Withdrawal from Organic Chemistry II

badmedicine · Jul 31, 2013

I am a junior with a 3.83 overall GPA and a 3.70 science GPA...but with one major problem. I had to withdraw from orgo II. It was entirely my fault for various reasons, but I just want to overcome it and take it again next spring. I got a B- in Orgo I, that W in Orgo II, and A's and A-'s in every other course I've taken thus far.

So my questions...

1. I will be taking physics II next spring and I don't want to take orgo II at the same time, because that would be pretty unbearable--I wouldn't be able to do better in that situation if I wasn't able to do it in an easier situation last year!. Would I be able to take it during spring of my senior year, but still be able to take the MCAT in the summer between my junior and senior year (i.e. is orgo II necessary for the MCAT)?

2. Also, a concern I have is that if I do this, the only orgo II that will be on my transcript is that W at the time that I apply to schools next spring. Is this detrimental? Will I have to have retaken it before I can even consider applying? Or is it alright if I simply state that I plan on tackling it again in my senior year.

Redpancreas · Jul 31, 2013

badmedicine said:
I am a junior with a 3.83 overall GPA and a 3.70 science GPA...but with one major problem. I had to withdraw from orgo II. It was entirely my fault for various reasons, but I just want to overcome it and take it again next spring. I got a B- in Orgo I, that W in Orgo II, and A's and A-'s in every other course I've taken thus far.

So my questions...

1. I will be taking physics II next spring and I don't want to take orgo II at the same time, because that would be pretty unbearable--I wouldn't be able to do better in that situation if I wasn't able to do it in an easier situation last year!. Would I be able to take it during spring of my senior year, but still be able to take the MCAT in the summer between my junior and senior year (i.e. is orgo II necessary for the MCAT)?

2. Also, a concern I have is that if I do this, the only orgo II that will be on my transcript is that W at the time that I apply to schools next spring. Is this detrimental? Will I have to have retaken it before I can even consider applying? Or is it alright if I simply state that I plan on tackling it again in my senior year.

1. Orgo II varies a bit per university. Therefore, I can't say yes or no for sure but Orgo on the MCAT usually emphasizes first semester (structure elucidation, lab techniques, stereochemistry, and a few more fundamentals). Understand that organic is simply a few rules used over and over again. Therefore, with one semester of it, you should be able to gain the rest of it through study and might not need the second semester. One thing I know is on the MCAT from second semester is Claisen Condensation. That's definitely emphasized in a biological context on the MCAT often. There are probably a few more examples but for the most part I think you could wrap your head around it with a decent self study program.

2. W's never look good but if you go strong for here on forward it shouldn't be a big deal if you have one W on your transcript. I'm not sure if you should take Orgo II before applying though. Would it be good to clear up a loose end? Probably. Is that worth risking your GPA by taking a difficult series of classes? I would say no, but I am almost guessing.

physguy · Jul 31, 2013

I have yet to see an MCAT practice question that requires Ochem II knowledge, (although I am not refuting above and we didn't learn Claisen condensation until ochem II). Would it be possible to take Physics II and Organic II and just fluff besides those two?

TriagePreMed · Aug 1, 2013

physguy said:
I have yet to see an MCAT practice question that requires Ochem II knowledge, (although I am not refuting above and we didn't learn Claisen condensation until ochem II). Would it be possible to take Physics II and Organic II and just fluff besides those two?

I have seen a lot of o.chem 2 questions on the MCAT including the practice test and the self-assessment. They usually come in the form of carbonyl chemistry and sometimes are biological molecules.

Koalafied · Aug 1, 2013

badmedicine said:
I am a junior with a 3.83 overall GPA and a 3.70 science GPA...but with one major problem. I had to withdraw from orgo II. It was entirely my fault for various reasons, but I just want to overcome it and take it again next spring. I got a B- in Orgo I, that W in Orgo II, and A's and A-'s in every other course I've taken thus far.

So my questions...

