Is this normal? (Orgo II Lab)

[SoulinNeed]

I'm trying to finish up some prerequisites at UIC, including Organic chemistry II. Their lab, however, isn't called "Organic Chemistry II Lab". That's what it used to be called, and they've since changed it to "Advanced Synthetic Laboratory", and it's only open to certain majors students (although, they said I can get in, if I just call the department). Is this normal? I'm worried about how this will go in the verification process, but apparently, this is how it is for all UIC students. Anyone have any knowledge on things like this?

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[Iapyx]

Typically orgo 2 lab is not required. At least this is the case at the 4 schools I am looking at. Plus, since the name is changed it might not be applicable anyway. Perhaps someone else can be more helpful, but I am going to say that there is no need to take it. (Unless you want to)

 

[STAT EKG]

Since when is orgo II lab not required????

If that's true (which I honestly doubt), I feel gipped.

 

[Evergrey]

Huh? A full year of orgo lab is required at most schools. Plus it's a fun class. Definitely find a way to take second-semester orgo lab, it will make your application life difficult without it. You should ask your pre-medical advisor what class is appropriate at your institution, and take that.

 

[Iapyx]

I'm not sure how your school does it, but mine does a 3+3+2 credit sequence for Orgo 1, Orgo 2, and Orgo Lab. I have yet to come into contact with a school in which this does not suffice. The orgo lab is 4 hours a week in lab plus 2 hours of lecture a week. However, it is certainly possible that your school does it differently.

 

[Evergrey]

I'm not sure how your school does it, but mine does a 3+3+2 credit sequence for Orgo 1, Orgo 2, and Orgo Lab. I have yet to come into contact with a school in which this does not suffice. The orgo lab is 4 hours a week in lab plus 2 hours of lecture a week. However, it is certainly possible that your school does it differently.

Your class is worth a full year of organic chemistry lab though, which is what med schools care about. I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "Orgo 2 lab" but at least to me, that means the second semester of a year-long organic lab sequence. I just wouldn't say "orgo 2 lab is not required" because for some people, you would be telling them to not complete the full year of lab, which would be a disaster when they get accepted to a med school but realize they still have to take the lab before they matriculate. So if the OP only took the first half of the year-long sequence, s/he definitely needs to take the second lab. Hence why I suggested contacting the premed advisor for appropriate school-specific advice.

 

[Iapyx]

Your class is worth a full year of organic chemistry lab though, which is what med schools care about. I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "Orgo 2 lab" but at least to me, that means the second semester of a year-long organic lab sequence. I just wouldn't say "orgo 2 lab is not required" because for some people, you would be telling them to not complete the full year of lab, which would be a disaster when they get accepted to a med school but realize they still have to take the lab before they matriculate. So if the OP only took the first half of the year-long sequence, s/he definitely needs to take the second lab. Hence why I suggested contacting the premed advisor for appropriate school-specific advice.

Sound advice. Let is not get caught up in technicalities, of scheduling jargon. I think contacting his advisor would be a wise choice. I just doubt its required, since they changed the name to something foreign that most schools will fail to recognize as an orgo lab. But it would be wise to check.

 

[Evergrey]

Sound advice. Let is not get caught up in technicalities, of scheduling jargon. I think contacting his advisor would be a wise choice. I just doubt its required, since they changed the name to something foreign that most schools will fail to recognize as an orgo lab. But it would be wise to check.

Yeah I am confused by what is going on with his/her lab situation, you may be right, that they took a lab like yours and already fulfilled the requirement!

 

[STAT EKG]

I'm not sure how your school does it, but mine does a 3+3+2 credit sequence for Orgo 1, Orgo 2, and Orgo Lab. I have yet to come into contact with a school in which this does not suffice. The orgo lab is 4 hours a week in lab plus 2 hours of lecture a week. However, it is certainly possible that your school does it differently.

That still seems kinda weird to me (not saying it's "wrong" or "won't suffice" necessarily... I've just never heard of a school doing it that way). At my school (and all other schools in my area that I know of), organic I and II work like this: Each semester of organic lab is 2 credits, and you *need* to take both.

