Best way to study ochem

[the prodogy]

I was just wondering what the best way to study for ochem is? I'm hearing that, from recent MCAT takers, ochem is showing up more and more. My ochem is really weak, lets say a 3 on a scale to 10.

So for limited and crash course on ochem, what is the best way to study for it?

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[SN2ed]

First off, if you haven't taken O-chem, don't take the MCAT. There is no way around it, you MUST have it done. For your question, the best way to prepare for O-chem when it's a weakness is to choose a detailed O-chem book and take tons of practice passages. EK O-chem will not work for you since it is probably too brief. Stick to TPR Hyperlearning or BR.

Edit: Forgot to mention that if you go with TPR Hyperlearning, pick up the TPR Hyperlearning Science Workbook as well for its O-chem practice passages.

 

[LostInStudy]

Agreed with SN2ed. TPR needs to start getting more respect around here. Their OChem may not be as good as BR but it is still really good. They are a very good alternative to BR.

-LIS

 

[UofT9919]

I am currently going through TPR and I am not sure what the best way to actually study for this section. Did you guys take notes from the book and memorize all the reactions? What kind of questions for orgo show up. Are they nucleophile, electrophile basic questions about regiochemistry or I have to memorize all the reactions on aamc website like when i took university orgo.

 

[LostInStudy]

Best way outlined below:

[YOUTUBE]eGDBR2L5kzI[/YOUTUBE]

...you heard the man, PRACTICE (Just pretend he was being optimistic instead of complaining). Practice as much as you can that's the only way you get great at organic.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[Don Draper]

Agreed with SN2ed. TPR needs to start getting more respect around here. Their OChem may not be as good as BR but it is still really good. They are a very good alternative to BR.

-LIS

Hey LIS, think I have to use TPR Ochem for content review (BR passages). I have to save time for... practice.

Regards,
-Don

 

[LostInStudy]

I seriously believe that the TBR Organic Chemistry is the best MCAT book on the market compared to any other company in any subject. If I were rating books, then TBR would hands down get a 100/100 from me and no other book would come close (maybe TBR G. Chem would get a 92/100). I think that the content they have is useful enough and in just enough detail that it is worth doing over saving time. So, yes I would do it over TPR even though it make take you a tad bit longer to do.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[integralx2]

Best way outlined below:

[YOUTUBE]eGDBR2L5kzI[/YOUTUBE]

...you heard the man, PRACTICE (Just pretend he was being optimistic instead of complaining). Practice as much as you can that's the only way you get great at organic.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

hahah this cracked me up. I remember this interview.

 

[FollowTheMoney]

Best way outlined below:

[YOUTUBE]eGDBR2L5kzI[/YOUTUBE]

...you heard the man, PRACTICE (Just pretend he was being optimistic instead of complaining). Practice as much as you can that's the only way you get great at organic.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekc1Xt6gMLs

 

[Don Draper]

I seriously believe that the TBR Organic Chemistry is the best MCAT book on the market compared to any other company in any subject. If I were rating books, then TBR would hands down get a 100/100 from me and no other book would come close (maybe TBR G. Chem would get a 92/100). I think that the content they have is useful enough and in just enough detail that it is worth doing over saving time. So, yes I would do it over TPR even though it make take you a tad bit longer to do.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

I will quote Berkeley Review, first page Organic Chem...

Despite what you may have perceived was a girth of information when you initially studied organic chemistry, you don't need to review that much material to prepare successfully for the MCAT.

Ironic coming from BR.

So LIS, I will heed your advice and use BR. Although I am strongest in Ochem and weakest in Physics.

 

[Don Draper]

Hope this pays off LIS.

The MCAT today, BS: 1/7 Ochem

 

[LostInStudy]

Yea, I think it all depends on how much you want to leave to chance. I had time and I didn't want to leave anything to chance. Other people didn't, so they struggled on my day while I prospered but today seems to be different. That's the nature of this test because it is a very much a risk/reward type system. You can forgo studying O.Chem and HOPE you get something like today but if you get something like I did then you will get slaughtered (if you didn't know organic well then on my day I think you would have blown your chance at anything above an 11 assuming you got everything else right). Same with some other topics like digestive enzymes. If you master everything then you won't be surprised by anything, but if you are low on time (like I just realized you are) then you have to take some risk because you can't fit everything in.

