Chem major at UW

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IceTeaanMilk

Member
Im planning on being a chem major and I will mos def got to grad school. Im not sure whether i should attend UW because I here that the classes are huge and its almost impossible to do "meaningful" research as an undergrad. Is anyone a science or engineering major at UW? Do you feel like its a good education? Do you have undergrad research opprotunities? My other school choice is the smaller Seattle U.
 
Im a ChemE major at UW. Dont expect to be handed meaningful research opportunities. You need to get to know your professors and demonstrate to them that you are worth having around. If you are going to grad school, then a chem degree from UW means a whole lot more than one from Seattle U. Your schools standing can really hurt you on grad apps. Gen Chem is in big classes, and whether or not you want to get to know your professor is up to you. Also dont expect to do any research in your first 2 years unless you are a dynamo student in the honors program. You can skip gen chem series if you got a 5 on the AP chem exam. Honors program chem is in smaller classrooms, but is 4x the workload (at least) for an equivalent grade.

Good luck!

Also choose Chem E instead because it is far more awesome...~
 
Two things:

1. Holy shit, a Squiggles post that is not sarcastic, detracting, or insulting? Careful, they might find out how you really are...

2. Don't expect to come to the last days of Stevens being open. I assume that school is to blame.
 
I don't know any thing about being a chem major at UW. But. My mom is an Organic Chemistry teacher at central washington universtiy. /Claim sort of. if that can be claimed.
 
First a bit of an ass comment: I hope you work on your spelling/grammar before you think about a master's degree, yikes! This internet generation is killing me!

I got my bachelor's in aeronautical engineering at UW, I loved my time there. I can't speak for the other engineering programs there, but the aero program is top notch. Great labs/facilities, great faculty, etc. The school is big, but the group you are in gets smaller the more specialized you get, and the further along you get. My first two years of engineering fundamental classes were quite large, then my first year in the aero department there was about 60 of us together, and as we got more focused on certain areas of interest (aerodynamics, and stability & control for myself) classes/groups got smaller yet (15-30 people). The graduate programs are even more specialized. The overall vibe of the engineering departments at UW is great.

There is the engineering open house coming up soon... this weekend maybe? I can't remember. They will have a lot of the labs open (check out the Kirsten Wind tunnel, I spent a LOT of time in there).
 
enginerding open house is 23rd of april. that would be friday.

From someone not yet in the program, it sucks. I am really not sure if I will be able to get in. It is supper competitive. You will be competing against the smartest and best kids from the state, country, and world, to get a spot in the departments. I had a rough transition into college, and got my ass handed to me my first year.

The result is that my GPA is down in the 3.0 range (less if you don't include ROTC classes). This leaves me not sure if I will be able to get into an engineering major. If that happens I will be up shits creek, 120 credits into a degree I can't get. Some can transition into a physics major, or something else, but I did not come to UW for their physics program.

If I was to do it all over again, I would go to bcc or similar for my underclassmen years and transfer into UW. The education is the same, and bcc does not treat their STEM underclassmen like shit.

Here are some facts about some STEM classes at the UW:

~30% of the students in Chem 142 will fail the class, regardless of how well the class does as a whole. It is designed this way.

~20% will fail Physics 121. Again by design.

~35-50% fail CSE 142, this is not by design, but more due to the fact that 10% of the class already know everything and so the curve is supper high.

~the availability of extra help is very low, and decreasing.

~The number of professors who teach intro/prereqs who are judged on their teaching ability is zero.

There is very little about the UW that I like. Everything that I like about the UW has almost nothing to do with the University.

Currently it is a sink or swim program. They toss all the STEM students into the deep end, wait until only 30% are left and take those students in. There is really no motivation from anyone in the University to help underclass students. They view it as a waist of time and money that would be better spent on research. At BCC, your instructors are actually there to help you learn the material. This is not true at the UW.

I would not do my first few years of a STEM degree at the UW, you can get a better and cheaper education elsewhere.

And yes, there are a lot of cool projects going on at the School. Microsoft is working with the CSE program. Apple works with them to make iphone apps. Lance Armstrong uses the Wind Tunnel. Lambrogini works with the AA department.

Woop de fuckin do. All this means is that there are more things that rate as more important to the UW then your education.

Undergraduate education is probably the lowest priority for the University.

BTW I am hoping for a BSAA, with a minor in math and military science.
 
