Summer O-chem...eeek

Started by musiknerd_runnerd
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
M

musiknerd_runnerd

New Member
7+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Hey pre-med friends! I am embarking on summer o-chem...AHHH! I'm only taking o-chem 1 this summer, and it is until July 3rd. There's lab 3 days a week too. Any words of advice for o-chem in general, and for staying focused and positive during this very fast-paced and intense summer term?

I will cherish any words of encouragement and advice!! Thanks! 🙂
 
musiknerd_runnerd said:
Hey pre-med friends! I am embarking on summer o-chem...AHHH! I'm only taking o-chem 1 this summer, and it is until July 3rd. There's lab 3 days a week too. Any words of advice for o-chem in general, and for staying focused and positive during this very fast-paced and intense summer term?

I will cherish any words of encouragement and advice!! Thanks! 🙂
Click to expand...
It wont be easy but if you stay on top of the material and are discipline enough, you will do fine. Just remember to ask for help whenever you need it and do not get behind. Your professor has office hours for a reason, use them if needed. Good luck.
 
Don't fall behind! NEVER miss class.

Ochem over the summer is difficult, but not as difficult if you keep ontop of your work and just study the material like you should. No slacking!
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
You and me both! Don't worry, we're gonna survive haha! I will be watching this everyday:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
I both took this class over the summer and later TA'd the lab section. The class was very fast-paced, and our professor suggested for us to actually write over our class notes in our own time. When she first told us to do that, it seemed to me like a huge waste of time, but I ended up doing it anyway. It was really helpful to me because I couldn't process all the information as it was being taught, and sitting down later to rewrite everything gave me a chance to go over the lectures and have a good idea of what I understood and what flew over me, and I could clarify that in office hours. Rewriting lecture notes may be overstudying a bit, but I adopted this strategy for harder courses later (eg: going over derivations in Pchem) and it worked out for me. I was also working 15-20 hours a week in a lab that summer, so I'd say that orgo is definitely do-able, but slacking will really set you behind and snowball things.
As for lab, our class met 2x a week and it was really tiring. Adopt the mentality of "I will be getting this done quickly and won't have to deal with lab over the semester." Come to lab prepared, understand the theory and have an "attack plan" on how you're gonna do the lab. Multi-tasking was a huge must in our labs - I had a student who literally sat there watching a column chromotography go up while doing nothing else, even though I nudged him multiple times to clean up the glassware; he ended up leaving lab almost 2hrs after everyone else -_-
Use your resources. Consult professor/TAs/friends and good luck!
 
I'm taking Orgo I this summer and my first test is tomorrow at 11am. I'm kinda freaking out, but only because I want to do really well on the first exam as a morale booster for the remaining exams. Good luck buddy!
 
Just make sure you work at it every day and DON'T FALL BEHIND. The material will all build upon itself.
 
NeuroticTwilightSparkle said:
I both took this class over the summer and later TA'd the lab section. The class was very fast-paced, and our professor suggested for us to actually write over our class notes in our own time. When she first told us to do that, it seemed to me like a huge waste of time, but I ended up doing it anyway. It was really helpful to me because I couldn't process all the information as it was being taught, and sitting down later to rewrite everything gave me a chance to go over the lectures and have a good idea of what I understood and what flew over me, and I could clarify that in office hours. Rewriting lecture notes may be overstudying a bit, but I adopted this strategy for harder courses later (eg: going over derivations in Pchem) and it worked out for me. I was also working 15-20 hours a week in a lab that summer, so I'd say that orgo is definitely do-able, but slacking will really set you behind and snowball things.
As for lab, our class met 2x a week and it was really tiring. Adopt the mentality of "I will be getting this done quickly and won't have to deal with lab over the semester." Come to lab prepared, understand the theory and have an "attack plan" on how you're gonna do the lab. Multi-tasking was a huge must in our labs - I had a student who literally sat there watching a column chromotography go up while doing nothing else, even though I nudged him multiple times to clean up the glassware; he ended up leaving lab almost 2hrs after everyone else -_-
Use your resources. Consult professor/TAs/friends and good luck!
Click to expand...
May I ask did you use your textbook, or just study from your notes? It would normally seem good to read through all of the chapters like I did in General Chem, but for the condensed summer content, I almost wonder if it would be a better investment of time to just review notes and do more practice problems instead of reading?
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
May I ask did you use your textbook, or just study from your notes? It would normally seem good to read through all of the chapters like I did in General Chem, but for the condensed summer content, I almost wonder if it would be a better investment of time to just review notes and do more practice problems instead of reading?
Click to expand...

I studied mainly from my lecture notes, and I used the textbook as a reference for things that weren't explained very well during class (mainly the spectroscopy part, which my professor admitted was not her forte). I did do both at the beginning, but I felt like my professor was good enough at extracting the relevant parts from the book, and I ended up mostly ditching the book later. She also tested mostly to the lecture material, so your prof might have different expectations and I can't speak to that.
 
Here's my weekly routine (we'll see where this gets me tomorrow):

Weekdays:
-Go to lecture
-After lecture read that day's chapter and answer assigned homework problems
-After that attend review session (there are 2-hour long review sessions a few hours after each lecture)
-Go home and do supplemental problems from msu.edu's ochem database / watch khan academy tutorials / make flashcards on quizlet.com
-Repeat

Weekends:
-Go over topics I found more challenging in more detail
-Study flashcards (including the ones from the previous weeks)
-Continue doing supplemental problems / watching tutorial videos
-Take practice exams
-Email TA if necessary

I am determined to get an A in this class. Gen Chem was my arch enemy so I plan to take out it's master, Orgo, to weaken the beast.
 
I just finished up orgo I and II last year, I can add my two cents.

Like everyone else said, stay on top of your stuff. If you fall behind, it's hard to catch up and you'll be hating life for it.

A molecular modeling kit was helpful for me in the beginning. Organic chemistry deals with the 3D nature of molecules a lot. When you're getting started it can be hard to picture what the molecules are actually doing in 3D space.

What really worked for me though as the class progressed was drawing out all of the different mechanisms we went over on flashcards. Sorry if you already know this, but mechanisms just involve drawing out a reaction, starting with the reactants and ending with the products. You draw arrows to show where the electrons are going during the reaction. Anyways, I used my flashcards and went over them countless times. At first I was simply memorizing what arrows went where, but as the semester went on, I noticed there are definite patterns to how reactions proceed. At the end of the year I felt like I could even make educated guesses about mechanisms I had never seen before.

Those are things that I did at least and got grades I was happy with. Best of luck!
 
Finally got my exam results back... 98.75%!! Very happy with this score! The method I described definitely has worked for me and might work for others as well.

Judson said:
Here's my weekly routine (we'll see where this gets me tomorrow):

Weekdays:
-Go to lecture
-After lecture read that day's chapter and answer assigned homework problems
-After that attend review session (there are 2-hour long review sessions a few hours after each lecture)
-Go home and do supplemental problems from msu.edu's ochem database / watch khan academy tutorials / make flashcards on quizlet.com
-Repeat

Weekends:
-Go over topics I found more challenging in more detail
-Study flashcards (including the ones from the previous weeks)
-Continue doing supplemental problems / watching tutorial videos
-Take practice exams
-Email TA if necessary

I am determined to get an A in this class. Gen Chem was my arch enemy so I plan to take out it's master, Orgo, to weaken the beast.
Click to expand...
 
Only advise - sign up for Ochem 2... Better to do both and get it over with. It was so much easier than if I waited a few months.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.