is organic chemistry really a hard class?

[TexasTriathlete]

Everyone talks about how hard o-chem is, and I just don't see it. I think it can be hard if you approach it the wrong way, but I found, in the end, that it was much easier than general chemistry, and in biochemistry, I remember thinking back to the good old days of o-chem.

I think there are two things that get people with o-chem...

1. It is the first class in the pre-med sequence where you actually have to study. Most kids in a traditional pre-med track took gen chem in high school, and then turn right back around and take it in college as freshmen. Easy. But o-chem is new, and it is not like gen chem. Does that mean its harder? No. Its just new, and it really is "different"

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[almo88]

I think it COMPLETELY depends on your professor. If yours was anything like mine, he made the tests so difficult that no one EVER passed. If not, count yourself lucky that you didn't have to pray that the curve hit you just right. Ya know? I was SO happy with my B in Org. I! I'm working hard for an A in Org. II right now, we'll see--1st test is in 3 days! ahhh!

 

[speeter]

Everyone talks about how hard o-chem is, and I just don't see it. I think it can be hard if you approach it the wrong way, but I found, in the end, that it was much easier than general chemistry, and in biochemistry, I remember thinking back to the good old days of o-chem.

I think there are two things that get people with o-chem...

1. It is the first class in the pre-med sequence where you actually have to study. Most kids in a traditional pre-med track took gen chem in high school, and then turn right back around and take it in college as freshmen. Easy. But o-chem is new, and it is not like gen chem. Does that mean its harder? No. Its just new, and it really is "different"

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

I agree with ^^^ Understanding concepts is much more important than memorization. I didn't need to memorize more than 10 reactions in all of organic. The key is to understand how the functional groups act when in the presence of other functional groups. If you understand how one reaction of any type works, you can figure out all of them.

 

[MossPoh]

Depends on the individual, the professor, and the school. I don't know, I haven't studied for it yet and I got a 97 (with the curve) on my first exam. I'm not that smart.

 

[JaggerPlate]

Depends on the individual, the professor, and the school. I don't know, I haven't studied for it yet and I got a 97 (with the curve) on my first exam. I'm not that smart.

This is the bottom line in my opinion. O Chem is one of those things where some people are just really good at it, and some people aren't. It takes a lot of visualization, and a TON of memorizing. I personally like it way better than g chem.

 

[BrianD]

My professor told me when I took it, o-chem is all about understanding the psychology of electrons. Basically, if you know where they want to go, it all makes sense (minus NMR, IR, and the like).

 

[TexasTriathlete]

NMR is easy. I think it frustrates a lot of people because the problems can be tedious, and you really have to think them through, but it really isn't tricky.

That is, the NMR specs you see on an o-chem test. Real NMR specs of funky compounds you make in a lab can be tough.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

By the way, I do agree that having a good prof makes a difference. My first o-chem prof was incredible. Very hard, but an awesome lecturer.

 

[Bacchus]

I loved orgo and thought biology was much harder. Good professor = great success. It does help to be one of the people understanding it, especially on a bell-curve scale, heh.

 

[Powdermonkey]

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

Totally agree. I really liked the NMR and IR stuff cause it was like putting a big puzzle together for me. It was actually kind of exciting.... And all the reactions weren't that hard because I understood them. Made an A in both semesters of Ochem, didnt really try too hard honestly. My heat transfer and thermodynamic classes were 50 times harder than organic was. It was just a lot of prep work for each class and the tests, nothing much more than that. Physics is being the same way right now for me. I sucked it up in the first semester, but I think I have different/better study habits now and its been really easy. A&P this semester too.

Maybe I'm just finally realizing that I am a super genius.

 

[JaggerPlate]

NMR and IR spec are just fun. Like seriously, studying for that stuff feels like solving a riddle or doing a puzzle or something. I still think a lot of O Chem is still memorizing though!!

 

[Jug]

I agree with some of the other posts, that it depends on the teacher. I hated it because I couldn't understand the instructor. She spoke english fine in conversation, but used terms that couldn't be found in the book or anything. I think she had a hard time presenting the material because english was not her first (or even second) language.
As for organic 2, I can understand the instructor ever. He speaks english words, but when he puts them together, they make no sense. It sucks.

 

[DiverDoc]

Everyone talks about how hard o-chem is, and I just don't see it. I think it can be hard if you approach it the wrong way, but I found, in the end, that it was much easier than general chemistry, and in biochemistry, I remember thinking back to the good old days of o-chem.

