Orgo study materials - Orgo Chemistry Odyssey?

[nyckid10]

I'm a little weak in organic chemistry. I am currently watching Chad's orgo videos. They are great for sure. But will just watching his videos and doing the DAT Destroyer suffice for organic chemistry? I was thinking about purchasing the Organic Chemistry Odyssey from Orgoman.com . Does anyone have any experience with this book? How good is it as compared to Chad's Videos? Will it be overkill and a waste of money to do both? I got about a month left to go before my test....and really need to improve in Orgo!

Any suggestions and insight would be greatly appreciated!!

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[KevinAriza]

If you have a decent background in Ochem, I'd stick with Chad as a refresher but you definitely have to do practice questions so that you become accustomed to type of questions you'd find on the DAT. I used DAT destroyer and DAT Bootcamp for my prep, as well as some study guides from masteringorganicchemistry.com ...If money is tight, I'd do Bootcamp and study guides.

 

[datthirty]

I read and bot many OCHEM books. Until I reads the OChem Odyssey, I fell much better on OC.

If you do not have time, just Shad's video and Dat Destroyer save you time. OChem Odyssey is super, not the superest, for learning OChem and preparing DAT and MCAT. If you have couple weeks time to budget, practice the books twice will give you much confidence to say you master the OC. I only fell comfortble when I finished the OChem Odyssey.

I'm a little weak in organic chemistry. I am currently watching Chad's orgo videos. They are great for sure. But will just watching his videos and doing the DAT Destroyer suffice for organic chemistry? I was thinking about purchasing the Organic Chemistry Odyssey from Orgoman.com . Does anyone have any experience with this book? How good is it as compared to Chad's Videos? Will it be overkill and a waste of money to do both? I got about a month left to go before my test....and really need to improve in Orgo!

Any suggestions and insight would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[nyckid10]

If you have a decent background in Ochem, I'd stick with Chad as a refresher but you definitely have to do practice questions so that you become accustomed to type of questions you'd find on the DAT. I used DAT destroyer and DAT Bootcamp for my prep, as well as some study guides from masteringorganicchemistry.com ...If money is tight, I'd do Bootcamp and study guides.

Did you find Chad's, DAT destroyer and DAT Bootcamp to be sufficient refresher and practice for the DAT? Like how many reactions are we expected to know? I'm afraid I'm going to miss something....since I took Ochem 3 years ago. But again, I only have one month to study, and I also need to cover all of my other sections within that time span. I don't wanna overkill studying for one section....

 

[KevinAriza]

honestly yeah...
Chad refreshes what you've already seen in Ochem 1 and 2...its a good prep
Destroyer is good for making you think a little harder than you would in the actual exam. Roadmaps are good reinforcers.
Bootcamp is good for practicing your timing and is pretty representative of the exam

3 weeks should be enough

 

[Hellokioo]

I'm currently doing the OChem Odyssey and it's amazing. I was getting 19s on my practice exams, now I'm scoring 22+. It's very overkill but it's such a great tool! Best of luck!

 

[NewBee12]

the more the better
odyssey is hard but preps you well

 

[Dotoday]

Odyssey and Destroyer will walk you through every problem. It is tough, but you will learn. Also, a book called "Organic chemistry as a second language" helps a lot. It explains concepts in a very easy to understand way.

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[nyckid10]

I'm currently doing the OChem Odyssey and it's amazing. I was getting 19s on my practice exams, now I'm scoring 22+. It's very overkill but it's such a great tool! Best of luck!

Yeah the thing is I have 30 days left to study overall till my actual DAT. I only read over the cliffs AP bio book once, I didn't even start studying for PAT. I watched all of Chad's Videos already once. I went over my orgo and gen chem notes from my classes. I also did a couple of practice math tests from the math destroyer. And I haven't even begun with the DAT Destroyer! So I don't know if I will have enough time to do any "overkill" with the Odyssey even if I wanted to. Still think I should get it? LOL.....I'm trying to manage the little time remaining that I have the best I can. Any suggestions?

