[Meter]

I am starting my degree in chemistry this fall, and as such I want to be as well-prepared as possible. During the first half off my gap year, I studied quite rigorously, but only the things that interested me (at the time, I did not know that I wanted to be a chemist). Now, I would like some structure. Having taken B level chemistry in upper secondary education, I remember the basic outline, but I would still like some input if this seems like a good list for repetition and preparation.

General Chemistry

• The Atom - structure, the periodic table, valence, electronegativity
• Molecules & Ions - definitions, types of bonds, bond energies
• Quantitative Chemistry - m = nM, c = n/V
• Acids and Bases - definitions of acids and bases, acid-base theory, reactivity series, buffers, LeChatelier
• Reduction/Oxidation - Redox equations

Physical Chemistry

• Ideal Gases - pV = nRT
• Thermodynamics - isobaric/isochoric/etc. states

Organic Chemistry

• Naming Compounds
• Resonance*
• Stereochemistry
• Reaction mechanisms

*I went over this during my self studies and I do not think repetition would hurt.

What else should I nail down to have a solid foundation for university? It could be outside of the normal HS/upper secondary education curriculum.

[MNIO]

That's a good start but i'd like to suggest a couple of habits that, in my humble opinion, the best students practice and a couple of background topics that you should know before your class begins.

best habits
(1) Buy the book before the start of the class and start reading. For a Fall class, I'd pickup the books about June/July and start teaching myself.
(2)  Stay at least 1 chapter ahead of the class throughout the semester.  Work out the end of chapter problems on your own.  Even if you don't understand everything or make mistakes, doing this will expose you to the topics and make lectures understandable.  It will make the difference between understanding and hearing gibberish.  AND it will make studying for tests... much easier.
(3) Know your resources.  You're going to need help throughout the course.  You can find help from websites (here, yahoo answers, khan academy, YouTube, general googling, etc), from TA's (do use them, their the ones writing grading your exams!!!), from old tests and old homeworks, etc.  You have an incredible advantage that I didn't have.  You have a world of information at your fingertips.  You can google anything these days and get realtime data and realtime help... use it!
(4) Form study groups.  You would be surprised out how much better your understanding of a topic will be by repeating it.  And study groups will force you to talk about topics, think through them and repeat information.  Discussions among your peers will be invaluable.  Meet a couple of times per week (depending on your homework schedule) at a convenient starbucks. 
(5) Teach yourself.  You need to understand and accept the fact that at the college level, instructors are not there to crack open your skull and pour knowledge into it.  They are more like "guides".  Instructors are not responsible for teaching you the material.  You are responsible for learning the material. As such, I would highly recommend you certainly workout all the homework problems, AND all the rest of the end of chapter problems.  If you don't have time, at least glance at the other problems and formulate a plan of attack.  The more problems you solve, the better your understanding will be and the faster and more accurate you will be during test times.
(6) Be punctual.  It's insane to loss points because you turn in homework late.  It looks bad if you walk into class late.  Do the homework and have it completed at least 24hrs before it's due.  Then look it over 1 more time before you turn it in (with enough time to make corrections).  The best students had their homework done 48 hrs early (if possible) and reviewed it 24hrs before due date.  Demonstrate that you care about learning to your instructors by being on time and if borderline, you just might get the better grade.


As to basic chemistry topics that you need to learn before 1st day of class?  besides getting the book and looking over the topics, in my humble opinion you need 3 things for general chemistry
(1) a good understanding of atomic mass, molecular mass, formula unit mass, moles, and molar mass.  You should be able to define and differentiate between all those terms
(2) a good understanding of "factor label method" aka "dimensional analysis" to you chem students.  It is the basis for nearly all the math (well... it should be anyway) and all of the word problems you'll encounter in general chem.  You learn and practice this method, and your homework and exams will be easy. 
(3) sig figs.  You need to know what that means, how to identify them, and 3 operations.  mult/div, add/sub, and exponents.

you get those 3 topics nailed down, you get the book ahead of class and start teaching yourself, you follow those best habits, you'll do well!

******
one last thing, there are many different programs and degrees related to chemistry.  Make sure you've thought through them.  Chemistry, biochemistry, biochemical engineering, etc.

