What should I take if I did bad in ochem and biochem but good in gchem and pchem?

[pyra]

I am a senior in bioengineering and O-chem is not my best subject. ( I will apply next year) I did very well in General Chem my freshmen year (A's and A+) but when I started O-Chem my sophmore year and I took Structural Biochem my second quarter of my sophmore year I did horrible (obviously I did not master the concepts of O-Chem that I needed for Biochem). But I did get an A in O-Chem lab. Anyways, I learned from my studying skills mistakes that I made and more recently I took Molecular Physical Chemistry and got an A. I'm going to take Physical Biochem this summer to prove I can do Biochem.
My Question is: What do you think I should take next year? Is 2 classes (PChem and Physical Biochem) enough to show improvement in Chem--I'm trying to make up for a bad year of Ochem and 1 bad quarter of biochem. Two quarters of upper division Inorganic Chem, more biochem? What has anyone else done in my situation? I feel like I need to prove that I can handle this stuff for med school.
Thanks in advance.

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[FSUMED]

Well, ia m by no means an expert on this stuff, but it sounds like you have a couple options. By virtue of the fact that you are a chem major I think med schools are a little more open minded when it comes to grades in your organic(AS long as you didnt make lower than a B-/C+. Regardless, with grade in O-chem you really need to blow that section out of the water on the MCAT so they will know you can do it. Another option is to re-take one of the o-chem classes. An A on a re-take plus the improved biochem grades should be sufficient. BUT I AM NOT AN EXPERT SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

 

[Popoy]

Another option is to forget about taking more classes or retaking them.... just kick mucho A$$$$$$ in the MCAT's and show them what you got.... specially in the Biological Science section seeing that includes O-CHEM.

If you're really set on taking more or retaking classes.... Make sure you show a significant improvement.... Just my two cents....

Good luck to you....

 

[pyra]

I'm not allowed to retake classes since I didnt fail the classes. But thanks for your advice, maybe I should ask my premed advisor but they are always annoyed-sounding when I ask them questions.

 

[gower]

If you passed Organic I and II, is there an option to take advanced organic chem or more biochemistry?

 

[pyra]

ya..i guess I should take more biochem (how many classes is enough? one? two?) Is this preferable in my case to inorganic chem? By the way, I have lots of room to take extra classes next year.
I don't think i should take advance o-chem since this class is for chem majors and there is only like 8 people in the class...I think the prof will wonder what I am doing there.

 

[kutastha]

Advice from a former chem major who had similar experiences: take classes that use O-chem (where on earth did people begin calling it "orgo" anyways?) and/or Biochem. Some of the courses I took were upper division and graduate courses like Natural Products Chemistry, Enzyme Chem and Biochem of Lipid Diseases. If you didn't do so hot in general ochem and biochem, these might be a good way to not only increase your GPA, but also show you know the material.

Andrew

 

[pyra]

So does anyone think Inorganic chem would be useful in my case? I need to switch classes soon before fall quarter starts.

 

[imtiaz]

I just graduated with a chem degree. Believe it or not, I got a D in general chem 2. It just goes to show that grades don't really reflect how much you've learned, there are lots of formalities to be fulfilled, etc.. but that's another topic.

Inorganic chem is decent, lots and lots of reactions to memorize however. Usually inorganic 1 focuses on the main group elements, and inorganic 2 on the transition metals. I would definitely recommend inorganic 1, because it's simple covalent/ionic compounds, the trick is knowing the reactivity of all the elements. To give you an idea of what inorganic 1 is like, a typical question might be why does B(OH)3 not display basic properties? It has hydroxyl groups, but they're acidic, etc etc. You get the point. It's a lot of specific material.

Also, expect to memorize the periodic table (either the whole thing or just the main group elements, depending on the professor ) The first thing the professor said to us on the first day of class was "I'm going to tell you what's going to be the first question of midterm 1 right now." and he drew an outline of the periodic table. Not too bad, but expect it.

If I can help you with anything else, don't hesitate to email me: [email protected]

Later

 

[EMDrMoe]

Depending on your Organic grade, some schools may not accept it as a pre-req. To retake it, you can retake it at another school if you have to, but I would retake any prerequisites (I retook Organic I and II, a loooong time after the horrible grades). Good luck.