Will Organic be easier summer intensive at the local state college vs fall/spring at an Ivy?

[Watson343]

content will be the same difficulty at both schools, take it at the Ivy for the grade inflation

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[TrailsMixed]

Welcome to SDN. Your opinion contradicts several medical school admission committee members who have already commented on this thread but you are entitled to your opinion even if it contradicts that of people who have been in the admissions business since you were in preschool.

Lol, by that logic, you were a dinosaur by the time the new MCAT rolled out and most certainly have no business speaking to which topics are well represented. I concede that I do not know the in's and out's of admissions, however stupid it seems to me to focus on Orgo to that extent. BUT that being said I definitely know that on the MCAT, the orgo is extremely simple.

 

[jhmmd]

Lol, by that logic, you were a dinosaur by the time the new MCAT rolled out and most certainly have no business speaking to which topics are well represented. I concede that I do not know the in's and out's of admissions, however stupid it seems to me to focus on Orgo to that extent. BUT that being said I definitely know that on the MCAT, the orgo is extremely simple.

Please avoid ad hominem attacks and make your point using logic. This is not necessary.

 

[LizzyM]

Lol, by that logic, you were a dinosaur by the time the new MCAT rolled out and most certainly have no business speaking to which topics are well represented. I concede that I do not know the in's and out's of admissions, however stupid it seems to me to focus on Orgo to that extent. BUT that being said I definitely know that on the MCAT, the orgo is extremely simple.

The point is not that the material taught in orgo is important with regard to the MCAT but that the mental fortitude and work ethic needed to do well in a weed out course is very indicative of a candidate's ability to meet the academic challenges of the pre-clinical portion of medical school.

 

[singkwon]

Background info: I'm hoping to go straight on to med school from undergrad, which means applying at the end of my junior year of college. I'm taking second semester inorganic chem and first semester Bio currently as a 2nd semester freshman. Got a 4.0 first semester, at a top Ivy. I'm a consistent and hard-working student, tend to approach the work methodically, spending many hours on problem sets, working alone and with classmates, and going to office hours. My intended major is not in a science, but is related to my planned specialty in medicine. At the moment, I don't know if I will take more science courses than those required for med school - I enjoy them, might take genetics, neuroscience.

I'm thinking that the only way that I can finish my premed sciences in time to apply to go straight on to med school is to take organic in the summer, at the local state college, taking both semesters of orgo plus their accompanying labs over a ten week summer session. This will also free up room in my schedule to take classes at my Ivy that I want to take. My parent did most of their undergrad at an Ivy, but did a year at the top CUNY 40 years ago. They said that there was absolutely no comparison - that the classes at the CUNY were FAR easier than at the Ivy.

I self-studied for the ACT, and was able to get a 36 with about 40-60 hrs of self-prep. My parent says that this is likely to predict a high MCAT score, since one preps for the MCAT.

First of all, is Organic likely to be easier at the local state college (not flagship state U) than at the Ivy? Second, if all my other classes are at the Ivy, and if my grades at the Ivy are high, will top med schools look askance at my having taken Orgo over the summer at my local state college? I'm figuring that if I throw my all at it (I won't have any other responsibilities), that I could get A's there. Sure, it's going to be a miserable ten weeks, but it seems to me that I could do it. I'm not worried about it not staying in my brain - I know that I will have to relearn it during MCAT prep, but I don't have a problem with that.

I graduated medical school nearly 20 ago. Met my wife in medical school who is also a practicing physician. She attended a small private liberal arts college in California. She took Organic Chemistry over the summer at a local state college, studied hard and ended up with an “A”. I attended a public college and took my Organic Chemistry course during my regular school year (in fact, I took Orgo 1 and ended up with an A. For Orgo 2, I initially took it and had a tough time ended withdrawing with a “W” (not counted towards GPA) then retook later and ended up with an “A+” … long story here for another time).

The point is it doesn’t matter where you take the course if you end up doing well. I think many premeds let their egos get in the way and want to “prove” they can handle the “harder course”. It’s great if you can do so and end up with a good grade. But if you end up with a lackluster grade, you may regret your decision. Study hard and do well. Remember that grades are only part of the total package that you present to medical school admissions committees when you apply. Best of luck to you!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I’ve seen some of my Ivy peers do worse because they walk into the classroom on the first summer class with too much confidence. They think that they will be able to do nothing and get an A.