Battle of the Professors

[sizillyd]

Okay here is my problem, I am going to take Org chem 2 next semester and need some help on deciding who to take. Professor 1 gives study guides for his exams and can speak English very well. Professor 1 also puts an emphasis on mechanisms. Professor 2 is not very proficient with English, does not emphasize mechanisms, and curves his tests very often by 2 letter grades. I wish to be well prepared for the MCAT so I'm thinking that Professor 1 might be the better choice. Also, if I take Professor 2, I will not have class on Friday. I'm pretty sure I know the answer....

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[Geekchick921]

Why are you even considering Professor #2? The curve? I can't help but think he/she curves so generously because no one understands him/her. Prof 1 all the way.

 

[JenniferRU]

Why are you even considering Professor #2? The curve? I can't help but think he/she curves so generously because no one understands him/her. Prof 1 all the way.

What is there even to consider?

 

[EulerianCircuit]

Also, #1 would probably be able to give a better LOR, if you need one, since he speaks English better.

 

[orthomyxo]

The idea of having a prof. that can't speak english proficiently does not sit well with me at all. How can you learn if you can barely understand the person who is teaching you? I say #1.

 

[FloatOn]

Definitely professor 1. You'll end up doing a quick review of ochem for the MCAT instead of basically reteaching yourself the entire subject.

It's going to be ok; I've had classes on Fridays for all 8 semesters of college.

 

[Ravendown]

Okay here is my problem, I am going to take Org chem 2 next semester and need some help on deciding who to take. Professor 1 gives study guides for his exams and can speak English very well. Professor 1 also puts an emphasis on mechanisms. Professor 2 is not very proficient with English, does not emphasize mechanisms, and curves his tests very often by 2 letter grades. I wish to be well prepared for the MCAT so I'm thinking that Professor 1 might be the better choice. Also, if I take Professor 2, I will not have class on Friday. I'm pretty sure I know the answer....

for orgo, i at least did most of my studying by myself. Might as well take professor 2. Speaking english very well, does not necessarily indicate a good professor.

 

[futureboy]

I hate to say it, but take the prof that gives you a shot at the best grade, which sounds like #2. Maybe you can get a copy of the other prof's (#1's) study guides, or even attend #1's lectures if you can. We did that in a calc class. We'd skip half of the bad prof's lectures and go to the good prof's instead.

 

[futureboy]

Interestingly, in my example the bad calc prof was a native English speaker but was a lousy teacher. The good prof spoke with a pretty thick accent (was still understandable though), but was an excellent teacher.

 

[ksmi117]

I'd go with professor 1. Learning the material is way more important IMO.

 

[jm192]

My School has 3 O-chem professors

One of them sounds EXACTLY like your #2. I took him. There were curves, and some people really struggled, and cited the language barrier. But I had classes with most of these people before...the ones that usually got A's in the past...got A's. On Practice Tests, I think the most O-Chem questions I missed was 2.

Organic Chemistry is like everything else. If you work hard and study, you're going to understand it. MCAT Organic isn't terribly in depth or specific. Don't fall in the trap of, oh he's going to curve it so I can slack. As long as you work hard and do well on # 2's tests, you'll be prepared for the MCAT.

I'm a big advocate of taking easy teachers. AdComs don't know which teacher at which school is the easiest or the hardest. They only know that letter by Organic on your transcript. GPA is now, MCAT isn't. Do your GPA and transcript a huge favor, and get A's in both Organics. It would suck to study intensely hard in #1's class and get an 89. At that point you already know you would have gotten an A in #2's class. And personally, thinking I might be better prepared for the MCAT isn't much consolation for my high B. You really might not be better prepared--again I think you'd come out just fine with any Organic teacher for MCAT organic.

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

Well,
sounds to me like you are referring specifically to Dr. Kurz and Dr. Zhao. I'm in Zhoa's ochem II class right now...boy is it easy. Thats not to take away from my credibility in organic because I did make an A in Dr. Negrete's class, but if I were you I would take Dr. Kurz (prof #1) because all Dr. Zhao does is read the PPT VERBATIM. You learn absolutely nothing. I've been to class 5 times, (1st day, 3 test days, and 1 lecture) and have made the A's on all of his tests, w/out his 11-15 pt curves. I took prof #1 for lab, he is a great lecturer.
I think you should take #1 and LEARN,but then again there is very little ochem II on mcat. Are you in Dr. Han's class right now???

 

[metallica81788]

I'd go with Prof #2, but I always would pick the better class for my personal schedule.

For some classes you will have to teach yourself the material (med school, too) - you can start now, get a good grade, and have Fridays off.

Plus, there's very little Organic II on the MCAT - you can get anything you need from Organic I or a review book.

 

[Disinence2]

Dude, Take Friday off.