Need words of encouragement

[deleted862527]

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Hey everyone

I mentioned this in an earlier post but seem ambivalent. I have a 3.94 GPA, I switched majors to something else and now instead of graduating in 2020 I will be graduating in 2021 because of it. The only way to graduate 'on-time' is by taking both Organic Chemistries both sessions in the summer along with one stupid general education course.

As bad as this sounds, I fear I will destroy my GPA and do terrible in the Organic Chemistries over the summer. My advisor told me NOT to do it, but my Chemistry professor who is department head who knows I am her top student told me if I don't work I will be able to put it off, but to study a lot (which I will).

It's a 6 week session each.

First session:
Organic Chemistry I
Connections
Second Session:
Organic Chemistry II

If I do very well both sessions it will be an extreme lifesaver. I will not only graduate on time but I won't be in more debt.

Advice? I'm afraid I will give it my all and I'll do bad and regret it and most of all waste $$$ and have to retake. I'm not 100% certain MD route is what I want to do, if I don't do MD I want to at least go PA because I love medicine so I know I need to keep my grades up which I have been doing thus far.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Goro]

Do NOT take Orgo in the summer. Paging the wise @gonnif who will explain why, better than I can.

Med schools aren't going anywhere.
PA? You can do DO. Do you wanna be a doctor or not?

 

[HomeSkool]

First session:
Organic Chemistry I
Connections
Second Session:
Organic Chemistry II

This is a bad idea. Normally it would take two or three people to come up with an idea this bad. Perhaps even a committee.

OChem is a) too vast, b) too complex, and c) too important a topic to be squished into summer term. Summer term is for fun, light stuff like Greek Mythology, Intro to Photography, and Cat Memes as Literature (I may have made up that last one).

Remember: the chemistry department chair is a professional nerd. OF COURSE she thinks it's doable. In this case, though, your advisor is right.

If I do very well both sessions it will be an extreme lifesaver.

Not so. For this to be true, there would have to be an extreme danger involved with putting it off until the fall. There is not.

I will not only graduate on time but I won't be in more debt.

Unless you bomb it and have to repeat. There's nothing wrong with taking five years to graduate when you change your major. And the extra debt sucks but won't ultimately be that much of a hardship. Just think of it as the Changing Your Major tax.

Advice? I'm afraid I will give it my all and I'll do bad and regret it and most of all waste $$$ and have to retake. I'm not 100% certain MD route is what I want to do, if I don't do MD I want to at least go PA because I love medicine so I know I need to keep my grades up which I have been doing thus far.

Until you actually start PA school, act as though you're going for MD/DO. If you're qualified for med school, you'll be qualified for PA school. The opposite is not necessarily true.

EDIT: My wife's take (having taken spring/summer courses and earned her BA in three years): "They often have to drop stuff from courses in the spring and summer because of time restrictions. You want to take something like a writing course -- you already know how to write, so all you have to do is prove it and get a grade. You don't want to take courses with actual content."

 

[chemdoctor]

I tried a six week session in Orgo I last summer. had to withdraw... Trust me.

I mean, yes some people can do it. But it depends. Have you started studying a little bit? Do you have some background knowledge? I think it is DOABLE but probably not the best option. How is the professor's ratings?

I don't think you should do it...

 

[ciestar]

I did the Organic Chemistry series over the summer. (Had to withdraw the fall before).
Financs were a HUGE concern for me, so taking it over the summer was the cheapest option. (I had an obnoxious amount of credits and my Pell Grant was going to run out...)

Anyway, if you can avoid it, avoid it. Organic is ROUGH by itself, but try condensing it, it’s even worse.

 

[seren1051]

Word of discouragement: orgo is a nasty beast. Dont do it! I can't imagine how many hexagons you'd be drawing... shivers

 

[de Ribas]

Hey everyone

I mentioned this in an earlier post but seem ambivalent. I have a 3.94 GPA, I switched majors to something else and now instead of graduating in 2020 I will be graduating in 2021 because of it. The only way to graduate 'on-time' is by taking both Organic Chemistries both sessions in the summer along with one stupid general education course.