1. I will be taking physics II next spring and I don't want to take orgo II at the same time, because that would be pretty unbearable--I wouldn't be able to do better in that situation if I wasn't able to do it in an easier situation last year!. Would I be able to take it during spring of my senior year, but still be able to take the MCAT in the summer between my junior and senior year (i.e. is orgo II necessary for the MCAT)?

2. Also, a concern I have is that if I do this, the only orgo II that will be on my transcript is that W at the time that I apply to schools next spring. Is this detrimental? Will I have to have retaken it before I can even consider applying? Or is it alright if I simply state that I plan on tackling it again in my senior year.

At my school, ochem 2 was pretty much straight-up memorization for those with a poor foundation from the get-go. However, I found it quite fascinating. Especially nucleophilic attacks in carbonyl reaction; kinda like intercourse if you will.

I remember tutoring my buddies taking the MCAT, and I'd remember them asking many questions about spectroscopy and lab techniques; a topic in ochem 2 at my school. Seems to me they were fed up with memorizing those 'random' values for HNMR, IR, MS, etc. Nonetheless they rocked the 'beast,' yay!

Arkaine · Aug 1, 2013

Whatever relevant organic chemistry content you haven not officially covered in class before the MCAT can be easily learned through self study. The only "advanced" organic chemistry topic I can recall from the MCAT dealt with a Michael addition (or some kind of rearrangement) predict-the-product question. I completely forgot the mechanism (probably never knew it in class either lol), but I just counted the carbons (since several answers erroneously had fewer carbons) and made an educated guess--seemed to have worked out okay.

A single "W" on your transcript should have little overall effect on your application. It could even be used as a discussion point in your personal statement, secondaries, or interviews to discuss your obstacles in college, and what you have done since then to improve your study strategies, time management, or whatever personal issues you have faced. On the other hand, multiple "W's" is a red flag and indicative of greater academic troubles.

Redpancreas · Aug 1, 2013

TriagePreMed said:
I have seen a lot of o.chem 2 questions on the MCAT including the practice test and the self-assessment. They usually come in the form of carbonyl chemistry and sometimes are biological molecules.

Yup, nucleophilic addition onto the carbonyl is huge. Also, Fischer projections and sugar chemistry is a pretty pertinent topic. These can be learned on your own though.

Koalafied said:
At my school, ochem 2 was pretty much straight-up memorization for those with a poor foundation from the get-go. However, I found it quite fascinating. Especially nucleophilic attacks in carbonyl reaction; kinda like intercourse if you will.

I remember tutoring my buddies taking the MCAT, and I'd remember them asking many questions about spectroscopy and lab techniques; a topic in ochem 2 at my school. Seems to me they were fed up with memorizing those 'random' values for HNMR, IR, MS, etc. Nonetheless they rocked the 'beast,' yay!

If you understand the basics you learned in Organic I, you can self study the MCAT essentials for Orgo II.

Arkaine said:
Whatever relevant organic chemistry content you haven not officially covered in class before the MCAT can be easily learned through self study. The only "advanced" organic chemistry topic I can recall from the MCAT dealt with a Michael addition (or some kind of rearrangement) predict-the-product question. I completely forgot the mechanism (probably never knew it in class either lol), but I just counted the carbons (since several answers erroneously had fewer carbons) and made an educated guess--seemed to have worked out okay.

A single "W" on your transcript should have little overall effect on your application. It could even be used as a discussion point in your personal statement, secondaries, or interviews to discuss your obstacles in college, and what you have done since then to improve your study strategies, time management, or whatever personal issues you have faced. On the other hand, multiple "W's" is a red flag and indicative of greater academic troubles.

but just to be clear, don't use that one "W" as an answer to what your greatest obstacle is. Talk about something other than school. However, there are sometimes questions that ask you to discuss any discrepancies in your transcript, etc. That would be the place to address the lesson you learned from this withdrawal experience.

Withdrawal from Organic Chemistry II

badmedicine

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Redpancreas

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physguy

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TriagePreMed

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Koalafied

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Arkaine

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Redpancreas

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