Thanks for the replies and of course my grammer isnt like this when I write a school paper, its internet talk and its not a big deal.
 
mr commander is just butthurt because he thought he could waltz through school while selling ac40s and shit, but it didnt happen.
Sure his lament has some credence, as most programs (at most schools) has a weed-out process. This can be daunting as you're supposed to be churned out as average and unfit for whatever programs you're after, but if you persevere, seek the help when needed (and yes, it is available. every class I've had has always had numerous options for assistance, be it with a professor, TA, or through the various workshops and programs on campus), and sacrifice some things that seem too precious to sacrifice (ie skiing) then you could do really well. Then again I'm not doing engineering or chem (fortunately), but I had to go through what is probably an equally competitive process, so I aint foreign to such things.
UW shit be good
 
I have not had a class yet that had adequate time available. I am talking TA and professor face time. They made OH, but if you showed up less then 30 min early, then there was little chance of them having time for you. Trying to arrange other times with the course staff is next to impossible for most of them. They have too many things going on that they view as more important then your education. Why? because they are not judged on your education. The last thing the University looks at when deciding on keeping/hiring faculty and teaching staff is their teaching ability. The amount of grant money they can bring in is way more important. I have been told by a professor, that he did not have time for my questions on his subject matter.

And no you are not in a STEM major. While your major is very competitive, most of the underclass men pre-reqs are not curved around a 2.7 or 2.9 (meaning half the class will get a 2.7/2.9 or below).

The amount of emphasis on teaching STEM underclassmen is zero. The amount of support is zero. It is either you figure out how to do it, or you down. And it does not mean anything to anybody if you drown.

The other part of the weed out process that bugs me is that it is not based on your ability, but rather your reported ability relative to your classmates. It does not matter if everyone is smart and hard working. 90% of the people who come to the University for a STEM major are. What matters is that you are smarter and work harder then 60% of all those other kids in your class.

They do not mention this at all, it is something that is hard to see coming too. I had no idea that they would just say 'too bad' to 50-60% of the potential students.

The UW actively recruits the top of all WA graduates and then says "oh fuck you" to a good portion of them.

The lack of competence in the UW's staff is also amazing. I have had advisors look at my plans and say: "yep, you'll graduate with this" and then a couple months later another advisor will notice that I am missing something.

I have had TA's tell me that they did not know how to do the assigned HW.

Going to the UW is up there in the top 5, if not #1, worst decisions of my life.

The UW itself has nothing to do with any of the things I like about the school environment.
 
Well fuck, I just committed to UW, but not for chemistry, do all of the classes suck as much as you seem to think, cobra commander? I am thinking of majoring in either political science or some sort of biological science.

Everyone else who is at UW, is Cobra Commander just a whiner, or is what he is describing really how it is? Any tips on how to get over that?

Also where should I get a pass to next year, are there any deals where I can get a pass to like Snoqualmie, Stevens and Crystal in one because they all seem like they have different strengths and weaknesses.
 
Alright, so cobra commander is just a whiny bitch? sweet.

So where should i get a pass to? Im from california, and the only mountain i've been to in Washington is baker and thats super far away. Where are all the shredders from UW skiing?
 
stevens, maaayybe snoqualmie, but I cant endorse that without feeling dirty, so stevens pass.
seeing as how the UW was the only school I applied to, it has been pretty sweet. Top 5 decisions certainly, contrary to cobras worst 5.
 
I go to SU and its the shit, but its really what your looking for. A lot smaller classes where professors actually know you, at Udub you'll have huge classes etc.If you have questions pm me. Not sure how the school is for CHem, but for business we are ranked 2 places after Udub although we are much smaller. Might be ranked above them next year.......well see
 
I will be a freshmen at UW this coming fall.

And plan on going into Engineering. I have no problem with it being hard, I just don't want it to be impossible hard.

Anyone doing Early Fall Start?

Since I will be coming from Boston, and I won't really know people out there, I think it is a great way to get a head start on the school, and hopefully it will make the transition easier.

I plan to get a pass to Stevens, and I will hopefully be able to snag rides up there on a regular basis.

I am stoked for next year.
 
Billy-

I didn't read your second long post (too long!) but I did read your first one about the STEM class structure, etc and how they weed out students. It sounds shitty yes, and it may seem unnecessarily competitive, but unfortunately that's the reality of the engineering industry. As someone now in industry I can tell you what they put you through now can be ridiculous and at times uncomfortable, but it will do nothing but prepare you for the real world post-college.

To be a good engineer you can't rely on help from others - being self-driven and self-sufficient is a necessity. If a professor sucks, or the TA's aren't available enough, you need to teach the class to yourself. You've got the textbooks.

I guarantee, whichever program you go into, things are MUCH much better once you're in the program. The work doesn't get easier, it gets harder, a lot harder, but its more interesting, its more fun, you'll get more motivated if you have a real passion for what you're learning about. But you have to go through the shit of the engineering fundamentals classes before you can do that, and don't ever think to yourself "when will I ever use this?" because you will use EVERYTHING you learn in the fundamentals classes.

Push hard!!!!!
 
this is really good for me to read.

although i have no intentions whatsoever about studying chem, let alone science in general, i'm glad to hear some first hand experience of classes like this.

btw, congrats on 10,000 post cobra
 
WHATCOM COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPRESENT FUCK 4 YEAR

I'm actually just not smart enough for a four year university. So CC represent. YEAH.
 
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