How much harder than organic chemistry does it get?

[unicornshadow888]

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I actually had a really positive experience with Orgo I and II. Tbh, I think a lot of professors just don't know how to teach it effectively. I was lucky enough to have a really great teacher that made everything make sense. He had a reputation across the area (there are a lot of colleges around where I go to school) as one of the best Orgo professors. He was definitely challenging, and his tests REALLY made you think, but I got A's in both Orgo I and Orgo II. Tip: if you're relying on memorization instead of finding patterns for your orgo class, then you're not learning the material effectively. You shouldn't have to rely on memorization with the exception of a few things like nomenclature and the different methods of spectroscopy. If you know and understand the patterns and know how to identify why x compound reacts with y, then you should be golden.

For me, Inorganic and Physical Chem (basically part II of intro chem, but that's what it was called at my school because it involved a little bit more material) was harder than Orgo I and Orgo II.

Also, I really enjoyed Biochem as well. It helps to take both Orgo I and II before you take biochem because there are a few things from Orgo II that you might need, but it's not necessary.

Now, Physics, that was a different story. I've never been a Physics person.

 

[unicornshadow888]

Physics >> pretty much everything else

THIS. Both Intro Physics classes were by far the hardest classes that I've taken.

 

[unicornshadow888]

A W doesn't look nearly as bad as a D or an F. Or even a C really. It doesn't factor into your GPA, and if you get an A this go around, you should be fine.

Not at every school. If you have a W at my school, you essentially fail the class, and it does affect your GPA very badly. You have until around the 3rd month of the semester to drop a class until you get a W. If you drop after that date, a W = an F.

 

[JustAPhD]

Not at every school. If you have a W at my school, you essentially fail the class, and it does affect your GPA very badly. You have until around the 3rd month of the semester to drop a class until you get a W. If you drop after that date, a W = an F.

That's how most schools are. There's always a "drop by" date in the semester that after that point any Ws are calculated as Fs. By the way this thread is 5 years old. OP hopefully isn't looking for OChem advice any longer.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Not at every school. If you have a W at my school, you essentially fail the class, and it does affect your GPA very badly. You have until around the 3rd month of the semester to drop a class until you get a W. If you drop after that date, a W = an F.

A W and a WF are different and are treated differently by AMCAS.

 

[Knicks17]

Organic Chemistry is hard as your professor makes it. Trust me personal experience

 

[Lawpy]

Were your upper level undergraduate courses harder than organic chemistry?

yeah easily. upper level math, physics and engineering courses make organic chemistry look like a cakewalk. physical chemistry was by far the hardest chemistry course i took

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

yeah easily. upper level math, physics and engineering courses make organic chemistry look like a cakewalk. physical chemistry was by far the hardest chemistry course i took

I actually haven't taken organic yet, but I'm thinking Analysis and Abstract Algebra were probably more difficult.

 

[Lawpy]

I actually haven't taken organic yet, but I'm thinking Analysis and Abstract Algebra were probably more difficult.

you'd be correct. those courses are much harder than ochem easily. ochem just requires basic reasoning and some familiarity to do well.

 

[aldol16]

yeah easily. upper level math, physics and engineering courses make organic chemistry look like a cakewalk. physical chemistry was by far the hardest chemistry course i took

These courses just require different kinds of thinking. Organic is about structure-reactivity relationships whereas PChem and other math-based courses emphasize mathematical modeling of the world (e.g. Boltzmann distribution, rest of stat mech, Debye model, etc.). Some people are good at math and so physics and PChem are cakewalks whereas spatial reasoning is much more difficult for them. Some people are really good at spatial reasoning but can't do math worth a damn. These two types of people would likely find different types of courses difficult.

I actually haven't taken organic yet, but I'm thinking Analysis and Abstract Algebra were probably more difficult.

Completely different kind of thinking, so it's not even comparable. The closest analogy to organic chemistry in the math world is probably topology. Organic chemistry is about structures, reactivity, and so-called structure-reactivity relationships. Analysis and abstract algebra are very difficult - don't get me wrong - but organic chemistry is also difficult in its own way.

 

[Dimsky]

Biochem is hard alright

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

These courses just require different kinds of thinking. Organic is about structure-reactivity relationships whereas PChem and other math-based courses emphasize mathematical modeling of the world (e.g. Boltzmann distribution, rest of stat mech, Debye model, etc.). Some people are good at math and so physics and PChem are cakewalks whereas spatial reasoning is much more difficult for them. Some people are really good at spatial reasoning but can't do math worth a damn. These two types of people would likely find different types of courses difficult.



Completely different kind of thinking, so it's not even comparable. The closest analogy to organic chemistry in the math world is probably topology. Organic chemistry is about structures, reactivity, and so-called structure-reactivity relationships. Analysis and abstract algebra are very difficult - don't get me wrong - but organic chemistry is also difficult in its own way.

Yeah I'm sure it's hard. Topology actually wasn't all that difficult for me, so hopefully organic won't be either.