Ochem in Summer?

[PossiblePreMed]

Hi everyone,
I am taking Ochem at Villanova this summer as my first science class since Bio for Social Science majors in Undergrad. I know I am going to have a hell of a time. Anyone have some suggestions, Ochem resources, should I go over a Gen Chem textbook before I take it to refresh my memory (I had chemistry in HS). My advisor told me that I just had to remember basics, such as acids and bases, and chemical bonding. Anyone take it a Nova? Input would be greatly appreciated.

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[onehot]

Organic in the summer is very challenging since professors try to throw all the infomation at you at one time. First two weeks wouldn't be so bad, but after the 3rd week get ready to pick it up. You'll probably have to study 4-5 hours everyday and do all of the problems in the book. Most professors will expect that you have read and understand the following chapter before you actually attend class. So read ahead, understand the general concepts of each chapter before he actually gets to it. This way, you won't feel left behind.

What would be most helpful is to ask your fellow peers who have experienced taking Organic in the summer time. They will tell you all the ins and outs of tackling the course.

I found that sites like www.ratemyprofessor.com have been helpful in choosing the right professor for this course. Some professors may be very challenging in the summer but not as harsh during regular spring or fall semesters. Very professor is different, choosing the right professor is a big factor in your success. Some professors may be helpful while others are not.

General chemistry doesn't have much to do with Organic chem. Just know your basics. The key is to understand the concepts being taught and continuously going over problems in the back of each chapter. You will have setbacks, so don't be too discouraged. Organic is a hard course at any university.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Hi everyone,
I am taking Ochem at Villanova this summer as my first science class since Bio for Social Science majors in Undergrad. I know I am going to have a hell of a time. Anyone have some suggestions, Ochem resources, should I go over a Gen Chem textbook before I take it to refresh my memory (I had chemistry in HS). My advisor told me that I just had to remember basics, such as acids and bases, and chemical bonding. Anyone take it a Nova? Input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm taking it this summer at my school. Should be interesting. The way I see it, you are taking a semester-length class in a third of a semester. Thus, it is two or three times as much work per day/week/month than a normal ochem class.

However, if I took it during a normal semester you would have 3 other classes. So your really looking at less net work (3X vs. 4X), although the equivalent of 2 or 3 ochem classes could be equal to 4 regular classes, depending on what you would have taken with it. I think in general, though, the difficulty associated with learning tons of ochem in a short amount of time balances the difficulty of juggling 4 different classes at once and dealing with 4 finals, etc.

I'm not sure how much sense that makes, but I'm trying to show that one summer of ochem wont be as bad as a year of ochem with 3 other classes. For example, my friend took ochem with biochem, physics, and another class. Anyway, it will be hard, but won't be impossible.

 

[SexyLexie729]

When I was studying for the MCAT, I was using the Exam Krackers O-Chem book and I thought that if I had something like that when I was taking O-chem, it would have been a lot easier. It might be something to try. Take care and good luck.

 

[FutureDocDO]

Hi everyone,
I am taking Ochem at Villanova this summer as my first science class since Bio for Social Science majors in Undergrad. I know I am going to have a hell of a time. Anyone have some suggestions, Ochem resources, should I go over a Gen Chem textbook before I take it to refresh my memory (I had chemistry in HS). My advisor told me that I just had to remember basics, such as acids and bases, and chemical bonding. Anyone take it a Nova? Input would be greatly appreciated.

There's no need to review General Chemistry in preparation for Organic Chemistry. Organic Chemistry is easy, even during the summer if you keep up with the materials. There's a lot of reactions/information to remember and keep straight but the info isn't hard. FYI, I took both Organic Chemistry I and II, including labs, during the summer. They were roughly one month each.

 

[PossiblePreMed]

Thank you all for the extremely helpful advice. You have taken some of the fear out of taking Ochem this summer. I will try that Examkrakers book, and I agree, taking it by itself during the summer is better than taking it with other stuff. (although I will wind up taking Ochem II next summer as well). And I have no idea who the prof. will be. It is one of those "TBD" deals in the course registration description

Thank you again. Happy St. Paddy's Day!

 

[Pemulis]

I would recommend getting a copy of David Klein's "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language". It does a great job of going over the foundations that would normally be covered in the first two months or so of orgo (probably the first two weeks for you). You'll want to have great command of these to do well in the course, so it might be a good idea to read the first few chapters before classes start, and then use it as a supplment to your text during the first few weeks of class.

Good luck. Despite it's horrible rep, I actually think O-chem is a lot of fun, and is really not hard if you keep up with the material.

 

[Mempho1983]

I will second the recommendation to buy Klein's book. I also bought the one for Gen Chem I and found it very helpful.

 

[Dave_D]

Good luck. Despite it's horrible rep, I actually think O-chem is a lot of fun, and is really not hard if you keep up with the material.

I agree with this, mostly grunt work.(IE just do the homework and check the answers in the solution manual. I would also like to point out that orgo has almost nothing to do with gen chem besides some very basic stuff so don't worry about it. Hell, you could probably skip gen chem II and do well in orgo, it has so little to do with orgo.)

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I agree with this, mostly grunt work.(IE just do the homework and check the answers in the solution manual. I would also like to point out that orgo has almost nothing to do with gen chem besides some very basic stuff so don't worry about it. Hell, you could probably skip gen chem II and do well in orgo, it has so little to do with orgo.)

That's good to know. I hate g chem 2

 

[youthman]

another summer O-chem'er here. thanks for the info, gonna have to get that Klein book.

 

[PossiblePreMed]

Thank you all for your help and encouragement, and for the study aid suggestions. I am used to working/reading ahead, so that shouldn't be a problem. I am also glad to know that there are others in my situation. Thank you all so much :0)