How to do well on organic chemistry

[DDS-King]

Hey guys. I am in a tough position. I have about 11 days until my DAT. I am really struggling with Organic Chemistry. I did a BC test today and scored 16/30. Id say about 5-6 questions were stupid mistakes. But even going through destroyer I find myself guessing on a lot of the questions. Im trying to memorize Destroyer Road Maps but sometimes I forget what certain reagents do.

For those who have scored well in this section what is your advice? The problems are not difficult at all but in order to properly solve them you need a solid understanding of the material. Chad's is good but I feel like at the end of the day you really gotta just memorize the reactions. Am I wrong?

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[bodmon]

It is a lot of memorization for sure, but part of it is understanding general trends relating to nucleophilic and electropholic interactions. Try to understand what wants to attack where, and why. Then understand the general exceptions to the rule. They will eventually stick out to you like a sore thumb. Go through Ochem Destroyer again and mark down what you have trouble with. Look at solutions and understand it. Whatever you find you're weak in look at multiple times a day and it will become second nature to you after a while

 

[DDS-King]

It is a lot of memorization for sure, but part of it is understanding general trends relating to nucleophilic and electropholic interactions. Try to understand what wants to attack where, and why. Then understand the general exceptions to the rule. They will eventually stick out to you like a sore thumb. Go through Ochem Destroyer again and mark down what you have trouble with. Look at solutions and understand it. Whatever you find you're weak in look at multiple times a day and it will become second nature to you after a while

Thank you anyone else have some suggestions?

 

[enamel88]

Go through destroyer after chads. The first run through I almost cried bc I would literally get 30% of the questions right for both oc and gc. Then after just trucking through I got the hang of it and understand what the question is asking for and how to approach it. I can tell you how invaluable the book is including the road maps. Memorize the road maps! You want to replicate the type of question/scenario as the real test and destroyer does that for you although it is at least 3x harder than the actual from what I hear. Bottom line, if you're struggling, stick with it ad keep trying to understand and improve. You'll be very surprised what your brain can pick up

 

[Mushibachan]

It is a lot of memorization for sure, but part of it is understanding general trends relating to nucleophilic and electropholic interactions. Try to understand what wants to attack where, and why. Then understand the general exceptions to the rule. They will eventually stick out to you like a sore thumb. Go through Ochem Destroyer again and mark down what you have trouble with. Look at solutions and understand it. Whatever you find you're weak in look at multiple times a day and it will become second nature to you after a while

I AGREE WITH THIS 100%. Understanding general trends > memorizing..... Memorizing will only get you so far unless you have photographic memory..

 

[dannybobanny182]

Thank you anyone else have some suggestions?

Each reaction on the roadmaps, I made sure to list the type of reaction and a very short description of what was occurring.

Refer to Mike who does the BC solution explanation.