ACS Exam for Organic Chemistry?

[chemdoctor]

Has anyone taken the ACS exam for Organic Chemistry? I am going to be taking it in a week. I was wondering what advice you guys would have? I bought the review guide. I personally heard it's not too bad. Also the professor is suppose to be curving it, not to mention, everyone says that the ACS is easier than the professor's exams.

What do you guys recommend? I have like a solid B in the course right now. How was it for those of you that have taken it? Did you use the ACS study guide? I am ordering it right now.

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[chemdoctor]

I thought it was fine. Just do everything in the ACS study guide. The test was very different than what our class was used to since it is all multiple choice. I think our class average was around the 40th percentile.

For sure. Did you find the study guide very helpful?

 

[DoctorSnow]

Has anyone taken the ACS exam for Organic Chemistry? I am going to be taking it in a week. I was wondering what advice you guys would have? I bought the review guide. I personally heard it's not too bad. Also the professor is suppose to be curving it, not to mention, everyone says that the ACS is easier than the professor's exams.

What do you guys recommend? I have like a solid B in the course right now. How was it for those of you that have taken it? Did you use the ACS study guide? I am ordering it right now.

Honestly our prof gave us a practice ACS from an old version and I got like 37/70. Then I proceeded to study from the ACS exam prep book for 1-2 hours a day then took the ACS the next week and scored a 52/70 (around 75%ish) and then with the curve I ended with like a 95% on the test, which our prof also said if we did better on the final, she would replace our lowest test with the ACS (which some profs do). It isn't hard unless you try to study super in depth topics. The test is too broad to test all the material. Personally, make sure you use the review book and go through the entire thing ESPECIALLY the SN2/E2 reactions (i swear half the test was that type of question).

 

[chemdoctor]

Honestly our prof gave us a practice ACS from an old version and I got like 37/70. Then I proceeded to study from the ACS exam prep book for 1-2 hours a day then took the ACS the next week and scored a 52/70 (around 75%ish) and then with the curve I ended with like a 95% on the test, which our prof also said if we did better on the final, she would replace our lowest test with the ACS (which some profs do). It isn't hard unless you try to study super in depth topics. The test is too broad to test all the material. Personally, make sure you use the review book and go through the entire thing ESPECIALLY the SN2/E2 reactions (i swear half the test was that type of question).

Wow!! Amazing!!! Thanks!! The book should be coming in next Tuesday so I'm gonna go through everything and try all the practice problems! I hope my professor curves big though

 

[DoctorSnow]

Wow!! Amazing!!! Thanks!! The book should be coming in next Tuesday so I'm gonna go through everything and try all the practice problems! I hope my professor curves big though

If I remember right, a 40/70 was a B for us and >48ish was an A

 

[deleted846074]

Does it matter to get the newest edition of the ACS booklet? What are the differences between new and older versions?

 

[DoctorSnow]

Does it matter to get the newest edition of the ACS booklet? What are the differences between new and older versions?

Not really much difference. Our practice exam was from 2005 and the only difference I noticed was that the newer version focused more on mass spec/IR/NMR than the older version.

 

[3toedsloth]

The book comes with a practice test. Take that and review your mistakes, do the practice questions in the book. It's not that bad.
L

 

[Mister Significant]

How'd you do? I ended up with a 54/70. Kind of hoping the other people in my class bombed it.

 

[cali-native86]

ACS organic chem exam is not bad at all. i got 52/70 with only studying 1 full day for it. I also ran out of time and bubbled C on last 5 questions, so probably could have done better if i worked faster. The test is pretty general, no crazy mechanism or synthesis questions. I felt the exam focused more on organic 1 material (substitution and elimination, stereochemistry, and spectroscopy) and less on organic reactions (organic 2). If I were to guess, it was probably 75% organic 1 and 25% organic 2.

 

[Mister Significant]

ACS organic chem exam is not bad at all. i got 52/70 with only studying 1 full day for it. I also ran out of time and bubbled C on last 5 questions, so probably could have done better if i worked faster. The test is pretty general, no crazy mechanism or synthesis questions. I felt the exam focused more on organic 1 material (substitution and elimination, stereochemistry, and spectroscopy) and less on organic reactions (organic 2). If I were to guess, it was probably 75% organic 1 and 25% organic 2.

I ran out of time on those last 5 ones too. Ended up getting an A in the class that would have otherwise been a B+ because with the curse my 54/70 was around 100%. Now Organic Chemistry 2 ACS was a whole different story

 

[rafacena]

I ran out of time on those last 5 ones too. Ended up getting an A in the class that would have otherwise been a B+ because with the curse my 54/70 was around 100%. Now Organic Chemistry 2 ACS was a whole different story

I know I am like a year late, but what do you mean Organic chem 2 ACS was a different story? I thought everyone took the same ACS final for both organic 1 and 2.

