hardest class that you took?

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s1lver

s1lver

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What was it and why was it hard (lots of memorization, difficult labs, etc.)?
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s1lver said:
What was it and why was it hard (lots of memorization, difficult labs, etc.)?
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I would have to say microbio, but not because the subject itself is difficult to understand. It was the shear amount of material that we had to memorize. At the end of the quarter, I had about two inches of notes I had to memorize. And worse, I was taking it the same time as third quarter of o chem.

Biochem was also difficult for the same reason. Lots to memorize.
 
s1lver said:
What was it and why was it hard (lots of memorization, difficult labs, etc.)?
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Physical biochemistry and physical chemistry would be two of the hardest class that i ever took.
 
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I agree with Physical chemistry being the hardest course I ever took. But I do enjoy having fun with challenging stuff like that :)
 
sherlockRX said:
I agree with Physical chemistry being the hardest course I ever took. But I do enjoy having fun with challenging stuff like that :)[/QUOT

I am glad it is all over. those classes way too challenging and i studied my ass off.
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So far, I'd have to say Principles of Biology 2. Most of the concepts weren't difficult, but there was so much information and little details to memorize. I don't expect it to be the hardest class I've ever taken by the time I finish up my undergrad though.
 
biochem was fun
so fun that i took it twice!
but it was hard b/c it was 80% memorizing stuff, then 20% applying what you learned.
ochem was similar, but probably 80% memorizing, and 40% applying, (120% ?)

but as with everything, if you put in the sufficient time, then you can handle it.
study w/ friends, be a nerd like myself and make it fun.
 
Public speaking. I could not convince myself to make it to class. We actually had to do improv and that just wasn't my thing. Sadly, its currently the only class in my prerequisites that I have a B in.
 
Structural biochemistry and Cell Biology. Too many proteins and concepts to remember.
 
Anatomy and Physiology, but just the first semester which was mostly anatomy at my school. It just took a lot of time to memorize everything and being able to find it on a model or cadaver part.
 
Spanish I + II! Foreign language is just not my thing.
 
tharper14 said:
Spanish I + II! Foreign language is just not my thing.
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Concept-wise the hardest class I ever took was Pchem 2. We had quite a bit of journey in that class. The first test with the hardest material - someone pulled a fire-alarm during the exam and we lost about 25 minutes out of the exam time. Someone managed to score a 110 % though, so that set the rest of back as the professor couldn't scale the test.For the rest of the semester, I felt like I was completely lost. The last three weeks I didn't even go to class because my research was on the urge of disaster and required every minute of my time. I studied for the final for 1 day and crammed weeks worth of material into that day. When I got my grade back ( I got an A ) I couldn't believe my eyes. I officially aced both semesters of pchem, unbelievable !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Physiology was also an incredibly challenging class for me and I believe it was partially due to the professor's teaching style. It took me 2/3 of the semester just to figure out how to study for the class and what she expected. She assigned this really long 60-90 page chapters that we were supposed to read every 2 days and I had a really hard time just keeping up with the class. I did well, but I feel like I should have done better. I didn't get an A and let myself down with that class. :( :cool:
 
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Real Analysis (where you have to prove all those theorems you learned in Calculus).

Failed it the first time. :eek: The final was nothing but the homework we had all semester. Since I wasn't getting it, I knew I was either going to get a D or F, so I didn't even take the test so I could concentrate on my other classes.

The second time through it was so easy because I had finally figured out how to approach the problems (the teacher wasn't any easier). We had ten proofs on the final and she only made one mark on my paper. :D

Turned out to be a great lesson about failing and getting up and trying again.
 
Why did you take real analysis? That is not required for pharmacy school. I took a more advanced version in my graduate school called measure theory. I think that we do not need to take calculus in college, and two semesters of real analysis can replace calculus. So Calculus I-III should be cut out, and instead should be Real Analysis I-II. Some schools in other countries do that actually.

Are you math/statistics major?
 
Mam phys was the hardest with lots of memorization especially of receptors for the nervous system, which neurotransmitters affected what, and the renal system how everything is absorbed and secreted.
 
Religion 200-something, New Testament Survey. Hardest f'n undergraduate class ever. I'm being 100% serious.

In pharmacy school....I'd say pharmacology 1 is probably the toughest, but I had the hardest time with therapeutics due to disinterest.
 
Hardest class I took was Calculus II. Throw me any bio, physics, chemistry and I'm OK but anything that has to do with too much math I'm in the gutter. I didn't inherit the asian math gene.
 
Someone above said microbio, and I would agree, because it's sooo much memorization.
 
