One student's experience with Organic Chemistry - New York Times

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Wow, the grading policies at Brown sound great.... :love:

But on another note... hearing "orgo" is like nails on a chalkboard for me.... WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THE EXTRA O???
 
"He could never explain how he had found the solution, only that my answer was wrong and his was correct. This led me to conclude that chemistry students are born with an innate and nontransferable ability to understand Orgo."

:laugh:

funny article.

On a side note, I'd like to point out that the author wrote originally "Others retook it over the summer at pushover schools like MIT and waltzed out with an A+"

Then, when someone pointed out there is no summer orgo at MIT, he decided to put Stanford there. Unfortunate that he could just be making things up as he writes an article for the New York Times. Ethos fail
 
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Then, when someone pointed out there is no summer orgo at MIT, he decided to put Stanford there. Unfortunate that he could just be making things up as he writes an article for the New York Times. Ethos fail

Haha yeah the article does have somewhat of a dramatized quality to it.

He also says that he isn't required to take ochem, even though he's a neuroscience major....

Again, that's probably just Brown's leniancy...
 
Others retook it over the summer at pushover schools like Stanford and waltzed out with an A+"

Ouch, this kid knows how to stick it to the Westcoast. Edit, don't know the dude but Brown is what's up.
 
Um, this guy really isn't an impressive writer. I don't know why this was published in the NYT but there were some glaring errors (it's masochist, not maso-chist) that an editor would freak out over and he used really cliched expressions.
 
He probably didn't have to take orgo. I remember brown has like no requirements for any major. You make up your own major and the course requirements to attain that major.

Fails don't appear on your transcript? That almost seems unethical.
 
Brown's grading system is strange. I don't think that they have D's either; it just goes A, B, C, No Credit. No credit classes simply don't appear on external transcripts, which I just don't understand.

Edit: Just read the article. It's terribly written. When I read "creature" I cringed.
 
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I recall my organic chemistry course in college. I remember my analytical chemistry professor relating to me that he had spoken to my future Ochem professor and told him he was fortunate to have me in his class. I was the only student in his career that had scored 100% on his analytical chem exam.

The fact was for me however that Ochem and Analytical chem must involve different brain areas. Analytical chem was a breeze for me, and I enjoyed it. OChem, no matter how hard I studied, and I studied ALOT, I just was not that good at it. I ended up with a B, and THAT was no breeze for me. Honestly do not think I could have done any better no matter how much more I studied. My difficulty in Organic chem was re-confirmed in grad school where my lack of aptitude nearly failed me out of grad school.
 
a few things:

1. to be fair, (although i also thought it was not writing to write home about, if you will) this wasn't an article. it was from a collection of student essays on the college experience. took me about 30 seconds of clicking to figure that out.

2. at my undergrad, there were two tracks for neuroscience majors. one track was more psych-based and they only had to take the first half of organic chemistry. this essay was about second semester orgo, so maybe that's what the neuroscience major at brown is like.

3. with all of that said... this essay was annoying, IMO. no need for him to be so melodramatic. i can recognize and respect that most people didn't find orgo easy like i did, but come ON. i was a chem major and helped people study too, and i don't possess any sort of magical key to the orgo kingdom. shut up, buckle down, and you'll be okay. even if it doesn't come easily.
 
How in the name of Shakespeare did this get published? My mom who never even went to high school writes better than this....
 
Yes! We all agree that this essay was not well written at all. Student essays or not, this was still published in the NEW YORK TIMES. Not to mention the writer seemed to be proud of how badly he was doing in the class (answering 2 out of 15 questions on the final? drawing cartoons for 20 minutes on an exam?) and the fact that his drop/fail won't even on his Brown transcript. Sorry, but that's pathetic and doesn't reflect well of American higher education, especially since this took place at an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL.
 
For some reason, this reminded me of this:

Skinner: Lisa, the president of Harvard would like to see you.
Pres.: Nasty business, that zero. Naturally, Harvard's doors
are now closed to you, but I'll pass your file along to
[snickers] Brown.
Skinner: Mmmm, Brown. Heckuva school. Weren't you at Brown, Otto?
[camera pans to Otto, sunning himself on the hood of the
school bus]
Otto: Yup. Almost got tenure, too.
Lisa: [gasps in horror] No, not Brown, Brown, Brown ...

I hope the quotes are all accurate, but I didn't take the time to track down the episode myself and basically just hunted for quote.
 
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Yes! We all agree that this essay was not well written at all. Student essays or not, this was still published in the NEW YORK TIMES. Not to mention the writer seemed to be proud of how badly he was doing in the class (answering 2 out of 15 questions on the final? drawing cartoons for 20 minutes on an exam?) and the fact that his drop/fail won't even on his Brown transcript. Sorry, but that's pathetic and doesn't reflect well of American higher education, especially since this took place at an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL.

i worry about your blood pressure if this type of thing manages to get you that worked up. relax; it's an essay by a student who sucked at orgo. i agree that it wasn't a great piece, but there's no need to freak out.
 
i worry about your blood pressure if this type of thing manages to get you that worked up. relax; it's an essay by a student who sucked at orgo. i agree that it wasn't a great piece, but there's no need to freak out.

Being critical doesn't necessarily result in high blood pressure. :D
But his actions would be unheard of for any reasonably ambitious premed.
 
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Being critical doesn't necessarily result in high blood pressure. :D
But his actions are unheard of for any reasonably ambitious premed.

i'm pretty sure he said he wasn't premed in the article. who cares either way? he probably took some poetic license in the re-telling of the story anyway. which, in my opinion, made him seem silly and melodramatic, but not as abhorrent as he (or the Times) seemed to you.

whatever.
 
i'm pretty sure he said he wasn't premed in the article. who cares either way? he probably took some poetic license in the re-telling of the story anyway. which, in my opinion, made him seem silly and melodramatic, but not as abhorrent as he (or the Times) seemed to you.

whatever.

I know he isn't, and I edited my post at the same time as you replied to make that clearer. But if the article is so far removed from how ochem is like for SDNers, why was it posted here in the first place?
 
I know he isn't, and I edited my post at the same time as you replied to make that clearer. But if the article is so far removed from how ochem is like for SDNers, why was it posted here in the first place?

i never said or even implied that; just said he was being melodramatic... ?

this thread is no longer interesting to me.
 
The article says:

"Because of Brown's grading policy, my transcript would not reflect the class if I dropped or failed it."

Is that true?? I think that would result in premeds taking classes many, many times until they got all A's...I mean you could get a B going into the final, and then just drop the class, and take it again.
 
Wow. If Ivy Leagues had policies like these, I should have tried a little harder to get in. ;)
 
The essay is clearly not meant to be taken seriously. I wonder how much sarcasm is lost. Brown? I've tutored 14 year-old kids who could write better than that. I also know a couple Brown students and they were pretty bright people. Not that I'm using them as a measure of Brown's average student. Just saying.
 
UCLA Chem 30CL. The last lower divisions Orgo chem class/Lab. About 50 students. HALF fails. 1 A, 1 A-, a few B's, mostly C's.
 
The writer sounds like a whiney, pompous little kid.

It's a damned class, not a religious experience, and no one gives a **** if you passed or failed an intro-level ugrad class...except your equally whiney emo friends.:rolleyes:
 
So...you're saying he sounds like your typical ivy-league kid...I SEE :laugh:

I wasn't going to say it outright, but...suffice to say it reminds me of a friend of a friend (or two...or three) that I have interacted with at various schools (come to mention it, medical school too).
 
Is orgo really that hard? I mean let's be realistic here. I hope to God that essay was exaggerating a little, or I'm in for a very [un]pleasant surprise next fall. :scared:
 
Is orgo really that hard? I mean let's be realistic here. I hope to God that essay was exaggerating a little, or I'm in for a very [un]pleasant surprise next fall. :scared:

It was poetic license. It can suck but it is very survivable.
 
Is orgo really that hard? I mean let's be realistic here. I hope to God that essay was exaggerating a little, or I'm in for a very [un]pleasant surprise next fall. :scared:
It varies, but I think this article was a gross exaggeration by any standard. At my school Orgo 2 is actually way easier than Orgo 1.
 
Is orgo really that hard? I mean let's be realistic here. I hope to God that essay was exaggerating a little, or I'm in for a very [un]pleasant surprise next fall. :scared:

Orgo chan be a beotch. The first C+ of my life was in the third quarter of orgo, and I had 3 majors-worth of other classes with higher grades.
 
Others retook it over the summer at pushover schools like Stanford or M.I.T. and waltzed out with an A+.

Haha, yeah, because MIT is so very easy compared to Brown. :rolleyes:

This guy is pathetic, orgo is not that bad.
 
Haha, yeah, because MIT is so very easy compared to Brown. :rolleyes:

This guy is pathetic, orgo is not that bad.

Oh, I'm sorry, were you not aware? Brown is the most difficult school in the universe. No other school compares. Medical school is supposed to be a breeze compared to Brown, but that's okay, because every student at Brown thinks on such a very deep level and has been through so many challenges that they'll each bring a unique and wonderful Brown perspective to medicine.
(/all my friends who went to Brown) :D

(I kid because I love)
 
For some reason, this reminded me of this:

Skinner: Lisa, the president of Harvard would like to see you.
Pres.: Nasty business, that zero. Naturally, Harvard's doors
are now closed to you, but I'll pass your file along to
[snickers] Brown.
Skinner: Mmmm, Brown. Heckuva school. Weren't you at Brown, Otto?
[camera pans to Otto, sunning himself on the hood of the
school bus]
Otto: Yup. Almost got tenure, too.
Lisa: [gasps in horror] No, not Brown, Brown, Brown ...

I hope the quotes are all accurate, but I didn't take the time to track down the episode myself and basically just hunted for quote.

:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
yeah i have to take some offense to that jab at stanford...ochem here is definitely no breeze during the school year.
 
.
 
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Quote from an episode of family guy (the episode where Brian goes back to college):

Brian: Wow, you went to Harvard, huh? I'm an Ivy League man myself, I went to Brown.
Wellsley Sheperdson (New Yorker editor): Ooh, my incarcerated business partner's ******ed gay niece went to Brown, what year did you graduate?
 
orgo = gen chem + algebra
solve for the 'enol'
 
yeah i have to take some offense to that jab at stanford...ochem here is definitely no breeze during the school year.

I think that was supposed to be a joke.

I didn't think the essay was that bad. I don't understand the reasoning behind trying to belittle everyone's writing/opinion.

BTW, Brown is a pretty chill school. I'm sure a lot of the people mocking it are just jealous because they will never come close to experiencing the Brown experience. I wish I went to Brown...
 
Thank God I went to my state school...I don't remember actually learning any Orgo 2 and I got a B. The prof was a joke, gave us multiple choice exams, I think because she realized nobody wanted to be there in the first place (except for maybe Chemistry majors). Now Orgo 1...that was a beast.
 
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