Department of Chemistry
General chemistry is a core requirement for many science majors and professional training programs and is central to your success in these programs; therefore, it is essential that students are conscientious in learning the course material. We have information available to help you in Choosing Introductory Courses. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the various resources that can help you be a success, such as the Chemistry Study Center. Often students will find temporary use of tutoring services provided by either upperclassmen or professional firms to be helpful. You can obtain a list of possible tutors from the advisers' offices in Bagley Hall Room 109.
We encourage prospective students to come for a visit, talk with an adviser and perhaps sit in on a typical first year course. When calling to schedule an appointment (206-543-1610) please be sure to mention whether you would like to visit a lecture so that we can coordinate your appointment time with an appropriate class time.
Another way to check out the school and the department is by visiting the UW website or the Chemistry Department's site.
Some high school students choose to take advantage of the Running Start Program. Running Start allows 11th and 12th grade students to enroll in courses at certain local community colleges for college credit, which also count towards high school graduation (see the section on high school opportunities). AP is short for Advanced Placement; students take an advanced course at their high school, then take an exam at the end which may result in college credit or exemption.
Students who score a 4 or 5 on the AP chemistry exam are given credit for the general chemistry sequence, CHEM 142, 152 and 162. However, these students are strongly encourgaged to consider taking the honors general chemistry sequence, CHEM 145, 155, and 165 instead. Many students who have opted to take the honors general chemistry sequence have found themselves to be challenged and ultimately better prepared for the more advanced chemistry and biochemistry courses. The honors general chemistry sequence offers small class size and more individual interaction with instructors.
Hopefully, you have attended an orientation session for new or transfer students and have learned the ins and outs of registration. There are several possible reasons why you are not able to register such as your measles immunization records aren't on file, the class is restricted to a specific group of students, or you do not have the prerequisites as a part of your UW record. Web registration checks your prerequisites but if you are an incoming student there's a chance that your credits are not on the UW computer database yet.
What can you do? Go to an adviser and ask for help. We can override some restrictions for prerequisites for chemistry courses, provided you have proof of taking them at another school. We have drop-in hours in both the morning and afternoon. Most registration problems are easy to diagnose. Be prepared to hear that you need to keep trying to check for space availability in classes because students drop courses every day and the opening you are looking for can happen at anytime.
Freshman Interest Group (FIG)