Organic Chem

[rxphd]

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I'm getting ready to start organic1 and I've heard so many horror stories about it and now I'm nervous lol. I was wondering if anyone had any good advice as far as what to really study hard on, if I should memorize some stuff or if anyone has any studying tips/tools and advice. This will be my only class this semester and next as I am at the end of my prereqs and interview for pharm school in Feb. Anything will help!

 

[blueheron]

Learn the mechanisms and concepts and be able to apply them, not just memorize specific reactions. It's not a real hard class.

 

[blueheron]

Do you have a degree or are you just banking on doing prereqs? Because that usually doesn't work for a good school.

 

[rxphd]

No degree, just prereqs. I've been a certified tech for 10 years, and there is only one pharmacy school in my state. I'm also not in the position to move either. I'm banking on my good grades and the fact that pharmacy is pretty much the only field I have ever worked in.

 

[blueheron]

Yeah that's not the best idea to get in. May work for some, but do you really think they want somebody that does the bare minimum, especially not taking full course loads? There is a difference in making an A taking it by itself vs with Cell bio and 3 other gen ed classes. Better have a 3.8 and 90+. Having only one school, you are going to be up against a bunch of people with good grades and tech experience, and most of those will be close to a degree, or already have one.

 

[PharmLife4Me]

The fact that you have a lot of tech experience is a HUGE plus. You have the ability to answer questions like "Why pharmacy?" or "What characteristics do you expect in a pharmacist". This type of experience in very valuable. It definitely puts you ahead of those who have a high GPA and high PCAT scores with zero experience. Why? Because anyone can make good grades and decide that they want to switch to pharmacy because they couldn't get into med school or they figured out that they make six digits starting out. I think you would be fine just doing the pre-requisites if that is what the school requires. If they wanted a degree, then they would have asked for it in their requirements. As for O-chem, my only recommendation is to treat it like a math class. You need to do math problems every day to pull of a high grade as you should do the same thing for O-chem. It's a rigorous class but definitely doable. I straight up just memorized all of the reactions and pulled off an A in the class, but as blueheron said it is beneficial to understand the mechanisms and the conceptual part of them. You already have an interview set up so you have already made the first cut! Good luck.

 

[rxphd]

Yeah that's not the best idea to get in. May work for some, but do you really think they want somebody that does the bare minimum, especially not taking full course loads? There is a difference in making an A taking it by itself vs with Cell bio and 3 other gen ed classes. Better have a 3.8 and 90+. Having only one school, you are going to be up against a bunch of people with good grades and tech experience, and most of those will be close to a degree, or already have one.

The reason I only have just one class is because I was taking 4-5 classes together previously. I also work full time and have two kids under the age of 10. So to say I do the bare minimum is ridiculous. I do have a 3.7 as well, so I'm pretty sure they won't care that I don't have a degree and I'm pretty confident in myself, thanks🙂 I'm not worried at all about the ppl I'm going up against that have a degree. I also don't need to prove myself to ppl on SDN either, but thanks for the advice in your first response to the actual topic🙂

 

[rxphd]

The fact that you have a lot of tech experience is a HUGE plus. You have the ability to answer questions like "Why pharmacy?" or "What characteristics do you expect in a pharmacist". This type of experience in very valuable. It definitely puts you ahead of those who have a high GPA and high PCAT scores with zero experience. Why? Because anyone can make good grades and decide that they want to switch to pharmacy because they couldn't get into med school or they figured out that they make six digits starting out. I think you would be fine just doing the pre-requisites if that is what the school requires. If they wanted a degree, then they would have asked for it in their requirements. As for O-chem, my only recommendation is to treat it like a math class. You need to do math problems every day to pull of a high grade as you should do the same thing for O-chem. It's a rigorous class but definitely doable. I straight up just memorized all of the reactions and pulled off an A in the class, but as blueheron said it is beneficial to understand the mechanisms and the conceptual part of them. You already have an interview set up so you have already made the first cut! Good luck.

Thank you!!!!

 

[aglo123]

I'm getting ready to start organic1 and I've heard so many horror stories about it and now I'm nervous lol. I was wondering if anyone had any good advice as far as what to really study hard on, if I should memorize some stuff or if anyone has any studying tips/tools and advice. This will be my only class this semester and next as I am at the end of my prereqs and interview for pharm school in Feb. Anything will help!

I think the biggest thing is to really get to know the properties of molecules and how they interact (e.g. good surface area of interaction, resonance stabilization, oxidizing agent/reducing agent, nucleophile, steric hindrance, induction, etc). Also make sure you really get to know all of the reagents! Use flashcards if needed.