- Joined
- Sep 5, 2016
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 44
- Points
- 4,671
- Pre-Dental
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
So this is my first contribution thread on SDN. The reason I post this is because Organic was the bane of my existence when I took the class, and my first practice DAT on Organic was *drum roll* a 16 on topscore. I had to focus very hard on Organic and managed to get a 30 on the real deal. It's the standard Chads+Destroyer approach, but I expand upon the logistics of it a bit more based on where I messed up. My goal is to provide help in key areas that I personally found difficult.
Step 1 Chad's Run
Simple: Watch all the videos and do the quizzes. When you get the reactions portion, you may become overwhelmed by the mechanism part of things. They are mostly there to help you memorize the products and reactants, but you should pay close attention to the mechanisms and intermediates for EAS and the first page of Chad's reaction sheet.
Step 2 Reaction Drill
This was my first fumble. After watching chads videos once, I immediately stumbled over to destroyer and had no idea what I was doing. This step prepares you to understand the synthesis questions and roadmaps in destroyer. Chad has a document that lists all of his reactions in the notes section. Memorize these cold, I would draw each reaction out 3 times a day and make little mnemonics to help. When you get to destroyer, you'll realize that a lot of times it's just testing these same reactions but in different scenarios and with exceptions that weren't mentioned in Chad's videos. You can do this concurrently with Step 3.
Step 3: Chad's Rerun
So now you know the reactions like the back of your hand, and you can tell cue-ball the product that comes up for any of the reactions before he draws it. Doing Chad's again helps you utilize what you learned in the drill and reinforces the other concepts he goes through.
Step 4: Destroyer Roadmaps
This is essentially the reaction drill part 2. This is also my next fumble, when I tried to do destroyer, there were a bunch of reactions that were unfamiliar. Turns out they were mentioned in the roadmaps and ultimately many of them were twists on Chad's reactions. There are a few reactions here and there that aren't tied to Chad's. If you have the time, you can learn the more obscure reactions in the roadmaps. Again, memorize them like before, the drills from before make it much easier.
Step 5: Destroyer Multi-Run + Bootcamp
Lots of people do destroyer multiple times, personally I did it twice. Now you get to test what you learned in Chad's, the Roadmaps, and the Drills. Bootcamp provides an excellent souce of additional material and helps gauge where you're at. Give it your all, and go back to Chads, roadmaps, and the drill as needed. I recommend doing the drill and the roadmaps occasionally to keep them fresh until DAT day comes.
Hope this helps other people that had a grudge with Orgo 😉 Let me know what you think below!
Here's my score if you're interested, don't think I've actually put up a picture yet anyway.
Step 1 Chad's Run
Simple: Watch all the videos and do the quizzes. When you get the reactions portion, you may become overwhelmed by the mechanism part of things. They are mostly there to help you memorize the products and reactants, but you should pay close attention to the mechanisms and intermediates for EAS and the first page of Chad's reaction sheet.
Step 2 Reaction Drill
This was my first fumble. After watching chads videos once, I immediately stumbled over to destroyer and had no idea what I was doing. This step prepares you to understand the synthesis questions and roadmaps in destroyer. Chad has a document that lists all of his reactions in the notes section. Memorize these cold, I would draw each reaction out 3 times a day and make little mnemonics to help. When you get to destroyer, you'll realize that a lot of times it's just testing these same reactions but in different scenarios and with exceptions that weren't mentioned in Chad's videos. You can do this concurrently with Step 3.
Step 3: Chad's Rerun
So now you know the reactions like the back of your hand, and you can tell cue-ball the product that comes up for any of the reactions before he draws it. Doing Chad's again helps you utilize what you learned in the drill and reinforces the other concepts he goes through.
Step 4: Destroyer Roadmaps
This is essentially the reaction drill part 2. This is also my next fumble, when I tried to do destroyer, there were a bunch of reactions that were unfamiliar. Turns out they were mentioned in the roadmaps and ultimately many of them were twists on Chad's reactions. There are a few reactions here and there that aren't tied to Chad's. If you have the time, you can learn the more obscure reactions in the roadmaps. Again, memorize them like before, the drills from before make it much easier.
Step 5: Destroyer Multi-Run + Bootcamp
Lots of people do destroyer multiple times, personally I did it twice. Now you get to test what you learned in Chad's, the Roadmaps, and the Drills. Bootcamp provides an excellent souce of additional material and helps gauge where you're at. Give it your all, and go back to Chads, roadmaps, and the drill as needed. I recommend doing the drill and the roadmaps occasionally to keep them fresh until DAT day comes.
Hope this helps other people that had a grudge with Orgo 😉 Let me know what you think below!
Here's my score if you're interested, don't think I've actually put up a picture yet anyway.
Last edited:
