Ochem I and Gen Chem II in same quarter- crazy or doable?

[emgirl]

Is it crazy to attempt Ochem I before one has finished the Gen Chem series? My school only offers 2 quarters of Gen Chem and I want to try and start Ochem this upcoming winter quarter when I would be concurrently enrolled in Gen Chem II. The only reason I want to start Ochem in the winter is so that I will be finished with the series after next fall (W-Su-Fall quarters of Ochem I, II and III), so I can spend winter just focusing on the MCAT. Some friends have told me Ochem is pretty diff from gen chem so I should be ok without all of it, but I'm just looking to see what others think. Thanks, Em

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[DrHopeless]

I think you can do it, as long as you know acid/base and you know your chem 101 stuff pretty well (Geometry, electron orbital...), then you should be fine. Orgo chem is a whole new field.

Is it crazy to attempt Ochem I before one has finished the Gen Chem series? My school only offers 2 quarters of Gen Chem and I want to try and start Ochem this upcoming winter quarter when I would be concurrently enrolled in Gen Chem II. The only reason I want to start Ochem in the winter is so that I will be finished with the series after next fall (W-Su-Fall quarters of Ochem I, II and III), so I can spend winter just focusing on the MCAT. Some friends have told me Ochem is pretty diff from gen chem so I should be ok without all of it, but I'm just looking to see what others think. Thanks, Em

 

[newyorkcougar]

I actually did that exact thing, and I did great in both classes. The two subjects are surprisingly unrelated. OChem involves basically no math. Gen Chem is all about calculations while ochem is all about qulalitative analysis. The only real issue is the phenomenal ammount of studying you are talking about. Both classes serve as "weed out" classes and they are very demanding. I took both of them at the same time (gen 2 and o 1) as well as physics 1. If I could do it, you can do it. Just be prepared for a lot (and I mean a lot) of homework.

 

[Avalanche21]

Make sure you can handle the load. Two chem classes in a semester isn't bad (i'm sure the same applies to quarters), but it can kick your butt if you overload your schedule and don't know how to manage your time. If you're dedicated enough, though, you can handle it.

 

[DrBuro]

Totally doable. Only you will know how much you will need to study this semester. Both classes I found to be pretty easy, but professors will play a big role.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Crazy, BUT doable...

 

[vmc303]

I just got done with Gen Chem I in summer school. It was easy. If the second semester is anything like the first, and you don't actually need anything from it in order to do fine in Organic, I can't imagine it would be much of a problem.

 

[ascrimmins]

I did it. Gen Chem II is known as a weed-out course at my school, and Orgo is...well...Orgo. I made it, but not without tears, screaming, and some really late nights. If I had it to do over again - no way would I do it.

 

[hnbui]

you really don't need anything in gen chem II for orgo.

The only thing i think you need for orgo is bonding properities and molecular geometry.