Pre-Studying

[Katatonic]

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How many of you pre-study material before the term starts? I'm taking Ochem/Microbiology/Biomedical Ethics this term, and I'm getting the urge to start looking through my Ochem book just so I can glance over the material before classes start. I'm not sure if I'm just falling for the hype that is Ochem or if I'm becoming neurotic.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I literally never even considered doing that. Just take the semester as it comes and enjoy your break.

 

[time md]

I can see previewing some material before the class starts, but not in very much detail. The high points only, for you never know the exact direction you professor will want to go. In one class (which does not cover mcat rich material) one fellow peer was bragging to the whole class, including the professor, that he/she read the entire book over the summer. The professor snickered and then informed him/her that we will only becovering about one half the book. He ridicules him/her every now and then through out lectures.

 

[kevster2001]

not even a little bit

 

[Mayday]

I wanted to, but my ochem teacher sent us an e-mail telling us not to. He suggested instead that we review some of our general chem. I'm quoting that part of the e-mail here.

If you want to study material that will help prepare you for the class, I suggest you review some of your general chemistry: electronegativity, shapes of molecules,

polarity, acid-base chemistry (including Ka, pKa, and pH), reaction rates, molecular orbital theory, theoretical yield calculations, colligative properties, energy changes

(bond breakage, bond formation, and energy of reaction—including energy diagrams), and the concept of reaction mechanisms to name a "few".

 

[TarHeelEMT]

There will be plenty of time to learn the material once class starts.

 

[footballrules]

How many of you pre-study material before the term starts? I'm taking Ochem/Microbiology/Biomedical Ethics this term, and I'm getting the urge to start looking through my Ochem book just so I can glance over the material before classes start. I'm not sure if I'm just falling for the hype that is Ochem or if I'm becoming neurotic.

Don't bother. Micro at the undergraduate level is easy. You will most likely fall asleep if you try to study biomedical ethics material. Just focus on the O-chem stuff when class starts.

Spend your free time making money, doing a hobby, or playing football video games.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

I have ONLY done this once...but it helped me greatly (specifically I did it for ochem).

I had Christmas break and at times would have an hour of free time (boredom is hell for me)...skimmed through the first chapter a few times. Took down some notes. Highlighted what I thought was important (mostly bold stuff since you don't know what's important yet haha). I didn't do a single practice problem.

When the Q started, I had already read the entire chapter, had clear notes of mine aside from the professor's. In classes like Ochem I think it helps vastly to know what it going on otherwise it is 1.5 hrs of info going in one ear and out the other (for me).

Because it worked, I am going to try the same for one of the toughest courses at my school for fall (Cellular neurobiology) - I will be working for the next few weeks before school and if i am ever having 20-30 min free time why not skim and just get to know the terms and such - it will help some (even if not much) 👍

edit: by the way, I got a C+ in ochem A. And the quarter I read ahead 1 chapter for (Ochem B), I got an A+. Of course, I worked way harder in B but I still think reading ahead did wonders =p

 

[Lukkie]

who the hell does this

 

[footballrules]

who the hell does this

Someone with no life outside of academia.

 

[TamarMD]

I did. Only because my professor sells his notes and old exams for Ochem. I only did it the weekend before school started. I wouldn't call it studying. I just read his notes for the first chapter since he states in the syllabus that that is where his exams and quizzes will come from.

 

[Mayday]

Someone with no life outside of academia.

Or someone who has heard enough about ochem to make it sound scary, and wants to get a good grade. *shrug*

 

[footballrules]

Or someone who has heard enough about ochem to make it sound scary, and wants to get a good grade. *shrug*

Oh please. There is more to life then pre-study for actuall studying. Not a single person I had O-chem with read the book before class and most got an A or B type of grades.

If O-chem scares you, don't expect to be in the top 50% of your medical school class. And I'm serious about that.

 

[Mayday]

Oh please. There is more to life then pre-study for actuall studying. Not a single person I had O-chem with read the book before class and most got an A or B type of grades.

If O-chem scares you, don't expect to be in the top 50% of your medical school class. And I'm serious about that.

Q. What do you call the guy who graduates at the bottom of his med school class?
A. Doctor


But seriously, just because someone may be scared of a class before they take it doesn't mean that they will actually do poorly in it.

