Organic Chemistry

[WhyPharm]

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Hello everyone, I really want to say thank you to everyone here for making this site very useful for the pre-pharm community. My question is am currently taking Ochem II and I must say Ochem and I just dont mix well together. From the look of things i'll be in the border line of a C. I was wondering if any of you girls/guys out there who were in my position, having hard time with Ochem and still able to get accepted to Pharm school? Also if anyone know how important Ochem grades when it comes to applying? Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Rxbound]

Your grades in OChem will matter...to what extent, I don't know.
For example, one of the schools I applied to gave us a sheet of things they were using while evaluating our applications. Organic Chem grades were a specific point that they choose to emphasize. However, I don't know what other schools do. They will not be ignored, though.
I still think that it is about the complete package. I may be proven wrong within the next few days, but we'll see.
P.S. I had a B in OChem I and a C in OChem II.

 

[patmcd]

If you end up with a C, I'd consider retaking the class. Sometimes it just takes a while for ochem to click with people. Now I'm not saying one day you'll wake up and never struggle with ochem again, but it will get easier.

 

[WhyPharm]

but if i retake the class, wouldn't that look bad on my transcript? And i believe i can't take it again unless i got a C- or below. So if I end up with a C then am pretty much stuck with it.

 

[DrEaMeRcHiCk]

I'm pretty sure if you take it again and ace the class it'll look a lot better than just leaving it at a C. I know some schools average the scores, however I had a friend who got a C in Ochem and retook the class. She aced it the second time around. She said they asked about it during her interview, i.e. why she got the C the first time around, but she explained herself and believed the fact that she retook the class really helped her application. Now she's in pharm school!

 

[a504n]

I made a B in both Organic Chem I and II, and I made an A in Organic Chem Lab. Should I retake Organic I and II? The reason I ask, is because if I don't get accepted to Pharmacy school this fall, I plan on re-taking all of my pre-reqs that I made B's and C's in, but since Organic is so tough, I'm not sure if I want to go through taking it again, unless I have to get an A in it.

 

[Mongoos150]

I got a C this last semester in Biology lecture (sciences at Arizona, ALL sciences at Arizona, are very very diffucult). Half of the freshman class who took it failed, and the university is not offering biology for freshman anymore. Though I did well compared to many I am retaking Biology this summer, aiming for an A. At the University they have a GRO system (grade replacement opportunity). You have 3 GROs over the course of your entire university career to use, however if you do worse the second time around, you don't get to keep your initial grade. My C will be physically replaced with whatever grade I get this summer. The problem with this lies in PharmCAS. Though when I apply to Arizona it will be fine (UA doesn't use PharmCAS), PharmCAS averages your retakes. They do not take the higher of the two (which is rotten IMO). Add the fact that I highly doubt I will make it into AZ, I'm not too happy about this.

 

[KKLPharmD]

Sure they will matter, but you can control how much they matter by:

a) doing well on the PCAT composite as well as chemistry subscore and
b) doing well in an upper level course, such as biochem, that requires an understanding of the fundamentals of ochem (but not all those seemingly millions of reactions). If you can, take the biochem series the P1s take in the school of pharmacy. If you can succeed there, how can they doubt you are a good candidate?

Don't worry, I thought my ochem grades would haunt me until the day I died. Turns out, I was much more worried about them than the admissions committee was. You'll get what you get, don't let it define you or your application. 👍

 

[KUMoose]

I made a B in both Organic Chem I and II, and I made an A in Organic Chem Lab. Should I retake Organic I and II? The reason I ask, is because if I don't get accepted to Pharmacy school this fall, I plan on re-taking all of my pre-reqs that I made B's and C's in, but since Organic is so tough, I'm not sure if I want to go through taking it again, unless I have to get an A in it.

You'll want to really investigate this with all the schools you will potentially be applying to, because more then a few average the grades. It might be better for you to take new classes like immunology, biochem, etc and do more volunteer work or retake the PCAT if you can reasonable increase your score (like from an 80 to a 90).

You might want to ask the schools why you didn't get accepted into Pharmacy school. It could be completely academically unrelated.

 

[museabuse]

I Add the fact that I highly doubt I will make it into AZ, I'm not too happy about this.

Why won't you get into UofA? You already have an advantage by going there... Look at their class statistics.

I applied to both AZ schools and was accepted to MWU, and waitlisted at UofA. I had a 93 on PCAT, bachelors degree in Engineering, GPA of 3.85, Certified pharmacy tech for 2 years. What else did I need to get into U of A? The only thing was I did some of my prereqs at a CC in phoenix. The year I applied they accepted only 2 students from all of the phoenix area CC and something like 8 from the one Pima CC. More than half from UofA. Can you say bias for students who are in their prepharm club. I asked them what did I need to approve on... and they told me nothing just apply again next year. They told me my interview was fine and everything. I just wasn't part of their club and it is hard to do that being in phoenix.

I am glad I didn't have to make a decision though because in hindsight I am very glad to be in Midwestern. Less stressfull and graduate a year early.

 

[Mongoos150]

Really, the College of Pharm PrePharm Club is a big deal to get involved with? I was planning on joining next semester, but that's even more encouragement I suppose. A friend of mine who goes here has a 3.8 and got 90 percentile on PCATs - she got interviewed but not accepted, and those are great stats; that's why I'm doubtful. I'm not planning on getting a BS, hoping to do well in my prereqs (I've only taken bio so far), thanks for the encouragement museabuse.

 

[meLtdown4meL]

but if i retake the class, wouldn't that look bad on my transcript? And i believe i can't take it again unless i got a C- or below. So if I end up with a C then am pretty much stuck with it.

You can still retake a class you pass at a university- you just won't get a grade for it to COUNT to your GPA. I retook 2 classes at my university- the new grades appeared on my transcript, but were not counted in my GPA. It will, however, count on your PharmCAS application GPA. I recommend retaking the class at the same institution you received the low grade with possibly the same professor to be consistent- and to show the adcom that your previous low grade wasn't representative of your abilities.

 

[racy33]

I got two Cs in Organic (2 and 3) and I got into pharm school. It probably wouldnt hurt to retake the class though.

 

[WhyPharm]

I got two Cs in Organic (2 and 3) and I got into pharm school. It probably wouldnt hurt to retake the class though.

Hi racy33, i was wondering which school did you apply to. Thanks

 

[racy33]

Hi racy33, i was wondering which school did you apply to. Thanks

I will be at UIC COP in the fall. Even though I got C's in organic I was an undergraduate TA for the o-chem lab for two years. Perhaps that helped them overlook my poor grades.

Good luck! 🙂