Taking General Chem I and II this summer...so scared...

[kittieruby]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi All,

In an effort to complete the post-bac program in 15 months, I'm taking General Chem I and II this summer at USC, where I also hope to start the post-bac program in the fall. However, I haven't taken any classes in science/math since high school. Am I going to die?? Should I even be doing this? I want to finish the program in a year, but yikes...any advice?! I'm kind of scared. Should I do anything to prep before May 24th when the class starts? Ahh!!!

 

[samenewme]

Whether you're nuts depends on how long it's been since high school. How essential is it for you to finish in 15 months instead of 18? I started with one class (and kept my job) and I think I was much less stressed because of that.

But if you decide to do it, here's my advice:

In advance:

Review some basic algebra. Do some problems, get used to moving variables around.

Review the bare basics of logarithms. You need to know those basic log rules. If you've been out of school a long time, you'll be delighted to know that log tables are a thing of the distant past!

Buy the textbook and look over the first two chapters.
The only things I seriously had to memorize were the common names and charges of the most common anions and cations (there was a table in the text), and the solubility rules. If you want to do some of that ahead, go for it.

During the semester:

The key to success in general chemistry is DOING PROBLEMS. There's a lot of calculating, and if you do all the homework (I did it three times or more) you'll be able to cough it up quickly on exams and almost any problem they throw at you will look somehow familiar to you. With the schedule you're looking at, you'll have to do problems every night. Every night.

Read the chapter BEFORE the lecture. Work through all the sample problems in the chapter as you go. This, too, is essential, especially in an accellerated summer course. You absolutely cannot afford to fall behind.

Good luck!

Hi All,

In an effort to complete the post-bac program in 15 months, I'm taking General Chem I and II this summer at USC, where I also hope to start the post-bac program in the fall. However, I haven't taken any classes in science/math since high school. Am I going to die?? Should I even be doing this? I want to finish the program in a year, but yikes...any advice?! I'm kind of scared. Should I do anything to prep before May 24th when the class starts? Ahh!!!

 

[jxu66]

Gen chemistry is not bad. If you are good at math, you should be ok. At least, you are not try to take organic 1 and organic 2 in summer. 😀