I don't have much new to say that I haven't already said on SDN a zillion times. Here are a few posts of mine that I hope you will find helpful.
How to Succeed in Organic Chemistry
Posted 09-15-2007 at 10:23 AM by QofQuimica
My advice to students is to approach studying organic like you'd approach studying a foreign language. Some students mistakenly believe that they can memorize their way through the course. But this is impossible, because there are an infinite number of possible reactions out there. You do have to learn the vocabulary and "grammar" (mechanisms) of organic chem, which requires some memorization. But the real test of fluency in these types of subjects is whether you can now take what you've learned and apply it to new reactions (or make up new sentences) that you've never seen before.
That kind of ability can only be achieved by working a lot of problems, just as learning to speak another language can only be done if you spend a lot of time practicing speaking it. Ideally, you should spend an hour every day studying organic if possible. Forgo re-reading the chapters in favor of working every problem in your book (yes, all of them, even the challenge ones) and really try to work them out yourself before reading your solutions guide. Ask your TA for help as needed, attend all of the problem sessions and classes, and go to your professor's office hours every week. Students that put in this kind of effort invariably do well come finals time. Plus you have the added bonus that the prof will actually know your name and can write you a letter when you go to apply for med school.
P.S. If you run into trouble, you can always ask us questions in the Organic Chemistry Question Thread. You can also visit MCATpearls, a free on-line resource for students studying for the MCAT.
That kind of ability can only be achieved by working a lot of problems, just as learning to speak another language can only be done if you spend a lot of time practicing speaking it. Ideally, you should spend an hour every day studying organic if possible. Forgo re-reading the chapters in favor of working every problem in your book (yes, all of them, even the challenge ones) and really try to work them out yourself before reading your solutions guide. Ask your TA for help as needed, attend all of the problem sessions and classes, and go to your professor's office hours every week. Students that put in this kind of effort invariably do well come finals time. Plus you have the added bonus that the prof will actually know your name and can write you a letter when you go to apply for med school.
P.S. If you run into trouble, you can always ask us questions in the Organic Chemistry Question Thread. You can also visit MCATpearls, a free on-line resource for students studying for the MCAT.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Thanks for your tips. What is the best way to learn NMR, IR an Mass Spectroscopy??Posted 09-21-2007 at 10:26 PM by spartanMD 
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Learning Spectroscopy
Practice. It's helpful to memorize a few of the most common peaks (ex. alcohols and carbonyls for IR), but to get really good at interpreting spectra, you have to practice doing it. Try some of these problems; they range from easy to hard: http://www.nd.edu/~smithgrp/structure/workbook.html Once you get the hang of doing it, solving structure elucidations is actually kind of fun.
Posted 09-22-2007 at 06:31 PM by QofQuimica
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Thanks Q.
I wondered if you have any textbook recommendations for people taking Organic?Posted 12-31-2007 at 05:37 PM by Orthodoc40
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Do you just not like your course textbook, or are you looking for some supplemental reading? I would be hesitant to advise you not to use your course textbook because your prof will probably pull test and HW questions from it. If you want a supplemental book that is a little more advanced than the normal sophomore organic book and that will help you understand the material in a new and deeper way, I recommend "Electron Flow in Organic Chemistry" by Paul Scudder.
Posted 01-04-2008 at 09:34 PM by QofQuimica
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