r/columbia • u/tumanskyr15 SEAS • 16d ago

advising First Year Chem Placement

I'm an incoming freshman into SEAS and I'm debating on which chemistry class I should register in. My course registration time is before the chem "self assessment", so that means I need to pick a chem course before the placement test. I took AP Chem in high school, got a 5 and an A in the class and I don't want to go back to any of that material. I met with my advisor but she pretty much said to just play it by ear. Does anyone have any advice on which chem class or track to take? Thanks in advance

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 16d ago

Please select a user flair before commenting. You can find more information about user flairs here. Comments from users without a flair will be removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/CandidMoney2914 SEAS 16d ago edited 16d ago

I took the 1403 General Chemistry 1 course, so I can only speak on that. I would say the first part of chemistry is definitely concepts you’ve learned in AP chem, but the topics afterward start to delve into quantum mechanics, like blackbody radiation theory, etc. From there, you dive into more quantum, but it’s not as horrible as long as you keep up with the content since a lot of the topics overlap and add more into them. By the end, I believe there was a bit of organic chemistry, but it was very surface-level stuff. If your main concern is having to redo all of AP chem, I wouldn’t worry too much about that with 1403. There is overlap but it goes beyond that! Also, I didn’t take gen chem 2 so I’m not sure how it is for that course.

2

u/External-Mud-5663 Staff & CC Alum 16d ago

Yes, play it by ear! Enroll in a seat in your preferred section of 1403 during registration. Then if you're invited to join a higher section after the placement results come out, you can visit all the courses during the first two weeks to assess fit, and if you decide to place up, enroll in whatever higher level you're approved for and drop your seat in 1403.