Calculus... aced all my science pre-req's including o.chem... calculus killed me, even lost some hair while in that class - I've never worked so hard for a C - it's my only C. I always considered myself to be good in math until this class. I may have to re-take it...:cool:
 
Physics I was the hardest by far for me. Organic was like abc's to me. haha.
 
The Calcs ( I and II) were kind of hard for me. Calc I wasnt all that bad, but still took more effort then my Bio/chem classes. Calc II was pretty hard for me. Then maybe Immunology. A lot of info, but still got an A easily.
I am just not that strong in math.... kinda scared for pharmacokinetics next fall
 
cdpiano27 said:
Are you math/statistics major?
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My degree was in math because after all was said and done that was just the easiest thing to finish a degree in. When I decided I wanted to be a pharmacist, I ended up going back to school for two more years (part-time) so I could get the pre-reqs for pharm school.

What were you studying in grad school that you had to take measure theory?
 
Chemical Thermodynamics- I went into the course with as much knowledge as I came out. Eek, that course was a complete nightmare.
 
Anatomy & Physiology I. Hands down. Too many little details!
 
Analytical Chemistry. It took 5-10 hours to write each lab report. We would collect tons of data from our experiments (tens of thousands of data points sometimes) and then have to analyze it in excel.

But it was a valuable class and I am glad I took it.
 
Organic Chemistry I, History II, Human Anatomy (I once asked for help in Anatomy on SDN), and Tax Accounting I. These were my most difficult classes. I wasn't used to my OChem prof's teaching style (he believed in "guided inquiry," and divided us into groups and we had to figure out the material pretty much by ourselves. It got better toward the end). For History, I took the honors class. Not a good idea. Anatomy had lots of material, and I really had to bust my behind to pull up my grade, and Tax Accounting...well if you have the chance, look at the US tax code, Treasury regulations, and tax court decisions, and you will understand why I had a hard time in that class. I made A's in those classes, but I had to struggle to pull up my grades after making C's and sometimes D's on tests.
 
molecular/biochem was pretty hard even though I did get a A in the class. It was very time consuming, and I can never get the ATP count right, and I had issues with which gene's activated what/deactivated/inhibited what.

The second hardest was Physiology, and this was due to my professor's love for problem solving/comprehensive essay questions.

Ochem 2 was the third hardest class for me, mainly because I didn't study and slacked off the whole quarter (i'm not complaining though :) )
 
medicalcpa said:
I wasn't used to my OChem prof's teaching style (he believed in "guided inquiry," and divided us into groups and we had to figure out the material pretty much by ourselves. It got better toward the end).
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What is up with this "teaching style"? :confused:

My OChem I was an "active learning" class. Basically our instructor would give us a worksheet and two or three of us would try to figure out the answers. It was like the blind leading the blind. He would then instruct for 30 minutes (out of a two hour class) and then we'd have a quiz over that day's material. IMHO one of the worst ways to teach a class. :thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown: I could rant all day about it, but I'll skip it.
 
my medicinal chemistry courses :S
i barely passed the first one last semester, and am struggling to pass the second one now :(
i dunno if u have it the same in ur universities. here it's all about drug structures and their structure activity relationships (SAR)
 
Chem II. It was taught over a 7 week course (right after Chem I in an 8 week course) and I think I got burnt out.

Right now Im taking Physics II and hate it. Its not that its hard material, its just that its boring to me and I dont like to study it. In fact, Im ignoring it right now. :laugh:
 
Physics II. Although I ended up with a better grade than I did in Organic II, I put in about 5 times the effort. I've never felt more stupid in my life. I would read the book, read difficult concepts in a secondary physics book, study my notes until the pages were threadbare, work extra homework problems, watch/work tutorials online, go to study groups, and on and on and on. No matter what I did, I just couldn't learn how to solve those problems. This class made me doubt my ability to handle pharmacy school.
 
pharmpilot said:
What is up with this "teaching style"? :confused:

My OChem I was an "active learning" class. Basically our instructor would give us a worksheet and two or three of us would try to figure out the answers. It was like the blind leading the blind. He would then instruct for 30 minutes (out of a two hour class) and then we'd have a quiz over that day's material. IMHO one of the worst ways to teach a class. :thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown: I could rant all day about it, but I'll skip it.
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For many, it was like the blind leading the blind. But there are studies that students who learn this way retain the material better than those in traditional lecture. It is best if you approach the class with an open mind, and truly try to do your best (the quality of people in your group also helps). I had the same professor for Organic II, and it was waaay better.
 
