What to take over Summer: Physics I & II or Organic I & II??

[nixm01]

Hey guys,

This summer I have the option to take Organic I & II or Physics I & II (non-calculus based). One month for part I and one month for part II.

I, of course, need both of them eventually so I would like to get one of them out of the way. But being summer courses they will be very quick and rigorous.

I have made A's in both my Algebra and Trig classes to get me ready for Physics, but have NEVER had physics before but it seems like something I would be interested in. My Trig Professor says I should do very well (I have a 113% in his class).

I have also made A's in both my General Chem I & II and looking forward to Organic as well.

Since I have taken neither of these classes before, I am not sure what to expect and during the Summer terms at that. I am not worried about my grades as I will do what I need to do to make A's in everything no matter what, but I would like to take the one over the summer that will be less demanding/difficult since it is a short period.

If I take Orgo over summer, I will have to take Physics I & II next semester with Calc I & II
If I take Physics during summer, I will have to take Orgo I & II with Calc I & II over next semesters.

Any advice from people who have experience with these classes and/or summer terms?

Thanks!

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[raab32]

I was in a similar situation during undergrad. Ask around and see what people think about summer session orgo at the school you're thinking of taking it at. At my undergrad school, orgo was infamous for being much harder than usual because so much was packed into the summer sessions. Labs were particularly brutal. So I decided to take Physics instead, and that proved to be a much better decision because I could still chill during the summer, whereas the kids taking orgo were ridiculously stressed.

Also, consider who is teaching the class. One of the most important things with science classes IMO.

 

[whyrishiwhynot]

Hey guys,

This summer I have the option to take Organic I & II or Physics I & II (non-calculus based). One month for part I and one month for part II.

I, of course, need both of them eventually so I would like to get one of them out of the way. But being summer courses they will be very quick and rigorous.

I have made A's in both my Algebra and Trig classes to get me ready for Physics, but have NEVER had physics before but it seems like something I would be interested in. My Trig Professor says I should do very well (I have a 113% in his class).

I have also made A's in both my General Chem I & II and looking forward to Organic as well.

Since I have taken neither of these classes before, I am not sure what to expect and during the Summer terms at that. I am not worried about my grades as I will do what I need to do to make A's in everything no matter what, but I would like to take the one over the summer that will be less demanding/difficult since it is a short period.

If I take Orgo over summer, I will have to take Physics I & II next semester with Calc I & II
If I take Physics during summer, I will have to take Orgo I & II with Calc I & II over next semesters.

Any advice from people who have experience with these classes and/or summer terms?

Thanks!

Definitely do physics over the summer. I took organic over the summer last year and had to drop it even though I had A's in gen chem. Organic moves very quickly and if you don't stay up on it, you'll be far behind in a matter of days. I (re)took organic in the fall and got an A mainly because I had more time to teach myself the concepts.

Algebra based physics shouldn't be too difficult to do over the summer. I had no problems with doing it and, based on your success in math, you shouldn't either. Just my $.02.

 

[toff4l]

I think you answered your own question when you said you made A's in alebra and you are taking non-calc physics.

Take orgo in the summer and make sure you get A's.

 

[Swagster]

I'd take whichever topic is more natural for you. Both will be hard over the summer, so you might as well take the one that will be more doable. Is one teacher an easier grader than the other?

 

[acb88]

I personally opted to take Organic Chemistry over the summer. Yes, the class moved very fast, but not having any other classes at the same time made it much more bearable. Pick whichever one you think will be easier to take with a full semester course load.

 

[Lil Mick]

Organic involves more memorization; physics involves concepts and derivations. Whichever is your strength would make more sense to take over the summer. Personally, ochem labs and classes at my school would have been a full 9-5 every day for the summer vs. 9-12 four days of the week for physics.

 

[kexy]

I think it depends on the lab situation. But it could almost be good to take organic over the summer. For me one of the very worst parts about orgo is how any reaction from the beginning of orgo I can pop up on a test in orgo II. Re-memorizing enormous stacks of flashcards before every exam is horrible. I think taking it in such a condensed way would eliminate a lot of the "crap I used to know this" stress that goes with the class. And, I think o chem is far more conducive to cramming than is physics....it's way less conceptual and a lot more memorization.

 

[nixm01]

Great guys, thanks. I have checked with other students here and it seems to be split but leaning towards taking Physics during summer more. So it seems evenly matched, I just need to break the tie.

Yes I have taken basic maths and chems, but I have never taken Physics or Organic so I am not sure what will be involved or which one I will have more success at as I have heard they are both in their own "league".

The teachers doing chem and physics are both rated about average. Not one better than another and neither curve or do anything special.

Just need to make the best educated decision.

Thanks for all your input, keep it coming!

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

If you have never taken physics, and plan to take an accelerated summer of physics, you'll get rocked.

Do organic chemistry.

 

[raab32]

If you have never taken physics, and plan to take an accelerated summer of physics, you'll get rocked.

