Best time for o-chem?

[blike]

I'm trying to get an idea of my general schedule for the next year or so. If I plan on taking MCATs spring of my junior year, when is the best time for organic chemistry?

Right now it looks like I won't get to organic chem1 till fall of my junior year, I could push it up to summer between sophomore and junior. Would taking ochem in the summer look bad to admissions committees? What do you guys recommend?

Also, might as well squeeze another question in here.

How long are MCAT review courses? When should I fit this in?

Thank you!

 

[SuzyQ]

I took Organic Chem I the summer between my freshman and sophmore year and Orgo II my 2nd semeser soph year. I have seen a lot of people wondering if it would look bad to take classes in the summer and I don't understand why it would be looked down upon by the admissions committee.....In actuality, I would be impressed by it because the class is shortened in the summer and a lot more stressfull. If you come out with an A in orgo in the summer I would think it would look good. I dont know if Im right...but its just what I think.

 

[SuzyQ]

Oh and by the way....if you are goign to take in the fall semester of your junior year that might actually benefit you since the material will all be fresh in your mind. My PR instructors told me that theh MCAT really only focuses on Orgo I and not so much in Orgo II so its not like it will put you behind if you take it then.

 

[Fenrezz]

Originally posted by blike
I'm trying to get an idea of my general schedule for the next year or so. If I plan on taking MCATs spring of my junior year, when is the best time for organic chemistry?

Right now it looks like I won't get to organic chem1 till fall of my junior year, I could push it up to summer between sophomore and junior. Would taking ochem in the summer look bad to admissions committees? What do you guys recommend?

Also, might as well squeeze another question in here.

How long are MCAT review courses? When should I fit this in?

Thank you!

Adcoms don't care when you take classes. They have thousands of applications to look at, I hardly think they have time to break down when each class was taken. They just want to see the bottom line (overall gpa, science gpa, mcat etc).

Take orgo 1 in the fall and 2 in the spring. Take the MCAT prep course in the spring, it will be finished before you take the April MCAT. You'll be okay.

Only problem you'll run into is that the MCAT will probably be just a week or so before your final exams for that semester so it will be rough taking the MCAT, then having to study for your orgo 2 finals, but just look at it as a dry run for what you will have to do in med school.

 

[Dr JPH]

I agree with Fenrezz...smart dude.

Do O-Chem throughout your Junior year.

The MCAT comes at a crappy time...mine was the Saturday after 3 finals, and the day after my Biochemistry final.

But, the Organic should be fresh in your mind.

Either way, the MCAT isn't easy, whether you take it April or August. Do your best, do well in Biochem, Organic, and Physics. Kick butt on the MCAT and get accepted.

Good luck to you.

 

[silver_eyes]

yea that was my question too.


i will take o chem the summer before my junior year b/c i dont have enough space in my schedule to take it during the regular semester and i thought that since i would take it during summer, my attention will all be on o chem.

but i dont see why it would be a negative thing towards the admissions committe.

 

[blike]

I honestly didn't think it would look bad, I just threw that out just in case. The only reason I could see that it might look bad is because SOME summer courses shorten the material and cut things out (apparently not my history course, which is kicking my tail).

 

[silver_eyes]

but how would the adcoms know that they cut some chapters out?

 

[blike]

They wouldn't, of course, I just didn't want them to assume I took it over the summer for a lightler load.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by blike
They wouldn't, of course, I just didn't want them to assume I took it over the summer for a lightler load.

yea exactly.

 

[DOtobe]

I took organic (both I and II) over the summer between my sophomore and junior year, mainly because I wanted to take biochemistry in the spring of my junior year, and organic was a prerequisite. None of the adcoms at the schools I applied to had a problem with it. I take that back, PCOM asked me about it in my interview (why I took it over the summer). The adcoms don't look into the difference in the curriculum of classes in the summer vs. classes during the regular school year. As long as your organic class prepares you enough to do well on the organic part of the MCAT, it doesn't matter when you take it, just as long as you've taken it.

I was afraid of the same thing you guys are when I took it over the summer, thinking, "Oh, they'll think I'm a slacker or that I couldn't hack it during the school year." But it honestly didn't make a difference. PCOM asked me about it, and I told them it was because I wanted to take biochem, and they dropped it. That was it.

 

[silver_eyes]

thanks.

yea i have to take it during the summer, or else i wont make it intime fo rmy mcat during spring.

 

[blike]

Wow, you nailed both I and II in one semester? Nice work!

 

[DOtobe]

Yeah, my summer that year pretty much sucked, but I got two A's on my transcript out of it!

Thanks for the compliment

 

[DOtobe]

blike,
I just noticed that you also also asked about MCAT review courses. I took the Princeton Review and it ran from February until the MCAT in April. We had it several days a week from 6-9 (I think that was when it was...I have blocked that part of my life from my memory ) If you can afford a review course, please take one. The practice exams in and of themselves make them worth the money. I had people I took the MCAT who didn't even know how long we had for each section. You will feel so much more prepared for, if not anything else, sitting in one place for eight hours and taking a test if you take a review course.

I know that's how Princeton Review works, but I have no idea how Kaplan or any of the other review courses work. But definitely take one. They are worth the money (and if you do badly on the MCAT despite the course, they let you take it free the second time (the review course, not the MCAT ) )

 

[blike]

Didn't you need concepts from organic1 for organic 2? How did you manage that?

Thanks for the MCAT response. I can't decide between princeton review and kaplan. I still have plenty of time though