Planning to major in chem, good colleges?

modestmelody
Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:24:58 +0000

I can honestly say as a chemist who graduated in 2009, I wouldn’t put much, or any stock into those Gourman rankings for undergraduate chemistry. It follows graduate rankings very closely, and in fact, based on how the graduate schools run in some of those schools I wouldn’t even consider it a great place for preparation even then (though it’s ranked high due to faculty quality).

Unfortunately, these ranks are based on faculty research quality and quantity, not learning experience. You can’t get into graduate school unless you know your stuff and have experience to demonstrate it, and some of those top schools do not offer the same ease of entry and strong mentorship during those experiences.