How should I prepare myself for a 9 week summer ochem session?

[ANaturalWizard]

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Hello everyone,
So I live by UCR (currently attending UCSC) and UCR offers a program that covers a year of ochem + lab during a 9 week summer session (so 3 weeks back to back to back for each regular quarter course). A friend and I who are on very similar career tracks would like to take advantage of the program. However, knowing ochem is one of the hardest courses at least as a lower div class, we wanted to study the material ahead of time. I am currently a freshman just starting my first year and I plan on taking this during the summer in 2020, how would everyone here who has taken ochem recommend me study for the course?

Thanks!

 

[907914]

Hello everyone,
So I live by UCR (currently attending UCSC) and UCR offers a program that covers a year of ochem + lab during a 9 week summer session (so 3 weeks back to back to back for each regular quarter course). A friend and I who are on very similar career tracks would like to take advantage of the program. However, knowing ochem is one of the hardest courses at least as a lower div class, we wanted to study the material ahead of time. I am currently a freshman just starting my first year and I plan on taking this during the summer in 2020, how would everyone here who has taken ochem recommend me study for the course?

Thanks!

If you know periodic table trends, sterics and electronics you will be fine. Ochem is not as hard as many make it out to be.

Edit: this is my subjective experience.

Go into it knowing periodic trends of acidity, basicity, electronegativity, electron affinity, nomenclature, and a good ability to visualize in 3D.

 

[ANaturalWizard]

If you know periodic table trends, sterics and electronics you will be fine. Ochem is not as hard as many make it out to be.

I appreciate the reply, I am simply worried about the rigorous pace and me not having enough time to soak in the information properly prior to finals.

 

[907914]

I appreciate the reply, I am simply worried about the rigorous pace and me not having enough time to soak in the information properly prior to finals.

Being that for 2.5 months you will be living OChem, you should be good. That is about the volume and pace of MED school. Kill it!

 

[u_raptor]

If you know periodic table trends, sterics and electronics you will be fine. Ochem is not as hard as many make it out to be.

Edit: this is my subjective experience.

Go into it knowing periodic trends of acidity, basicity, electronegativity, electron affinity, nomenclature, and a good ability to visualize in 3D.

I am going to disagree here and say Ochem is pretty hard for some of us

If you absolutely need to do the 9 week course, go for it. But I know I wouldn't be able to do it, or at the least my grades would suffer for it. Patrick is right in that if you can visualize in 3d well, and know trends+sterics, you will do better. Ochem 1 is harder than Ochem 2 imo, so if you can get through the first half of the 9 weeks fine then you should be OK overall. Just know the first few weeks will likely be disproportionately harder.
Good luck!

 

[Orangekiwi]

I’ve seen a lot of people on here recommend organic chemistry as a second language- I’ve never actually read it, but reading that before hand couldn’t hurt. Also what makes orgo so hard for a lot of people in my opinion is that it’s difficult both conceptually and in terms of volume of information you need to memorize, and one doesn’t necessarily help you all that much without the other. You can, however, try to tailor how you solve problems to which of these two areas you feel more comfortable in. Dr. Pat and I both thought about solving organic problems in terms of electrons and understanding how they move which would be a more conceptual approach, but it is just as valid to simply understand all the reaction types and how they progress and be able to apply them to situations where your starting materials are slightly different. To raptors point actually personally thought orgo 1 was easier than 2, but to each their own on that. For what it’s worth I have a friend who did a similar program one summer and it was a huge time commitment but if you’re ok with that it’s definitely doable.

 

[kingdomheart]

By bringing lube, and lots of it

 

[907914]

By bringing lube, and lots of it

The lube is for you. You're are gonna dominate that class. In a consensual way, but you the top.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

The community college near where I live offers Ochem I & II over the 10 week Summer semester, 5 weeks each. The consensus is that it's difficult but doable, especially if you're not taking any other classes. Summer 2018, I took general chemistry I & II in 5 weeks each. I hadn't touched any chemistry since high school, some ~5 years before but still made As. It's a full-time job and if you can commit the time, I'd do it.