Let's tackle that Organic Chemistry..

[Falokis]

I found it easy to memorize first then understand it afterwards. I made flash cards for every reaction and every set of reagents. Then, after I knew the reactions backwards and forth, I worked to understand them if I didn't already. If I didn't understand them, who cares. I still got it right on the test. You can earn a B without understanding a thing if you can memorize. You can get an A if you understand most of it and can memorize. My teacher only gave 2 A's and I got one of them. It's not hard if you are willing to put the effort in to get the grade. That's all any class comes down to.

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[Reclusive]

I just finished Organic II. I did a combination of everything: flash cards, re-copied my notes, bothered professor, excessive practice. Here are two specific things that helped me.

1. There is a program called ChemSketch that is free to students (via download from their site). It is very helpful with IUPAC. You can draw just about anything and it will generate its proper IUPAC name. For those not wanting to deal with model kits, it is good for viewing molecules in 3D form.

2. For about an hour or two a day I would draw out each major reaction from the previous class 10-40 times. If time was available I would go back and do ones from previous classes. It was mindless and repetitive but it did not take much brain power and they eventually became a part of memory. It also made studying less of a strain as exams approached.