Orgoman Odyssey/Weak Chem Student

[bkdeluca]

I'm currently retaking organic chem 1 and after my first exam I'm feeling like OChem will never be easy for me. I have the Orgoman Destroyer for my DAT study material and I'm contemplating getting the OChem Odyssey to not only do better on that section of the DAT, but also to do better in the class. I'm just so torn because it's $130 and spending that money after already dropping like $300 on materials is hard.

So my questions are... 1. Is it truly worth it? I need opinions from people who did not understand OChem, not from people who easily got B's and A's lol. & 2. What other additional OChem study materials are there? (Besides Chad's Videos & Dr Romano videos) but would also appreciate feedback on those!

Some general chemistry additional study material suggestions also GREATLY appreciated!

I'm just trying to not have to repeat OChems anymore

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[Biofilm preventer]

Ochem is definitely a daunting subject, however its one of those subjects where the more problems you do, the easier it gets. You have to understand the WHY in orgo. Why does this reaction happen, etc. that way when you are stuck on a test you have the WHY to fall back on.

I suggest getting organic chemistry as a second language before getting the odyssey. it costs around 20-30 dollars and is extremely helpful. Also, you can use leah4sci on youtube as she has great material and teaches it really well.


I got a B in orgo 1 and am by no means smart. I just did problem after problem on each topic and it worked for me. I dont think you would need the odyssey, but it will only help you if you get it as the book was written for someone to understand the concepts of orgo which is extremely important.

If youre still not doing well after using the resources i mentioned, there is also chads videos you can use for orgo.

there are just so many resources that i dont think you need to drop 130 for a book, but it can definitely be a good investment if youre gonna use it for your DAT anyways that way you will really crush orgo on the DAT.

Also, even though it does cost money if you must, then i suggest to buy whatever you need to do well becuase this is just a small drop in the buclket of your investment for yourself. If you feel you can get an A and spend some money or get a B- with no money, then spend some money cause you will likely regret it come application time. Money does come and go. and anyways, the application itself costs Around 1-2000, the DAT is 500, materials are a few hundred, and Dental school itself is 300k+. so what im getting at is money aint gonna really be with you for a long time, so might as well use it to the bets of your advantage and get the best grade possible.

But again, there are many free resources that you can use and still end up doing fine. but just if it does come down to you spending some money, dont fret over it.

 

[Toofster]

Chad's videos are what helped me crush all of my chemistry courses. They're completely free and he breaks down things into extremely easy to understand concepts that help you understand the "why" behind things.

I took the DAT before even beginning OChem II, and was able to get a 30 in that section just by using Chad's videos and DAT Destroyer. It will ultimately come down to the time you put into the subject, but it is very doable.

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I'll be honest, I've always loved chemistry, so it came a bit easier to me. But nonetheless, I'll give you my two cents because it seems to help the students I've tutored in the past.

Sometimes a professor will make or break a course. When they're breaking it, it's clearly up to you to sort of teach yourself. The book used by that professor has a similar dilemma. I highly, highly recommend getting any of the Klein organic chemistry books to go over the topics so you understand the breakdown of why things occur, what reagents can be used, mechanisms, etc.

The one thing I didn't love Klein for was problems. I wasted so much time looking up old exams from other universities online, but doing those always helped me complete problems much better. I wish I had known about the OChem Odyssey though, because it combines both the background of Klein with the problems, all in one. You still should have some background going in I believe, but it'll guide you through the two semesters.

As for the DAT OC, if you can understand all of Klein and make it through the OChem Odyssey in one piece, I'd say you're more set than most students sitting for the exam.

Hopefully this helps out a bit. Everyone has something different that works for them. I personally am not a huge fan of videos, so the books did me well. The Orgoman team has OC and other subject videos on their YouTube page, which may be great, free help as a supplement. But, to each his/her own - best of luck!

 

[gutripper]

It took me three attempts to pass Organic Chemistry. I failed the class at Wayne State, Detroit Mercy, and took it at a Community College and got an A. I did not understand Organic Chemistry well as the teacher didn't cover much, and know I had to study for O-Chem myself.

