Anyone take honors orgo after regular genchem?

[petlee1]

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I want to try the class but I don't want to ruin my gpa

 

[RogueUnicorn]

what school

 

[petlee1]

UW-Madison

 

[LRAccord624]

I don't know about your school, but gen chem and organic are very different subjects. Gen chem is heavily math based while organic is based on concepts, spatial orientation, and mechanisms. You can memorize formulas for gen chem and do just fine, but you cannot just memorize for organic- you have to actually understand the material.

What I'm saying is, I don't think performance in gen chem is necessarily an accurate indicator of performance in organic chem.

At my school, honors organic is perceived as being easier than regular. My best friend withdrew from regular organic and had the highest grade in the class in honors. To me, if you want a smaller class size and more personal attention from the teacher, take honors.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

i never understood the point of taking honors classes in college.

 

[MisterVeil]

i never understood the point of taking honors classes in college.

Because, depending on the class and college and professor, they can be more engaging, substantive, interesting, and sometimes easier.

Of course, other times they can just be annoying.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

... so it's just like any other classe then. varies from teacher to teacher.

 

[anfleisch]

Same thing at PSU. Honors usually equals harder class, but easier grading.

 

[Envix]

I was in pre-med gen chem (~600 students, in multiple sections) and then switched into chemistry majors' orgo (50 students); got like a 98% in gen chem and a B in orgo. I learned a heck of a lot in the harder class, and I was even good at it and enjoyed it, but I regret going into an impossibly harder curve. Unfortunately, what matters in the end is not what you learned, but your grade. If they don't grade easier considering the smarter people/smaller class size, I'd stick to the regular one.
It definitely depends on the school.

 

[cdlub]

I took regular gen chem and honors organic. Having a class of 25 is much nicer than a class of 250. The professor was always extremely accessible, which is also nice if you want a LoR from a prof who knows your name or want an in for research. Maybe we covered more or had a more difficult class, material wise, I really can't say. However, there was as much help during the class as you needed, weekly worksheets, review sessions before tests, and practice exams available (old tests). In the end if you didn't get an A it was nobody's fault but your own.

 

[anfleisch]

As Envix put it, there is a big difference between a hard class (by way of material covered and complexity of exams) and a hard curve. Aka you can have an impossible class where a 10% on the exam is a C, a 20% is a B, and 30% becomes an A (obviously this is a ridiculous example). But I usually think the curve in honors classes is set by the department to allow for higher grades. Whereas the 'normal' course must follow specific grade distribution guidelines (something like 10% of students fail, 30% get a C, 50% a B, and 10% get an A or these lines may be more difficult for a "weed out" course).