 

[mightymoose02]

Yeah the thing is I have 30 days left to study overall till my actual DAT. I only read over the cliffs AP bio book once, I didn't even start studying for PAT. I watched all of Chad's Videos already once. I went over my orgo and gen chem notes from my classes. I also did a couple of practice math tests from the math destroyer. And I haven't even begun with the DAT Destroyer! So I don't know if I will have enough time to do any "overkill" with the Odyssey even if I wanted to. Still think I should get it? LOL.....I'm trying to manage the little time remaining that I have the best I can. Any suggestions?

If you feel like you need more time, you can always postpone and give yourself some time. But if you postpone, make sure you do it for 2-3 weeks. An extra week is pointless.

Anyways...

DAT Destroyer - You can finish in a week. Just do 30-50 problems per section a day. Doing it twice will really help. So schedule yourself for around two weeks to get through Destroyer twice. I can't stress the importance of doing it twice.

Odyssey is $130 + shipping. I don't think it's worth it at this point. Just watch Chad's Videos and go over the videos that you feel like you need clarification on.

If you are really weak in Organic Chemistry... I recommend Organic Chemistry as Second Language by David Klein. It's three times cheaper and amazon ships it very quickly.

At the end of the day, the best way to improve is by doing practice problems. If you have gone through Chad's Videos and AP Biology books, then your next step is to do problems. It's the easiest and most efficient way to pick up knowledge.

As for the PAT, you need to get on that ASAP. Do CDP tests for a week straight. You have to have a strategy for this section since they don't give you a lot of time.

Good luck!

 

[Hellokioo]

Yeah the thing is I have 30 days left to study overall till my actual DAT. I only read over the cliffs AP bio book once, I didn't even start studying for PAT. I watched all of Chad's Videos already once. I went over my orgo and gen chem notes from my classes. I also did a couple of practice math tests from the math destroyer. And I haven't even begun with the DAT Destroyer! So I don't know if I will have enough time to do any "overkill" with the Odyssey even if I wanted to. Still think I should get it? LOL.....I'm trying to manage the little time remaining that I have the best I can. Any suggestions?

I talk from my own experience, I did chads, the destroyer orgo section twice and went over the road maps by making flashcards. That got me an 19 on my first couple practice exams and it wasn't after I did the odyssey that I started scoring 22-30s on my practice exams. The good thing about the odyssey is that you don't have to do the WHOLE book. It's broken down to 20 chapters and all the similar type of questions are grouped together in one chapter. For example, I was having a lot of trouble understanding stereochemistry so I practice the problems from the stereochemistry chapter. By now you should kinda know what you need mostly help with on organic chemistry and that's the beauty about the odyssey since everything is broken down to chapters for you. You do not have to spend 2 weeks to solve this book, a chapter can be easily done in 1 hour or less and then you just go over it and move on to another thing. The explanations are very simple to understand and I honestly believe is a great tool for all those who are having a hard time with this section.

But hey if you feel like it's too much and you don't have time, then stick to chads, dat destroyer and make sure you memorize your reactions! The road maps from the DAT destroyer are excellent!

 

[nyckid10]

Thank you all so much! Due to unforseen circumstances I had to take the DAT really really late this cycle. And I didn't have that much time to study for it. I will try to do my best to use the time I have remaining as efficiently as possible. At this point I think I should just focus on ALL of the sections instead of devoting too much time on Orgo. But we'll see what I will end up doing.

Thanks again and good luck to you all on your journeys!

 

[toothfairy7]

If you feel like you need more time, you can always postpone and give yourself some time. But if you postpone, make sure you do it for 2-3 weeks. An extra week is pointless.

Anyways...

DAT Destroyer - You can finish in a week. Just do 30-50 problems per section a day. Doing it twice will really help. So schedule yourself for around two weeks to get through Destroyer twice. I can't stress the importance of doing it twice.

Odyssey is $130 + shipping. I don't think it's worth it at this point. Just watch Chad's Videos and go over the videos that you feel like you need clarification on.

If you are really weak in Organic Chemistry... I recommend Organic Chemistry as Second Language by David Klein. It's three times cheaper and amazon ships it very quickly.

