I have a real problem

[amherstguy]

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Because of bad class choices one semester I will have to take the MCAT without taking organic chem 2. I can wait a year and then take the MCAT (but i dont really want to do this), or I can just take the MCAT without having an entire year worth of organic chemistry (april test)... what shoudl I do? WOuld it be possible to teach myself the organic chem material on the MCAT??

 

[drakkan2001]

If you took orgo 1 then you should be able to understand orgo 2. But be aware that orgo 2 is significantly more difficult than orgo 1. A good MCAt study guide should give you everything you need to know about orgo 2 so you don't have to worry about the MCAT. If you had a good grasp of orgo so far, studying by yourself without taking lecture should not be too big of a hurdle to overcome. Hope this helps.

 

[Ginza]

I'm confused....will you miss one semester of organic or a whole year? Is organic 2 a year long course at your school?

Unless 'Good Will Hunting' was a movie based on your life, I don't think it's possible to teach yourself organic. Studying for the MCAT is really time consuming when you are reviewing material you've already learned.................I can't imagine how difficult it would be to teach yourself 1/4 of the science material covered.

I know it's not what you want to do, but I would wait a year to take the MCAT...just my opinion.

Good Luck

 

[umass rower]

You could try teaching yourself the organic chem, but I wouldn't recommend it. I essentially had to teach myself both semesters of organic chem just because my professor was so bad, but it ended up screwing me for the MCAT because I realized that I knew nothing. The only reason I pulled a decent score in the Biological Sciences section was because my biology background is very strong.

Just out of curiosity amherstguy, is that Amherst College or UMass?

 

[sophRI]

i thought that most of the important concepts were in orgo I anyway, whereas i forgot all the stuff i memorized for orgo II. i would say that if you are taking a review class like kaplan it would be okay to take the april mcat... they teach you all the stuff you need to know for the test and are able to tutor you on sections you're iffy on. but if you're studying solo you might want to wait. the other posters are right --- orgo isn't really something most people can learn on their own...

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I think it depends on how well you think you've learned and internalized the material from Orgo 1. The MCAT generally focuses more heavily on concepts from the first semester of orgo, and if you understand these very well, that will be an advantage. The key concepts from orgo 2 are more memorization heavy, although for most of them a good understanding of the behavior of carbocations, nucleophiles and electrophiles will help you comprehend what is going on, rather than just memorizing. I agree with previous posters that Orgo 2 tends to get a bit more unmanageable than Orgo 1, but keep in mind that the MCAT does not require the level of memorization you would need for your orgo final -- it's much more oriented toward facility with the concepts, rather than rote memorization. Anyway, think about how comfortable you feel with orgo, and how much time you can devote to the MCAT. I do think it's possible. Good luck! 🙂

 

[babyface]

Yeah, you can definitely do well on the MCAT without the 2nd semester of O chem. Don't wait a whole year, cuz 1) O chem consists of less than 50% of the bio section and 2) a good review book like PR is more than sufficient to grasp all the concepts you need. I personally took the April MCAT also without finishing the Ochem series (won't take it till this coming Fall) and ended up doing fine (12 on bio). No I was not a bio major (never took physiology, anatomy, and took only minimal amount of upper division bio. So it's definitely doable. Most of what you need to know for O chemi is in the passages anyways. Good luck!

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

I'm going to have this problem, except with Ecology/Evolution (bio 2). Is that a big deal?

 

[Amiroz]

I was in a similar situation about two yrs ago....and i heard the same comforting words from my fellow SDNers. I spent my whole summer that yr doing nothing but studying trying to teach myself orgo. IT DIDN'T WORK!!!! it is possible, don't get me wrong. But to get a solid double digits I advise u to take the class in college first. You will go deeper than what is required in the MCAT and when u take the test, the orgo will seem like child's play.

In my case, i decided in the last minute to take the MCAT a year later coz I was just memorizing fact under the pressure of time. Which is useless. U'll end up knowing a whole lot but understanding very little of it. I was surprised at how the teacher makes things much simpler than they seem. What used to take me two day to figure out studying by myself took about 15 minutes when i learned it in class.

just my $0.002

good luck

 

[kgal16]

there are fewer orgo questions on the new mcat
they were replaced by genetics questions

of course, i dont know how much of a difference it will make
but personally the bio questions are much more comlpex than the orgo questions on mcat

i think its definitely possible to teach yourself the basics from orgo 2 sufficient for mcat questions, cuz it wont get any more harder than that
but that may take some time away for studying for other subjects

 

[basupran]

I took the MCAT without reviewing ORGOII...not the best of ideas, but I compensated with bio...I gave up trying to relearn orgoII after not taking it for 3 years...

You might want to consider taking orgo II during summer session...that way you will have it under your belt.

Good luck!

 

[thackl]

The review books tell you everything you need. I took the MCAT without Org2 and intro bio. It's harder, but can be done and it's certainly better than waiting a year.

 

[EMPOWERurSELF!]

Just out of curiosity amherstguy, is that Amherst College or UMass?[/QU


Or are you from Amherst, NY near Buffalo???

 

[Sonya]

can you take orgo at some other college, or even a junior college?

Also, if the problem is that orgo is full, could you like audit just the lecture or something (b/c usually it's the lab that's full). Hell, if it's a huge class could you just stuff your butt into lecture on a regularl basis and let it go unnoticed that you're not registered?


if you wait a year, then you'll delay your application a year. sounds like a bad idea. If it wont delay your application for some reason it may be okay.

I'd study up. ALLOW YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME AS IF YOU WERE TAKING A CLASS. TAKE A LIGHTER LOAD TO ACCOMODATE STUDY TIME!! Maybe get an MCAT prep class so you have some Human to talk to about orgo.

and, yeah, you can also take it in the summer. maybe y ou could go to some other college and take it in summer if yours doesn't offer it.

as for MCAT content sugar chem is a biggie from orgo II concepts (unless you had it in bio)

sonya