Taking Pchem pass/fail

[Snarkalark]

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I tested out of physics with AP and I want to take pchem both as a way to show I'm not copping out of the physics requirement and because I (sort of) think it seems interesting. The course is not required by my major so I can take it pass/fail. Right now I have a 4.0 and it would be tacked onto a schedule with ochem, bio, and physiology so I'm worried I would be biting off more than I can chew given the difficult nature of the class.

As much as I hate to be one of those ever-lurking grade mongers, I feel like I have to preserve my GPA and distance it from danger like a newborn child. I'd really prefer to take pchem pass/fail, but I'm worried it would raise some eyebrows since it is, in a roundabout way, kind of a pre-req. What do you all think I should do?

 

[FlowLimited]

So you want to take pchem to show you can handle the rigors of physics, but you're going to take it P/F so it doesn't mess up your GPA? Sounds like another cop-out.

 

[silverhorse84]

pchem is not a pre-req, so I don't think they'll care. 😳

 

[Wolffman]

A semester with PChem, Ochem AND Physiology? I don't know about your school, but at mine, those are the 3 of the hardest courses offered. Good luck.

 

[FlowLimited]

pchem is not a pre-req, so I don't think they'll care. 😳

They definitely won't care, but it negates the whole point of him taking the course.

 

[BrainBuff]

PChem is one of the hardest courses offered anywhere. I would be somewhat reluctant to take any science course pass/fail just because of how Science courses are looked at by med schools. If we were talking about a course in Metaphysics, or Existentialism or The Thinking of Aborigenes in the Tropics, then it would not be big deal.

In any case, I think it depends of which undergrad you are going to and which med schools you may be considering. There is the true case report of a student from Brown who took ALL his courses Pass/Fail and was admitted to Harvard Med. At the end.... who knows?

 

[jtimmer1]

Just take another upper-level physics instead of Pchem. I have heard horror stories out of that class. Also, "proving yourself' by taking a class Pas/Fail would be utterly pointless. I am sure there are other physics classes at your university. Good luck.

 

[DoctorDeMan]

This is school dependent, but I go to a large school where pchem is considered to be the "hardest class you'll ever take" and the average grade is a C with very few A's and honestly, it was not that bad. Study a bit harder for it than other classes and you'll do fine. If you are smart enough to get a 4.0, you're smart enough to ace pchem unless that 4.0 is pure fluff.