How did you get into Orgo without having taken Gen Chem first?
In many schools, Gen Chem I is a prerequisite to Orgo and Gen Chem II is a COrequisite to Orgo, so people take Gen Chem I, then the next semester, they take Gen Chem II and Orgo at the same time.
I don't know about the poster who says he took Orgo without even the first semester of Gen Chem I. I think it's nearly impossible to understand day one of Orgo if you don't have a Chem I foundation.
Well, I don't want to judge other peoples situations...but...it seems to me if you can't get through taking gen.bio gen.chem and o chem. at the same time with more than ALL Cs (not necessarily all As), then maybe med school should be a reconsideration..
And you said "unless you are willing to put in 100%"...well, I really hope everyone who is trying to get in IS putting in 100%. And if 100% is getting all C's...At least for me, if I was getting all Cs then that would send up a red flag. I would be asking myself if I am cut out for the med school curriculum.
You can't really say that though because undergrad is a totally different ballgame. In undergrad, you could have about a thousand other things going on. For instance, say you work 30 hours a week and are taking 18-21 credits, plus studying for the MCAT. Many people couldn't make all A's or even mostly A's when tackling that schedule with three science classes and labs. In med school, that's your only commitment (besides family). You wake up, you study for med school, you take a break, you study for med school, you grab lunch, you study for med school. There is no working, no MCAT review classes, no dorm parties keeping you up late, etc.
Plus, there's no weed out curriculum in med school. Many med schools are on the pass/fail system, which means you compete against yourself, whereas many undergrad institutions treat med school prerequisites as weed out classes and grade on a peer curve. It really sucks when you have an 86% in your biochem class and end up with a C.