Hi, I'm a sophomore at USC and just took OChem I this semester, and unfortunately got a C+. I was planning to take OChem II this summer at a Cal State, but was wondering if I should also retake OChem I there (taking it at USC would just be too expensive). If I got an A in OChem I at the Cal State, would med schools consider it valid since Cal States are much easier? What should I do?
C+ in OChem I
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This. Although it's already gonna look shady because you got a C+ in O Chem I yet got an A at Cal State- it's going to look like you took it there because you couldn't handle it at your home school.
But yeah, it would be a waste of time to retake, since you still get the average of the two takes, so even if you got an A, it would only average out to a B or B+, which isn't a big enough change to justify sweating it. Just do well in O Chem II.
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I'd agree with the above advice, unless you really didn't understand the material that the course covered. If you think you wouldn't do well on the MCAT because of a lack of understanding, you'd also likely not do well in OCHem II, and that would be a reason to retake.
This is an interesting one. In my case, I got a C+ in Calc I, but aced Calc II, including receiving an award for some stuff related to it. The initial grade was not at all due to myself, it was an ethical issue with the professor, along with issues regarding her exams and teaching and politics within the institution and her not upholding her duties as a professor (we're talking her missing more than 1/3 of the classes, along with mismatched exams, and lack of even grading them). I refused to take the course over, and went to Calc II and scored an A. I had opportunities to speak directly with those responsible for admitting students into various medical programs, and I asked about this and they said that even they can see no one goes from a C+ to an A with awards in a major course like that without mastering fundamentals in the first part. They said it did raise flags only in them wanting to know what happened and how I pulled it off. Luckily, she liked me, as she failed everyone except for a few. The best was the 25 page take-home tests she would give us, saying it's only 2-3 hours of work. Several of us worked on them for 9-10 hours, only making it to page 6-7 due to the need for actually researching rules that were not in the scope of the course. She also never handed back exams, so none of us knew how good or bad we did.
I can't state how it will work in Orgo, since it's a major course that's used as a restriction, but I would look into taking Orgo I again, then taking II because unless you've mastered part I, you're not going to master II, and that's going to be two mediocre grades there.
I can't state how it will work in Orgo, since it's a major course that's used as a restriction, but I would look into taking Orgo I again, then taking II because unless you've mastered part I, you're not going to master II, and that's going to be two mediocre grades there.
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review your material by yourself and take Orgo II. in my opinion orgo II is 10x harder than orgo I
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I totally agree with this! The number of reactions you will learn second semester is enormous. Fortunately, I have an amazing professor for 2nd semester and I'm actually scoring better on his exams than I did on my first semester exams despite the fact that he is the hardest ochem professor at my school. But I agree with everyone else. Take second semester and get an A in it. If you feel you want to "make up for" the 1st semester grade, it would be better to take an upper level class and get an A than to retake 1st semester and get an A.
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dont retake. do well in organic II. consider taking and crushing biochem (haha easier said than done :/)
i actually found ochem II to be easier than ochem I. but to be fair, i have noticed more people repeated ochem II than I and a good chunk of the class dropped out after the first 2 exams.
i suggest finding a friend who did well in organic I and making use of office hours or TA/tutoring. i have a friend who partnered up with a freshman doing well in the class.. he jumped a letter grade within the semester! overall the best way to do well imo is to know everything the prof went over (in detail, as in understanding resonance, pkas and acidity, what makes molecules or functional groups electro/nucleophilic, HOMO/LUMO bonding orbitals, where the most excited electrons in the molecules are, which bonds break and form easiest and why, why reagents work in y way and under z conditions, mechanisms etc. and not just memorizing) and to do tons of practice problems.
C+ --> A is doable since a lot of the important stuff from ochem I will likely be highlighted/repeated/mentioned in lecture or elaborated on. i think the toughest part may be remembering old reactions (reagents, stereochemical concequences, ideal conditions, where x attacks and why, etc) and mechanisms so watch out for that.
i actually found ochem II to be easier than ochem I. but to be fair, i have noticed more people repeated ochem II than I and a good chunk of the class dropped out after the first 2 exams.
i suggest finding a friend who did well in organic I and making use of office hours or TA/tutoring. i have a friend who partnered up with a freshman doing well in the class.. he jumped a letter grade within the semester! overall the best way to do well imo is to know everything the prof went over (in detail, as in understanding resonance, pkas and acidity, what makes molecules or functional groups electro/nucleophilic, HOMO/LUMO bonding orbitals, where the most excited electrons in the molecules are, which bonds break and form easiest and why, why reagents work in y way and under z conditions, mechanisms etc. and not just memorizing) and to do tons of practice problems.
C+ --> A is doable since a lot of the important stuff from ochem I will likely be highlighted/repeated/mentioned in lecture or elaborated on. i think the toughest part may be remembering old reactions (reagents, stereochemical concequences, ideal conditions, where x attacks and why, etc) and mechanisms so watch out for that.
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