[Meter]

That's a good start but i'd like to suggest a couple of habits that, in my humble opinion, the best students practice and a couple of background topics that you should know before your class begins.

best habits
(1) Buy the book before the start of the class and start reading. For a Fall class, I'd pickup the books about June/July and start teaching myself.
(2)  Stay at least 1 chapter ahead of the class throughout the semester.  Work out the end of chapter problems on your own.  Even if you don't understand everything or make mistakes, doing this will expose you to the topics and make lectures understandable.  It will make the difference between understanding and hearing gibberish.  AND it will make studying for tests... much easier.
(3) Know your resources.  You're going to need help throughout the course.  You can find help from websites (here, yahoo answers, khan academy, YouTube, general googling, etc), from TA's (do use them, their the ones writing grading your exams!!!), from old tests and old homeworks, etc.  You have an incredible advantage that I didn't have.  You have a world of information at your fingertips.  You can google anything these days and get realtime data and realtime help... use it!
(4) Form study groups.  You would be surprised out how much better your understanding of a topic will be by repeating it.  And study groups will force you to talk about topics, think through them and repeat information.  Discussions among your peers will be invaluable.  Meet a couple of times per week (depending on your homework schedule) at a convenient starbucks. 
(5) Teach yourself.  You need to understand and accept the fact that at the college level, instructors are not there to crack open your skull and pour knowledge into it.  They are more like "guides".  Instructors are not responsible for teaching you the material.  You are responsible for learning the material. As such, I would highly recommend you certainly workout all the homework problems, AND all the rest of the end of chapter problems.  If you don't have time, at least glance at the other problems and formulate a plan of attack.  The more problems you solve, the better your understanding will be and the faster and more accurate you will be during test times.
(6) Be punctual.  It's insane to loss points because you turn in homework late.  It looks bad if you walk into class late.  Do the homework and have it completed at least 24hrs before it's due.  Then look it over 1 more time before you turn it in (with enough time to make corrections).  The best students had their homework done 48 hrs early (if possible) and reviewed it 24hrs before due date.  Demonstrate that you care about learning to your instructors by being on time and if borderline, you just might get the better grade.


As to basic chemistry topics that you need to learn before 1st day of class?  besides getting the book and looking over the topics, in my humble opinion you need 3 things for general chemistry
(1) a good understanding of atomic mass, molecular mass, formula unit mass, moles, and molar mass.  You should be able to define and differentiate between all those terms
(2) a good understanding of "factor label method" aka "dimensional analysis" to you chem students.  It is the basis for nearly all the math (well... it should be anyway) and all of the word problems you'll encounter in general chem.  You learn and practice this method, and your homework and exams will be easy. 
(3) sig figs.  You need to know what that means, how to identify them, and 3 operations.  mult/div, add/sub, and exponents.

you get those 3 topics nailed down, you get the book ahead of class and start teaching yourself, you follow those best habits, you'll do well!

******
one last thing, there are many different programs and degrees related to chemistry.  Make sure you've thought through them.  Chemistry, biochemistry, biochemical engineering, etc.

These are good points that I will definitely apply.

I think I have most of this is nailed down from B levels chemistry as well as A level physics. My priorities are 1) pure chemistry, 2) chemical engineering, 3) biochemistry. I will most like get into chemistry no matter (it is low demand) what, but I actually went from wanting to do biochemistry to pure chemistry after thorough thought.

[Babcock_Hall]

MNIO,

That is a great post, one that every student should read and take to heart.

Meter,

With respect to biochemistry, my advice is not to approach it as rote memorization but instead to look for the chemical logic in biochemistry.  More generally, I strongly encourage you to keep current with homework.  Watching your instructor work a problem is a little like watching an athlete exercise.  It shows the right form, but until you practice it yourself, you won't have mastered it.

[Meter]

Meter,

With respect to biochemistry, my advice is not to approach it as rote memorization but instead to look for the chemical logic in biochemistry.  More generally, I strongly encourage you to keep current with homework.  Watching your instructor work a problem is a little like watching an athlete exercise.  It shows the right form, but until you practice it yourself, you won't have mastered it.

To clarify, I am most likely not going into biochemistry, as after studying it rigorously on my own, I came to the conclusion that my underlying interest was chemistry. I will have to take a course in biochemistry for my undergraduate, though.

However, I do study quite a bit of biology in my free time, where biochemistry is applied, so your advice applies.

I like that analogy. I'll take note!