Anyone good at chem?

[dolphingirl]

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to pursue the dietitian route. It's risky but in 10 years from now I think I'll regret it if I don't try.

In order to get into the program I now have to complete so many pre-req courses.

My schedule for next fall/winter would be

Fall - intro chem, intro organic chem, 2 other classes (organizational behavior and some other thing...not too concerned on those two)

Winter (hell semester) - chem 2 (follow up to intro chem 1), organic chem 2, biochem, cellular biology.

I have zero chem background whatsoever. Do you think this is even doable? If I can just make it through this year with a decently competitve GPA I think I'd be okay but I'm a little worried.

[and1grad]

First, congrats on deciding to go the dietitian route. Sounds interesting.

Second, that schedule is absolute suicide. You shouldnt take O-chem and g-checm together at all. Even someone familiar with chem might struggle with that. You also should not take biochem & cell bio at the same time. Thats a recipe for disaster. I'm actually trying to figure out ways you can make that schedule work and so far I've narrowed it down to cultivating a crack/heroin addiction so you could cut out wanting/needing to eat/sleep. :)

[EmberMae]

My understanding is that Organic chem is an advanced level class and you need to have a basic chem foundation before taking it. But I don't know how it works at your school.

[J-girl]

By next fall do you mean 08/09? Or 07/08?

Not to scre you but it seems like you have to be in love with Chem in order to pursue this route.

[redav]

If you don't have any experience with it, then it would be good to start studying some intro-level chem before you make a decision to enroll; it is better to really find out if you enjoy it before making that decision.

I used to know a dietitian that worked at the children's hospital. She always gave me the impression that biology/anatomy was a greater focus than chemistry.

[dolphingirl]

By next fall do you mean 08/09? Or 07/08?

Not to scre you but it seems like you have to be in love with Chem in order to pursue this route.

Yah, it's for 07/08 - 2 months away basically.

It sucks because I basically have to do this to get in, there is no way around it because they require you to take 24* of courseweight (8 courses) in one year and these are the specified classes you have to have to present. Obviously some people may have done them in a first degree but I did not.

I am reading the chem 30 textbook right now to try and see how that goes. If I can't understand than this may not be a good sign.

I'll try and get my hands on the textbooks early too and pre-read some of it.

The biochem and biology I'm not extremely worried about, it's mostly the straight chem classes. It's odd, there are two versions of organic chem, one has the pre-req of chem 101 and one doesn't, just chem 30, so I'm not sure what the deal is there.

I'm still kind of nervous about this decision. I mean, even after this and getting accepted, then three years later I need to compete again to land an Internship (there are only 35 places; the advisor said it's as hard as med school). If you don't get the Internship then you don't get registered and you end up with a degree in Nutrition and Food science...which I'm not sure would be a very helpful.

I'm a billion times more passionate about this than anything else I've ever considered though. That makes it feel right in my heart but my head is screaming I may be doing something stupid here with this decision.

[redav]

If it is that competitive, then perhaps it would be good to defer for a year and spend that time really preparing so that you have the best advantage you can.

[Steve Grabowski]

Winter (hell semester) - chem 2 (follow up to intro chem 1), organic chem 2, biochem, cellular biology.

I have zero chem background whatsoever. Do you think this is even doable? If I can just make it through this year with a decently competitve GPA I think I'd be okay but I'm a little worried.

I would not try to do all of that in one winter semester. That is 4 science classes. Can you take summer courses? If it is possible to spread that out I'd do it, but if not I guess that it'll be pretty tough.

The thing you have to understand about chemistry is it is full of pre-med/dental/dietician/pharmacy/PhD students. As a result everyone is competing for an A with a limited number of As to go around. I would definately not recommend doing 4 science classes in 1 semester. I would stick to doing 2 a semester.

Intro to chem isn't as hard as it is usually full of non-science majors. But once you get to biochem, organic chem or things like that then you are competing against the best HS students in the state who are trying hard to get an A.

So I would only do 2 hard science courses a semester. And I would get a copy of the syllabus and the book before the course even starts and I would study the material beforehand. Heck, starting your studying now isn't a bad idea.

My reccomendations:

Only take 2 science courses a semester

Study the syllabus before you even start class, make sure you have an intermediate knowlege before the class even starts (ie you feel confident you'd pass the class)

Spend 10+ hours a week studying per class. Take the practice tests (you'd be suprised how similiar these are to the real test), take the tests from last year.

Hire a tutor who did great in those courses


I was a lazy ass student in college and didn't do any of that. I got Bs and B-s in my chem courses with a few C+s. I got by on talent, not hard work. If you want an A, A- or B+ you have to work really hard for them. Not to be condescending, I'm just letting you know whats up before it happens.

I'm sure its possible, but the only thing that worries me is the 4 science courses in 1 semester.

[dolphingirl]

I would not try to do all of that in one winter semester. That is 4 science classes. Can you take summer courses? If it is possible to spread that out I'd do it, but if not I guess that it'll be pretty tough.

