What's the hardest class you have ever taken in college?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
chemdoctor

chemdoctor

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2016
Messages
1,818
Reaction score
997
This is to all the premeds, med students and adcoms. I'm curious what everyone's most difficult class in college was? Which class caused you to study the most, and really REALLY made it difficult for you to do well?

For me, I'd personally say it was Organic chemistry I. I just couldn't think properly I guess haha. What about y'all?
Members don't see this ad.
 
chemdoctor said:
This is to all the premeds, med students and adcoms. I'm curious what everyone's most difficult class in college was? Which class caused you to study the most, and really REALLY made it difficult for you to do well?

For me, I'd personally say it was Organic chemistry I. I just couldn't think properly I guess haha. What about y'all?
Click to expand...

Orgo I in part because I opted to take the hard orgo prof and in part because I needlessly overloaded courses that semester. But I stuck it out and did really well in Orgo II, which was taught by the same professor.

@chemdoctor Does SDN allow posters to name themselves chemdoctor if they didn't ace Orgo I?
 
chemdoctor said:
This is to all the premeds, med students and adcoms. I'm curious what everyone's most difficult class in college was? Which class caused you to study the most, and really REALLY made it difficult for you to do well?

For me, I'd personally say it was Organic chemistry I. I just couldn't think properly I guess haha. What about y'all?
Click to expand...

So far Orgo I (overloaded as well that semester) and microbiology which is one of the hardest sciences at my university outside of orgo
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Combinatorics for sure; I had never worked so hard in a class before.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Introduction to mathematical analysis. Gave up midway through and took the A- (didn't deserve it, easy professor). New found respect for mathematicians after that. Pure abstract mathematical logic is no joke.

Class I worked the hardest in: Classical Mechanics: Dynamics. Felt like an actual physicist after that. Pretty much two classes in one due to the breadth of data analysis and lab report writing along with constant homework and hard ass problems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
MyOdyssey said:
Orgo I in part because I opted to take the hard orgo prof and in part because I needlessly overloaded courses that semester. But I stuck it out and did really well in Orgo II, which was taught by the same professor.

@chemdoctor Does SDN allow posters to name themselves chemdoctor if they didn't ace Orgo I?
Click to expand...

LOL I did really well in Orgo II as well. Different professor though.

And alas, chemistry does not only refer to Organic haha. Also, my research is in Organic Chemistry too ;)
 
It was sadly sociology. My professor was about 90 years old and just an overall unpleasant man. I read on RateMyProfessor a comment that said “every morning I hope to be hit by a bus so I don’t have to be around Professor ____” and I didn’t heed that warning and regretted it greatly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Biochem by far. Didn’t help that I couldn’t understand professor’s accent whatsoever..
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Organic chemistry in undergrad

Med school neuroscience was brutal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Spanish
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Pushed brain to limit: Organic chem I with Dr. J Ponder. He would write exams that most people would barely finish half of during the allotted time. Averages were as low as 30s-40s. None of it was recall/memory points, all problem solving.

Consumed most hours: Upper level neurophysiology laboratory. Made us write up our in-lab results in manuscript format. Took way too much time.

Most impossible to reliably do well: "Art and the Mind-Brain". I swear he assigned grades to essays by rolling dice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Physical Chemistry I :confused:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
chemdoctor said:
This is to all the premeds, med students and adcoms. I'm curious what everyone's most difficult class in college was? Which class caused you to study the most, and really REALLY made it difficult for you to do well?

For me, I'd personally say it was Organic chemistry I. I just couldn't think properly I guess haha. What about y'all?
Click to expand...

it's either any upper level math course or upper level physics course for me. really hard homework problems and very difficult exams. averages in exams were usually in 50s-70s and these are math, physics and engineering majors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Calc 2. That class was hell (mostly due to the professor, I think), I worked my butt off and got an 88%. But hey, I learned a lot about myself and how to work hard, so no regrets on picking the professor I did.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
efle said:
He would write exams that most people would barely finish half of during the allotted time. Averages were as low as 30s-40s. None of it was recall/memory points, all problem solving.
Click to expand...

I've been in classes like that too. It's impossible to differentiate between who studied and worked hard and who didn't because everyone doesn't know the material, making the prepared and unprepared on more equal grounds.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Calculus 2 for engineers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
For whatever reason genetics sucked for me, even though a lot of it seemed like statistics and i destroyed that class.

Never had had to study so hard for a B- lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Man some really interesting answers. For me, it’d definitely be organic I. Even harder than Biochemistry tbh.

There was an art class I had to take which was terrible. I did well in all the maths tho...

Also didn’t like taxonomy bio *shudders*
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I thought orgo was ok if you put the work in.