As bad as this sounds, I fear I will destroy my GPA and do terrible in the Organic Chemistries over the summer. My advisor told me NOT to do it, but my Chemistry professor who is department head who knows I am her top student told me if I don't work I will be able to put it off, but to study a lot (which I will).

It's a 6 week session each.

First session:
Organic Chemistry I
Connections
Second Session:
Organic Chemistry II

If I do very well both sessions it will be an extreme lifesaver. I will not only graduate on time but I won't be in more debt.

Advice? I'm afraid I will give it my all and I'll do bad and regret it and most of all waste $$$ and have to retake. I'm not 100% certain MD route is what I want to do, if I don't do MD I want to at least go PA because I love medicine so I know I need to keep my grades up which I have been doing thus far.

Thanks everyone.

You have great advice here already.
Besides taking one of the hardest pre-med science courses during the summer, you plan on taking 2 courses. Are they both with lab too? Sometimes summer courses are 8 or 10 weeks long, but 6 weeks is too squishy.

I would not even think about it. It's high risk of damaging GPA, putting graduation even further, making yourself burn out, risk of retaking and paying even more, risk of others questioning your decision making.

 

[ciestar]

You have great advice here already.
Besides taking one of the hardest pre-med science courses during the summer, you plan on taking 2 courses. Are they both with lab too? Sometimes summer courses are 8 or 10 weeks long, but 6 weeks is too squishy.

I would not even think about it. It's high risk of damaging GPA, putting graduation even further, making yourself burn out, risk of retaking and paying even more, risk of others questioning your decision making.

I took it with lab, which was only during the second summer session. Each session was 6 weeks long. Lab was scheduled two days a week from 9 am to 5 pm. (I only spent the entire day there ONCE). Then I graduated. The burnout was so real. I ended up delaying my MCAT several months because of how many credits I took during my last 1.5 years of undergrad. I needed a break, badly.

 

[calivianya]

Don't do it. I took Physics 2 over the summer as an accelerated five week class... earned a C. To put it in perspective, it was the ONLY non-A I earned in my DIY post bacc/third bachelor's. Literally the only one, and I feel like I can entirely attribute that to the pace of the course.

I struggled for that C; it came down to the very last test whether I was even going to pass the course or not. The accelerated time frame makes a huge difference for any of the hard sciences. The only reason I did that to myself is it was the very last class I needed to graduate, and I don't regret having this fall semester off, but I do regret the C.

 

[deleted862527]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have decided to not enroll in Organic Chemistries over the summer sessions. I will just take them next year.

Thank you all for helping me make this decision!

 

[HomeSkool]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have decided to not enroll in Organic Chemistries over the summer sessions. I will just take them next year.

Thank you all for helping me make this decision!

 

[Robin-jay]

View attachment 226842

This is a bad idea. Normally it would take two or three people to come up with an idea this bad. Perhaps even a committee.

OChem is a) too vast, b) too complex, and c) too important a topic to be squished into summer term. Summer term is for fun, light stuff like Greek Mythology, Intro to Photography, and Cat Memes as Literature (I may have made up that last one).

Remember: the chemistry department chair is a professional nerd. OF COURSE she thinks it's doable. In this case, though, your advisor is right.

I have taught organic chemistry labs in the summer.

To the OP, here is usual day in the O-Chem summer would be:

Wake up at 6:50 am
Start class at roughly 7:30 am
An extremely early and fast-paced lecture that last about until about 9:00 am
Practice questions for the lab your about to go to, which lasts until about 9:30 am
Lab until about 1:00 pm, three days a week.
Studying and lab reports until you sleep.
Almost NO time for anything else.
You have an exam every week.

You know how many of my students scored an "A" during the summer sessions?

About 1 or 2 per 30 students. Much lower than the Fall/Spring semesters.

If one wants to take on this challenge, go for it. I would never recommend it though.

 

[deleted862527]

I have taught organic chemistry labs in the summer.

To the OP, here is usual day in the O-Chem summer would be:

Wake up at 6:50 am
Start class at roughly 7:30 am
An extremely early and fast-paced lecture that last about until about 9:00 am
Practice questions for the lab your about to go to, which lasts until about 9:30 am
Lab until about 1:00 pm, three days a week.
Studying and lab reports until you sleep.
Almost NO time for anything else.
You have an exam every week.

