<p>If you qualify for AP Chem credit and you are planning on majoring in chemistry, should you take take the credit and move on more advanced organic chem classes? or is it better to not take the Chem credits and repeat the classes anyway?
Any chem majors out there? anyone actually been in this situation?</p>
<p>Not a Chem major, but I’m bio pre-med and came in with AP credit for Gen Chem 1, 2, and 3 (1310, 1320, and 1330). Chem 1330 is a pre-req for Organic (though I haven’t ever needed 1330’s information in orgo), so if you don’t have AP credit for that one, you probably should at least take Chem 3.</p>
<p>If you’re in the honors college and serious about chemistry, I’d highly recommend Honors Organic. It’s an insanely hard class, but the professor is phenomenal and you will be very proud of yourself when you finish it. Be prepared for a very tough courseload though. I definitely would not recommend Honors Orgo to a freshman…you’ll definitely want at least a semester, if not a year, to get acclimated to college and you don’t need an insanely hard class to make that more difficult.</p>
<p>If it were me, I’d take the credit for Chem 1320 and go right into Chem 1330, either fall or spring. Most of my friends found Chem 1320 to be more challenging than Chem 1330 (just for sheer amount of material covered), so might as well take the easier one. Fall is a great time to be at Mizzou, and your first semester will probably be one of your favorites, so don’t be afraid to take fewer credit hours and really rock a few classes rather than try to pile them on and get them over with. </p>
<p>I took 4 three hour classes and 3 one hour classes to have 15 hours first semester. It worked out really well and I had a great time! </p>
<p>PS: If Keller’s teaching 1320, you can’t go wrong with him as a professor. If he’s not, then don’t bother with it and go for 1330. Avoid Tanner if you can; he’s really dry and tends to grade pretty harshly. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with!</p>
<p>Kristin</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the valuable info. How hard is the organic chem class? How hard is it to get A ? What is the mean grade of that class? Who is a good professor for orgo? Any particular profs that should be avoided? </p>
<p>Also, is Bio and easier than chem classes?</p>
<p>Thanks a ton.</p>
<p>^ooops typo, I meant are bio classes easier than chem classes?
Also, who is a good professor for chem 1330?</p>
<p>How hard is honors orgo: I came from a very academically rigorous high school and graduated with a 3.9. I have a 3.85 after 3 semesters of college majoring in biology as a pre-med and taking the hardest classes I can find. Without doubt honors organic is not only the hardest, but also the most worthwhile class I have ever taken. I spend hours a week working on it, have nearly perfect attendance at my 9am lectures on the other side of campus (a good half mile walk each way), and rejoice when I get in the 70s for tests (which is in his A-B range). It is incredibly challenging and should not be taken lightly–10 people dropped in the first week, and another 15 opted not to continue with honors for 2nd semester. If you can handle it (it’s practically a part time job, haha) it’s amazing though, and I highly recommend it if you’re very academically motivated for chemistry.</p>
<p>Getting an A in honors: I got a B+ first semester and am quite satisfied with that grade. His grade distribution first semester was ~12 As, ~12 Bs, and ~9 Cs. Second semester typically only sees As and Bs, but don’t let that fool you–you will work incredibly hard and will definitely earn whatever score you end up with. </p>
<p>Mean grade: B</p>
<p>Good professors: John McCormick’s the only one who teaches honors, and he is absolutely brilliant. I’ve heard good things about Susan Lever for orgo 1 and think Glass teaches orgo 2. Typically there are 2 offerings of orgo 1 (+ honors) fall semester and then 2 offerings of orgo 2 (+ honors) for spring semester.</p>
<p>I’ve found that bio classes are easier than chem classes, but I naturally gravitate toward bio over chemistry. I also quite enjoy biology and only sort of like chemistry, so spending hours working on chemistry is personally a lot more grueling than working on bio.</p>
<p>As for Chem 3, I don’t know who’s teaching it in the fall but I had John Tanner and was not a huge fan of him. He’s dry and boring in lectures, which makes an already boring class even worse. I love Steve Keller, but he may just be doing 1320 in the fall. John Adams is department chair and occasionally does a section of 1330. Adams is a tough prof but a great one to have on your side if you’re going to be a chem major because he’s a phenomenal advisor and I’ve heard he writes one he ll of a rec letter.</p>
<p>Anything else, I’m happy to help. Go tigers!</p>