Organic Chemistry

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Pack2daplayoffs

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I have a problem: Organic chemistry. I've tried to take it twice, the first time I got a D-, and the second time I had to withdraw from the course due to an ongoing illness. At this point I had given up on getting in to pharmacy school, but now I'm hoping to give it one last shot. Is this realistic? I'm aware that I need at least a "C" in every prerequisite class, organic chemistry included. So I would need at least a B+ in Organic chemistry in order for the D- to be averaged out to a C. Should I even try organic chemistry for the third time, even if I've tried it twice with a D- and a withdraw to show for it? All my other prerequisite classes are just fine and I have a 3.4 overall GPA. Can I still get into pharmacy school? Or should I just give it up already?
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Pack2daplayoffs said:
I have a problem: Organic chemistry. I've tried to take it twice, the first time I got a D-, and the second time I had to withdraw from the course due to an ongoing illness. At this point I had given up on getting in to pharmacy school, but now I'm hoping to give it one last shot. Is this realistic? I'm aware that I need at least a "C" in every prerequisite class, organic chemistry included. So I would need at least a B+ in Organic chemistry in order for the D- to be averaged out to a C. Should I even try organic chemistry for the third time, even if I've tried it twice with a D- and a withdraw to show for it? All my other prerequisite classes are just fine and I have a 3.4 overall GPA. Can I still get into pharmacy school? Or should I just give it up already?
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You're going to need to take organic chemistry no matter what. All schools REQUIRE it.

I recommend you pick up Organic Chemistry for Dummies (I've heard nothing but great things about it).

Additionally, make use of ratemyprofessors.com and find an "easier" professor for the class.

If all else fails, talk to the professor early on in the class and look for extra help from the beginning. Don't get discouraged at all. It is an extremely difficult class, but you're going to need to chin up and take the class in order to apply to pharmacy school.

Best of luck!:luck:
 
Pack2daplayoffs said:
I have a problem: Organic chemistry. I've tried to take it twice, the first time I got a D-, and the second time I had to withdraw from the course due to an ongoing illness. At this point I had given up on getting in to pharmacy school, but now I'm hoping to give it one last shot. Is this realistic? I'm aware that I need at least a "C" in every prerequisite class, organic chemistry included. So I would need at least a B+ in Organic chemistry in order for the D- to be averaged out to a C. Should I even try organic chemistry for the third time, even if I've tried it twice with a D- and a withdraw to show for it? All my other prerequisite classes are just fine and I have a 3.4 overall GPA. Can I still get into pharmacy school? Or should I just give it up already?
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what kind of question is this? if you want it bad enough, go get your freakin A's. simple as that. nobody can tell you whether to give up or not. you either work hard or you don't.
 
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But is the D- and the W such a black mark that pharmacy schools would be hesitant to accept me? Even if I manage to pull out an A or A- on my third try?
 
Pack2daplayoffs said:
But is the D- and the W such a black mark that pharmacy schools would be hesitant to accept me? Even if I manage to pull out an A or A- on my third try?
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of course they'll be hesitant to accept you. the question is, can you back it up with other stuff? ie extracurics.
 
I have done volunteer work a few times, and I am currently interning at a pharmacy. That is the extent of my extracurricular activities. Essentially what I'm wondering is if I've dug myself into a hole so deep that it would it would be nearly impossible to get out of. I don't really want to put in a gargantuan amount of effort into my senior year only to see that I never really stood a chance to get accepted in the first place. Put simply, what are my odds of getting into pharmacy school at this point?
 
Pack2daplayoffs said:
I have done volunteer work a few times, and I am currently interning at a pharmacy. That is the extent of my extracurricular activities. Essentially what I'm wondering is if I've dug myself into a hole so deep that it would it would be nearly impossible to get out of. I don't really want to put in a gargantuan amount of effort into my senior year only to see that I never really stood a chance to get accepted in the first place. Put simply, what are my odds of getting into pharmacy school at this point?
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i mean the only real hole you've described is a D-. your gpa isn't even that bad. if you've read other posts, it's widely understood that orgo can be a difficult class. As long as you pull out with a decent grade and do well with everything else
 
Pack2daplayoffs said:
But is the D- and the W such a black mark that pharmacy schools would be hesitant to accept me? Even if I manage to pull out an A or A- on my third try?
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Don't ever think that way. Definitely retake ochem. Just try to best. Good luck!
 
Retake it and do well, and I think you have as much chance as the Packers making the playoffs. (This comes from a fellow cheesehead. :))
 
I don't think Org Chem is that hard. You just have to look at the product and predict the mechanism of the rxn, based on what you learn.

Bio chem is supposed to be even easier than OChem, but people make it hard by memorizing every thing.
 
Humper said:
I don't think Org Chem is that hard. You just have to look at the product and predict the mechanism of the rxn, based on what you learn.

Bio chem is supposed to be even easier than OChem, but people make it hard by memorizing every thing.
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Org chem is hard for most people. It isn't that easy to predict through a multi-step mechanism. It is like learning a language and you can't learn that overnight.
 
rxlea said:
Org chem is hard for most people. It isn't that easy to predict through a multi-step mechanism. It is like learning a language and you can't learn that overnight.
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Well, science is all about prediction based on some patterns, isn't it?
 
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Pack2daplayoffs said:
I have done volunteer work a few times, and I am currently interning at a pharmacy. That is the extent of my extracurricular activities. Essentially what I'm wondering is if I've dug myself into a hole so deep that it would it would be nearly impossible to get out of. I don't really want to put in a gargantuan amount of effort into my senior year only to see that I never really stood a chance to get accepted in the first place. Put simply, what are my odds of getting into pharmacy school at this point?
Click to expand...