 

[footballrules]

Q. What do you call the guy who graduates at the bottom of his med school class?
A. Doctor


But seriously, just because someone may be scared of a class before they take it doesn't mean that they will actually do poorly in it.

Q: What is a student called that study's for a class before a class even starts?
A: Paranoid.

Relax. O-chem is not that hard and it isn't scary.

Q: What is the possible salary difference between a doctor that finishes at the top of their medical school class compared to the student that finishes last?
A: Oh, about $300,000+ a year.

There is a difference between learning about a subject before a class starts than reading a textbook before a class starts. Reading a textbook before you start a course is not effecient. A person is better off taking the free time they have and learning about something else that can help them in the longer term. Trust me, just about every medical student forgets what they learn in O-chem after the first exam in medical school. However, most medical students will remember stuff about healthcare economics and the like after their first exam.

 

[Eyeraki]

I did. Only because my professor sells his notes and old exams for Ochem. I only did it the weekend before school started. I wouldn't call it studying. I just read his notes for the first chapter since he states in the syllabus that that is where his exams and quizzes will come from.

your professor what?!? sells his notes and old exams?!!?! I'm not sure whether to think "sweet" or that your professor is ripping off his students. most professors offer old notes and exams for free, if at all. would be nice if someone sold the exams they bought to other students at a discounted price......just kidding......🙄

hmm anyway, it can't hurt to read a few of the first chapters, but I'd brush up on my gen chem instead. never read the whole book for any class, you'll likely forget most of it anyway. also, if you have that much free time to pre-study, maybe you should do some volunteering instead.

 

[Katatonic]

i expected as much haha. Maybe I came off wrong originally, but I'm certainly not scared of Ochem, I just know from all the hype that it is a class that requires a lot of time and effort. And I definitely wasn't suggesting getting a hold of the old syllabus and giving yourself a crash course before classes even start. Just looking over key points so that they aren't completely new when you actually start learning them in class.

Thanks for all the replies, and it sounds like the best advice would be to review a little bit of general chem the week before, rather than try and teach myself any new material from the textbook.

And contrary to some views that anyone who wants to pre-study has no life outside of academia...well, maybe that's true haha, but I really do enjoy learning about these things.

 

[footballrules]

i expected as much haha. Maybe I came off wrong originally, but I'm certainly not scared of Ochem, I just know from all the hype that it is a class that requires a lot of time and effort. And I definitely wasn't suggesting getting a hold of the old syllabus and giving yourself a crash course before classes even start. Just looking over key points so that they aren't completely new when you actually start learning them in class.

Thanks for all the replies, and it sounds like the best advice would be to review a little bit of general chem the week before, rather than try and teach myself any new material from the textbook.

And contrary to some views that anyone who wants to pre-study has no life outside of academia...well, maybe that's true haha, but I really do enjoy learning about these things.

This is all you need to REVIEW before O-chem (posted by some other poster):

If you want to study material that will help prepare you for the class, I suggest you review some of your general chemistry: electronegativity, shapes of molecules,

polarity, acid-base chemistry (including Ka, pKa, and pH), reaction rates, molecular orbital theory, theoretical yield calculations, colligative properties, energy changes

(bond breakage, bond formation, and energy of reaction—including energy diagrams), and the concept of reaction mechanisms to name a “few”.

 

[RockWhisperer]

How many of you pre-study material before the term starts? I'm taking Ochem/Microbiology/Biomedical Ethics this term, and I'm getting the urge to start looking through my Ochem book just so I can glance over the material before classes start. I'm not sure if I'm just falling for the hype that is Ochem or if I'm becoming neurotic.

To be honest, it probably would be beneficial to go over some of General Chemistry: hybridization, molecular orbital theory, acid-base trends (don't worry about calculations so much as trends), polarity and electronegativity amongst other things. Depending on your lecturer, you may or may not go over these things and although its not a big deal, it would be a little helpful. Besides that, pre-studying is not going to be that big of a deal. Saying that though, DO stay a chapter ahead in the reading, I found that very beneficial for courses like ochem and physics.

 

[Lukkie]

I did. Only because my professor sells his notes and old exams for Ochem. I only did it the weekend before school started. I wouldn't call it studying. I just read his notes for the first chapter since he states in the syllabus that that is where his exams and quizzes will come from.

is that even legal?

