<p>Just curious what you guys think of this courseload for Jr. Semester (transfer entering double major Chem E/ MATE): </p>
<p>Physics 49 (supplemental to cover quantum physics, will attend 7C for part of the semester, might also need the lab, not sure yet.)
Chem Engineering 140
Materials Engineering 45 w/lab
Physical Chemistry A (not taking the lab this semester)</p>
<p>I don’t get a lot of free classes so my only other option would be to swap out Physical Chem A for Electrical Engineering 101 (intro to ee.) Not sure which is easier, I have more experience with Chemistry, but if the intro to EE is way easier maybe I should change to that and postpone Phys Chem. But, as a ChemE major, every semester will be tough, so I really can’t afford to take a lighter courseload if I ever want to graduate. </p>
<p>Thoughts? Anyone taken any of these courses?
-A</p>
<p>What’s Physical Chemistry A? Are you talking about Chemistry 120A? If so, then let me tell you that that class is a beast.</p>
<p>ChemE 140 is an absolutely killer weeder. The material is not all that difficult - what makes it killer is the grading curve. This is the class that deliberately forces out a tremendous percentage of would-be chemical engineers.</p>
<p>Well, first of all, I can pretty much assure that not everybody is going to get over 90% on the tests. In fact, it is often true that NOBODY gets over a 90% on the tests.</p>
<p>However, even if it were to happen, it would mean nothing. The class is curved, which means that your numerical score means nothing by itself. That’s right, nothing. What matters is your score relative to everybody else’s score. That’s how a curve works. For example, if you got a 90%, but everybody else scored significantly higher than you, you got an ‘F’. Why? That’s how the curve works. </p>
<p>What makes the curve in ChemE deadly is that the average grade given out is quite low, something like a C+, or perhaps worse (depending on the prof). So if you get the ‘average’ score of the class, you got a C+. Get below the average score and you’re easily looking at a C- or D range. Get significantly below the average score, and you’re looking at an F. </p>
<p>When you say a EE intro course, what exactly are you referring to? EE40? Let me tell you that EE40 is one of the weeder courses for EECS and so it’s like running the gauntlet.</p>
<p>Sure, I know about EE100. It’s basically a class about practical electrical engineering for people who are not electrical engineers. You learn how to design and implement actual working circuits, and then you actually build such circuits in the lab. It ain’t no cakewalk by any means, but it’s not a weeder either.</p>
<p>How would you rate it’s cake-walkness compared to Physical Chem? Do you think my original courseload is too heavy for a first semester transfer? And, if so, would trading out Physical Chem for EE100 be a good move? If it looks on the light side, do you think I should add in a filler course that I need (history?) </p>
<p>Thanks for the help, it’s nice to answers from someone who knows the classes! Much appreciated.
Angela.</p>
<p>PChem 120A is an absolute beast - arguably the most difficult undergraduate chemistry course at Berkeley and one of the most difficult undergraduate courses overall. So EE100 does not compare. Chem120A will be especially difficult if you don’t have a strong background in QM, which it looks like you don’t because they’re requiring you to take that makeup physics class. </p>
<p>So I would probably switch out 120A with EE100. The problem is that I don’t really know if that’s feasible. I seem to recall that Chem120A is only taught in the fall, so if you skip it now, you gotta wait a whole 'nother year for it, and 120A is a gateway prereq for the more advanced Chem courses like 120B and 125. The point is, depending on what ChemE option you are going to pursue, leaving it until senior year may cause difficulties in your scheduling and/or may delay your graduation. Whether you care about that is up to you.</p>
<p>If you look at the schedule of classes, 120A is offered both fall and spring semesters. So it may be in your best interest to take EE 100 this fall. </p>
<p>Go to the announcement of the college of engineering; you will see that for a MatSci/ChemE double major, the college recommends chem 120A in the fall of your senior year; for this fall, they recommend chemE 150B and 141, EE 100/40 and some MatSci classes - with Physics 49 you may opt out of one of those.</p>
<p>Hey, sorry about this off-topic post, but I was wondering how difficult it is to double major at Berkeley. I’m thinking about Biomedical engineering and business (BBA). How hard will this be? Will working summers as well let me graduate in 4 years or will it take at least an additional year regardless? Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>Hi everyone…does anyone know the difficulty of doing a double major in Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering. I also will be taking Chem 120A. I also have to take Nuclear Engineering 100. Can anyone help me in the difficulty in these courses? Thanks!</p>
<p>Interesting - looks like Chem120A is indeed now being offered both fall and spring. Well, that changes a lot. </p>
<p>As far as the bioE/business double goes, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to be quite difficult. In particular, you can’t just ‘decide’ that you want to major in busad. To major in busad, you have to get admitted to Haas, which is no walk in the park. You have to complete the Haas prereqs and then apply to Haas, and about 50% of all applicants are rejected. </p>
<p>Once you’ve gotten admitted into Haas, the double may be feasible. But you have to walk before you can run. What’s hard is not completing the Haas coursework, it’s getting into Haas in the first place.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Calkidd. After some searching, turns out that EE100 actually only has 1 lecture and it conflicts with other courses I need to take (either with chemE140 or with Physics 7c which I will need to attend for part of the semester.) So, in light of this, i’m going to go ahead and stick with my original plan to take Physical Chemistry 120 the first semester. I can’t take 150 yet because I haven’t taken 140. It looks like it’ll be about 3 years here at Berkeley for me. </p>
<p>Oh, while I have a thread opened… anyone know if there are any lockers in any of the chemistry buildings?</p>
<p>It’s because the material is hard. Actually, I wouldn’t even say that the material is hard, but rather that it’s just highly non-intuitive. That’s the nature of quantum mechanics (which is basically what Chem120A0 is) - the material isn’t that hard to understand, it’s just that it’s very different from the scientific concepts you’ve studied before.</p>
<p>At Northwestern, the physical chemistry class also had the average set at C+ when I took it. Interesting how they are similar at two schools that are over thousand miles apart! The prof was very unfriendly and the worst I’ve ever had.</p>