[want to get into chem grad school as bio major, lack p-chem, what to do?]

Thanks to everyone for responding. I am currently taking physical biochemistry (mostly thermo and spectroscopy) due to it being the only "physical chemistry" class i have prerequisites for (the school of physical sciences strictly enforces all prerequisites). However I'm struggling in all of my biology classes; I've struggled in the past and even ended up with an F once, but I clung on to the idea of studying something biology related since I felt i knew nothing else, but now I've decided to move as far away from biology related subjects as possible since I found I knew nothing about biology either. Indeed, as I do more research on fluorescence markers, the more I dislike it. I'm also taking a materials class, and find it more applicable and compatible with my interests. I just want to do nothing related to biology anymore. Don't want to see a cell, hear about DNA, memorize a process or operate an optical microscope ever again.

Are there any programs that are interdisciplinary between chemistry and materials engineering? There are many such programs between physics and chemistry in chemical and materials physics, but those require far more prerequisites that i do not have, and the classes themselves are harder. materials engineering (at least at my current school) has much lower prerequisites to entry and lower requirements to graduate (1 quarter of introductory solid state physics, while the chemical physics program needs 3 quarters of "real" solid state physics). Is that generalized to all schools? If so, will the Chem GRE still be an asset?

[Correcting a Mistake?]

bring it up with the PI. try to be more understanding as well, they're just trying to do their job. at least the PI cares enough to explain?

what school is this? too bad the PI is in electrical engineering =( seems like i have no hope to get in =)

wanted to trade spots with you haha.

[want to get into chem grad school as bio major, lack p-chem, what to do?]

I can't remember the exact make-up of the chem GRE but I seem to recall that, while organic was the biggest chunk (~30%), p-chem weighed in at around 25%. So you're not going to get a good score without being up on your p-chem. You will need to know both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. Note that your physical biochemistry class is going to be mostly thermo. Could you learn quantum on your own? Yes, but be warned, it's very math heavy and theoretical in nature. A lot of people have trouble with it in a regular classroom setting. It is probably the chem class that students struggle with both.

I would guess that you could get a reasonable score on the GRE (~60-70th percentile) but I doubt you could get 80th or better.

i got a tutor for quantum chemistry =) it should be OK. i'm just aiming for anything above a 70 to prove to schools that i'm competent. hope this works out. thanks alot!

[want to get into chem grad school as bio major, lack p-chem, what to do?]

Didn't they make you take any p-chem at all? At my alma mater, the biochemistry majors took a "survey of p-chem" course (1 quarter as opposed to 1 year of the "real" stuff).

See, the problem is that you are really going to need thermodynamics to do what you want to do. Even if you took *some* p-chem, even a survey course, you would be a much better applicant. Check out your school's offerings and see if there's something that would allow you to get this background.

yes i can take a watered down "physical biochemistry" class in fall. it's alot weaker than real p-chem though i'm still taking it to gain experience. would taking the chemistry GRE and getting a high score on it prove my competence in chemistry though?

[Applying to chemistry phd with BS in other field, lack prereqs?]

would getting above 80% on the chemistry GRE test prove competence to make up for the wrong classes?

it's mostly because i was stupid and took "physics for biologists" instead of "classical physics".

[want to get into chem grad school as bio major, lack p-chem, what to do?]

i'm graduating in next year with a BS in biological sciences focused on biochemistry and molecular biology. however, i've found that the "chemistry" part of biochemistry is more interesting and easier to learn than the "bio" part. found most molecular biology class to be meaningless vocabulary crunching and detail memorization, made harder by being international student. labs also were not much better. this was in contrast to the year of organic chemistry and the labs which while challenging, was so in a way that made me think. i particularly enjoyed the introduction to IR and NMR spectroscopy and the synthesis problems. got A in the classes and B in the labs. mostly interested in analytical or organic chemistry, specifically small molecule markers for biological macromolecules but would be happy to work with any chemistry research with direct biotech application.

the problem is, because i made a mistake and took the wrong physics class, i can't take a physical chemistry class, so i'm worried that schools will think that i do not have the chemical background to go to graduate school in chemistry. i'm on a tight schedule and tight money so repeat 1 year is too much. is there anything i can do to prove that i am competent enough in chemistry to go to any graduate program? i don't care about ranking of the school since i do not want to go into academia, but would like the rigorous training that a PHD recieves.

[Applying to chemistry phd with BS in other field, lack prereqs?]

i'm graduating in next year with a BS in biological sciences focused on biochemistry and molecular biology. however, i've found that the "chemistry" part of biochemistry is more interesting and easier to learn than the "bio" part. found most molecular biology class to be meaningless vocabulary crunching and detail memorization, made harder by being international student. labs also were not much better. this was in contrast to the year of organic chemistry and the labs which while challenging, was so in a way that made me think. i particularly enjoyed the introduction to IR and NMR spectroscopy and the synthesis problems. in addition, IR, NMR and synthesis are concrete skills that make someone a better worker while knowing 90% of molecular biology is useless for the workplace. in the light of molecular biology being both not useful and not interesting, i decided to pursue my graduate education in analytical or organic chemistry, specifically biotech applications such as synthesis and applications of small molecule molecular probes for macromolecule labeling though i'd be fine working with most things outside of quantum and physical chemistry.

the only problem is, because i made a mistake and took the wrong physics class, i can't take a physical chemistry class, so i'm worried that schools will think that i do not have the chemical background to go to graduate school in chemistry. i'm on a tight schedule and tight money so repeat 1 year is too much. is there anything i can do to prove that i am competent enough in chemistry to go to any graduate program? i don't care about ranking of the school since i do not want to go into academia, but would like the rigorous training that a PHD recieves.