O Chem series over the summer

[triplerox]

My school has a summer course where i can complete the entire ochem series in an accelerated 9 week program. By doing so, i can start my upper div classes my sophmore year. Is it recommendable if im trying to go to med school? My friend told me med school look down upon stuff like this. waht do u guys think?

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[LizzyM]

My school has a summer course where i can complete the entire ochem series in an accelerated 9 week program. By doing so, i can start my upper div classes my sophmore year. Is it recommendable if im trying to go to med school? My friend told me med school look down upon stuff like this. waht do u guys think?

Med schools look down on it if it appears that you took the summer course somewhere other than your undergrad school in order to protect your gpa (if your school has a reputation for really tough o-chem classes). This goes double if you take the o-chem courses at what would be viewed as a lower tier school.

 

[Critical Mass]

They are going to be looking at an AMCAS version of your transcript, so I don't know how they'd know much about how you took the class. Now if you do poorly, they're going to see a red flag.

Take it however you want it. Your MCAT is going to tell them whether you learned the material or not. Just don't take the material so fast that you don't learn it well enough for MCAT BS.

 

[LizzyM]

They are going to be looking at an AMCAS version of your transcript, so I don't know how they'd know much about how you took the class.

The AMCAS version of the transcript shows where each course was taken and when.

 

[WisePrincess227]

I actually did ochem over the summer and it was overwhelming. Ochem has a language of its own and I don't recommend it to "get ahead." I took the class while I did not have a job or any other major responsibities and still found it to be a class that needed more time and attention then just a few weeks in the summer.

 

[Critical Mass]

The AMCAS version of the transcript shows where each course was taken and when.

Agree, but if it says "A," I don't think that adcoms have time to debate how you took it. Roll out on MCAT BS, and it will just look like a normal transcript.

 

[Skelfie]

Hi triplerox,

I don't think that med schools will look down on this since, as you mentioned, the accelerated course is offered at your school (I think that the other posters might not realize this). I took the accelerated o-chem series over the summer and it wasn't a problem -- in fact, one of my interviewers commented positively about the fact that I did it.

Remember, though, that accelerated o-chem is VERY time-intensive! It'll be fairly easy to grasp if you are a visual learner and even if you're not, it's very understandable if you look beneath the surface to see the underlying logic of the reactions (and practice a lot). However, it still takes a lot of study time, so I'd recommend taking only the accelerated o-chem this summer and working as little as possible. Good luck!

My school has a summer course where i can complete the entire ochem series in an accelerated 9 week program. By doing so, i can start my upper div classes my sophmore year. Is it recommendable if im trying to go to med school? My friend told me med school look down upon stuff like this. waht do u guys think?

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Take it at Harvard summer school, it's very well organized and definetly possible to do well.

 

[cowme]

Do it. I took OChem 1 and 2 over the spring +summer semesters at my school and it was one of the best decisions I made as an undergrad. Since I was only enrolled in one class at the time, I was able to completely focus on it without other distractions. Since OChem is notoriously hard at my school, this helped immensely. Don't worry about what your friend says, medical schools don't care about this stuff. I took Physics at a community college and was not asked to defend myself ever, and it did not hurt my chances one bit. If you take an accelerated course at your OWN institution, I highly doubt anybody would think twice about it.

 

[triplerox]

im faily good in science. i have had no trouble in general chem and general bio so far. A lot of ppl told me that if i dont like general chem, im going to like ochem; i dont really like general chem. What i'm worried about was mentioned, it's that what if i dont learn enough to score well on the MCAT. I am confident that if i want to, i can definately pull off an A in that class. But an A in ochem wont guarantee a good score in the MCAT. I want to be able to know this stuff well. 9 weeks may or may not be too fast, I guess i'll just have to take it and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

 

[Eric Lindros]

My school has a summer course where i can complete the entire ochem series in an accelerated 9 week program. By doing so, i can start my upper div classes my sophmore year. Is it recommendable if im trying to go to med school? My friend told me med school look down upon stuff like this. waht do u guys think?

Speaking from personal experience, take whatever class you can do better in. I took both ochems over the summer at a community college. I had 9 interview offers and not one school asked me about where I took my ochem.

 

[radiologypremed]

Same here, I took OCHEM at a Community College over the summer. It was alot of work, I got A's in both I and II. At all of my interviews I wasn't asked about me taking it during the summer or at a different college. Also, with the MCAT, OCHEM is briefly covered. TAKE IT,,,, but be prepared to bust your ass!!!

 

[LizzyM]

Same here, I took OCHEM at a Community College over the summer. It was alot of work, I got A's in both I and II. At all of my interviews I wasn't asked about me taking it during the summer or at a different college. Also, with the MCAT, OCHEM is briefly covered. TAKE IT,,,, but be prepared to bust your ass!!!

Anecdotes are fine but you really need to know the proportion of community college summer o-chem students who got interviews/offers and compare to the proportion of interviews/offers in those who did o-chem during the academic year.

That it reduces the odds of doing well in the applications "biz" doesn't mean it reduces your chances to zero.

 

[c0mpletec0ntrol]

I've heard that certain medical schools (ie. Umass) look down upon those of us who take summer courses, but from the looks of the acceptances, it doesn't seem like a big deal regardless if the course is compressed, its the exact same material, and in my personal opinion, seeing a transcript of a student who went an entire year academically without a break shows promise.

 

[Eric Lindros]

I've heard that certain medical schools (ie. Umass) look down upon those of us who take summer courses, but from the looks of the acceptances, it doesn't seem like a big deal regardless if the course is compressed, its the exact same material, and in my personal opinion, seeing a transcript of a student who went an entire year academically without a break shows promise.

I know in my personal experience I was complimented on my grades, which showed ochem from a community college, at almost every interview. I interviewed at 9 allopathic schools: some "lower tier" some "middle tier" and some "top tier"

Taking ochem at a community college and getting an A >>> taking it at your so-called great school and getting a C. And getting an A at a community college is no different than getting the A at your great college. Just my opinion

 

[Tired Pigeon]

My school has a summer course where i can complete the entire ochem series in an accelerated 9 week program. By doing so, i can start my upper div classes my sophmore year. Is it recommendable if im trying to go to med school? My friend told me med school look down upon stuff like this. waht do u guys think?

That's an awful lot of material to absorb in any meaningful way over a 9 week period.

 

[weathertalk]

Agree with above posts.

If the program is at a reputable 4-year college and you do well, it will be just fine.