[InadequateJusticex]

Does anyone have any good recommendations? Or if there aren't any good books for Organic Chemistry does anyone know any good general (chemistry) books to read over the summer? Thanks

[gingerbreadman85]

The organic chemistry bible:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Chem...2983919&sr=8-1
On the reading list for pretty much every uni course. You'll find everything from the basic mechanisms that you know already up to the super advanced stuff.

Pete Wothers is the guy that runs the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by gingerbreadman85)
The organic chemistry bible:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Chem...2983919&sr=8-1
On the reading list for pretty much every uni course. You'll find everything from the basic mechanisms that you know already up to the super advanced stuff.

Pete Wothers is the guy that runs the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.

Oh thanks It has over 1000+ pages though...they wouldn't expect me to read all of that would they? Which bits SHOULD I read? How would I be able to incorporate this into my PS?

[Idris Dragon]

The Oxford Chemistry Primers are always a good place to start for wider reading.

Clayden has a new edition out btw. 1st edition of CGWW is totally hopeless and in places just plain wrong for anything analytical.

[gingerbreadman85]

Wow, new edition of Clayden.....

I found the first edition useful for my purposes!

If you are looking for something to put on your UCAS PS, better to start reading some current stuff rather than textbooks, shows an active interest in the field and gives you things you can talk about in your PS and at interview. Check out http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/ for starters.

[JMaydom]

I'd definitely recommend the Oxford chemistry primers. The problem with the clayden et al book as described above is that it rapidly becomes useless once you reach a certain stage.....
I would fully agree that clayden was the organic chemistry bible, but only for uni 1st year topics, after that it has been hopeless.
If you want a book that you can continue with as a good investment then use March's organic chemistry. My senior tutor described this as the Dictionary of chemistry as there is so much information crammed into it. It isn't as readable as clayden by a huge margin so it's not good for introducing subjects and it's not laid out that well but i still think it's a better book.

I know you're probably not looking for an advanced book, but that's why I'd suggest the primers as they take a lot of time to explain the foundations of the subject in a rigorous manner

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by Idris Dragon)
The Oxford Chemistry Primers are always a good place to start for wider reading.

Clayden has a new edition out btw. 1st edition of CGWW is totally hopeless and in places just plain wrong for anything analytical.

(Original post by JMaydom)
I'd definitely recommend the Oxford chemistry primers. The problem with the clayden et al book as described above is that it rapidly becomes useless once you reach a certain stage.....
I would fully agree that clayden was the organic chemistry bible, but only for uni 1st year topics, after that it has been hopeless.
If you want a book that you can continue with as a good investment then use March's organic chemistry. My senior tutor described this as the Dictionary of chemistry as there is so much information crammed into it. It isn't as readable as clayden by a huge margin so it's not good for introducing subjects and it's not laid out that well but i still think it's a better book.

I know you're probably not looking for an advanced book, but that's why I'd suggest the primers as they take a lot of time to explain the foundations of the subject in a rigorous manner

Thanks guys, I'll definitely look into these primers Thing is though it's in dollars so it'll probably ship from America and I heard that after the Olympics start all deliveries will have to wait until the olympics are finished? So I probably won't be able to read these until September or so :/

But is reading one enough? They wouldn't expect me to have read more than one would they? I heard that if you mention in your PS that you read journals like NewScientist they expect you to have read most of the editions?

[Aramiss18]

(Original post by InadequateJusticex)
Thanks guys, I'll definitely look into these primers Thing is though it's in dollars so it'll probably ship from America and I heard that after the Olympics start all deliveries will have to wait until the olympics are finished? So I probably won't be able to read these until September or so :/

But is reading one enough? They wouldn't expect me to have read more than one would they? I heard that if you mention in your PS that you read journals like NewScientist they expect you to have read most of the editions?

Chemistry is majorly undersubscribed dude. As long as you get ABB and show a bit of enthusiasm you'll get a few offers Also, I concur with the literature recommendations thus far. However I see you haven't taken A-Level physics. It's not a major drama (at least you have maths!!) but that will be your weakness to begin with- target that with some wider reading. But above all just ace your A-levels.

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by Aramiss18)
Chemistry is majorly undersubscribed dude. As long as you get ABB and show a bit of enthusiasm you'll get a few offers Also, I concur with the literature recommendations thus far.

