[WARRAVEN]

Hello! First time posting here! Sorry for posting here, but I'm lost to where else to. I absolutely love chemistry and am currently a junior in high school(er at the end of my junior year).
My Favorite part is probably stoichemetry(forgive me, I forgot how to spell it) and learning new and interesting things(mainly I love to do stoichemetric calculations and work with atomic things, and I love to use logic). Lately I've been questioning what I should go onto into college. I talked to a physicist and hes really got me thinking that Chemical Engineering(and I'm really looking at taking a dual degree in chemistry and chemical engineering) is the way to go and has many options later on.
I'm currently finished AP Chemistry(already took the AP test, results in July!), and will take AP Physics next year. I love physics as well(almost as much), the logical computations are another favorite part of mine(pattern?).
Now my problem, first, if you have any suggestions or ideas about what I should get into in college(fav college: Seton Hall, I pray I get in, my grades aren't the best, but my test scores are apparantly very good, and I'm looking at SAT's in the 1300's) I would love it, second, is that I have taken the highest level chem class I can, and there are no others I can take(I have taken biology and will be forced to take AP Environmental science, and am finishing AP Psychology), and my grades aren't good enough to take a afternoon course at the local college(they are getting extremely picky about that stuff lately and won't let many in).
If I plan to major in some type of chemical field, how am I supposed to have taken 2 consecutive years of Chemistry(chem-> AP Chem) after taking a year or two earlier on in life(like anywhere from 5th to 7th grade), and then go a year without taking a chem class and go onto it in college where it will probably be a real nut buster(I hope, I love to learn about this stuff)? So, anyone help me at all? Any ideas? Anything? THANKYOU!!

       Raven  

[Corvettaholic]

Chemical engineering, from what I hear, is BIG right now... and probably will be for a while. I used to be in electrical engineering before I heeded the call of business (its my thing). Some of the guys here already have chemistry related degrees, but from what I know of engineering... you can go a lot of places with the word "engineering" regardless of what type.

[hmx9123]

A few things to keep in mind (this coming from someone who has survived the rigors of a BS in Chemistry).

1. If you want to be a glorified mechanical engineer who knows everything about flow rates and practically zip about chemistry who makes craploads of money with just a BS degree, go into Chemical Engineering.  If you want to do actual wet chemistry and get nothing out of your degree until you have a PhD, go into Chemistry.

2. Engineering definitely has more job opportunities, but the higher a degree you hold, the less marketable you are.  Chemistry is the opposite.

I took chem, AP chem, and a qualitative analysis and organic chem class in HS.  Our high school was fortunate enough to have such a class.  I loved phyics and math as well in HS, and thought about going into these until I got into AP chem.  I actually was better at both physics and math than chem, but liked the chemistry better.  I still struggle with chemistry today, but I love it.  Go with what you love.

In terms of Gen Chem in college, if you've got a year off between your last chem class and your first year of college, I would take Gen Chem in college and not try and skip out on it in lieu of the AP exam.  It will be somewhat difficult, but it is also geared for those who have taken very little chemistry in HS as well, so you'll probably be OK.  If you want to read up on some chemistry, take a look at Zumdahl's Chemical Principles.  It's the most widely used general chemistry book in first year college courses.  You might also want to see if you can sit in on night classes at your local community college, just audit them, if possible.  They might not have a problem with that.  Of course, you can also just read up on some books yourself in your spare time (which is not much if I remember my HS days well).

Another thing to do is to go to a college with a chemistry program and ask to talk to some of the graduate students in chemisty and see their research labs.  Then take a look at the chemical engineering labs and see which you like better.  Just remember to visit organic, inorganic and physical chemistry labs--they're very different.  Best of luck, and if you have more questions, drop us a line.

[WARRAVEN]

Hmm, thats what interested me the most about the dual degree program. Being able to pull a chem and a chem eng. degree would be extremely beneficial, even though it probably is pretty tough. That doesn't exactly make me want to do it less though, I am at the top of my chem class currently and can't wait to get my AP grade(feel like I have a chance at the 5!). However, I know that truly, I am an engineer, I love working out how things work and interact in systems(cars, and paintball markers are my favorite), and still am considering Mech engineering. I heard that doing the dual degree from the physics eng. was probably impossible though. While I realize I shouldn't overgauge myself, I love chem and have always done well in it, and am in an honors program as is at my school. Should I throw out the dual degree option? I'm very willing to do the work. Thankyou for your *delete me*

         Raven  :devil1:

[hmx9123]

OK, you're going to have to first understand where my answer comes from.  According to my friends, I am insane.  Apparently, they think that I work too hard.  I worked three jobs and was in a dual degree program as an undergrad.  I chose two majors that were totally different--chemistry and music.  This was difficult.  My average courseload was 18.9 hours (which was brought down only by my last semester in which I had 7... you do the math) and I wound up graduating with 283 credit hours, which is incredibly excessive.

Now that you've heard that... I would go for the dual degree.  Actually, chemistry and chemical engineering aren't that far apart course wise at most universities.  I know a couple of chemistry/ChemEs.  They have the best of both worlds, in a sense, as they are considered amazing ChemEs because they actually know some chemistry, but can also work in the pure chemistry world as well.  I considered getting three degrees, and would have only had to take three more courses to get it.  I ran out of time and interest, though, as the courses were heavy in math and I didn't really care for them.  Anyway, the deal is that dual degrees are very attainable if they are similar.  If they're not, then you need to be prepared to work your ass off.  It sounds like you still have some time to decide.  Personally, my advice is to stay true to what you love.  Major in what you love, not necessarily what you're good at.  I've seen a lot of people major in what they're good at because they think it's what they love only to find out later they didn't, then wish they were somewhere else in life.  Truly, if you are somewhat of a mechanical engineer, then ChemE may be up your alley--there is a tremendous amount of fluid dynamics and flow rates involved.  It may be the right choice for you.  I would also check out Physical Chemistry, though, as many ChemEs switch to P-Chem after taking their first P-Chem course, which is typically taught the 3rd year of college.

[Mitch]

You'll learn a lot of theory with a Chemistry degree, but it seems your more interested in practical applications. Chem E / Mech E sounds like a good fit. But hey, don't trust some strangers over the net for your life decisions in general.  :punk:

[gregpawin]

If you ever decide to take a look into P-chem... you'll find yourself becoming a pseudo-physicist with a chemistry background and a heavy background in engineering.  As a physical chemist, you get very intimate with your instrumentation so have to know how everything works, can make your own instruments, and be familiar with computer programming.  Its like being a physicist/engineer without the perks of having it officially chiseled out on a degree for you.

[Donaldson Tan]

I like P-Chem and I am gonna be a chemical engineer.. school starts in october!!!