At the end of the day, the best way to improve is by doing practice problems. If you have gone through Chad's Videos and AP Biology books, then your next step is to do problems. It's the easiest and most efficient way to pick up knowledge.

As for the PAT, you need to get on that ASAP. Do CDP tests for a week straight. You have to have a strategy for this section since they don't give you a lot of time.

Good luck!

I saw that you (mightymoose02) recommended Organic Chemistry as a second language in your DAT breakdown ...which one did you use...first semester? I'm so weak in my organic section because I never learned it and never learned to love it. Thanks so much!

And nyckid10 I'm taking it very late as well...you can find organic chemistry as a second language here

http://www.scribd.com/doc/105529935/Organic-Chemistry-as-a-Second-Language


Thanks and good luck everyone!!

 

[mightymoose02]

First semester is good enough. Some second semester stuff is useful like EAS and NMR. Just make sure you use Chads Videos afterwards to review again.

I personally bought both of them but if you are on a budget then first semester book should cover a good portion of DAT Ochem and give you the foundation to utilize Chads Videos and make the most of it.

 

[biomolecmed]

Odyssey is an accessory to learning. It cannot completely replace your textbook, but it will give you extra problems with solutions to help you understand the concepts and gain some confidence. Organic chemistry as a second language by Klein is also a good supplement.

 

[Aliengod3]

I love Odyssey. It is a great way to familiarize yourself with every type of reaction and the various reagents that are used in each, plus conceptual stuff. It also has multistep synthesis problems which, IMO, really help solidify how each reagent works and tests your mastery.

 

[RDH2013]

If I will do first Organic Chemistry as second language and after that do Destroyer problems + DAT Bootcamp ......do you guys think its enough?....

 

[LazyP]

If I will do first Organic Chemistry as second language and after that do Destroyer problems + DAT Bootcamp ......do you guys think its enough?....

You would be set! I am assuming you have not taken Ochem? Regardless try Chads as well he focuses on the high yield topics if not all. The resources you mentioned above should give you the edge to get a 30 as long as you master them. Practice again and again, with enough problems you be prepared.

 

[RDH2013]

You would be set! I am assuming you have not taken Ochem? Regardless try Chads as well he focuses on the high yield topics if not all. The resources you mentioned above should give you the edge to get a 30 as long as you master them. Practice again and again, with enough problems you be prepared.

Thank you LazyP for your respond. I took Ochem really really long time ago so I forget everything I started with Chad but feel like I need to go through more like step-by- step studying .....so I started OChem as a second language and it seems pretty good and easy to grab all the basic info.... After that will move to Destroyer and Bootcamp for practice.....My exam is in 5 weeks..... hope its enough time to get at least 20 for orgo since it is my weakest section. ....

 

[LazyP]

You will be fine...5 weeks are more than enough to make your weakness into your strength for the DAT! I would recommend taking notes while watching chads. I personally learned better when I just watched Chads, but since there is so much covered taking notes is a must! never did the Ochem as a second language so I can't speak in that regard but I presume taking notes will only further engrain the information (which always a plus!) Make sure to practice problems everyday though, make notecards if ya have to. Destroyer might seem hard at first but its your best friend! It will knock you down and train you so the real thing seems like a piece of cake. Be sure to learn from it and understand the "why" behind the questions especially the conceptual ones! Good Luck!

Don't try to review everything as once though, started with fundamentals, build on them and everything afterward will make more sense as to why a reaction goes a certain way. As you know a reagent will undergo different reactions depending on what it is reacting on, so its important to understand fundamentals...basically when something acts as a nucleophile and electrophile and their exceptions.

 

[mjzgrk]

For the odyssey number 5 chapter 1 why is the answer c15h26 instead of c15h24 if you do Degree of unsatursation H's should be doubled the amount of C's. And the each ring takes away 2 H's and each double bond takes away 2 H's so altogether 6H 'a should be subtracted from 30? Leaving you with 24? Can some one clarify please thanks

 

[biomolecmed]

Destroyer and CrackDAT are great materials. However, if you think that you need to solidify your background, Odyssey is a great tool, as well as Organic chemistry as a second language, by Klein. If, you think you are weak in Orgo, those 2 books will give you a great deal of help.