Overall, I learned that Organic Chemistry is best self-taught. Your professors are not sufficient towards a good DAT score almost 100% of the time.

At the end of the day, understanding all the questions in the O-Chem DAT Destroyer will yield a great score. The problem is you need to understand Organic Chemistry well before using the book.

This made my goal towards finding the best resources for preparing for the Destroyer, going through the Destroyer, and finally using DAT Bootcamp to get a feel of the test. My suggestion with DAT Bootcamp is if you are going to use it, do it last because you don't want to spend time learning fundamentals because the resource itself is very expensive. If you go through the Destroyer before Bootcamp, you will feel like a god in O-Chem.

I tried Chads Videos, the David Klein book, Khan Academy, and YouTube. They are all great resources, and it felt like I was learning many "Fragments", and I was putting them together like puzzle pieces. The reason I used these resources was because everyone on SDN was suggesting them.

Chad is the Wizard at Chemistry, and David Klein makes great books. The problem I had with those resources are that they were too simple which made moving onto the Destroyer a difficult transition for Organic Chemistry. After watching Chads my self-esteem was high before the Destroyer knocked it down a few pegs. I don't believe anyone moved from Chads to the Destroyer without the use of additional learning material, the need to understand more concepts, and additional clarification.

I purchased the Dynamite Package, so I already had the OC Odyssey. The Book consist of hundreds of problems arranged in chapters. When I went through the book, it was stressful in the way that it did not teach Organic Chemistry, it just had problems which meant I needed to find additional resources on the web to look over the concepts. A website called Master Organic Chemsitry (Master Organic Chemistry - An Online Organic Chemistry Resource) kept coming up a lot, so I decided to check it out. It has many free articles, and I ended up reading all of them.

Master Organic Chemistry is a fairly new website which is why it likely does not pop up a lot on SDN, but I personally believe Master Organic Chemistry + Organic Chemistry Odyssey before Destroyer will be a popular route in the future. After going through Master Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Odyssey, the DAT Destroyer was a cakewalk and I breezed through it.


I regret not just doing Master Organic Chemistry + Organic Chemistry Odyssey before the Destroyer off the bat because those two resources seemed to have covered everything you need to know instead of much of it. To get good at O-Chem you need to be good at two skills: Learning the Fundamentals (Which is why I love Master Organic Chemistry) and Learning to Answer Questions (Which is why I love the Organic Chemistry Odyssey). It amazed me how those two resources were so related, like, I could answer all the Odyssey questions after reading the corresponding chapter articles on Master Organic Chemistry. A win/win as you learn the fundamentals and learn how to solve problems. If money is a big concern, you could read the articles then answer questions in the Destroyer, but I loved the additional practice the Odyssey gives and how the book is arranged in chapters since I'm taking the most important exam in my life.

My suggestion would be try reading the Master Organic Chemistry Articles since they are free, and to use Dark Reader. Dark Reader is better for your eyes, and the dark background puts your brain in a calmer state. Every night I just chilled with my cool light up keyboard, Dark Reader, and was reading away in a enjoyable state while feeling the victory of understanding the Odyssey problems and the subject of Organic Chemistry as a whole.

 

[LeagueofLigTies]

I'm currently retaking organic chem 1 and after my first exam I'm feeling like OChem will never be easy for me. I have the Orgoman Destroyer for my DAT study material and I'm contemplating getting the OChem Odyssey to not only do better on that section of the DAT, but also to do better in the class. I'm just so torn because it's $130 and spending that money after already dropping like $300 on materials is hard.

So my questions are... 1. Is it truly worth it? I need opinions from people who did not understand OChem, not from people who easily got B's and A's lol. & 2. What other additional OChem study materials are there? (Besides Chad's Videos & Dr Romano videos) but would also appreciate feedback on those!

Some general chemistry additional study material suggestions also GREATLY appreciated!

I'm just trying to not have to repeat OChems anymore

I wouldn’t recommend the odyssey right away if you don’t know ochem. It’s going to be very frustrating. I was in your same position, and I bought the odyssey and didn’t really use it because it didn’t help me learn ochem. I would recommend mikes ochem videos on boot camp, that helped me a lot.