 

[chemdoctor]

I know I am like a year late, but what do you mean Organic chem 2 ACS was a different story? I thought everyone took the same ACS final for both organic 1 and 2.

Nope. There’re different ones. I took one for organic I but not for organic II

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

What's the purpose of ACS exam and who takes them? Sorry if it's a silly question.

 

[chemdoctor]

What's the purpose of ACS exam and who takes them? Sorry if it's a silly question.

It’s an American chemical society standardized examination that assessed a students preparedness in a variety of different chemistry classes.

Many colleges use it for general chemistry, organic chemistry, in organic chemistry, etc.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

It’s an American chemical society standardized examination that assessed a students preparedness in a variety of different chemistry classes.

Many colleges use it for general chemistry, organic chemistry, in organic chemistry, etc.

Thanks. So these are not competitions? My son competed in high school chemistry olympiad and now in college as a Sophomore (intending to do biochem major).

 

[deleted938090]

@srk2021 Nope, these are different exams and they're not competitions.
They're much easier than the national olympiad exam at the team selection level though. HS open round is around same level as gen chem exam.

 

[chemdoctor]

@srk2021 Nope, these are different exams and they're not competitions.
They're much easier than the national olympiad exam at the team selection level though. HS open round is around same level as gen chem exam.

The HS is much harder lmao

 

[deleted938090]

Ah is it really? (I haven't take then ACS exams but I was told they're around the same level)
If so then it's quite a shame that I didn't include national finals on my AMCAS b/c people kept saying to stay away from HS activities

In retrospect that's pretty dumb of me to not include so for anyone in the future reading this, if you've gotten invited to training camp at a hs olympiad, you should definitely put it on your AMCAS.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

The HS is much harder lmao

@Sophist & @chemdoctor Thanks. My son qualified but didn't get Honors or High Honors. He also qualified in Biology Olympiad so became biochem major @Sophist - How high did you go? I agree colleges don't care about HS achievements. All about GPA and MCAT plus volunteering.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Ah is it really? (I haven't take then ACS exams but I was told they're around the same level)
If so then it's quite a shame that I didn't include national finals on my AMCAS b/c people kept saying to stay away from HS activities

In retrospect that's pretty dumb of me to not include so for anyone in the future reading this, if you've gotten invited to training camp at a hs olympiad, you should definitely put it on your AMCAS.

I don’t think you lost out. Med schools don’t usually care about HS stuff unless it’s something you carry over into college. The gen chem ACS exams were pretty easy.

 

[chemdoctor]

I don’t think you lost out. Med schools don’t usually care about HS stuff unless it’s something you carry over into college. The gen chem ACS exams were pretty easy.

Yeah for you... Mr. 519 MCAT xP

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yeah for you... Mr. 519 MCAT xP

Lol. I got lucky. My c/p was almost all physics. It only had one gen chem passage and only a few discrete ochem questions.

 

[chemdoctor]

Lol. I got lucky. My c/p was almost all physics. It only had one gen chem passage and only a few discrete ochem questions.

Haha sorry. I didn't mean to be that guy.

But still... 519 is just incredible. I haven't started prep yet but I doubt I'm gonna realistically score higher than a 506

 

[chemdoctor]

Haha sorry. I didn't mean to be that guy.

But still... 519 is just incredible. I haven't started prep yet but I doubt I'm gonna realistically score higher than a 506

Natural limitations and all

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Haha sorry. I didn't mean to be that guy.

But still... 519 is just incredible. I haven't started prep yet but I doubt I'm gonna realistically score higher than a 506

If I can do it, you can do it. Don’t upper limit yourself by thinking you have a ceiling. The only ceiling is 528.

 

[chemdoctor]

If I can do it, you can do it. Don’t upper limit yourself by thinking you have a ceiling. The only ceiling is 528.

Are you saying I can get a 519 lmao

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Are you saying I can get a 519 lmao

Take your prep seriously and learn how to take the exam, and you can absolutely do really well. If you’re getting As and Bs in the prereqs, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do great.

Also start practicing cars mad early. It’s the slowest section to see improvement on because it literally just takes lots of practice.

 

[chemdoctor]

Take your prep seriously and learn how to take the exam, and you can absolutely do really well. If you’re getting As and Bs in the prereqs, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do great.

Also start practicing cars mad early. It’s the slowest section to see improvement on because it literally just takes lots of practice.

I appreciate you having faith in me... LOL you're in for some disappointment xD

Nah. I'm doing alright thus far. struggled a lot in Orgo though... but I guess most premeds do.

Trying my best tho. Yes I agree about CARS. I hate that sectioN!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I appreciate you having faith in me... LOL you're in for some disappointment xD

Nah. I'm doing alright thus far. struggled a lot in Orgo though... but I guess most premeds do.