Do organic chemistry.

Good point. Physics is very concept driven, especially the second half. Do you do well with those kinds of subjects OP? Not to say organic chem is a walk in the park. But if you did well in gen chem and understood principles well, organic might be a good choice in terms of continuity.

 

[BAMF]

I was in a similar position and decided to go for orgo during the summer. I chose it mainly because I'm a chemistry major and taking orgo was going to help me graduate much faster. Will either one give you that sort of advantage?

 

[orthomyxo]

No option for neither? Either option seems like a bad idea IMO.

 

[naijapikin]

If you have to absolutely do it, then physics is a better option IMHO. More manageable than Organic.

 

[StudyShy]

Hands down physics.

 

[curt656]

I am taking the 6 weeks Physics 1 and Physics 2 this summer combined with the 12 week Chem 2. I feel like I can handle it, but wonder what you guys think...

 

[BAMF]

Sounds like overkill. The physics in 6 weeks is basically like taking a full courseload during the school year. I don't remember the guidelines my school uses to determine the equivalent workload - multiply credits by 3, I think?

 

[Isoprop]

Vote for organic chem:

*Free up more time during the school year because you won't have 4-6 hrs of lab every week.
*Physics is more important for the MCAT so it would behoove you to take Physics slowly and take the time to learn the material instead of rushing through it.
*If you're a bio major, some upper-div bio classes may require you complete ochem or biochem before you take them, thus you will have access to a broader range of classes earlier.

Some cons:
*accelerated ochem lab will suck
*if you need to take the ACS final, you will need to cram a year of ochem in a very, very short amount of time

A tip if you decide to do Ochem
*grab Klein's second language series for Ochem. Read as you go along in class.

 

[nixm01]

Hmmm... very good words of advice from everyone. I very much appreciate your responses and am taking them all into consideration. I am a biology/biochemistry double major (they are very closely related at my school). This will give me an extra few credits of A's to add to my GPA and give me a small bump of interest during the application process). I am done with all required general courses as well as electives so starting this summer I am focusing on nothing but my upper-level biology/biochems and the concentrations.

Again, I very much appreciate everyone's opinion as they are all very good and have given me a few different outlooks that I haven't looked at yet. Very helpful.

Keep them coming if you'd like!

 

[Godric]

I am going to take physics this summer also. My plan being if I do well in Physics 1 then I'll take physics 2 in summer session 2.
I have taken Organic Chemistry this semester, Organic 1 was tough for me, the first half of it (non-reactions) part rocked me, but i got my act together and went from failing the class to a solid B (got a 41% on the first exam, second exam 83%) and then well on the final (86%) and got a B. But if I didn't have alot of time to get my act together then I might have failed. And even know in organic chemistry 2 I feel like the the semester is enough time, if I didnt have it, it would be close to impossible to well. (I am off to a better start for orgo2, got a 91% on the first exam, second exam in about a month).

This may also sound like a crazy suggestion, but Organic Chemistry is alot of fun (its my favorite class so far) , so taking it in the normal semester is going to be even better. I am actually sad orgo is about to end soon. So take orgo next year and physics in the summer.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I did summer physics. Can't speak for how other places do it, but we had no lab reports (if taken during the school year we would have). All we had to do was turn in a sheet with our data from the lab and answers to a couple of questions which we normally finished before we left the lab. The physics labs were 2 hrs, the organic labs were 4. Organic had to turn in full lab reports for half the labs, and truncated for the other half since only two days between lab.

I was a TA so I got some feedback on orgo over the summer. It was pretty intense and very time consuming. Physics, heck I was doing a research project in the afternoons when I didn't have lab.

 

[nixm01]

UPDATE:

Hey guys, I just want to thank you all for your advice. I went ahead and took the Physics route for my summer courses and they couldn't have gone better - I loved the classes. I made a 97 in I and a 98 in II (the top of my class in both courses).

Again, thanks for all your help and now I am looking forward Organic I that starts in 11 days!

 

[PinkMelon]

I took physics 1 & 2 this past summer. Probably the best decision ever. I'm a biochem major and need a strong ochem foundation, and thought it would be best if I don't rush through something so critical. Physics, although difficult, was definitely manageable. Furthermore, now I'll be done with all the pre-requisites in the curriculum and take the mcat the summer before Junior year.

I've had a few friends take organic chemistry and many of them dropped out of the class claiming it was too difficult.

This level of difficulty varies from school to school. I think the best people to ask are the students at your undergrad university!

 

[sonak123]

This form is very helpful But I want to take both Physics 1+2 and Orgo 1+2 over next summer. But my school only offers part 2 during the summer. Can someone PLS tell what universities offer both part 1 and 2 of organic and physics over the summer. I will really appreciate any help. Thanks!!!!

 

[Morsetlis]

I thought Phys 2 (with electromagnetism, for engineers) was significantly harder than any Orgo.

And I LIKE math.