Need to work hard at Organic Chem ? (I don't need that high score)

[theown3rr]

Hey guys...new to this forum, so greetings!

So let me give you my quick background...kinda unusual circumstance, (or rare, should I say?)

I am a high school senior and I applied for BS/MD combined, accelerated program and got accepted to a 6 year program! So, as you might have figured, only 2 yrs undergrad (and 4 yrs med school) and MCAT not too far away...

So, mentally I have been preparing myself for the days to come and I just need a 'lil help.

I have a (very?) strong background in Bio (got 800 on SAT II Biology subject test + 5 on AP test) and EXACT same situation for Chem...


So next yr I'll have to take Org chem...my question is do I need to really work my butts off on Org chem? Now, I only need a score of 8 on all 3 sections of MCAT to remain standing in this program...so give my STRONG background in Chem (oh and also physics), do I need to work my butts off for Orgo in college?



Quite honestly, I worked my life off for the AP chem last year and just wanna know if I would have to do that for Orgo to get that 8.

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[Yope]

Don't these programs require students to maintain above a certain gpa? Orgo's a pretty challenging course for most, so I wouldn't take it lightly.

 

[hedgehog1]

Organic chem is very different from the chemistry you learn in high school, and lot's of people who did well in high school chem have trouble with organic. If you're lucky it may come naturally to you, but I definitely would not blow this class off.

 

[229141]

Hey guys...new to this forum, so greetings!

So let me give you my quick background...kinda unusual circumstance, (or rare, should I say?)

I am a high school senior and I applied for BS/MD combined, accelerated program and got accepted to a 6 year program! So, as you might have figured, only 2 yrs undergrad (and 4 yrs med school) and MCAT not too far away...

So, mentally I have been preparing myself for the days to come and I just need a 'lil help.

I have a (very?) strong background in Bio (got 800 on SAT II Biology subject test + 5 on AP test) and EXACT same situation for Chem...


So next yr I'll have to take Org chem...my question is do I need to really work my butts off on Org chem? Now, I only need a score of 8 on all 3 sections of MCAT to remain standing in this program...so give my STRONG background in Chem (oh and also physics), do I need to work my butts off for Orgo in college?



Quite honestly, I worked my life off for the AP chem last year and just wanna know if I would have to do that for Orgo to get that 8.

Dude to be perfectly honest with you Orgo is all work ethic. Work hard, get an A. A kid like you who could get into such a program, pull an 800 and a 5 on the AP will be FINE!

To be perfectly honest getting 8 8 8 on the MCAT will be so easy for you...I took a practice test without studying and hit a 31, and since I've been studying it's been going up a lot.

Also- Orgo is rapidly being replaced by genetics...and the Orgo that is on MCAT is easy from what I've seen. No 20 step synthesis on it or anything. If I were you...I'd take an AAMC practice test tomorrow to see what you get. I won't be so shocked to see you hit over 35..

 

[theown3rr]

Don't these programs require students to maintain above a certain gpa? Orgo's a pretty challenging course for most, so I wouldn't take it lightly.

Yea, the GPA is 3.25 - thank Godd!

Organic chem is very different from the chemistry you learn in high school, and lot's of people who did well in high school chem have trouble with organic. If you're lucky it may come naturally to you, but I definitely would not blow this class off.

by saying "Chemistry in high school," are you referring to the regular chem class in high school? Dude, I took AP Chem and also took qualitative analysis at Ohio State as a post-secondary student as a High school junior, last year.

Dude to be perfectly honest with you Orgo is all work ethic. Work hard, get an A. A kid like you who could get into such a program, pull an 800 and a 5 on the AP will be FINE!

To be perfectly honest getting 8 8 8 on the MCAT will be so easy for you...I took a practice test without studying and hit a 31, and since I've been studying it's been going up a lot.

Also- Orgo is rapidly being replaced by genetics...and the Orgo that is on MCAT is easy from what I've seen. No 20 step synthesis on it or anything. If I were you...I'd take an AAMC practice test tomorrow to see what you get. I won't be so shocked to see you hit over 35..

Ok, good advice.

 

[scrubswannabe]

Hey guys...new to this forum, so greetings!

So let me give you my quick background...kinda unusual circumstance, (or rare, should I say?)

I am a high school senior and I applied for BS/MD combined, accelerated program and got accepted to a 6 year program! So, as you might have figured, only 2 yrs undergrad (and 4 yrs med school) and MCAT not too far away...