 

[GoLakers310]

Only because my professor sells his notes and old exams for Ochem.

are you kidding me? Isn't it illegal to sell old exams? It wouldn't be fair for those that can't afford them

 

[Virgil]

The consensus is that "pre-studying" is almost entirely unhelpful and your time will be better spent relaxing before plunging into medical school.

 

[Retsage]

Oh please. There is more to life then pre-study for actuall studying. Not a single person I had O-chem with read the book before class and most got an A or B type of grades.

If O-chem scares you, don't expect to be in the top 50% of your medical school class. And I'm serious about that.

Lol. You're so angry.

 

[135892]

who the hell does this

Seriously, do you honestly have nothing better to do, than to pre-study for the semester? It would be the biggest waste of time, especially for o-chem, which is largely a paper tiger

 

[sindadel]

Why do you all care so much? If you have some free time now, by all means spend a bit of time with the text. You'll be happy to be a week ahead in your reading when midterm week hits or you get the flu or your pet budgie dies and you have to slip.

Try looking to see if there is a syllabus up for the last time your prof taught this class - they don't generally change the readings much from year to year - they may cover a different special topic but if the prof and the text are the same, the reading likely will be too.

 

[footballrules]

Lol. You're so angry.

Angry? lol, lol, lol. If you want me to show you angry, I will show you angry. But what you would read might make you cry. So you may not want me to show angry.

I'm a realist if you didn't know. Sure some people will say that I'm "angry," "mean," or whatever else you want to say. However, most people feel a breath of fresh air when I'm flat out blunt with people.

I know a few people that started medical school this year. When they told me they got admitted, I flout out told them congrats, and that I'm sorry for them at the same time.

 

[135892]

Why do you all care so much?

I care because I don't want my fellow pre-med colleague to waste their precious time 🙂

 

[193250]

No need to pre-study. I think most professors for classes like ochem will test on what is presented in lecture, and most of the time not everything from the book will be covered in class. I'd say study your notes after class and read any suggested readings your professor might assign.

 

[TamarMD]

Some people asked if it's illegal for my prof to sell his notes and exam. IMO, no. Simply because he's not selling his departments exams, it's his exam. He took the time out to write them and so they're his property. He can do as he pleases. I find it helpful because, as previously stated, all of his exams come from his notes. Even when I copy from the board, which I still do, I feel better not worrying about missing an example that he drew because it's already in my notes. I know exactly what he's going to talk about in class and I learn better having seen a material before than having it thrown at me. Like I said I wouldn't call it "pre-studying" merely reading the content before going to class. Which most people would agree is helpful.

 

[Lukkie]

Some people asked if it's illegal for my prof to sell his notes and exam. IMO, no. Simply because he's not selling his departments exams, it's his exam. He took the time out to write them and so they're his property. He can do as he pleases. Is this an unfair advantage to students who can't afford to dish out 20 bucks for the packets? Yea. But most of them have friends who can afford the packet and will most likely make copies of the exams and quizzes. We can also choose to say that the MCAT is unfair to students who can't afford prep courses and the AAMC is wrong to sell old exams because not everyone can afford it. I find it helpful because, as previously stated, all of his exams come from his notes. Even when I copy from the board, which I still do, I feel better not worrying about missing an example that he drew because it's already in my notes. I know exactly what he's going to talk about in class and I learn better having seen a material before than having it thrown at me. Like I said I wouldn't call it "pre-studying" merely reading the content before going to class. Which most people would agree is helpful.

the amount of fallacy in this post is astounding

if your professor tried that crap in any other school i can almost guarantee the school would have been sued and he'd be fired by now

 

[TamarMD]

So I edited my original post because you are right the example I gave was extreme. I don't think he'd be fired because it's not a required course material. He lets you know that this option is available if you wish to purchase his notes and old exams. Now if he made it mandatory that every student in the class purchase this packet then I could understand how that would be illegal.

 

[Virgil]

The consensus is that "pre-studying" is almost entirely unhelpful and your time will be better spent relaxing before plunging into medical school.

Whoops. I thought you were talking about medical school. Don't pre-study for OCHEM. I did, and it was a waste of my time. 🙂