amount of time as you did in organic chem and you have a fairly good grasp of calculus you can definitely do better than a C. A solid A was like a superhuman feat at our school but YMMV. Nothing is impossible.

 

[walkerdavid]

It would take about the same time for either a biology or biochemistry degree (lots of courses overlap). I think your right about sticking it out but i just worry about gpa and getting a C in the class.

 

[walkerdavid]

I did biochemistry and was an o-chem tutor (loved ochem), but even so for me p-chem was the most challenging class of college by far. Our prof totally knew it too, he rode us pretty hard in that class. It was also pretty interesting/stimulating though, I definitely don't regret taking it. Got a B FWIW. If you are willing to put in a similar amount of time as you did in organic chem and you have a fairly good grasp of calculus you can definitely do better than a C. A solid A was like a superhuman feat at our school but YMMV. Nothing is impossible.

I agree with you...its just the class is so difficult and the struggle is real. Thanks you have given me optimism!

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

If it's the same amount of time and you are really stressed about this class then I say just get the Biology degree. Don't want to take a chance on tanking the GPA.

 

[walkerdavid]

If it's the same amount of time and you are really stressed about this class then I say just get the Biology degree. Don't want to take a chance on tanking the GPA.

Thats the same advice that i have been getting...Im gonna try the class out for a week and if i don't think i can do it, them i will drop and just do regular biology. GPA is extremely important. Thanks for the help!

 

[aldol16]

You can't just say "chemistry isn't my strong suit" and expect us to deduce everything from there. Chemistry is a broad discipline and involves many different kinds of thinking. Organic chemistry thinking isn't the same as PChem thinking. In organic chemistry, you're working with visualizing reactions and where electrons are whereas in PChem, you really start thinking about processes and energy flow. And how quantum mechanical systems work if you cover quantum chemistry. If you're not good at math, PChem probably won't be your strong suit.

 

[medguy24]

Im a third year biochemistry student and Im only 3 classes shy from a biochem degree. The problem is pchem. My current gpa is on the lower side 3.5 and chemistry is not a my strong suit. Should i switch to a bio. degree instead? The reason Im hesitant on switching to a biology major is that i only have three classes for a biochem degree and i put in so much work. But ultimately i am pre-med and gpa is extremely important i would most likely get a c in pchem. What do you great people thing? should i drop the course? Also note i can drop pchem without receiving a withdrawal.

Gpa is king. Switch to bio. Med schools don't care about your major and won't cut you slack for a low grade in pchem. Even if you get a B, that will bring your gpa down, so why do it. Switch to bio and keep your gpa up.


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[altblue]

If chemistry isn't your strong suit then why are you a chemistry major?

I can see why he would. The scope of biochemistry is much different from that of a pure chemistry degree, which uses more chemical techniques and principles/mathematics/physics. Like I'm excellent at biochemistry but I'd be decent at best with pure chem because my quantitative skills are decent at best. Also keep in mind that he mentioned pchem which is super quant

Chemistry isn't really the basis of biochemistry which is essentially molecular and cellular biology that emphasizes quant/qual aspects of proteins, lipids, sugars and overall metabolism, the highly specific chemical techniques used to study those, at the expense of other topics.