The thing you have to understand about chemistry is it is full of pre-med/dental/dietician/pharmacy/PhD students. As a result everyone is competing for an A with a limited number of As to go around. I would definately not recommend doing 4 science classes in 1 semester. I would stick to doing 2 a semester.

Intro to chem isn't as hard as it is usually full of non-science majors. But once you get to biochem, organic chem or things like that then you are competing against the best HS students in the state who are trying hard to get an A.

So I would only do 2 hard science courses a semester. And I would get a copy of the syllabus and the book before the course even starts and I would study the material beforehand. Heck, starting your studying now isn't a bad idea.

My reccomendations:

Only take 2 science courses a semester

Study the syllabus before you even start class, make sure you have an intermediate knowlege before the class even starts (ie you feel confident you'd pass the class)

Spend 10+ hours a week studying per class. Take the practice tests (you'd be suprised how similiar these are to the real test), take the tests from last year.

Hire a tutor who did great in those courses


I was a lazy ass student in college and didn't do any of that. I got Bs and B-s in my chem courses with a few C+s. I got by on talent, not hard work. If you want an A, A- or B+ you have to work really hard for them. Not to be condescending, I'm just letting you know whats up before it happens.

I'm sure its possible, but the only thing that worries me is the 4 science courses in 1 semester.

Thanks again for the replies. The issue though is that I can't do 2 per semester, there is no other way around it, it HAS to be done this way, as per faculty requirements because of the fact I'm already coming in with a degree and have certain transfer courses, and unfortunately these are not them.

I don't know with this, it just sucks. I had a small breakdown today, I really want this so bad but it worries me firstly how competitive it is and secondly that if you don't get that Internship, I'm afraid the degree is likely not going to be much help whatsoever. Can I justify 4-5 years and all this money chasing after the dream in hopes it works out?

My parents are always pushing me into a 'professional' career and this is really the only 'professional' career I can think of that I wouldn't want to wake up and kill myself while working at. I was strongly considering teaching but more and more, it's not me so there isn't much point taking that degree at this point.

I am planning to preread though, without a doubt. I started reading through a Grade 12 chem text book a few days ago and am almost halfway through. If I can grasp that, then I'll go buy the intro chem university texts.

I suppose the good thing is if this year doesn't work out, then it's one year; not that big of a deal. It's after this year, if I get into the program, spend another 2-3 years and don't get the Internship that it becomes a huge dissapointment.

I just wish I was passionate about something else where the jobs were way more plentiful and it wasn't so hard to get the necessary education/experience. I don't need to make a lot of money at a career to be happy but I do need to survive.

The only other things I can think of that I may enjoy would be some type of sales (cellular maybe...) or heck, even restaurant/retail management. I just cannot sit in a tiny cubicle all day. But then with restaurant management I've heard bad things with that and how can you maintain a family life at all...

I did see a job posting for Red Lobster though starting at 37K....so just about applied. :p

[dolphingirl]

If it is that competitive, then perhaps it would be good to defer for a year and spend that time really preparing so that you have the best advantage you can.

And with this, it's not this upcoming year that's super competitve, I would just need a 3.0 in all these science courses, it's after I'm in where it gets bad. The advisor said there was 35 spots to fill. It is a good point though and potentially then I could look into maybe doing it part-time or something, if they allow that.

[Steve Grabowski]

Thanks again for the replies. The issue though is that I can't do 2 per semester, there is no other way around it, it HAS to be done this way, as per faculty requirements because of the fact I'm already coming in with a degree and have certain transfer courses, and unfortunately these are not them.

I don't know with this, it just sucks. I had a small breakdown today, I really want this so bad but it worries me firstly how competitive it is and secondly that if you don't get that Internship, I'm afraid the degree is likely not going to be much help whatsoever. Can I justify 4-5 years and all this money chasing after the dream in hopes it works out?

My parents are always pushing me into a 'professional' career and this is really the only 'professional' career I can think of that I wouldn't want to wake up and kill myself while working at. I was strongly considering teaching but more and more, it's not me so there isn't much point taking that degree at this point.

I am planning to preread though, without a doubt. I started reading through a Grade 12 chem text book a few days ago and am almost halfway through. If I can grasp that, then I'll go buy the intro chem university texts.

I suppose the good thing is if this year doesn't work out, then it's one year; not that big of a deal. It's after this year, if I get into the program, spend another 2-3 years and don't get the Internship that it becomes a huge dissapointment.

I just wish I was passionate about something else where the jobs were way more plentiful and it wasn't so hard to get the necessary education/experience. I don't need to make a lot of money at a career to be happy but I do need to survive.

The only other things I can think of that I may enjoy would be some type of sales (cellular maybe...) or heck, even restaurant/retail management. I just cannot sit in a tiny cubicle all day. But then with restaurant management I've heard bad things with that and how can you maintain a family life at all...

