How much ochem lab do we need?

[Tippyboat]

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I'm on the quarter system, and I was under the impression that I only needed 1 ochem lab course. I don't need a year of lab right?

I'm pretty sure there's only one lab course needed for inorganic chem.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Tippyboat]

I read a lot of schools' websites, most of them say


"year of ochem with lab"

Kind of vague, how much lab exactly?

 

[TehDoc]

I read a lot of schools' websites, most of them say


"year of ochem with lab"

Kind of vague, how much lab exactly?

1 Year, or if your school is on the quarter system with a sequence of 3 organic labs.

 

[silverhorse84]

My school was quarter system too. For the most part our labs and lectures were connected, however, the 3rd quarter of ochem they were seperate. I was told this was because for most professional schools (like med school) students didn't need 3 quarters of lab, so they didn't have to take it if they didn't want to. However, for gen chem you had to because all three quarters lec and lab were connected.

I took a year of lab for both, but that's because it was required by my major anyway.

You might want to call a school you plan on applying to - they should have someone who knows the answer for quarter schools, especially Cali schools since many undergrad institutions in Cali are quarter.

 

[shaggybill]

1 year refers to a lab with each sequence of both general and organic chemistry I and II. Not sure how that plays out with a quarter system though.

 

[Tippyboat]

At my school, the ochem lab classes are very much separate, they're independent 4 unit classes that take as much time (actually more) than ochem classes.

Am I still required to take a year?

 

[TehDoc]

At my school, the ochem lab classes are very much separate, they're independent 4 unit classes that take as much time (actually more) than ochem classes.

Am I still required to take a year?

Most labs take longer than any science class, that's why you'll find that most people end up hating them.

 

[Docere]

Yeah, Orgo Chem lab for us is quite time-consuming. A year of lab is exactly what it means - a year. You need a year of organic chemistry lecture (two semesters, three quarters) so you need the same amount of organic chemistry lab. For example, I'll need to take three credit hours of organic chemistry I lecture and two credit hours of organic chemistry I lab. I'll also need three credit hours of organic chemistry II lecture and two credit hours of organic chemistry II lab. This will make a total of six credit hours of organic chemistry lecture and 4 credit hours organic chemistry lab. However, even though I only get 4 credit hours for it, the organic chemistry lab actually takes 6 hours a week (6 hours for each 2-hour credit). See how that compares to your college's system.

 

[Tippyboat]

And what about for inorganic chem?

The admission sites are so unclear. For UCSF, it looks like only 8 units (2 quarters) of ochem is needed, and ochem lab is not needed at all?!

 

[suizyme09]

I'm on a quarter system. I only took two quarters of O-chem lab b/c that's how my school does it and I have had no problem fulfilling all the ochem requirements at the med schools I've applied to.

 

[Docere]

And what about for inorganic chem?

The admission sites are so unclear. For UCSF, it looks like only 8 units (2 quarters) of ochem is needed, and ochem lab is not needed at all?!

General chemistry should also be a one-year lab requirement. I looked at the UCSF website, and I'm just as confused, especially since I'm not familiar with the quarter system.

 

[MichaelG17]

My school only offers one semester of orgo lab, which I am in now. Any advice??

 

[Tippyboat]

Okay I just spent some time reading more websites, and it seems like most just say one year of ______ (with lab).

It really sounds like any kind of lab experiment with those specific classes, not a full year of each (a year of lab for gen. chem, ochem and bio sounds kind of ridiculous).

If I graduate early and apply during my year off, and say I'm accepted to some school that has crazy requirements like that, I can always just take it in summer school or something before I enroll right?

 

[UNMorBUST]

My school only offers one semester of orgo lab, which I am in now. Any advice??

Find a school nearby for Org 2 lab.

 

[suizyme09]

My school only offers one semester of orgo lab, which I am in now. Any advice??

You're probably fine. Check with an adcom person at a school you're interested in or with your adviser. Generally i think as long as you take all the ochem lab that coincides with ochem class at your school you are fine. Like I said I only took 2 quarters and I've gotten interviews and such from schools that say "1 year ochem with lab"

 

[ar2388]

You're probably fine. Check with an adcom person at a school you're interested in or with your adviser. Generally i think as long as you take all the ochem lab that coincides with ochem class at your school you are fine. Like I said I only took 2 quarters and I've gotten interviews and such from schools that say "1 year ochem with lab"

they invite people to interview who do nto have all teh prereqs

 

[suizyme09]

they invite people to interview who do nto have all teh prereqs

Yeah but prior to my interviews I played the worried premed and called and asked these specific questions and they all were like "yeah as long as you took your ochem lab classes that go with ochem at your school it's fine"

 

[UNMorBUST]

Yeah but prior to my interviews I played the worried premed and called and asked these specific questions and they all were like "yeah as long as you took your ochem lab classes that go with ochem at your school it's fine"

But when a med school asks for 1 year of orgo chem with lab. They mean 1 year orgo chem with lab. Not all schools offer both orgo 1 and 2. So you have to find a school with orgo 2.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

But when a med school asks for 1 year of orgo chem with lab. They mean 1 year orgo chem with lab. Not all schools offer both orgo 1 and 2. So you have to find a school with orgo 2.

No, I believe that's the exact opposite of what the schools told suizyme09, assuming I understood him correctly. If your school's organic chem sequence only includes one semester of lab, that is generally all you have to take.

 

[thegetupkid]

Did anyone have this experience with Harvard:

online it says "one year ochem with lab"
however, on the day of the interview, on a form we had to fill out, it stated: one year ochem with one year lab...

At UCLA, ochem lab is a separate entity that is worth the same units as a full course and that is ALL that is offered in the pre-medical series.

Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?

*Edit* maybe a better question is how many semester/quarter units were your one year lecture and one year lab pre reqs used for Harvard med or similar schools?

 

[Tippyboat]

Yeah, looking at this logically:

Some schools have 1/2 unit labs that go with lecture
Some schools have 4/5 unit lab classes.

Obviously, the second type can't take a whole year of that, which is like 4 times as many units of lab, it wouldn't be a consistent standard.

 

[Tippyboat]

Oh and I just looked more closely at the course descriptions, in my school (where each lab class is a 4 unit separate class), there exists such a series of ochem labs A, B and C. But B and C are limited to chem and biochem majors, so it looks like the question answers itself.

 

[airplanes]

I don't think you need a full years worth of ochem lab.
My quarter system school has a three part ochem series.
Ochem I, Ochem II (No labs) and Ochem Lab (which is explained lecture style with a 3 hour lab each week).
So essentially I took a single term of ochem lab. It has not been a problem.