O Chem freshman year?

[I'm No Superman]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'm taking a chem class dual enrollment with the University of Nebraska as a senior and high school, and was wondering if it would be better take O chem freshman year or wait until sophomore year. I'm doing quite well in the course right now, but a lot of the teachers in our science dept. don't recommend it that early. Is there any reason besides difficulty not to take it freshman year?

Thanks.

 

[CodeBlu]

Take it whenever. But, I think you should adjust to university first before taking a class like Orgo... just my opinion.

Don't rush into an intensive class like that without feeling the so called proverbial waters of your school.

 

[Morsetlis]

It's fine. You know yourself best.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Thanks for the advice.
I'm not sure if I could handle a class like O Chem straight out of high school. I might do alright, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot because I didn't know how to study in college.

 

[Stumpyman]

If you take it, then don't overload your schedule.

 

[Snikkers]

I personally took orgo and physics freshman year and it murdered me. I wound up doing well in both but I was MISERABLE. But if you think you're up to it and you're alright with adjusting to the whole college scene unlike how I was, I'd say go for it.

Looking back, it would've been do-able if I hadn't been stressing balls over everything though, so do your best, keep your head up and keep on swimming. 🙂

 

[Moebius]

Take Orgo, but make sure you don't have more than 4 classes. 1 Organic chemistry, 2 easy classes, and writing class. Orgo takes a while. If you choose Orgo, I wouldn't recommend any OTHER science class. I suggest Orgo, sociology, philosophy, and creative writing as your first semester. The middle two doesn't take much time, creative writing is not that hard, and you can spend your 2-3 hours daily reviewing Orgo.

 

[orthomyxo]

I probably would have died if I took organic during freshman year.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Thanks for the advice.
I'm not sure if I could handle a class like O Chem straight out of high school. I might do alright, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot because I didn't know how to study in college.

Did you pass Chem 1 and 2 with a "B" or above? Then you can handle O.Chem. Here's the "big thing" you learn in college: confidence and hard work pay off. If you have these 2 traits when starting, you'll be a step ahead of many of your classmates.

 

[kpcrew]

Orgo tends to be taken by sophomores and juniors so you would be competing against people who either are chemistry majors or have more experience with science classes at the university level than you. If it's graded on a curve, that would make it more difficult for you to get a high grade and GPA is one of the most important factors.

 

[Gigantron]

One of my BS/MD buddies is taking orgo his freshman year. Obviously it can be done...not that I would recommend it, however.

 

[Morsetlis]

Ochem is not specifically harder than upper-division classes.

The fact that it requires Gchem doesn't mean that you really have to know Gchem (or remember anything complicated from Gchem) to do well in Ochem.

 

[BurntFlower]

My ex-boyfriend took Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 his freshman year. He got A's in both classes. If you're really good at chemistry, then sure, why not?

 

[Goblue89]

Looking back at my application, taking Ochem my first semester of college was the stupidest thing I ever did. But maybe you are more mature than me

 

[clinicallabguy]

I'm taking a chem class dual enrollment with the University of Nebraska as a senior and high school, and was wondering if it would be better take O chem freshman year or wait until sophomore year. I'm doing quite well in the course right now, but a lot of the teachers in our science dept. don't recommend it that early. Is there any reason besides difficulty not to take it freshman year?

Thanks.

I thought Gen Chem was pre-requisite. Did you take college Gen Chem in high school?

There are pros and cons to this. Getting it over with would be nice, but not if you turf it. You know yourself. If you think you're up for some hard work, then maybe it will work.