Organic Chemistry in NYC

[HealthReporter]

Hey Guys,

I finished my undergrad/master's at Penn in BE but recently decided to go to med school. I still need to take Organic Chemistry II and lab while also working full-time.

I was wondering if you have any ideas on where I could potentially take classes this fall. I hear that Hunter college might be a good option, although I am not sure if their registration is still open. I would really appreciate any input.

Thanks!

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[krs881]

check out the post bacc forum. i did all my pre-reqs post bacc at hunter, but orgo in particular i did one semester at hunter and one at city college. both are fine. i happened to have a much better professor at hunter, but i'm sure you could have a flop or a great prof at either place. in general i had a very good experience at hunter and with the cuny system, though registration usually had some major problem or set back. try for spring and summer if it's too late for fall.

 

[saal]

Fordham is another option, they definitely have orgo classes.

You can do a post bacc at Columbia but it'll probably cost you a small fortune!

 

[TaylorMDhopeful]

Hey Guys,

I finished my undergrad/master's at Penn in BE but recently decided to go to med school. I still need to take Organic Chemistry II and lab while also working full-time.

I was wondering if you have any ideas on where I could potentially take classes this fall. I hear that Hunter college might be a good option, although I am not sure if their registration is still open. I would really appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Hey! Current Penn alum and NYer here. I took orgo 2 and the labs after Penn in NYC. I took them at Hunter which was a pretty good place to take night classes while working. Look into City College uptown too. If you can find a late class look into Brooklyn College or Lehman College. You can also look into Columbia and NYU but it will cost a lot more than the other schools mentioned. Good luck!

 

[boaz]

In NYC you have tons options. You have the CUNYs and many private schools. The CUNYs will be cheap, especially if you can show NY residency. I took my prereqs at Brooklyn College and I'd recommend it if it's convenient. After taking cost into account, I would probably just choose based on location. It would be a pain having to sit on the subway for an hour late at night.

 

[christina30]

Fordham is expensive as hell ($1000 per credit), so I woudn't recommend it for that reason alone.

For all other reasons (quality and awesomeness!), I'd recommend them, though. But I may be biased

Any of the CUNY schools are a good option. I'd suggest CUNY Hunter, it's the best one imho and a great price.

 

[schrizto]

Pace has a campus in NYC and they should have organic chemistry. Schools like Fordham are way too expensive per credit.

 

[christina30]

Pace has a campus in NYC and they should have organic chemistry. Schools like Fordham are way too expensive per credit.

Pace is a private university and is just as expensive as Fordham. I think its $900 a credit compared to Fordham's $1000, and it's not NEARLY as good a school. Just sayin'

 

[schrizto]

Pace is a private university and is just as expensive as Fordham. I think its $900 a credit compared to Fordham's $1000, and it's not NEARLY as good a school. Just sayin'

Well, the summer session at Pace is $750 per credit... at least that's what it was when I looked it up. If you're talking about a 3 or 4 credit course Fordham would cost about $1000 more. not all private universities have rates that reflect what they charge for full time students, either.

 

[christina30]

Well, the summer session at Pace is $750 per credit... at least that's what it was when I looked it up. If you're talking about a 3 or 4 credit course Fordham would cost about $1000 more. not all private universities have rates that reflect what they charge for full time students, either.

I looked it up earlier and it said something like $930 per credit for part-time students (OP wants to take it in the fall). When I was a student at Fordham, part time cost $1000 per credit.

So just saying, if you're gonna go the private route at all, spring the extra $70 per credit for Fordham. It's not a big difference in price, but a pretty huge one in quality.

 

[student1799]

Do NOT, I repeat do NOT, take this class at Columbia. I did postbacc there, so I had no choice, but why should anyone else go through that suffering if they don't have to?

First of all, it's incredibly expensive: $1200 per credit, so the lecture will run you $3600 and the lab (2 credit freestanding 1-semester course) will be another $2400. That's $6K just to take orgo!

But even worse, the workload in this class is HUGE and the grading is incredibly tough. I put in about 50 hours a week for THAT CLASS ALONE, and felt lucky to get B+/B. (The lab wasn't too bad, though.) I got into med school anyway, but I'm sure that didn't help.

Go to Hunter or anywhere else you can find the space, but for your own sake, forget about Columbia.

 

[HealthReporter]

Thank you guys for all your input. City college does have a class at 6pm, but unfortunately that is when I get out of work.

Also City college, Brooklyn college, Lehman college are all about 40-50 minutes away from near Madison Sq Park where I work so it would be tough. I think my best bet would be Hunter college - but alas their registration is closed already for this fall.

I am thinking that I would take Organic Chemistry I & Lab I in the spring and Organic Chemistry II & Lab II during summer. Would that be too late to apply by next year for 2011?

In the meantime, I could start preparing for my MCATS.

Lastly, I took Organic Chemistry I at Penn but that class did not include a lab component. The lab class is a separate course on its own. I am wondering if I would have to repeat Organic Chem I because of its lab component.

Thank you, I really appreciate your input.

 

[HealthReporter]

Hey! Current Penn alum and NYer here. I took orgo 2 and the labs after Penn in NYC. I took them at Hunter which was a pretty good place to take night classes while working. Look into City College uptown too. If you can find a late class look into Brooklyn College or Lehman College. You can also look into Columbia and NYU but it will cost a lot more than the other schools mentioned. Good luck!

Great to hear from another Penn alum! How did you deal with the lab component being separate? I have already taken Orgo I but still need to take Orgo II and lab.

 

[TaylorMDhopeful]

Great to hear from another Penn alum! How did you deal with the lab component being separate? I have already taken Orgo I but still need to take Orgo II and lab.

Its not a problem. I took Orgo 1 sophomore year so it was a while since I took an Orgo class but I had just taken the MCAT so it wasn't bad at all. The Orgo classes at Hunter are pretty easy (comparable to Penn anyways), especially the labs, if you stay on top of the work. You will never have to write 20 page reports for each lab like my friends had to do at Penn, lol.

At Hunter, and I believe at City College as well, you can take everything separate. I took Orgo 2 and Orgo lab 1 the summer after college since everything is condensed and faster to get through and Orgo Lab 2 the spring of the next year while finishing up the med school application cycle. After you are accepted to matriculate at Hunter (preferably) or City you just have to go to the Orgo director and show your transcript saying that you already took Orgo 1 at Penn and you need to finish your requirements for medical school. They will give you clearance to take the courses but you have to do this early so you can get into night classes if you are working because they fill up fast.

 

[HealthReporter]

Thanks a lot. I may take Orgo I again anyway cuz I also took it my sophomore year and didn't do so great. I'll need to take Orgo II next summer when I will also be applying to schools. Hopefully it's not too late.