So far for me it was the Theology class. Man she made that class harder than it needed to be with all that busy work. We had to visit a Jewish Temple, forget what it's called and everything. I was glad to get that B in the class :)
 
monsterbrain said:
Physics II. Although I ended up with a better grade than I did in Organic II, I put in about 5 times the effort. I've never felt more stupid in my life. I would read the book, read difficult concepts in a secondary physics book, study my notes until the pages were threadbare, work extra homework problems, watch/work tutorials online, go to study groups, and on and on and on. No matter what I did, I just couldn't learn how to solve those problems. This class made me doubt my ability to handle pharmacy school.
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did you get an A?
 
Onetreehill said:
Chemical Thermodynamics- I went into the course with as much knowledge as I came out. Eek, that course was a complete nightmare.
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I agree. Chemical thermodynamics was the HARDEST class i had to take. Too many things that were hard too understand. Wondered what the point was.
 
Physics Was The Most Difficult - If Your Really Good At Math, Then Your Good
 
Inorganic Chemistry (upper devision)
Medical Microbiology
 
physics II (cal based) was so difficult for me. Ironically, I really liked PhyI but for some reason I could never grasp the topics. I had a professor who spoke very quietly and looked down at the floor. Didn't use the textbook and was always late. The homework problems he designed were not reflective of the material presented in class. So let's just say I'm glad it wasn't a pre-req for pharmacy school. :D
 
Microbiology lab is a fun class (doesn't mean it's easy) to take, but it took A LOT of my study time for other classes last quarter. For this class, I had 3 midterms, 3 18 pgs. lab report, and quizzes every class meeting.
 
Organic Chemistry II was the hardest class I have ever taken in my life, I put easily 10x more than my second hardest class which was probably Calculus II. Every night I would study OCHEM with the end result of a C. Eh, my sister who got a D- is taking it over at a Community College for her pre-reqs says that its an easy A w/o studying. Damn my school (ACP).
 
To be completely honest, organic chemistry was the most demanding and challenging course I had to take. While I earned A's in both lecture and lab and had a knack for the material, especially synthesis and reactions, I had to dedicate more time and studying in this particular class than for any other class I've ever taken before. Regardless, I feel I gained a lot of knowledge and that is what counts at the end. Some would say organic 2 is a hell of a lot harder than 1, but I found the former to be easier despite the more complex reaction mechanisms and more numerous reactions (Wittig reaction, Dieckmann, Claisen, saponification, etc...). The only thing that made orgo 2 more challenging in some respects than organic 1 was the heavy use of retrosynthesis. I didn't really use retrosynthesis very much in orgo 1, except for the Williamson Ether Synthesis, but many synthetic pathways in the second semester required retro, which can be quite challenging at times.
 
Phys Chem 1 because it relied on a skillset which we didn't have (vector calc, differential calc) and the concepts were just plain hard.
 
jackal head said:
did you get an A?
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No, a B. I thought Physics I was exceptionally easy, but the second semester was a whole 'nother world! Why on earth would a pharmacy school require a knowledge of electrical circuits and magnetic fields? Oh well, it's all over now.
 
monsterbrain said:
No, a B. I thought Physics I was exceptionally easy, but the second semester was a whole 'nother world! Why on earth would a pharmacy school require a knowledge of electrical circuits and magnetic fields? Oh well, it's all over now.
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Just as a weedout mechanism. I don't believe they should use it a weedout mechanism because there are other courses that are both IMPORTANT and at the same time serve the dual purpose of weeding out applicants. Organic chemistry, certainly an important class and one that will probably be used a bit in pharmacy school, is a tough enough course to weedout the students who are not really into this profession or most other healthcare professions. I don't see why physics has to be used. It's not even tested on the PCAT. Though you never know...who knows? Maybe in a few years, the PCAT will be revamped and test physics just like the MCAT does. And by the way, not all pharmacy schools require physics. Most do, but there are some that require only 1 semester as opposed to 2 and yet others don't require any at all. I didn't take it because it wasn't required at the school I'm attending this fall.
 
monsterbrain said:
No, a B. I thought Physics I was exceptionally easy, but the second semester was a whole 'nother world! Why on earth would a pharmacy school require a knowledge of electrical circuits and magnetic fields? Oh well, it's all over now.
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I'm with you 100%. Physics I was a piece of cake, but my God, Physics II couldn't have ended soon enough. I had the worst teacher ever for that class as well. Thankfully halfway through the class I found out I was accepted to UNMC, which didn't require Physics II (previously was accepted to U of MN, which requires a full year of Physics) so I could somewhat coast the rest of the way...didn't want to drop it all together because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. Passed with an A- (somehow!...must have been a pretty big curve...I was thinking I was going to get a B or B- at best.

Electricity/magnetism just killed me. Optics was pretty cool though.

I think Calc II was by far the toughest pre-req I took, but Physics II gave it a run for its money.
 
Human anatomy without a doubt was the hardest class I have taken in my life. Took so much time and energy to study... only to get a B -
 
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