Trying my best tho. Yes I agree about CARS. I hate that sectioN!

I won’t be disappointed as long as you try your best.

And yeah, **** ochem. Ochem 1 wasn’t bad but I took the MCAT the first week of a 5 week session of ochem 2, so I never got caught up. Ended up with a B+ in the lecture and an A- in the lab. But I was so relieved to be done the MCAT that I didn’t care lol.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Take your prep seriously and learn how to take the exam, and you can absolutely do really well. If you’re getting As and Bs in the prereqs, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do great.

Also start practicing cars mad early. It’s the slowest section to see improvement on because it literally just takes lots of practice.

What resources did you find to be the most helpful for MCAT CARS review?

What kinds of readings in real life most resemble MCAT CARS reading passages?

 

[MyOdyssey]

Ah is it really? (I haven't take then ACS exams but I was told they're around the same level)
If so then it's quite a shame that I didn't include national finals on my AMCAS b/c people kept saying to stay away from HS activities

In retrospect that's pretty dumb of me to not include so for anyone in the future reading this, if you've gotten invited to training camp at a hs olympiad, you should definitely put it on your AMCAS.

Did you come close to qualifying for the US Olympiad chemistry team?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

What resources did you find to be the most helpful for MCAT CARS review?

AAMC CARS qbank was the best.

What kinds of readings in real life most resemble MCAT CARS reading passages?

Non-fiction literary criticism or papers on history or anthropology are probably the closest, but honestly the best way to get practice reading CARS passages is to just read a lot of CARS passages. Reading real scientific or humanities papers will get you good at being able to break down and follow passages in general, but the best practice you can do is using actual passages with questions.

 

[deleted938090]

@Sophist & @chemdoctor Thanks. My son qualified but didn't get Honors or High Honors. He also qualified in Biology Olympiad so became biochem major @Sophist - How high did you go? I agree colleges don't care about HS achievements. All about GPA and MCAT plus volunteering.

I went to top 20 twice - if he did USABO top 20 finals, I think that's worth putting on if there's still space in the AMCAS document.

 

[V781]

ACS for O. Chem was pretty dam easy. I did have an A in the class going into it. I didn't care about this test and did not study - I did not need it for anything. I actually came late to the test and did not finish the last page or two - I bubbled everything in randomly. Still ended up 90th percentile because the nation performs poorly on average....

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

ACS for O. Chem was pretty dam easy. I did have an A in the class going into it. I didn't care about this test and did not study - I did not need it for anything. I actually came late to the test and did not finish the last page or two - I bubbled everything in randomly. Still ended up 90th percentile because the nation performs poorly on average....

Bubbled in everything randomly on the last two pages or bubbled everything in randomly for the other 50 questions and left the last 10-20 blank?

 

[V781]

Bubbled in everything randomly on the last two pages or bubbled everything in randomly for the other 50 questions and left the last 10-20 blank?

I randomly bubbled in the last two pages. I left nothing blank.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I randomly bubbled in the last two pages. I left nothing blank.

Ah okay. Yeah you can get almost 20 questions wrong and still get 86+ %ile lol.

 

[jarednogeek]

I did not study at all and received a 50 which was curve to a 70 which is exactly what I needed for an a in the class. 1/10 would not recommend

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I went to top 20 twice - if he did USABO top 20 finals, I think that's worth putting on if there's still space in the AMCAS document.

@Sophist - Wow. My son only qualified in regional exams and took national exams (for both Chem and Bio). He was too busy with other activites (SciOly, Bowl and Robotics) to focus on national exams

 

[Mister Significant]

I know I am like a year late, but what do you mean Organic chem 2 ACS was a different story? I thought everyone took the same ACS final for both organic 1 and 2.

The ACS 1 was just the first semester of Organic Chemistry. The ACS 2 was over the whole year.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The ACS 1 was just the first semester of Organic Chemistry. The ACS 2 was over the whole year.

My acs exam for ochem 2 was just focused on ochem 2. There may have been one or two questions that were more related to ochem 1, but I can’t even remember any.

 

[orgostudent]

Honestly our prof gave us a practice ACS from an old version and I got like 37/70. Then I proceeded to study from the ACS exam prep book for 1-2 hours a day then took the ACS the next week and scored a 52/70 (around 75%ish) and then with the curve I ended with like a 95% on the test, which our prof also said if we did better on the final, she would replace our lowest test with the ACS (which some profs do). It isn't hard unless you try to study super in depth topics. The test is too broad to test all the material. Personally, make sure you use the review book and go through the entire thing ESPECIALLY the SN2/E2 reactions (i swear half the test was that type of question).

Hey! Im going to be taking a final with the ACS orgo II test very soon, I was wondering if you still have that practice acs from an old version? I have the book and have been going through it but I figure doing an actual test would be a lot better in understand where I am at for this test.

Thanks in advance.