Summer Workload

[BAMF]

What is a good workload for two 5 credit courses over two 5-week sessions? I'm taking Organic Chemistry I & II during the summer and would like to work part-time, about 20 hours/week. My classes are M-F 8am-1pm, which includes lecture, discussion, and lab. I've asked my teacher about his expectations for out of class studying in order to get a good grade, but no answer. So how much outside class time do you think I'll need in order to be successful in the classes? Would you recommend working during that time?

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[ktran17]

I don't recommend working during the second session of OChem II. The concepts are easy to understand, but it just takes a lot of time to practice the mechanisms..

 

[sc4s2cg]

Are you taking Ochem Lab along with lecture?

I took Ochem I + Lab for the first summer intersession, and Ochem II by itself for the second. I do not recommend lab. At all. Here's how my schedule was:

Lecture MTWRF 8:30-11
Lab MTWF 11-2

My Grades: I = B Lab = C; II = A-

And that was with a skewed grading scale, from a professor who I can confirm does not skew. Ever.

Most people in my class did not have a job over the summer, and if they did they either quit or dropped the class.

 

[BAMF]

Are you taking Ochem Lab along with lecture?

I took Ochem I + Lab for the first summer intersession, and Ochem II by itself for the second. I do not recommend lab. At all. Here's how my schedule was:

Lecture MTWRF 8-11
Lab MTWF 11-5

3 hour lecture and 6 hour lab for 4 days a week? That seriously scares me. How much time did you spend studying?

I guess I can also consider taking just the lecture portion, since I can delay the lab+discussion and still graduate on time. Then my schedule will only be M-F 8:00-9:30 and working would seem a bit more doable. I mean, if push comes to shove I don't HAVE to work, but I would much rather do it to help pay for expenses.

 

[sc4s2cg]

^Woops, little hyperbole there. Just checked my schedule, edited the post accordingly. Apparently memory over time = inflated, overdramatic memory

Lab sucked my time like no other. By the time I got home I would be exhausted, but I knew we had an exam next week (or that Friday) so I took 30 min naps and then moved on to study however long I could. I definitely would not recommend doing lab, I suspect around half of our class dropped the lab from their schedule the second time around.

What we did in lab:
- Mix chemicals, etc, etc
- Take detailed notes
- Wait. A lot. I felt like I was wasting time in there
- We did have daily lab "homework" (worksheet type of things)
- We had no official lab reports due, unlike normal semester ochem labs

I studied around 2-4 hours/class day and around 4-8 hours/weekend or nonlab day. Lab was usually ahead of lecture, so it got confusing at times. I'm just glad I'm done with that stuff for now.

 

[Frazier]

What is a good workload for two 5 credit courses over two 5-week sessions? I'm taking Organic Chemistry I & II during the summer and would like to work part-time, about 20 hours/week. My classes are M-F 8am-1pm, which includes lecture, discussion, and lab. I've asked my teacher about his expectations for out of class studying in order to get a good grade, but no answer. So how much outside class time do you think I'll need in order to be successful in the classes? Would you recommend working during that time?

Even if you are a BAMF, this will [very likely] not end well.

Unless they abbreviate the material, packing a regular ~16 week course into 5 weeks will mean that you will have to eat reagents, sleep mechanisms and crap synthesis.

Maintaining a high grade WILL be your job.

 

[two thirty]

I strongly recommend not doing that. I'd just take one class spread out over a few months or wait until the fall/spring.