Ochem advice

[Aetherius]

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Hello,

I have ~3weeks until my test date, and I have been studying for about 1.5 months now.
I have scheduled myself to do practice tests/review of weak materials from here on out, but for the next day or two, I will have to practice on Ochem a little bit more, since it is my weakest science in general.
I did all of Chad's videos once, and then did it again for the mechanisms and things that I am still weak at. Now I am at a point where I have to do a ton of practice questions to really drill it in (I haven't done any for Ochem, except for the quizzes) but am constricted in time that I think I could only do questions that best represent the test.

Do you all think that Destroyer is a bit overkill? I saw the questions and I think they mostly beyond the scope of what Chad had covered. Should I not waste time on studying on the worst-case and just focus on solidifying material covered from Chad's videos? If so, which material could I practice on to do this? (ie. best represent Chad's videos/the actual DAT)
Or should I just suck it up and do Destroyer?

Thanks!

 

[Paperclipz]

For the destroyer, definitely memorize the road maps. It was one of my weakest sections as well but after going through Chad's material and then memorizing the road maps, the Destroyer questions were feasible. I have my test soon too and I'm going over Chad and Destroyer for both gchem and ochem bc I think both give you a realistic idea of what to expect and won't be surprised if they do give you a weird question.

 

[roquer2]

Hello,

I have ~3weeks until my test date, and I have been studying for about 1.5 months now.
I have scheduled myself to do practice tests/review of weak materials from here on out, but for the next day or two, I will have to practice on Ochem a little bit more, since it is my weakest science in general.
I did all of Chad's videos once, and then did it again for the mechanisms and things that I am still weak at. Now I am at a point where I have to do a ton of practice questions to really drill it in (I haven't done any for Ochem, except for the quizzes) but am constricted in time that I think I could only do questions that best represent the test.

Do you all think that Destroyer is a bit overkill? I saw the questions and I think they mostly beyond the scope of what Chad had covered. Should I not waste time on studying on the worst-case and just focus on solidifying material covered from Chad's videos? If so, which material could I practice on to do this? (ie. best represent Chad's videos/the actual DAT)
Or should I just suck it up and do Destroyer?

Thanks!

Majority says it's overkill. People have even said the Roadmaps are pure gold and practice it a lot because that's what you really need to know. For me, I was lucky to have such an amazing professor for Ochem 1 and 2 and honestly after going thru Destroyer, the only mistakes I make are the palm --> face ones.

Other than that, my perspective/opinion is that all the Ochem stuff in Destroyer is straightforward and simple. I don't feel like it's overkill, compared to the Gen chem section at least. Like my Ochem professor said, all the 'fools' try to memorize the reactions, reagent for reagent, etc. Granted, there will be people who can. But it's easier to understand the fundamental concepts (what's your nucleophile, visualize inductive effects, what is acting as an electrophile, etc). Understand the common concepts (check parenthesis in last sentence 😉) and I'm sure you'll be able to figure out the reactions that are a little ambiguous.

If you need help, message me.

 

[J777]

Generally, Chads quizzes were a very good representation of the real exam. If you are really pressed for time, I'd make those your priority. However, I did not find that destroyer was that much of an overkill. I had several questions on my exam that were very close to destroyer Q's. Though it is generally more difficult than the real thing, it is certainly worth your time to try to get through them. At the very least, get through the roadmaps (as many others have said).

 

[Aetherius]

Thank you for all your replies!

Seems like to get as good in this section as possible, I would have to do Destroyer.
I will also be purchasing DATqvault. I've seen people comment on how good the bio section is, and how not-so-good the Gen Chem section is, but always never/little comment on how Ochem compares vs. the real DAT. Seems like only a few people are as concerned with Ochem as others.

Can anyone comment on this?
Thanks again.

 

[J777]

I found the ochem section in DQV to be quite underrated. The real exam was a little easier than DQV Ochem, but was generally very well represented by the program.