Ochem is killing me

[bcurtis]

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Seriously, how can a seemingly worthless subject be the bane to most pre-meds' science GPA (including myself). I've worked my ass @$$ off the last two years in college to bring my GPA out of the dumpsters from a 2.8ish to a 3.4ish now. After our midterm today, I'm essentially guaranteed a C in the class since my professor doesn't want to curve. I'm assuming that I'll probably have to fight for a C in the second part to this hell ride also.

Venting to friends and family doesn't help because they don't know what organic is like. They always have the typical response "you're going to do fine, you'll be alright". I know that these people love and support me and that's just their pre programmed response, but having a talk with people would've experienced this beast first hand is what I need right now. What does the SDN community think of this? What were y'all's experience with organic chemistry?

PS I'm worried that a 3.3 won't be good enough for medical school now. Should I be worried?

 

[Gandyy]

Organic is the tough weed out class Sophmore year. Everyone knows it, talks about it etc.

My organic Professor started off with this on the 1st day of class: "You've probably heard my tests are really unreasonably hard. In this case they were right." (Fantastic right?)

Point is dont feel too bad about it. Lots of people get a C in orgo 1 and orgo 2. A 3.3 is good enough for low tier DO schools.

Before you start your second semester, talk to your professor about your concerns. I am also a nerd and like chemistry so if you read the textbook with a zeal of sorts, you will absorb all kinds of info.

Refine study habits, but more importantly try to UNDERSTAND the chemistry. Do not memorize anything UNLESS you absolutely have to like hard Pka values or something.

However, you could estimate PKA values of a compound based on a variety of substituents in the compounds itself. You see? Understanding> Memorizing.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Memorize every reaction possible. Do practice problems every chance you get.

 

[Gandyy]

Memorize every reaction possible. Do practice problems every chance you get.

Alonzo is right with this one.

DO tons and tons of practice problems and UNDERSTAND THE chemistry. Then you should be able to get at least a B man. There is just no reason not to at that point.

 

[Major]

Google chadd's vidoes or course saver. He is great and really helped me get the A in ochem

 

[Major]

http://www.aceorganicchem.com/organic-chemistry-practice-exams.html



go there for practice problems^^

 

[AlteredScale]

Seriously, how can a seemingly worthless subject be the bane to most pre-meds' science GPA (including myself). I've worked my ass @$$ off the last two years in college to bring my GPA out of the dumpsters from a 2.8ish to a 3.4ish now. After our midterm today, I'm essentially guaranteed a C in the class since my professor doesn't want to curve. I'm assuming that I'll probably have to fight for a C in the second part to this hell ride also.

Venting to friends and family doesn't help because they don't know what organic is like. They always have the typical response "you're going to do fine, you'll be alright". I know that these people love and support me and that's just their pre programmed response, but having a talk with people would've experienced this beast first hand is what I need right now. What does the SDN community think of this? What were y'all's experience with organic chemistry?

PS I'm worried that a 3.3 won't be good enough for medical school now. Should I be worried?

OChem kills pre-medders here at my school and rightly so. There is no special/easier pre-med ochem and so you are with professors who will test you and test you hard.

OChem 2 was really rough for me, test average was 40-60. I was riding a B- the whole time also thinking I'd be getting a C.

IMO, what helped was getting a very strong grasp of the potential reactions that can occur with a molecular based on it's properties. And then connecting that to whatever reactants I was provided and essentially crossing out reactions that wouldn't fit the situation based on the properties.

 

[67552931811]

Seriously, how can a seemingly worthless subject be the bane to most pre-meds' science GPA (including myself). I've worked my ass @$$ off the last two years in college to bring my GPA out of the dumpsters from a 2.8ish to a 3.4ish now. After our midterm today, I'm essentially guaranteed a C in the class since my professor doesn't want to curve. I'm assuming that I'll probably have to fight for a C in the second part to this hell ride also.

Venting to friends and family doesn't help because they don't know what organic is like. They always have the typical response "you're going to do fine, you'll be alright". I know that these people love and support me and that's just their pre programmed response, but having a talk with people would've experienced this beast first hand is what I need right now. What does the SDN community think of this? What were y'all's experience with organic chemistry?

PS I'm worried that a 3.3 won't be good enough for medical school now. Should I be worried?

PM me. I LOVED organic. Seriously. I was wayyyyy too into it for a normal human being. Maybe I can help you out. GL!

 

[67552931811]

Memorize every reaction possible. Do practice problems every chance you get.

And when it doubt just say you picked it because it was more stable. I'd wager that you'll get some points that way 99% of the time (of course, our exams were mostly non-MC type. So, YMMV).

 

[bcurtis]

Thanks for the advice and words guys and gals. Ugh organic chemistry frustrates me. My GPA was starting to look good before this class. I sure hope the professor changes his mind about the curve. All of the people that I've talked to are making 60s and 70s on the exams. Unless there's someone messing the curve up or something. Whatever, I'm going to drown my sorrow in a nice dinner and take my girlfriend to go see Jurassic World LOL.

