Need some quick advice. What to do?

[Enso]

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I'm currently taking two accelerated Chem 1 (first half) and Chem 2 (second half) classes this summer. So basically you knock out 2 semesters of Chemistry in one summer, not bad. Well I found some bad: I have 1 week left for Chem 1 but its been a royal struggle to keep up with the material and retain information. I've never taken chem in high school and the pace is astronomically fast. We're talking an exam every 9 days. Shooting for a B+ but it might turn out a B.

I really wanted to balance my time to volunteer at a dental clinic, shadow, and do a little research... Nope! No time at all for that. What do you guys do here? I've realized my math (stoichiometry) skills and grasp of chemical processes take longer than expected to comprehend... heres my question:

Should I put off Chem 2 to sharpen my stoich skills and general chemistry knowledge and take it next semester at a normal pace? PROS- This would allow me to get some shadow/volunteer hours in and make me prepared to succeed in Chem 2. CONS- I throw off my pre-reqs by holding off a semester (inhibits me from taking Orgo in the fall).

-OR-

Should I stick out the next 8 weeks and try my hardest to succeed in Chem 2? PROS- I can stay on track and take Orgo 1 in the fall. It will most likely free up some time later so I can study for the DAT better. CONS- I put off getting extra dental related experience, I might hit a roadblock and do poorly in this section, or it might not be the best to prepare me for the DAT's GChem section.

I apologize for the novel. What do you guys think?

 

[katy5787]

If you don't feel ready to start chem 2 then I would probably wait. Talk to your professor because they will know more about whether you are ready to move on, etc. Your grades are extremely important and it looks best to take a class and do well in it the first time as opposed to taking it multiple times. You don't want to throw yourself into chem 2 if you don't feel comfortable in chem 1. However, if you're getting a B, like you said, you obviously do understand what's going on and sometimes the 2nd semester does not build off of the 1st semester. I would talk to the chem 1 and 2 professors like I said earlier to get an idea how the chem 2 course will be. Not to be harsh, but if you want to get into dental school, you're going to have to get at least a B if not higher in chem 2; it's just the reality of the way admissions are going these days. Therefore, if you don't feel ready I think it's definitely smart to get a better foundation first.
Also, like you said, once you're done with the actual courses you can't just forget all of the information you've learned, you'll be tested on it again on the DAT, and if you didn't really learn it right the first time, you're going to be in big trouble later on.
You're definitely smart to back off on volunteering and stuff like that while taking an accelerated course. I took biochem in 6 weeks one summer and it was very intense. You really have to put a lot of time into a course like that and it's important to get the best possible grade you can while you have the chance. You can always volunteer and do research once the course is over. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely important to do all of those things as early and as much as possible, but not during an accelerated course like that.
Hopefully that answer helped a little. Just follow your gut. If you do decide to go on to chem 2 just try to make that your life for the 8 weeks. It definitely sucks while you're doing it, but once it's over you'll be glad it's done and you got the best grade you could have gotten. Good luck!

 

[Enso]

Thanks Katy 👍 that was really helpful.

I think I'll e-mail my Chem 2 professor and get a feel for what it's going to be like.