he's only in 8th grade, but he's already obsessed with applying to Berkeley as his first college choice (it came up while we were registering for his high school classes for next year). Learning about chemistry has just turned a light on inside him.
Good for him! I came across chemistry much later -- 11th grade, I think -- but it had much the same effect -- suddenly something was both practical and *cool* -- beautiful, really. I actually majored in Chemical Engineering rather than Chemistry -- you still get to take a lot of the chemistry classes, but also lots of classes in application of chemistry to various things. Some people find the engineering side of it dull, but I actually loved it even more -- perhaps something for your son to keep in mind. (I'm sure he hasn't given thought yet to whether he'd prefer industry or academia in his future career, but if industry, with ChemE it's easier to find an interesting job in the field with a less advanced degree; in Chemistry, you pretty much need a PhD to make sure you're not just a lab tech.)
Berkeley has a lovely campus, very green (and great weather, too!), and the College of Chemistry is off in its own little corner, quite cozy. There is even a funny little building, perfectly cylindrical, the center of which is a rotating stage, so that one professor can be writing on the blackboard "backstage" in preparation for a class while another class is taking place in the actual lecture hall. It has excellent programs in ChemE (and Chemistry, too, I think), some of the best in the country, or at least that was the case about 10 years ago.
Berkeley was my first choice college, too, and I've never regretted going there -- it's such a vibrant campus, so many different course offerings, and so much history.
Good luck to your son! Hope he gets into Cal (provided he still wants to, of course, in four years :) and you get to see the buckeye for yourselves!
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Date: 2008-03-07 04:41 am (UTC)Good for him! I came across chemistry much later -- 11th grade, I think -- but it had much the same effect -- suddenly something was both practical and *cool* -- beautiful, really. I actually majored in Chemical Engineering rather than Chemistry -- you still get to take a lot of the chemistry classes, but also lots of classes in application of chemistry to various things. Some people find the engineering side of it dull, but I actually loved it even more -- perhaps something for your son to keep in mind. (I'm sure he hasn't given thought yet to whether he'd prefer industry or academia in his future career, but if industry, with ChemE it's easier to find an interesting job in the field with a less advanced degree; in Chemistry, you pretty much need a PhD to make sure you're not just a lab tech.)
Berkeley has a lovely campus, very green (and great weather, too!), and the College of Chemistry is off in its own little corner, quite cozy. There is even a funny little building, perfectly cylindrical, the center of which is a rotating stage, so that one professor can be writing on the blackboard "backstage" in preparation for a class while another class is taking place in the actual lecture hall. It has excellent programs in ChemE (and Chemistry, too, I think), some of the best in the country, or at least that was the case about 10 years ago.
Berkeley was my first choice college, too, and I've never regretted going there -- it's such a vibrant campus, so many different course offerings, and so much history.
Good luck to your son! Hope he gets into Cal (provided he still wants to, of course, in four years :) and you get to see the buckeye for yourselves!