 

[Gandyy]

Thanks for the advice and words guys and gals. Ugh organic chemistry frustrates me. My GPA was starting to look good before this class. I sure hope the professor changes his mind about the curve. All of the people that I've talked to are making 60s and 70s on the exams. Unless there's someone messing the curve up or something. Whatever, I'm going to drown my sorrow in a nice dinner and take my girlfriend to go see Jurassic World LOL.

lol. Jurassic World was good, but I liked the originals more

 

[bcurtis]

I'm kinda expecting the same, but one can dream that the new one could be better? I've heard a lot of good things about it so far.

lol. Jurassic World was good, but I liked the originals more

 

[Gandyy]

I'm kinda expecting the same, but one can dream that the new one could be better? I've heard a lot of good things about it so far.

Its still pretty good and worth the watch.

 

[ZezKaiEll]

Both Organic Chem's kicked me around like a soccer ball. Years later, after self-studying them for the MCAT, I was amazed at how well I understood them. It seems for me at least, that familiarity was the problem. OChem was so different from all of my other classes that it tripped me up, bad. IMO heavy concept focus + practice problems was the name of the game for me the second time around.
One day when I am 50, I will enroll in OChem 1 and 2 at my local uni and get A's in order to vindicate myself from the courses which caused me so much hardship.

 

[DocWinter]

I had no problem with Ochem - got B+ in both classes and was nicking an A-. Physics was my Achilles and I understand feeling hopeless with a subject you just can't seem to get.
I killed all the Ochem on the MCAT, and wished there was more (I had only 15-20% of the Bio portion) and it is a subject you can do the same with as well, b/c it is very rule-based. Know the rules = here's your free points.

Best thing you can do is do tons of practice problems, which you'll find in the back of your textbook or at the end of the chapters. As much as it sucks, do them all and det to know how things look from many angles.

FWIW, I thought the 1st semester was a bit harder, and the 2nd was just more of the same, but you already knew the rules at that point so it was easier. Ochem is one of the most often re-taken courses, you are OK if you need to delay your app for this one. Just push on and plug through. Good luck.

 

[puppyofthesea]

Take UNE's ochem online instead. It's a cake walk.

 

[zero0]

Ditto. Don't take OChem over summer. Once more, DON'T take OChem over summer! Too much in too little time. I'm likely going to wind up with a B cuz I just had to take the damn lab as well which doubles my workload despite only being 1 credit!

 

[AM508]

Ugh...Don't remind me of OChem. It was particularly brutal at my undergrad school. OChem 2 was the only C I ever got (no I didn't retake it, no it didn't affect anything). I suppose it is some painful rite of passage...

 

[Hospitalized]

OChem 2 was really rough for me, test average was 40-60. I was riding a B- the whole time also thinking I'd be getting a C.

I don't get this. my Ochem 2 class was much easier than Ochem 1, and we had numerous people (including myself) score above the 95th percentile on the cumulative ACS. Why would Ochem 2 be so much harder? Maybe my Ochem 1 was full weed-out mode? I found it time consuming, but by no means was it difficult. Just a lot of material.

Anyways, much like @ChiTownBHawks, for some reason I really enjoyed organic. I think it was because it is easy to study. Just grab a whiteboard, marker, the chapters/problem sets from your class, and go to town. If you want elaboration, feel free to PM me.

 

[Gandyy]

I don't get this. my Ochem 2 class was much easier than Ochem 1, and we had numerous people (including myself) score above the 95th percentile on the cumulative ACS. Why would Ochem 2 be so much harder? Maybe my Ochem 1 was full weed-out mode? I found it time consuming, but by no means was it difficult. Just a lot of material.

Anyways, much like @ChiTownBHawks, for some reason I really enjoyed organic. I think it was because it is easy to study. Just grab a whiteboard, marker, the chapters/problem sets from your class, and go to town. If you want elaboration, feel free to PM me.

Thats really odd. OCHEM 2 is almost always significantly harder than OCHEM 1

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Thanks for the advice and words guys and gals. Ugh organic chemistry frustrates me. My GPA was starting to look good before this class. I sure hope the professor changes his mind about the curve. All of the people that I've talked to are making 60s and 70s on the exams. Unless there's someone messing the curve up or something. Whatever, I'm going to drown my sorrow in a nice dinner and take my girlfriend to go see Jurassic World LOL.

And maybe after the movie you could practice your "backside attack" mechanism with her...


😉

ITSAAANICEEEEE!

 

[67552931811]

Thats really odd. OCHEM 2 is almost always significantly harder than OCHEM 1

I found it easier as well and also scored similarly on the acs as @Hospitalized

 

[Gandyy]

I found it easier as well and also scored similarly on the acs as @Hospitalized

Maybe it has to do with my school. My Orgo 2 professor likes to make things notoriously more difficult than the average Orgo 2 class. He said so himself.

My orgo 1 teacher was probably about the average Orgo professor

 

[67552931811]

Maybe it has to do with my school. My Orgo 2 professor likes to make things notoriously more difficult than the average Orgo 2 class. He said so himself.

