Chemistry/Organic Chemistry Requirements

[leleg3728]

Hi,
I'm a Canadian undergrad student considering both Canadian and US medical schools.
I am looking at the course requirements for US medical schools, and the AAMC website states that I need "two years of chemistry (through organic chemistry)".

Does this mean that all the two years of my chemistry has to be organic chemistry? Or can I take two years of chemistry (1 year general or physical, 1 year organic)?

Thanks!

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[FlavivirusProtease]

Hi,
I'm a Canadian undergrad student considering both Canadian and US medical schools.
I am looking at the course requirements for US medical schools, and the AAMC website states that I need "two years of chemistry (through organic chemistry)".

Does this mean that all the two years of my chemistry has to be organic chemistry? Or can I take two years of chemistry (1 year general or physical, 1 year organic)?

Thanks!

Generally in the US there is one full year of gen-chem (2 classes) and 1 full year of Ochem (2 classes) to fulfill that requirement.

 

[leleg3728]

Generally in the US there is one full year of gen-chem (2 classes) and 1 full year of Ochem (2 classes) to fulfill that requirement.

Does "general" include physical chemistry and biochemistry, too?

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

Does "general" include physical chemistry and biochemistry, too?

I don’t believe so. Most schools also have a biochemistry requirement in addition to their chemistry requirement.

Think of General chemistry as the classes you would get credit for if you took AP or IB chemistry.

Additionally, I believe they’ll accept courses like analytical chemistry for your general chemistry, because it worked for me.

 

[leleg3728]

No it means introductory/freshman/first-year chemistry which is usually a broadbased overview course

I am in University of Toronto and my first year courses were physical chemistry and organic chemistry... How would this work?

 

[deleted804295]

I am in University of Toronto and my first year courses were physical chemistry and organic chemistry... How would this work?

You might want to look into your syllabus and see what physical chemistry was composed of.

I've met individuals who went to University of Toronto who have called general chemistry some weird things.

Do you mind telling us the main concepts you learned in p chem and o chem? Also, when you say you took these both in your first year do you mean o chem your first semester and p chem your second or both simultaneously? p chem is typically a semester course whereas o chem is typically 2 semesters. Additionally p chem is typically offered after finishing o chem.

 

[leleg3728]

You might want to look into your syllabus and see what physical chemistry was composed of.

I've met individuals who went to University of Toronto who have called general chemistry some weird things.

Do you mind telling us the main concepts you learned in p chem and o chem? Also, when you say you took these both in your first year do you mean o chem your first semester and p chem your second or both simultaneously? p chem is typically a semester course whereas o chem is typically 2 semesters. Additionally p chem is typically offered after finishing o chem.

Physical chemistry was stuff like kinetics, thermodynamics, states of matter, acid and bases, and electrochem. The official name of the course is "Chemistry: Physical Properties" and it's one semester long.

Organic chemistry was also one semester long and we learn things like basic structures and bonding, functional groups, stereochemistry, organic reaction patterns, resonance and reactivity and synthesis of alkenes and alkyl halides. the official name of the course is "Introductory Organic Chemistry I"

These two courses aren't pre-requisites of each other; they're both offered in both first and second semesters and can be taken in either order.

 

[leleg3728]

The combination of CHM138H and CHM139H is recommended for students who intend to take programs in the Life or Health Sciences that do not require a large amount of chemistry. It is also the most appropriate course for students applying for entry into professional programs.

Yeah, CHM138 and CHM139 are the courses I am taking in first year... I just don't know what they count as in medical school and how many semesters of what chemistry I will need later.

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

I took a quick look at the UofT catalog, I believe the year of organic chemistry would be CHM249H and CHM348H. That's just my understanding from looking at the chemistry department; you should definitely talk to an advisor before taking those. Course numbers differ by school, and I don't go to UofT.

 

[leleg3728]

I took a quick look at the UofT catalog, I believe the year of organic chemistry would be CHM249H and CHM348H. That's just my understanding from looking at the chemistry department; you should definitely talk to an advisor before taking those. Course numbers differ by school, and I don't go to UofT.

So would my first year course CHM136H (Introductory Organic Chemistry I) not count as organic chemistry but general chemistry?

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

I'm not sure, that is something you would need to talk to your advisor about. However, I can tell you that there is no double dipping. You need 4 chemistry courses in general chemistry and organic chemistry. So you can't count that course as both organic and general chemistry. You'd probably be hard pressed to find additional general chemistry classes (beyond 2) and so taking 2 organic chemistry classes might be the only way to go,

Again, I don't go to UofT and I don't know their system. You should speak to your major advisor as well as your medical school advisor and take what they tell you to take.

Edit: trust your premed advisor more than your major advisor. They know more about medical school pre-reqs whereas major advisors mostly know about getting you to graduate.

 

[deleted804295]

Physical chemistry was stuff like kinetics, thermodynamics, states of matter, acid and bases, and electrochem. The official name of the course is "Chemistry: Physical Properties" and it's one semester long.

Organic chemistry was also one semester long and we learn things like basic structures and bonding, functional groups, stereochemistry, organic reaction patterns, resonance and reactivity and synthesis of alkenes and alkyl halides. the official name of the course is "Introductory Organic Chemistry I"

These two courses aren't pre-requisites of each other; they're both offered in both first and second semesters and can be taken in either order.

As I assumed, your physical chemistry is actually just general chemistry. You're missing chemical equilibrium and redox reactions there may be more since your class condensed things down to one semester.

Additionally your organic chemistry is not sufficient you've learned about an eighth of what my school offered for the two semesters of organic chemistry. It really is just an intro o chem course.

Since you're still young I would recommend you ask if you can be taken into general chemistry two from a neighboring university or at a community college. If they shut you down because your curriculum missed some things you will have to start completely over from gen chem 1, gen chem 2, o chem 1 and o chem 2.

You might think this is bad but I nearly did 5 semesters of chemistry instead of 4 since my school condensed the full chemistry track into 3 semesters.

 

[deleted804295]

I'm not sure, that is something you would need to talk to your advisor about. However, I can tell you that there is no double dipping. You need 4 chemistry courses in general chemistry and organic chemistry. So you can't count that course as both organic and general chemistry. You'd probably be hard pressed to find additional general chemistry classes (beyond 2) and so taking 2 organic chemistry classes might be the only way to go,

Again, I don't go to UofT and I don't know their system. You should speak to your major advisor as well as your medical school advisor and take what they tell you to take.

Edit: trust your premed advisor more than your major advisor. They know more about medical school pre-reqs whereas major advisors mostly know about getting you to graduate.

I would be careful in making absolutes here. Many Universities in the United States are moving towards a 3 semester long condensed but accelerated chemistry sequence for pre health students.

What matters is the content being covered, are all the topics in gen chem and o chem being offered in each Universities curriculum? In this students case the answer is no, which is fine but they must also be prepared to take additional course material to meet medical school standards.

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

I would be careful in making absolutes here. Many Universities in the United States are moving towards a 3 semester long condensed but accelerated chemistry sequence for pre health students.

What matters is the content being covered, are all the topics in gen chem and o chem being offered in each Universities curriculum? In this students case the answer is no, which is fine but they must also be prepared to take additional course material to meet medical school standards.

I know, I don't like to give out class advice on SDN, because every university is so different. That's why I tried to stress speaking to his advisors (more specifically the school's pre-med advisor).