Yeah I know, that's a good and bad thing at the same time Well, I really want to get into a decent university so just ABB isn't enough...I looked at the stalking pages of some of the universities I want to apply to and so many people have amazing EC (not to mention grades!) so I need something that will make my application stand out as much as theirs, even by just a bit. And I'm genuinely interested in organic chemistry so I was gonna buy the primer(s) even if I wasn't going to mention it in my PS

[Aramiss18]

(Original post by InadequateJusticex)
Yeah I know, that's a good and bad thing at the same time Well, I really want to get into a decent university so just ABB isn't enough...I looked at the stalking pages of some of the universities I want to apply to and so many people have amazing EC (not to mention grades!) so I need something that will make my application stand out as much as theirs, even by just a bit. And I'm genuinely interested in organic chemistry so I was gonna buy the primer(s) even if I wasn't going to mention it in my PS

Tbh almost all universities that offer chemistry are decent universities. Make sure you note my edit (above about the physics). Goodluck.

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by Aramiss18)
Tbh almost all universities that offer chemistry are decent universities. Make sure you note my edit (above about the physics). Goodluck.

True, but I meant the very top like Imperial and Durham. People applying to those are pretty much Oxbridge material and my application sucks compared to theirs. And thanks for the heads up, but I absolutely HATE physics so no, I won't do wider reading on Physics (I thought the only Physics stuff that comes up is Thermodynamics and Physical Chemistry?)

[Aramiss18]

(Original post by InadequateJusticex)
True, but I meant the very top like Imperial and Durham. People applying to those are pretty much Oxbridge material and my application sucks compared to theirs. And thanks for the heads up, but I absolutely HATE physics so no, I won't do wider reading on Physics (I thought the only Physics stuff that comes up is Thermodynamics and Physical Chemistry?)

There are also courses on Quantum Chemistry, Kinetics and Computational Chemistry and these draw heavily from physics. I know of people who tried to avoid the nitty gritty of physical chemistry and the head-in-sand method doesn't work.

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by Aramiss18)
There are also courses on Quantum Chemistry, Kinetics and Computational Chemistry and these draw heavily from physics. I know of people who tried to avoid the nitty gritty of physical chemistry and the head-in-sand method doesn't work.

I'm not terrible at Physics (I don't think I am anyway..) I just don't like it. Pretty sure none of that come up on the A level Physics syllabus anyway? As long as they go over it in lectures then that's all I really need methinks. If not, I can just ask someone clever to explain it to me. Problem solved. No wider reading needed

[Idris Dragon]

Maths is required by most universities. They generally don't expect Biology/Physics, but it's always helpful; they'll thus teach you any physics and biology you'll need to know.

[JMaydom]

If you are interested in Chemistry at Oxford, be prepared for a hell load of maths!

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by Idris Dragon)
Maths is required by most universities. They generally don't expect Biology/Physics, but it's always helpful; they'll thus teach you any physics and biology you'll need to know.

Well that's absolutely fine as I like the Maths in Chemistry (at A level, anyway)

(Original post by JMaydom)
If you are interested in Chemistry at Oxford, be prepared for a hell load of maths!

Haha fortunately I'm not applying to Oxford. A waste of choice really, seeing as I definitely won't get in.

[gingerbreadman85]

Imperial (my alma mater, graduated with an MSci in Chemistry in '07) is pretty good, though I think it's slipped a bit recently. Bristol and Nottingham are also highly regarded.

[InadequateJusticex]

(Original post by gingerbreadman85)
Imperial (my alma mater, graduated with an MSci in Chemistry in '07) is pretty good, though I think it's slipped a bit recently. Bristol and Nottingham are also highly regarded.

Really? Can I ask what makes you say that? (not that I disagree or anything...genuinely curious lol).

[gingerbreadman85]

Just looking at the subject league tables, it's lower than when I applied by a fair way. From memory I picked out of the top-10 back in Sept '02 (God i feel old!) when I applied.

[Idris Dragon]

(Original post by gingerbreadman85)
Just looking at the subject league tables, it's lower than when I applied by a fair way. From memory I picked out of the top-10 back in Sept '02 (God i feel old!) when I applied.

I think their funding got hit badly at the last RAE (worse than anyone else) and that has filtered down.

Also, don't forget with league tables that the statistical difference between say first and tenth is likely to be tiny (if it is indeed significant at all I would be surprised) so a drop of 7 or 8 might not actually mean anything at all, only when you are galloping up or down would I take them seriously. Universities think they are a load of **** unless they come top...