You know how many of my students scored an "A" during the summer sessions?

About 1 or 2 per 30 students. Much lower than the Fall/Spring semesters.

If one wants to take on this challenge, go for it. I would never recommend it though.

Thank you!

Is earning an A in Organic Chemistry in the fall/spring semester possible? How many of your students do so during the regular semesters? A lot of people make this class sound impossible to do well in, so it makes me sort of nervous! lol

 

[person777]

I personally felt first semester of organic chemistry is doable over the summer but the second semester is much, much harder so I wouldn't recommend the second session.

 

[Robin-jay]

Thank you!

Is earning an A in Organic Chemistry in the fall/spring semester possible? How many of your students do so during the regular semesters? A lot of people make this class sound impossible to do well in, so it makes me sort of nervous! lol

Ok so at another glance, I think 1 or 2 students did have a solid "A" with lecture and lab combined for the summer.

I think 5 out of 30 or so earn an "A" during a regular semester.

 

[HomeSkool]

Is earning an A in Organic Chemistry in the fall/spring semester possible?

Bruh. Someone gets A's in OChem. Why can't it be you?

FWIW, I took OChem 1 and 2 during my first two semesters back from a two-year hiatus in the middle of college, and I got an A- and an A. It can be done.

 

[begoood95]

Ok so at another glance, I think 1 or 2 students did have a solid "A" with lecture and lab combined for the summer.

I think 5 out of 30 or so earn an "A" during a regular semester.

What small lecture class-sizes!

I'm at a state school, and our ochem lecture had 200+ people lol. I took it on the off-semester, and lucked out with a class size of ~80.

To the OP: I took an extra year because of major change(s), and I don't regret it whatsoever. That one year of extra debt will be a drop in the bucket when you make it to medical school! If you study hard and sleep well, an A in ochem is obtainable for sure. Your GPA already shows you're a dedicated student—now take that extra year, enjoy your new major, and destroy ochem.

 

[de Ribas]

What small lecture class-sizes!

I'm at a state school, and our ochem lecture had 200+ people lol.

In summer, classes are a lot smaller.

 

[deleted862527]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement---really appreciate!!!! 🙂

 

[BTC0821]

It can be done if it's the only thing you do that summer. Every class has students ending with As. Work harder than everyone else and you'll get what you want

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[DBC03]

Let us know how it goes! I took both semesters during the summer and did well, but I was definitely in the minority.

As someone entering med school in my mid-30s, I can attest that med school will always be there, but you really want to prioritize good grades now. Good luck! Keep us posted on how it goes!


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[quesarasara]

Look deep inside and find the strength to get it done!

 

[Insert Member Name Here]

Until you actually start PA school, act as though you're going for MD/DO. If you're qualified for med school, you'll be qualified for PA school. The opposite is not necessarily true.

I disagree. Comparing MD/DO to PA school is analogous to comparing apples to oranges. There are drastic differences in where weight is put into screening factors with one such example being MD/DO having a much higher emphasis on the ability to perform in the MCAT with not so much stress played on GRE performance for PA school. However, on the other hand screening factors for many PA schools are hard metrics revolving around hours of unpaid + paid health care experience hours in comparison to many MD/DO schools that would prefer for applicants to have unpaid + paid experience but won't deny an applicant for not hitting a xxx hour mark for HCE service.

Another example to highlight this difference is that many PA schools are debating whether to change their stance that working as a medical scribe doesn't constitute healthcare experience (HCE) because it's not direct patient care. This is an occupational contrast to working as a certified nursing assistant / patient care associate (CNA/PCA) which is almost universally accepted across all PA schools as constituting HCE whereas this distinction for medical schools tends to be negligible to the extent that students who feel like they aren't in a patient oriented medical role can supplement their experience with additional volunteering.

Volunteering itself raises another example as certain PA schools raise another distinction between hours required for volunteer work and paid healthcare experience. Hence, students who arbitrarily assume that PA school is a no brainer 0 investment fall back often discover later on in the process there are nuances to the criteria that they didn't see going into the application phase.