I think it's a personal choice, you should review organic and to what extent is up to you. You said it's a strength so maybe TPR with the shorter time would be a better route with BR passages but know that you will be acquiring some risk by doing that.

These test's don't follow predictable trends at all, I mean there is plenty of genetics/molecular material but other than that everything is up in the air. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow had 3/7 Organic and mostly physics. My point is that you never know so be prepared (or reasonably as you can) for everything. It's better to be prepared for a lot of different things rather than master one thing and be weak in others. The MCAT can't possibly test everything in every subject on test day (not even most subject actually), so they find 3 or 4 things per section and batter you with them.

With all that said, I think today was an outlier. To my recollection there have probably been 2 or 3 out of 22 dates in the past year with just one organic passage. My test had plenty and I think the two Jan. dates had 2 and 3 passages.

Also, the bulk of the difference between TPR and TBR isn't in content but in the answer explanations. The TPR chapters are about the length of TBR chapters (40ish pages per chapter for each book). By my estimation the difference should take you no more than an extra study day or day and a half to read TBR. The passages are good prep so you definitely should not skip those either.

Hope this is insightful,

-LIS

 

[Don Draper]

Yea, I think it all depends on how much you want to leave to chance. I had time and I didn't want to leave anything to chance. Other people didn't, so they struggled on my day while I prospered but today seems to be different. That's the nature of this test because it is a very much a risk/reward type system. You can forgo studying O.Chem and HOPE you get something like today but if you get something like I did then you will get slaughtered. Same with some other topics like digestive enzymes. If you master everything then you won't be surprised by anything, but if you are low on time (like I just realized you are) then you have to take some risk because you can't fit everything in.

I think it's a personal choice, you should review organic and to what extent is up to you. You said it's a strength so maybe TPR with the shorter time would be a better route with BR passages but know that you will be acquiring some risk my doing that.

These test's don't follow predictable trends at all, I mean there is plenty of genetics/molecular material but other than that everything is up in the air. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow had 3/7 Organic and mostly physics. My point is that you never know so be prepared (or reasonably as you can) for everything. It's better to be prepared for a lot of different things rather than master one thing and be weak in others. The MCAT can't possibly test everything subject on test day, so they find 3 or 4 things per section and batter you with them.

With all that said, I think today was an outlier. To my recollection there have probably been 2 or 3 out of 22 dates in the past year with just one organic passage. My test had plenty and I think the two Jan. dates had 2 and 3 passages.

Also, the bulk of the difference between TPR and TBR isn't in content but in the answer explanations. The TPR chapters are about the length of TBR chapters (40ish pages per chapter for each book). By my estimation the difference should take you no more than an extra study day or day and a half to read TBR. The passages are good prep so you definitely should not skip those either.

Hope this is insightful,

-LIS

Always insightful. I decided to bite the BR Ochem bullet.

Looking forward to your 30+ post or thread, for me it will be too late but I will still read it.

 

[LostInStudy]

From how slowly my app is coming along I think it might be around the time you take it. I promise this though, it will be massively massive. So, it'll probably be a good 15 mins worth of reading. Really I'm just going to cover things that I wanted to know when I started (which is a lot) so we'll see how it goes. I don't know how helpful it will be this summer or cycle because of timing but we'll see.

-LIS

 

[Don Draper]

From how slowly my app is coming along I think it might be around the time you take it. I promise this though, it will be massively massive. So, it'll probably be a good 15 mins worth of reading. Really I'm just going to cover things that I wanted to know when I started (which is a lot) so we'll see how it goes. I don't know how helpful it will be this summer or cycle because of timing but we'll see.

-LIS

I expect it to be legendary.

 

[UofT9919]

I have alll the TPR (including workbook) but i can't get any TBR books until june 10th b/c that is when my friend comes from the US. I write at the end of August and so I will have to double up the SN2 schedule for about 25 days. I will have done all the Ek1001 question, 30min tests, and TPR stuff by the 12th of June but i am not sure if i should bother reading the TBR books(physics, chem, orgo) and just go straight to passages to save time. Or is it possible to just read it but not take notes and then do passages. Any thoughts.