Help Please! (What to do about Orgo - gah!)

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MedicalSonata

MedicalSonata

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Hi everyone,

I'm a pre-med in college, and I'm about to fail my Organic Chemistry 1 course. I feel like this is a major setback for me going to medical school, but the average grade for my college's Orgo course is a 55 so far - the prof said he barely curves and that a lot of people are going to fail. I think the course is simply too hard here, and since I can't take Orgo II in the spring if I fail, it sets me back quite a bit as I would need to do the whole sequence over again junior year, pushing Biochem back, etc. So I'm looking into taking the class online.

Anyone have any experience with online Orgo? Also - does this just ruin my chances of medical school - having an F in Orgo on my transcript, even if I retake it somewhere else and do better?

I found only the University of New England online that offers the lab online also, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with it? How hard is it, etc.

Also - if anyone knows of any other online Orgo courses with the lab, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!
 
how about a local community college. a lot of people here chose that route but I was never too clear on how medical schools viewed core curricula being taken at a CC as opposed to the real undergrad.
 
I would do that - but since it's Spring, they only offer Orgo 2. I would have to wait until next fall for Orgo 1, which would set me back quite a bit.
 
1. you dont need biochem to apply to med school. if you think this will set you back for other classes, and you still want to graduate on time, choose a different major.

2. No accredited institution will offer orgo lab online. I cant even understand how pressing a few buttons could replace learning real laboratory skills. Consider taking the F this semester, then retaking it the next time it is offered. Maybe even consider retaking at a community college, but for a core science like organic, it may work against you. As for an online course, I couldn't imagine any admissions committee first seeing your transcript from your actual university and then seeing the make up course taken online as an acceptable substitute.
 
NJDIF said:
2. No accredited institution will offer orgo lab online. I cant even understand how pressing a few buttons could replace learning real laboratory skills. Consider taking the F this semester, then retaking it the next time it is offered. Maybe even consider retaking at a community college, but for a core science like organic, it may work against you. As for an online course, I couldn't imagine any admissions committee first seeing your transcript from your actual university and then seeing the make up course taken online as an acceptable substitute.
Click to expand...

Well the college that offers Orgo I and II online, plus lab (8 credits total) is University of New England, which is accredited.

Also - while Biochem isn't required for medical school, it is sadly required for my major.

I could take only the lecture Orgo online, and do the lab component (which is a spring, 2 credit course) at my current college - but I would be afraid I wouldn't be up to par since I didn't take their Orgo course. I attend an Ivy League school, so they're just a bit more advanced than the online courses I'm sure.
 
There's nothing wrong with taking organic chemistry as a junior. I majored in physics as an undergrad, and wasn't able to fit it in until junior year and everything worked out just fine.

Absolutely do not take organic chemistry online. If they've seen that you've taken the lab portion online, they'll laugh your application all the way to the trash can. They might even take pictures to show their other ADCOM friends.

Do the best you can for the remainder of the course, and get the best grade possible. Retake the class next year and make sure you do very, very well. Remember, they average the two grades, so you'll need an A to average the F out to a C.
 
i would still then try to take orgo lab in person.

and again, if you want to graduate on time, switch majors. schools wont care if you majored in molecular biology or theater arts. dont get your heart set on biochem, if you think it will set you back too much.
 
If you can't take biochem as a junior, why not push it back to your senior year? As you said, it's a requirement for your major and not med school, so there's no rush to take it.
 
It's a requirement for my major that's a pre-req for other classes in my major, lol. So I have to take Biochem at least junior year.

Also - you guys said an online lab the admissions counselors will laugh at, but two things:

1 - I can take just lecture online, and lab at my school.
2 - It doesn't appear as "Online" on my transcript, it would say "University of New England, Organic Chemistry I with lab - 4 credits"
 
MedicalSonata said:
It's a requirement for my major that's a pre-req for other classes in my major, lol. So I have to take Biochem at least junior year.

Also - you guys said an online lab the admissions counselors will laugh at, but two things:

1 - I can take just lecture online, and lab at my school.
2 - It doesn't appear as "Online" on my transcript, it would say "University of New England, Organic Chemistry I with lab - 4 credits"
Click to expand...

Would it not look suspicious that you took this course at the University of New England while you were also taking other courses at your actual school? That could come up when they are investigating your course load.

And I'll say again - why not retake over the summer? I am sure your school offers both lab and lecture over the summer, and they also should offer Biochem if you wanted to take that next summer.

Finally, if you are actually going to fail Orgo I, do you think it is a good idea to continue with your major? A decent foundation in Organic is necessary for higher-level chemistry work, and those other courses (like P-chem) definitely do not get any easier after Organic (in popular opinion). Doing poorly in your major definitely is not a positive sign to adcoms.
 
Well - two reasons:

1 - I can't get financial aid for summer.
2 - I don't live here in the summer, meaning I would need housing as well - none of which I can afford.

If I do summer, it can't be at the same college.

Also - my major is just odd, I'm going very well in my major classes, and even the ones that require Biochem as a pre-req have nothing to do with biochem (this from students who have taken them) - so I don't know what the deal is.
 
MedicalSonata said:
Well - two reasons:

1 - I can't get financial aid for summer.
2 - I don't live here in the summer, meaning I would need housing as well - none of which I can afford.

If I do summer, it can't be at the same college.

Also - my major is just odd, I'm going very well in my major classes, and even the ones that require Biochem as a pre-req have nothing to do with biochem (this from students who have taken them) - so I don't know what the deal is.
Click to expand...

If I may ask, what is your major and what courses require biochem as a prerequisite?
 
Well, if you take it somewhere else and do better, and "somewhere else" is online, they're going to see that you did better because 1) it's an easier class than your ivy league class and 2) you've already taken it once. I'd really, really, really try to avoid the online course for a pre-req, especially if so many of your pre-reqs were already taken at a community college. What's your major? Biochem? Any chance you'd switch to bio or something? Like others have said, P-chem, etc, only get harder, especially if you don't have a great foundation in organic chem.
 
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