Heck, even on med schools' secondaries, there was an allotted box for your grade in the second semester of organic.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that having 2 credits of organic lab will not fill med school requirements more often than not... unless you graduate with 60 credits at your school and all courses are a year??

...and if your organic lab is all year and only gives you 2 credits, that seems odd to me too. I don't know, just my take on it.

Never heard of that.

 

[Iapyx]

Not to be combative, but I would like to clarify your doubts about the validity of my orgo lab. I go to one of the largest public undergraduate schools in the country that has one of the 3 largest medical schools in the country. Many graduates from my UG place at the affiliated medical school, as well as at numerous other out of state and private medical schools. They all only take a 2 credit orgo lab. It counts, I promise.

 

[raltima07]

Not to be combative, but I would like to clarify your doubts about the validity of my orgo lab. I go to one of the largest public undergraduate schools in the country that has one of the 3 largest medical schools in the country. Many graduates from my UG place at the affiliated medical school, as well as at numerous other out of state and private medical schools. They all only take a 2 credit orgo lab. It counts, I promise.

I believe you, if it makes you feel better 😀

 

[KeyzerSoze]

I went to UIC and took the 2 credit hour organic chem lab. I didn't take the advanced lab and all of the schools I applied to were fine with that. Is Landrie still teaching the course, btw?

 

[bad virus]

It doesn't matter what they call the class as long as it is the equivalent of Organic Chemistry lab 2.

For example, let us say that my school refers to the second semester of organic chemistry lab as Advanced optical thermonuclear basket weaving. When I submit my transcript to AMCAS, you actually clarify what this class was. So if it was physics 3, you say so, or if it was ochemL 2, you say so.

End of story. Just make sure you take the class. Also, who wouldn't take Ochem lab, hell, it is the only actual practical thing I learned in undergrad. Our lab guy was obssessed with kitchen chemistry so 90 percent of our class mates became meth manufacturers.

You never know when you'll need to make meth in your bathtub one day using a few energizer lithium batteries and some matches . . . Just saying.

 

[Iapyx]

I believe you, if it makes you feel better 😀

It does. Thank you.🙂

 

[KeyzerSoze]

End of story. Just make sure you take the class. Also, who wouldn't take Ochem lab, hell, it is the only actual practical thing I learned in undergrad. Our lab guy was obssessed with kitchen chemistry so 90 percent of our class mates became meth manufacturers.

You never know when you'll need to make meth in your bathtub one day using a few energizer lithium batteries and some matches . . . Just saying.

To clarify: At UIC, the first organic chem lab is a 2 credit hour class intended to accompany the first two lectures, although most of the concepts are from orgo I. It includes qualitative and synthetic components, and fulfills your AMCAS requirements. There is also a 300 level 3 credit hour class called "Advanced Synthetic Lab" which you do not need to take.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Huh? A full year of orgo lab is required at most schools. Plus it's a fun class. Definitely find a way to take second-semester orgo lab, it will make your application life difficult without it. You should ask your pre-medical advisor what class is appropriate at your institution, and take that.

I just have to second this...I don't remember seeing any school that didn't require something to the effect of "one year organic chemistry + lab" (Implication is one year of both lecture and lab)

 

[KeyzerSoze]

I just have to second this...I don't remember seeing any school that didn't require something to the effect of "one year organic chemistry + lab" (Implication is one year of both lecture and lab)

For the love of the sweet baby Jesus, please see my post above.

 

[Iapyx]

For the love of the sweet baby Jesus, please see my post above.

You beat me to it. 🙂

 

[orthomyxo]

Typically orgo 2 lab is not required. At least this is the case at the 4 schools I am looking at. Plus, since the name is changed it might not be applicable anyway. Perhaps someone else can be more helpful, but I am going to say that there is no need to take it. (Unless you want to)

You've been misinformed sir.

 

[cautiousvampire]

My school was the same as keyzer and the OP. I think its safe to say that it differs, but many schools combine the mandatory organic lab into one semester. Accept it and move on.

 

[circulus vitios]

End of story. Just make sure you take the class. Also, who wouldn't take Ochem lab, hell, it is the only actual practical thing I learned in undergrad. Our lab guy was obssessed with kitchen chemistry so 90 percent of our class mates became meth manufacturers.

That is awesome.