I did see a job posting for Red Lobster though starting at 37K....so just about applied. :p

I would strongly recommend taking a year off to study this stuff before you start school. Hire a tutor and just study in your spare time for a year. That way when you start school you are alot more likely to get the 3.3 GPA that is required to get into an internship. Talk to students who 'made it' and ask them how they did it.

A great tutor can make an amazing difference. I got a C in physics II, but I got a B+ in physics I (barely missed the cutoff for an A-) because the AI was a great tutor.

My degree is a BS in biochemistry. I am assuming Chem 30 is remedial chem and Chem 1 is introductory chem (where I went to school we called them Chem 101 and Chem 117). I wouldn't worry too much about 117 and 118 (Chem 1 and 2). I'd still study ahead, but overall they aren't going to be as many grade whores as there are in organic chem or biochem.

I really don't know what to tell you, your situation seems really tough. I can give you advice on the chem aspect of it, but not on the 2-3 years as a dietician student. I'm sorry the situation is like this. But isn't there any way a degree in nutrition can still be used in your career? Are you 100% certain that a degree in nutrition instead of being a registered dietician is a dead end? Can you go to grad school for a MS in a dietician/food science field and try again for an internship if you don't make the undergrad cut?

http://www.dietitian.com/rds.html

"My Bachelor's degree is in Dietetics with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. My Master's degree is in Nutrition with a minor in counseling and guidance from North Dakota State University in Fargo. I am registered with the American Dietetic Association and licensed in Minnesota. I did not do an internship, but completed practical experience during graduate school instead. I worked one year as a student dietitian at the University of Illinois Research Hospital in Chicago between my bachelor's and master's degrees."



Sorry about the breakdown. I had one last week and it wasn't pretty. I started taking rhodiola and bacopa (anti-anxiety herbs) and that cleared it up. But it was pretty bad.

[shorty]

Your plan sounds do-able. But it's not going to be easy. Four science classes is quite a bit, but you can do it. I'm a chemistry major. My last two years of school were all science or engineering classes. It wasn't easy, but it's possible.

Do any of the classes include labs? It's a lot harder with labs, mostly because the labs take up so much freaking time. I'm also assuming you're not going to be working full time while you do this...

I'm not sure what the exact class descriptions are for your classes, so it's hard to give you advice. But intro chem (general chem) and organic chem actually aren't all that related. I've been told that people who do well in general chem usually don't do well in organic because they're so different, and vice versa (not that you can't do well in both). In my opinion, organic chem is more like bio, because there is a lot more memorization, as opposed to the math involved in general chemistry.

Depending on what you're taught, you may also find that some of the class material overlaps. Some of my bio, biochem, and organic chem classes and similar material. Of course, I also didn't take them all at the same time...

It'll take a lot of dedication to do this, so I hope this is something you really want to do and you aren't just doing it because your parents want you to have a 'professional' career. I really don't know your background/abilities in science, but it'll take a lot of hard work and you really need to want this.

If you do decide to do it, remember to ask your professors for help if you need it. Don't wait until it's too late. Try to make friends in your classes if possible, or at least talk to them. They can help you out with things or you guys could even form a study group. And some schools offer free tutoring, so you might want to look into that.

I don't know what to say about the dietician program though.

I don't want to scare you off, but I guess you also have to remember that I'm a chemistry major so the classes may have seemed easier to me because I was more used to it. But I think a good indication would be to see how well you've done in your past science classes. Were they easy? Okay? Hard? Impossible?

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[dolphingirl]

Thanks for both the replies.

Yes, unfortunately all classes except biochem include labs so it will be hard, without a doubt. It is something I really want though I just need to focus in. My first year university I had calculus, bio and some other harder courses and I had a 3.7 so I know it's in me to do it, as long as I can grasp the basic chem understanding.

It's really comforting to know though organic chem is kind of similar to bio, I'm better at bio I think, or have been in the past. I've done physiology which is fairly science based and did relatively well.

Another option I could do, just thinking with these chem. courses, I could take the course through a distance learning (correspondence) university we have here as they would transfer directly over to the degree program. Then I could likely sneak into the classes at the university so I had a prof and lecture notes; I would just basically be doing exams and assignments through correspondence. Maybe that is a better option? Since then there are no other students to compete against. I'd be scared to do the chemistry just by correspondence but if I sat in the uni class, then potentially it wouldn't be an issue.

I would definitely not be doing this just because it's a 'professional' career though, oddly enough it's all the other 'professional' careers my parents try and push me into, if anything they'd probably try and talk me out of this one - I want this one for myself, with every ounce of my being. :)

The nutrition stuff I'm not worried about at all. I think I will enjoy those courses so much, if I'm studing 8 hours a day on top of classes, I'll be thrilled to no end. I could just read that stuff endlessly. The competitiveness of it scares me a little since that is slightly out of my control (who I'm competing against) but doing the courses I have no worries about - it's just these non-nutrition chem ones.

I'm going to talk to a recruiter from the faculty I think and get a little more info about what positions there are if you don't get the Internship. If there are in fact jobs out there that would take a huge load of stress off.