For me, the hardest class I took was American Literature. For Pete sakes, sometimes the drapes are just blue. I got a B in that class (only by the grace of my excellent test taking skills), when I was trying to prove to myself I was good enough to get an A. I just can't fully grasp literature. The funny thing is that now I write fiction as a hobby. :laugh:
 
Writing classes always suck. They’re so professor dependent. I had a professor that gave me an A- and I thought my essays were pretty good. The following semester, my essays were trash and I got over 100 in the class. Just goes to show
 
speedwalker said:
English comp. Hardest class ever. Grading was subjective. It was the only class I ever had where if you followed the rubric completely, you would get a B. The TA said an A grade was dependent on impressing him. Orgo wasn't that difficult for me. Overhyped
Click to expand...
Same English Comp 2 is the only class I ever got a C in. But English is also my second language, so that didn't help either besides the fact that I do not like to write long 10 to 25 page papers.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Digital Programming for Video Games. My brain was not meant to think that way. Micro almost gave me a run for my money, too.
 
Orgo was child's play compared to PChem...holy schnikes that class was absurd
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
UG: Multi-Component Engineering Thermodynamics and Organic Structure Determination
MSc: Theoretical Organic Chemistry --> came to terms that I was just a chemistry dabbler not a real organic chemist lol
 
I can't be the only one that actually enjoyed organic chemistry at least compared to other prereqs. Honestly much better than my current biochem class where we just had a 30 question test over 9 chapters.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Only a second-year - but I hope I can still chime in:
Hardest class to conceptually understand is orgo I
The class that requires the most effort is intro physics 1
 
Biochemistry of micromolecules.

Memorizing every.. single.. enzyme..

My professor would write exams that you would literally have to know the answer immediately after reading to have enough time to write a thorough enough answer to receive full credit. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, there was never any multiple choice - and it was always critical thinking questions. If you didn't study enough and had to think a bit for a question then you may as well assume you're gonna have to leave a question blank.

The first exam I left a huge portion blank because I was utterly unprepared for the exam format

Finished with a low A - most proud I ever was in undergrad.
 
Last edited:
chemdoctor said:
Man some really interesting answers. For me, it’d definitely be organic I. Even harder than Biochemistry tbh.

There was an art class I had to take which was terrible. I did well in all the maths tho...

Also didn’t like taxonomy bio *shudders*
Click to expand...

Did you ever take upper division abstract algebra or any of the upper division analysis courses? I did well in all of them, but those upper division math courses are hard AF.

I actually found organic to not be too difficult. It was harder than gen chem for sure, but not terrible. I don’t ever want to take it again though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I find organic chemistry actually fun, and rather easier compared to General Chemistry.. The labs are fun as well. The hardest class I think is Evolutionary Biology.
 
Last edited:
doctorcocter said:
I can't be the only one that actually enjoyed organic chemistry at least compared to other prereqs. Honestly much better than my current biochem class where we just had a 30 question test over 9 chapters.
Click to expand...
I loved orgo and biochem. The hardest class I've ever taken was a 4 credit mammalian physiology course, but it was also my favorite.
 
Physics I and II. I have always struggled with things involving math. Physics clobbered me. I have never worked harder on any class in my life. I took both during separate summers, and spent 6-8 hours every day on the material. I got As though...but probably lost a little sanity.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
PChem by far. I like to call it Gen Chem on steroids
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Einstein's theory on relatives. It was hard.
 
Hardest class based on material: Organic Chemistry. I felt lost the entire year.

Hardest class based on how the professor taught it: Anatomy & Physiology at community college taught by a retired ER doctor from Loma Linda. I’ve never worked so hard for a class in my life.

Hardest class based on a jerk professor who didn’t acutally teach anything: Physics II.
 
seaturtle98 said:
Hardest class based on material: Organic Chemistry. I felt lost the entire year.

Hardest class based on how the professor taught it: Anatomy & Physiology at community college taught by a retired ER doctor from Loma Linda. I’ve never worked so hard for a class in my life.

Hardest class based on a jerk professor who didn’t acutally teach anything: Physics II.
Click to expand...

I wonder why that professor taught at CC and not at a university.
 
Robin-jay said:
I wonder why that professor taught at CC and not at a university.
Click to expand...
No idea, he’s adjunct, not full time faculty though. I left the school in 2015, and as of spring semester he’s still on the schedule according to some I know there. Maybe just something to do in retirement?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

j_diggity
How to approach the question, have you ever matriculated into and not completed a professional/graduate program?
Replies
5
Views
655
Goro
Goro
Sampats
Reporting Credits taken after college
Replies
3
Views
292
LizzyM
LizzyM
P
Can you ever seem too interested in a single topic or cause?
Replies
14
Views
865
LizzyM
LizzyM
C
Are you required to report classes taken at other universities?
Replies
4
Views
394
OchemOficionado
OchemOficionado
A
  • Question
Do medical schools look down on classes that were taken online?
Replies
5
Views
3K
Fluidity of Movement
Fluidity of Movement
Top