 

[orthomyxo]

End of story. Just make sure you take the class. Also, who wouldn't take Ochem lab, hell, it is the only actual practical thing I learned in undergrad. Our lab guy was obssessed with kitchen chemistry so 90 percent of our class mates became meth manufacturers.

Who needs meth when you can make fentanyl?

 

[jeremmed77]

I'm not sure how your school does it, but mine does a 3+3+2 credit sequence for Orgo 1, Orgo 2, and Orgo Lab. I have yet to come into contact with a school in which this does not suffice. The orgo lab is 4 hours a week in lab plus 2 hours of lecture a week. However, it is certainly possible that your school does it differently.

This is how mine is too. You take Organic 1 just as a lecture course, and then the next semester you take Organic 2 Lecture(3 credits) with Organic Lab (4 credits.

 

[Tappinfool66]

Huh? A full year of orgo lab is required at most schools. Plus it's a fun class. Definitely find a way to take second-semester orgo lab, it will make your application life difficult without it. You should ask your pre-medical advisor what class is appropriate at your institution, and take that.

Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. Totally depends on where you take it. I took it at a big university, and it sucked because the coordinator was a.w.f.u.l. Now I'm taking orgo II lab at a cc, and I'm definitely getting more out of it. It's so much more organized.

 

[Evergrey]

Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. Totally depends on where you take it. I took it at a big university, and it sucked because the coordinator was a.w.f.u.l. Now I'm taking orgo II lab at a cc, and I'm definitely getting more out of it. It's so much more organized.

Yeah I was spoiled because I took it at my small LAC, with a class size of ~45. And our prof was amazing, she really inspired her students toward mastery of the subject. It was my favorite class in UG 🙂 I love the process of synthesis, and having to take into account all the different yields and reaction situations. And as mentioned before, you learn how to make really cool (and dangerous) stuff in ochem, like explosives, or addictive drugs. I think my back-up career would have been as an organic chemist! Pure awesome.

 

[Kevin Baker]

Just make sure it is the right orgo 2 lab. I know with physics at UIC there are different labs for the calc and algebra based ones, and I assume there might be an ochem for chem majors and an ochem for everyone else.

You'll mark the class on your AMCAS/AACOMAS transcript as the corresponding lab and it should be verified correctly. If not, all it should take is a phone call or email to fix things up. Most schools require a 2nd semester of ochem lab, though this is changing.

 

[Iapyx]

To my understanding( and I know this is correct for at least 4 of the top 50 med schools I have looked at) medical school wants 8-10 credit hours of physics, gen chem, ochem, bio, etc. Not necessarily a full year. Thus, (2) three credit orgo lectures and a single 2 credit lab are perfectly acceptable. This is just what I have been told by these various schools, MDs I know, my academic advisor, medical students, and various other friends...but they could be completely wrong.🙄

 

[SoulinNeed]

To clarify: At UIC, the first organic chem lab is a 2 credit hour class intended to accompany the first two lectures, although most of the concepts are from orgo I. It includes qualitative and synthetic components, and fulfills your AMCAS requirements. There is also a 300 level 3 credit hour class called "Advanced Synthetic Lab" which you do not need to take.

I don't think this is the case anymore. Organic Chemistry I is a 1 hour credit class. http://www.uic.edu/ucat/courses/CHEM

You now have to take Advanced Synthetic laboratory for a full year of Organic Chem, I believe.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

I don't think this is the case anymore. Organic Chemistry I is a 1 hour credit class. http://www.uic.edu/ucat/courses/CHEM

You now have to take Advanced Synthetic laboratory for a full year of Organic Chem, I believe.

I'm sorry, you're correct. It was also a 1 credit hour course when I took it. I didn't need to take the 300 level course, and none of the schools I applied to were concerned about it.

 

[Swagster]

Does biochemistry lab count towards a year of o chem lab if they only offer two quarters of o chem lab at your school?

 

[phnerd1105]

UIC has a medical school. I'm pretty sure their undergrad wouldn't change something about the course that wouldn't be accepted when applying to med school. Either way, you give a description of the course when you apply, and they weigh that usually more than just the title of the lab.

Also, in some schools, biochem can replace a semester of Ochem and the lab can replace a semester of ochem lab