My orgo 1 teacher was probably about the average Orgo professor

I'm a firm believer that any class can be very hard, pending on whose teaching it. One of my hardest classes in undergrad was due to the prof being miserable (the discipline itself is not even close to hard science classes in difficultly) and well, you know, misery loves company.

 

[Gandyy]

I'm a firm believer that any class can be very hard, pending on whose teaching it. One of my hardest classes in undergrad was due to the prof being miserable (the discipline itself is not even close to hard science classes in difficultly) and well, you know, misery loves company.

Indeed, the teacher can make a giant difference in the difficulty of obtaining the coveted A.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

My personal view on organic is that you need to understand the reaction and why it's happening. Once you understand the basis foundation you'll be able to more or less skip out on memorizing most of the steps because it becomes logical.

 

[zero0]

My professor likes to make his exams as complicated as possible, only testing the most complicated mechanisms in the most convoluted scenarios, and is notorious for failing 80% of the class each semester. How he's allowed to keep teaching, I have no idea.

Have I mentioned not to take OChem over the summer?

 

[Gandyy]

My professor likes to make his exams as complicated as possible, only testing the most complicated mechanisms in the most convoluted scenarios, and is notorious for failing 80% of the class each semester. How he's allowed to keep teaching, I have no idea.

Have I mentioned not to take OChem over the summer?

Are you sure ? Usually teachers that fail even 60 percent of their class consistently for any one class get puton probationary status . Of all the classes , my Econ teacher met this fate

 

[zero0]

Are you sure ? Usually teachers that fail even 60 percent of their class consistently for any one class get puton probationary status . Of all the classes , my Econ teacher met this fate

No, but I reserve the right to further propagate hearsay on the internet

 

[swolebrah]

Have you heard of ochem as a second language? If you would like, I think I have the pdf link on my dropbox when I took ochem last year, it really helped me get that good grade in ochem I and II. It was a class that truly taught me how to study both effectively and efficiently/smart.

 

[bcurtis]

Have you heard of ochem as a second language? If you would like, I think I have the pdf link on my dropbox when I took ochem last year, it really helped me get that good grade in ochem I and II. It was a class that truly taught me how to study both effectively and efficiently/smart.

I'll look into that. I may have to use it. I see some of you are saying to stay away from organic summer lol it's brutal. I figured I could get it over with since I'm only taking organic by itself, but it's just unbeatable with this professor.

I feel like I just started and here we are, two weeks from being done. 5 weeks for organic lecture and lab just isn't enough time and it's destroying my confidence

 

[Brownman55]

Have you heard of ochem as a second language? If you would like, I think I have the pdf link on my dropbox when I took ochem last year, it really helped me get that good grade in ochem I and II. It was a class that truly taught me how to study both effectively and efficiently/smart.

Can recommend this book for sure. Helped a lot learning the basic principles you need to know and provides a lot of practice problems for you to do.

Other than that man, just hold out, study to the best of your ability. In the end, it is one series of classes and it's meant to be tough. O-chem I and II were the hardest B's i've ever worked for lol.

 

[postbacpremed87]

Seriously, how can a seemingly worthless subject be the bane to most pre-meds' science GPA (including myself). I've worked my ass @$$ off the last two years in college to bring my GPA out of the dumpsters from a 2.8ish to a 3.4ish now. After our midterm today, I'm essentially guaranteed a C in the class since my professor doesn't want to curve. I'm assuming that I'll probably have to fight for a C in the second part to this hell ride also.

Venting to friends and family doesn't help because they don't know what organic is like. They always have the typical response "you're going to do fine, you'll be alright". I know that these people love and support me and that's just their pre programmed response, but having a talk with people would've experienced this beast first hand is what I need right now. What does the SDN community think of this? What were y'all's experience with organic chemistry?

PS I'm worried that a 3.3 won't be good enough for medical school now. Should I be worried?

Luckily Organic Chemistry is not used AT ALL in medical school. It is literally a hurdle to prove you can work hard. Just pass it and do well in the other classes.

 

[dapdrow]

I took Orgo back in the day when I just wanted to GTFO of school and got a C. Retook it last semester (a good 8-9 years later) and got an A. Just finished the second semester with an A as well but I found the second semester much more challenging. I really had to practice problems to get it but the schedule also sucked for me since I work nights full-time, had to wait a few hours after work in the morning for class to start and then some days stay in lab until past 5 PM and then go home and go into work again that night. The second semester in a row of doing that really exhausted me.

Honestly, if I didn't work full-time, I would take it in the summer. I love summer classes because I tend to stay on top of the work and remember everything from one day to the next. I had to withdraw from physics I a hundred years ago and I retook it in the summer and I loved it because I never forgot how to apply a formula in that short period of time.

Now my next and last beast before the MCAT is physics II. I hateeeee physics so I am not looking forward to this at all. Crossing my fingers that I need absolutely no knowledge of physics I. 😉