How much does 2nd level Orchem help people do good on MCAT??

[Monkeymaniac]

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I finished the 1st level organic chemistry in last semester, and I registered for

the 2nd level organic chemistry this semester, with a heavy load of other

courses. If the knowledge of the 2nd level Orchem is not so crucial to

taking MCAT organic chemistry section, I want to drop it, and take it

next semester. So my question would be

How much does 2nd level Orchem help people do good on MCAT??

Thanks.

 

[jennben4]

Depends on what material is covered in each section. Most schools only have 1 O Chem, so all the relevant info is taken care of. Make sure your bases are covered with 1st level and forget 2nd! MCAT Bio is only 35% Orgo anyway! Know the basic reactions, concepts, trends, etc. Pick up a review book and flip through it - if everything looks familiar, drop 2nd level and focus your attention elsewhere.

 

[Law2Doc]

I finished the 1st level organic chemistry in last semester, and I registered for

the 2nd level organic chemistry this semester, with a heavy load of other

courses. If the knowledge of the 2nd level Orchem is not so crucial to

taking MCAT organic chemistry section, I want to drop it, and take it

next semester. So my question would be

How much does 2nd level Orchem help people do good on MCAT??

Thanks.

There may be second semester OChem questions on the MCAT. There were when I took it. Without having had the course, your odds of getting such questions correct are less. But you can still do poorly on the MCAT even having had all the prereqs, so taking it doesn't mean you will "do good".

 

[Brandon81081]

I took both O-chem 1 and O-chem 2. The second is obviously an advanced version...and builds upon the basics you already know from the first course, reinforcing that material. It helped me. But i think most questions are just basic O-chem.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

i remember there being almost no ochem on the mcat. i didn't review my ochem (except for whatever was in the princeton review books). and i wasn't a stellar ochem student. but i did fine on the mcat.

 

[solitude]

At least on the last few AAMC's and on the Aug 06 MCAT, there has been very little or no required knowledge of the reactions learned in OChem2. The vast majority (all?) of MCAT OChem is conceptual, and does not require that one have memorized all of the standard OChem reactions. OChem2 is essentially memorization of many different reactions with an understanding of how they all fit together and why they are chemically favorable. I would offer that you could do just fine on the MCAT BS without OChem2. But why don't you find out for yourself? Take a few of the AAMC's BS, find the OChem passages, and see if you are missing any knowledge required to answer them correctly.

 

[Monkeymaniac]

Thanks guys!

 

[Erina]

my two ochem passages in april were on glucose and esterification, both of which i learned about in ochem 2. without that knowledge, i feel like i would have been screwed on those passages.

 

[jsnuka]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and take a biochemistry course.

Biochemistry and the 1st semester of organic will get you through the MCAT and help you to understand what the review are saying to you vs. using the review books to teach you stuff that you do not know at all.

 

[Lals]

I think everything you need to know about Ochem for the MCAT you can learn through a combination of the EK ochem book and the Kaplan MCAT book.

While this may certainly be true, having took Orgo I & II with the head of the chemistry department as my instructor (who also happened to be on my Pre-Med. committee) I felt as though my mastery of the subject was such that I could tackle virtually anything the MCAT would throw at me with relative ease (relative to the other science sections and to his exams, that is.) Having taken the recent test, I stand by that early impression (I actually wish I had more orgo). The bottom line is that Kaplan is no substitute for an Organic Chemistry teacher that kicks your ass. While you will certainly encounter both IR and/or Proton NMR, which I learned in Orgo I, the shear volume of reactions and more importantly the mechanisms learned in Orgo II virtually necessitates their inclusion on the MCAT.

 

[tchuptchik]

Alot of the Orgo they like on the MCAT was carbonyl chemistry which we did in the second semester. They also seem to like glucose (also second semester for me).

I was strong in orgo... so I liked the class (not the prof unfortunatly second semester... but that doesnt matter)... so if anything, it's simplly an interesting class! My class also did all the NMR the second semester as well.

 

[.surgical.]

da da da DO IT

totally worth it

 

[UMP]

carbonyl chemistry... huge on the MCAT... and it's when the "why" of orgo started falling in to place for me

 

[deleted106503]

I took Orgo about 2 years ago and didn't remember anything off the top of my head. I studied using Exam Krackers stuff and it brought everything back. I didn't have any problems with Orgo on practice exams and I don't think it I messed up too bad on the real MCAT. You shouldn't have to be a master of Orgo I and II to do well...

 

[osteoblast]

yes, the mcat will definitely ask about reactions that you learn in second semester o-chem. carbonyl chemistry, carboxylic acid derivatives and sugars are pretty big. HOWEVER, i had ONE o-chem passage on my august exam and only two in april. either i'm really bad at math, or that doesn't quite add up to the supposed 30-35%??

anyway, i guess i'm not really sure which way i'd go on this one, but the chances of you missing all of the questions in ONE passage are slim and shouldn't make much of a difference in your overall score.

 

[UMP]

yes, the mcat will definitely ask about reactions that you learn in second semester o-chem. carbonyl chemistry, carboxylic acid derivatives and sugars are pretty big. HOWEVER, i had ONE o-chem passage on my august exam and only two in april. either i'm really bad at math, or that doesn't quite add up to the supposed 30-35%??

anyway, i guess i'm not really sure which way i'd go on this one, but the chances of you missing all of the questions in ONE passage are slim and shouldn't make much of a difference in your overall score.

well... I guess if you are just trying to claw past a 30 in the quickest time possible, you don't have to... but if you want to maximize your score I think it's worth at least 1-2 scale points on the BS section