College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• California Institute of Technology
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Harvard
• Stanford
• Northwestern University

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of California—Berkeley
• University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
• University of Wisconsin—Madison
• University of Texas—Austin
• University of California—Los Angeles

Classes in the Major

Chemistry: Of course. This is where you will learn the essentials, like the difference between covalent bonds and polar bonds (and no, it isn't the temperature). Organic Chemistry (carbon) and Inorganic Chemistry (no carbon) will be tough, but if you ever get discouraged, just remember that this is the foundation of a chemical education…so if you don't like it, um, you really shouldn't major in the stuff.

Chemistry Lab: At first glance, this looks just like a normal chemistry course, doesn't it? Wrong. Instead of learning the principles and ideas behind chemistry, you're putting it all to the test. Literally. You'll be testing how chemicals react when mixed with each other. Sounds romantic, no?

Physics: Isaac Newton. Go ahead and admit it, he's the first person you think of when you hear the word, "physics." And that's okay, because he's a pretty big deal in that world. F=MA will be your BFF for these classes (it means Force equals Mass times Acceleration. You're welcome). In this course, you'll get to learn why smashing the eight ball with the cue ball gets it so close to the pocket but not in…or maybe that's just our poor billiards skills. Sigh.

Biology: The study of life. You will be learning where we came from. What could possibly be cooler than figuring out why you've got a nose and not gills? There is an almost unlimited number of subcategories of biology, but most chem majors stick to the basics. This means you'll learn about how cells are the basic units of life, how evolution is the motor that propels species and genes, and that DNA contains more information than you could ever care to know.

Math: Oh yeah, there will be math. Those high school pre-calculus courses won't be the end of your math careers, Shmoopers. Oh yeah, and you'll probably take some statistics, too. Certain schools lump stats and math together, while others want you to do both. Hope you like predicting the outcomes of coin flips and calculating derivatives…