Not only is your OChem a weak point, but it sounds like your extracurrics are too. Also, your hesitancy at putting in the work necessary to get into pharmacy school makes me think that your heart might not be in it?

Talk to a career counselor and a pharmacist where you work -- really try to explore to see if this is the career for you. From what I'm hearing, it might not be.
 
go for it!!
yes, def pick up organic for dummies. it's awesome. it breaks it down to easy to understand terms. they are also coming out with an organic for dummies 2, so def pick that one up too!
====


question for pharmacy students: how does organic compare to pharm school classes? easy/ hard/ the same?
thanks!
 
I was accepted into a pharmacy school while taking organic II. When I found out I was accepted, I was getting a D in the class. My teacher was horrible and would tell us to study something for the test, so I would study my butt off on what he would tell us, then he wouldn't put that on the test and would put something that we barely talked about. He would call on people and say that we couldn't say "I don't know" even though we were just learning the stuff and we really didn't know the answer. If you asked him a question in lab, he would tell us that we were wrong and they would reword our question and say the exact same thing that we just said. He would give us handouts with practice problems and not give us the answers so we didn't know if we were doing the problems right. He also said to do the problems in the book but don't look at the solutions manual. How would we know if we did the problem right?! I was so stressed out all semester but I knew I had to get at least a C in the class to keep my spot in pharm school. So I studied my butt off. I had no life for the last 2 months of that class. I had the lowest grade in the class. Then I started getting perfect on quizzes because I read every single page in the book and did every single practice problem over and over and found this guy on youtube who taught me more than I ever learned in class. http://www.youtube.com/user/freelanceteach I ended up with a B in the class. You can do it. I thought there was no way I was going to get my grade but I really wanted to get into pharmacy school and I knew that getting a good grade was the only way it was going to happen. I couldn't ask the teacher for help because he was so mean and just made me feel stupid so I had to rely on the book and the internet.
 
PrePharmGirl said:
Then I started getting perfect on quizzes because I read every single page in the book and did every single practice problem over and over and found this guy on youtube who taught me more than I ever learned in class. http://www.youtube.com/user/freelanceteach .
Click to expand...

I listened to this guy's lectures too! He made things make sense that hadn't previously...and it's FREE! He covers just about every topic in both general and organic chemistry you can think of. Physics too I think.
 
mandydp6 said:
Please also know that some schools require at least a "B" in Organic Chemistry, not just a "C". Double check with your potential schools.
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UA is the only school I know of that requires at least a B in both orgos and A&Ps to get in. Talk about pressure! I wonder what other schools require that- I am sure there are some out there. It would be helpful if we could make a list or something.
 
rxlea said:
UA is the only school I know of that requires at least a B in both orgos and A&Ps to get in. Talk about pressure! I wonder what other schools require that- I am sure there are some out there. It would be helpful if we could make a list or something.
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Yeah, I think UofA was the main one that came to mind, I would have to check if others required above a C as well...I think of all the schools that I am applying to, UofA was the only one :)
 
shimme said:
question for pharmacy students: how does organic compare to pharm school classes? easy/ hard/ the same?
thanks!
Click to expand...

Different. I took A&P over the summer and I thought that was best approximation of pharmacy school, especially the chapter on endocrinology. You had to learn about the hormones, know how and where they worked, all at a fast pace. In pharmacy school, you just add drugs that either mimic or block the hormones. It works like that for the different systems too. First learn what is supposed to happen and then learn where drugs can help when things go wrong. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out why you even need organic chemistry. Maybe it helps in pharm schools that emphasize chemistry more but I'm hard pressed to see how a pharmacist needs to remember much from these classes. It is possible that I have added it to my foundational knowledge and am using it without realizing it, however. It doesn't seem like it though.
 
diastole said:
Different. I took A&P over the summer and I thought that was best approximation of pharmacy school, especially the chapter on endocrinology. You had to learn about the hormones, know how and where they worked, all at a fast pace. In pharmacy school, you just add drugs that either mimic or block the hormones. It works like that for the different systems too. First learn what is supposed to happen and then learn where drugs can help when things go wrong. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out why you even need organic chemistry. Maybe it helps in pharm schools that emphasize chemistry more but I'm hard pressed to see how a pharmacist needs to remember much from these classes. It is possible that I have added it to my foundational knowledge and am using it without realizing it, however. It doesn't seem like it though.
Click to expand...


Isn't it needed for classes like Med Chem and Biochem?
 
Book I recommend is:
Organic Chemistry as a Second Language by Klein

he breaks down resonance really well which is an important part of Ochem 1 & 2
 
I'm not sure how I would've learned resonance w/o Klein's book b/c I used it from the very beginning. The actual textbook barely covers it. So I'm not sure whether or not I would've "grasped" it quickly w/o the book. I don't think I would have. That's just me though. I'm glad I used his books as supplements...they helped.
 
I'm going to tell you two things that got me an A in Organic I and I think I'm working towards a solid B in Orgo II:

Negative attacks positive.
Carbon forms four bonds.

On a side note, seems like you are having trouble with the way professors are teaching it. Everyone thinks differently. Try a conceptually new place- a community college or a different university if you location permits. You will find a professor whose logic within the subject will be accessible to you. And do not go in with fear- start fresh.
 
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