So, mentally I have been preparing myself for the days to come and I just need a 'lil help.

I have a (very?) strong background in Bio (got 800 on SAT II Biology subject test + 5 on AP test) and EXACT same situation for Chem...


So next yr I'll have to take Org chem...my question is do I need to really work my butts off on Org chem? Now, I only need a score of 8 on all 3 sections of MCAT to remain standing in this program...so give my STRONG background in Chem (oh and also physics), do I need to work my butts off for Orgo in college?



Quite honestly, I worked my life off for the AP chem last year and just wanna know if I would have to do that for Orgo to get that 8.

You'll do fine in Orgo but you will have to study just like you did for AP Bio and AP Chem to pull 5's. Your college bio and chem classes besides Orgo should be a breeze though.

 

[229141]

Agreed- pulling 5's in AP is no joke. I only got 3's on my AP science ones back when I was a little high school slacker..and I got the high grade in bio and chem freshman yr of college

Don't let people scare you about Orgo...the ONLY thing challenging about it is volume. It's a fun class honestly.

 

[swamprat]

Yea, the GPA is 3.25 - thank Godd!




by saying "Chemistry in high school," are you referring to the regular chem class in high school? Dude, I took AP Chem and also took qualitative analysis at Ohio State as a post-secondary student as a High school junior, last year.




Ok, good advice.

AP chem is still easier than taking chemistry at the college level. I would not go into organic chemistry being very arrogant about it, especially seeing as you haven't even been to college yet. Is it normal to worry about these things, yes. But, as a senior in highschool right now the only thing i'd be thinking about is partying not organic chemistry.

 

[DrDre2001]

To the OP:

If you are talking about just the MCAT , I wouldnt worry much about Orgo.

First of all, if you got accepted into that program, you must have had near perfect SAT scores and grades..so orgo shouldt be that hard for you.

And second of all, and most importantly, the MCAT hardly has any orgo on it anymore. From my mcat this past august and what i heard from others, there's only one orgo passage and maybe 2 discrete orgo questions. That totals to about 8-9 orgo questions on the whole test. You could get half of these wrong and still easily get a 8 on the Bio Section (which is what i guess you need if you are in that accelerated med program).

 

[theown3rr]

Thanks! guys for your honest replies. I really look forward to doing well in Organic chemistry without worrying about it affecting much of my MCAT performance...

 

[Institute]

Orgo is a beast. I suck at physics and hate it. I'm alright at chem. But when I got to orgo, especially second semester, I kicked the crap out of it. Doing synthesis and retrosynthesis problems were cake for me. Then again, I was a Lego type of kid so building molecules was actually cool. Totally different state of mind. don't go into orgo with your science mind (but bring a little) and come in with your artsy fartsy mind.

Then again, it'll depend on the professor you have. The prof I had always gave us problems to do, always recorded his lectures, and had review sessions every weekend.

 

[TeethPuller905]

which school did this 6 year program come from? this woulda been helpful if i was still in hs!

 

[RySerr21]

by saying "Chemistry in high school," are you referring to the regular chem class in high school? Dude, I took AP Chem and also took qualitative analysis at Ohio State as a post-secondary student as a High school junior, last year.

He said that because high school chemistry (even AP) is GENERAL chemistry. Organic chemistry is literally a completely different subject. Just because you are good at gen chem does not mean you will be good at ochem and vice versa. That being said, if you work hard you will be fine.

On another note, why woudl you ever wanna cut your college expereince in half? It seems so sad. Alas, it will be too late once you realize the truth of this statement.

 

[scrubswannabe]

He said that because high school chemistry (even AP) is GENERAL chemistry. Organic chemistry is literally a completely different subject. Just because you are good at gen chem does not mean you will be good at ochem and vice versa. That being said, if you work hard you will be fine.

On another note, why woudl you ever wanna cut your college expereince in half? It seems so sad. Alas, it will be too late once you realize the truth of this statement.

Nah, actually I disagree with this. You're in a fabulous program probably and you should enjoy your 2 years of college as much as you can. By cutting down on 2 years of college you aren't missing a lot adn you''re completely cutting out the stresses of applying to medical school and things like that. Just make sure you have as much fun as you can in your 2 years and go to lots of parties. You should be thrilled about your program and really stop worrying about Orgo. It's not impossible - just study when its time for orgo. You've done so well up to this point, don't let other people scare you.