Should I take Organic Chem 2 for MCAT?

[lovelypeace190213]

I am a nontrad student looking to save money and apply to med school next summer. If I take Orgo 2 I may have to delay my application year another year. I hear Orgo 2 is not on the MCAT. Is that true? Most med schools dont require Orgo 2 as long as one takes biochem.

Can you read the description of my Orgo 1 course and let me know if that is sufficient for the MCAT?

Organic Chem 1: Study of the structure, properties, reaction mechanisms, and nomenclature of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives.

Organic Chem 2: A study of the structure, properties, reaction mechanisms, synthesis, and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the alcohols, acids, amines, and other mono-functional compounds.

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[gyngyn]

15% of your CPBS score will be organic chemistry.
You are potentially losing half of that score by not taking Organic 2 (unless you are self taught!).
Some schools still have pre-requisites that include it.

 

[lovelypeace190213]

15% of your CPBS score will be organic chemistry.
You are potentially losing half of that score by not taking Organic 2 (unless you are self taught!).
Some schools still have pre-requisites that include it.

Did you read the course descriptions? What does the MCAT cover more of?

 

[gyngyn]

Did you read the course descriptions? What does the MCAT cover more of?

There is no way to predict how much of each organic "half" you are likely to get in the version of the test administered to you.

 

[lovelypeace190213]

There is no way to predict how much of each organic "half" you are likely to get in the version of the test administered to you.

I meant the MCAT that the AAMC created, does the content it lists match with orgo 1 at my school or orgo 2 more? I haven't taken orgo2 and i just started orgo 1 so that's why I need help.

 

[gyngyn]

Here's what they share: Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems Section: Overview

 

[Mr. Macrophage]

15% of your CPBS score will be organic chemistry.
You are potentially losing half of that score by not taking Organic 2 (unless you are self taught!).
Some schools still have pre-requisites that include it.

To add to this, that 15% is an average. When I took my particular MCAT I would say 50% of the CPBS section was Organic Chemistry, including NMR, amides, aldols, and alcohols, all of which OP mentions are in their Orgo 2 class.

 

[eigen]

FWIW, a number of my students from Organic 2 have told me they're really glad they took it and it was helpful for the MCAT.

But as mentioned, it depends a lot on what selection of questions are pulled from the larger bank for the particular version you take.

 

[lovelypeace190213]

To add to this, that 15% is an average. When I took my particular MCAT I would say 50% of the CPBS section was Organic Chemistry, including NMR, amides, aldols, and alcohols, all of which OP mentions are in their Orgo 2 class.

Oh my, so I do need orgo2

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

I was also a non-trad and did not take Orgo 2 before the MCAT. I ended up with a 127 on C/P but did well overall. I got into a school that required Orgo 2 and took it the spring before I matriculated. In a perfect world I would have taken it before the MCAT, but chemistry was always going to be my weak spot and I'm not sure an extra 1-2 points on the MCAT would have changed my overall trajectory.

If you are truly ready to apply next cycle (meaning you have a decent GPA and sufficient clinical experience, shadowing, non-clinical volunteering, etc.) I do not think Orgo 2 should be the one thing that delays you. But you are going to have to work hard to self-study it for the MCAT and be prepared to take it if your only acceptance is to school that requires it.

 

[lovelypeace190213]

I was also a non-trad and did not take Orgo 2 before the MCAT. I ended up with a 127 on C/P but did well overall. I got into a school that required Orgo 2 and took it the spring before I matriculated. In a perfect world I would have taken it before the MCAT, but chemistry was always going to be my weak spot and I'm not sure an extra 1-2 points on the MCAT would have changed my overall trajectory.

If you are truly ready to apply next cycle (meaning you have a decent GPA and sufficient clinical experience, shadowing, non-clinical volunteering, etc.) I do not think Orgo 2 should be the one thing that delays you. But you are going to have to work hard to self-study it for the MCAT and be prepared to take it if your only acceptance is to school that requires it.

How significant was Orgo 2 on your MCAT? For some reason so many people from reddit and ones I talk to say not much of orgo 2 was on the MCAT

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

How significant was Orgo 2 on your MCAT? For some reason so many people from reddit and ones I talk to say not much of orgo 2 was on the MCAT

I don't even remember what Orgo is, let alone how much was on my MCAT. But that doesn't matter for you. If you are not going to take Orgo 2 you need to commit to self-studying it.

 

[eigen]

If you are not going to take Orgo 2 you need to commit to self-studying it.

This is the key. The question isn't whether you need to know the content or not, the question is whether you want to self study it or take it as a class. I'd say self-study vs. not also depends on how strong you feel your grasp of the first semester content is.

 

[chssoccer7]

How significant was Orgo 2 on your MCAT? For some reason so many people from reddit and ones I talk to say not much of orgo 2 was on the MCAT

It wasn't significant at all for me. I had a couple Orgo 1 concepts, nothing from Orgo 2. My C/P section was basically just P. This doesn't mean it won't be on yours though. You can, however, cover the high yield Orgo 2 concepts via self-study and probably be more than fine. Completely punting it is very risky though. You're basically gambling a year delay on getting accepted on whether or not you study it.

 

[anon2]

I got 132 C/P without ever taking even Orgo 1. The very first passage I faced on the MCAT was NMR data that I had to skip and come back to.

How much you learn the content is somewhat orthogonal to taking a university-guided course. You can do it on your own if you are confident in your self-study and test taking skills.

Mind you, I am a math PhD and was a professor before going to industry 10 years ago. YMMV.

 

[Bulldops]

I am a non-trad and I haven't taken any organic chemistry yet. Only certain things tripped me up on practice questions/tests: advanced (for the MCAT) reaction mechanisms and predicting products. Even then, I could narrow those down to 2 or 3 choices each time.

I probably had ~5 o chem questions on the real deal which seems like the lower end. Chirality, absolute configuration, and lab techniques seemed to be the most high-yield content.