Seeking Advice for This Summer

[largefriend]

Hey yall,
I was going to take Organic Chemistry I-II (with lab) this summer and volunteer a bit at a nearby hospital/nursing home, but now most programs moved online and I'm worried it'll look bad when I apply to med schools. A little more about my situation:

1. Taking during the school year I believe is a bad idea, because in the fall I spend around 23-26 hours per week playing varsity football for WashU, and Orgo is notoriously difficult here (requires around 9-12 hours of study per week to secure an A). I plan to continue other EC's in the fall as well (Alzheimer's research, Clinical volunteering, both social and professional fraternity life)
2. I've already shown solid academic performance in 7 STEM classes and predict to continue my trend (4.0 BCPM 3.9 Cumulative).

Do you think taking an online Orgo this summer is a bad idea? I've reached out to advisors and it seems they can't find a clear consensus. There seems to be little else to do this summer anyway . . .
Thanks!

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[harvard_of_the_west]

From what I've been reading on here and hearing from schools, a lot of schools are going to be accepting online classes during the covid-19 pandemic. I wouldn't worry about them thinking poorly of you as nearly every class is going to be online. How do you plan to do the lab portion online though? I would try to take that in person during the fall.

A word of advice, O-chem is intense anywhere. It's not just your school. Most people who do well in other science classes tend to struggle in organic simply because it's different than any other science class they've already taken. Make sure you have enough time to dedicate to it when you take it. I was a varsity athlete in college too and I had to re-take a semester of ochem because I tried to keep up with all of my extracurriculars while taking it. I'd caution you to ease back on the extracurriculars that you can and focus on athletics and school if you take it during the semester. Organic just required a lot more work than my other classes had. Good luck!

 

[GreenDuck12]

Hey yall,
I was going to take Organic Chemistry I-II (with lab) this summer and volunteer a bit at a nearby hospital/nursing home, but now most programs moved online and I'm worried it'll look bad when I apply to med schools. A little more about my situation:

1. Taking during the school year I believe is a bad idea, because in the fall I spend around 23-26 hours per week playing varsity football for WashU, and Orgo is notoriously difficult here (requires around 9-12 hours of study per week to secure an A). I plan to continue other EC's in the fall as well (Alzheimer's research, Clinical volunteering, both social and professional fraternity life)
2. I've already shown solid academic performance in 7 STEM classes and predict to continue my trend (4.0 BCPM 3.9 Cumulative).

Do you think taking an online Orgo this summer is a bad idea? I've reached out to advisors and it seems they can't find a clear consensus. There seems to be little else to do this summer anyway . . .
Thanks!

there is a difference between signing up for a dedicated online course versus a course that has been moved online due to the pandemic. The latter course will appear as a normal organic chemistry class. Do not sign up for online prereqs through ASU or UNE. Taking ochem at your home institution will be fine.