I think there are two things that get people with o-chem...

1. It is the first class in the pre-med sequence where you actually have to study. Most kids in a traditional pre-med track took gen chem in high school, and then turn right back around and take it in college as freshmen. Easy. But o-chem is new, and it is not like gen chem. Does that mean its harder? No. Its just new, and it really is "different"

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

I agree with a lot of this. Especially the part that O-chem 2 is an easier version of O-chem I. I have yet to take BIOchem, taking it in the spring so I hope it goes well.

 

[DocRawk]

I thought it was pretty easy. Both semesters. I wasn't a fan of 4 and 5 hour labs occasionally. Honestly, it was more tedious than it was difficult. I agree with Tex, if you get the concepts, you don't have to memorize. There really aren't that many mechanisms. I'm not even sure if I'd have to take my shoes off to count them . Seriously though, understand the mechanisms and the reason they work the way they do, and you can usually use deductive reasoning to figure out where any reaction is headed. I will admit though, I started drinking coffee, for the first time in my life, when I started Organic I at 8am Didn't see myself getting an A in there if I slept through it like I did micro

 

[umean2tellme]

The problem is some chem professors don't like pre meds b/c they don't take the class to learn chemistry they take it to get into med school and will do whatever it takes to get through it without dying. Well, this is my opinion based on having orgo at my school. I had a professor who made the tests so hard that no one passed it without the steepest curve I've ever encountered. When 40% is a B, maybe you need to either fix your tests or fix the way you teach the class.

 

[Nasem]

Umm, it depends on what kind of science classes you like typically.... I am more of a math / physics nerd and organic chemistry is starting to look REALLY fun...

Not trying to brag or anything, but yesterday we had our first orgo I exam, the scores were posted today, I got a 91% (class average 52%) and started complaining (im such a nerd), anyways, turns out I was right, the TAs mis-graded one of my problems so now its 96%

Now on the other hand, biology, pssst.... I took my first Biology class about 4 years ago, 6 weeks into the course I had to drop it with a W because I was failing it with a 30%... why? I just have a hard time learning biology, and its probebly becuase I don't enjoy the material....

I think alot of people are like that, if you like the material, your mind opens up more and you learn it better..... when you hate a subject or aren't too interested, you just don't learn it as well

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Okay that's a weird way to look at it, because I was cash money in both o-chems, and I don't think I made anything less than an A in any bio class except for one, but I struggled to get B's and C's in gen chem and physics.

 

[reaton]

"They are taking so long with your file because they may be planning on rejecting you. Or inviting you for an interview. Either way, I think you need some meth." As quoted in one of your post.

Just wondering; when you post a responce you are very sarcastic and never seem to offer any advice, only sarcasm. Is this your way of trying to act superior or do you just not have anything intelligent to say?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

So sensitive

 

[bkpa2med]

OChem is not that hard. Understand why the mechanisms work the way they do.

 

[osli]

I agree with pretty much everything said.

Whether you learn and understand organic depends on how you approach it. Visualize the structures and reactions based on the basics you learn. It is all about comprehension and visualization. There should not be much memorization. I would memorize the few reagents and catalysts needed for any one test about half an hour before... the important part was really understanding what happens so you can work most any problem.

Making a good grade is highly dependent on the professor. I do believe that smart students can fail if a tough professor wants them too, and mediocre students can ace the course if the professor is "easy" and/or has a generous curve. Much the same as any college class. Choose your professor based on how well his reputation for teaching is, and what his reputation for grading is.

 

[Meatwad]

If I see the word puzzle associated with organic chemistry one more time on SDN....

... well, I'm not going to do anything about it, actually. But it's still annoying. I guess I hated Organic Chem because I built it up in my mind to be some class that was going to be really interesting. Halfway through I realized I couldn't lie to myself anymore. I liked Gen Chem way more.

I was that kid in kindergarten that took puzzles and through them at people, not the kid that tried to put them together. Mongo no like puzzle. Mongo like eat glue.

 

[tdkneo]

Everyone talks about how hard o-chem is, and I just don't see it. I think it can be hard if you approach it the wrong way, but I found, in the end, that it was much easier than general chemistry, and in biochemistry, I remember thinking back to the good old days of o-chem.

I think there are two things that get people with o-chem...

1. It is the first class in the pre-med sequence where you actually have to study. Most kids in a traditional pre-med track took gen chem in high school, and then turn right back around and take it in college as freshmen. Easy. But o-chem is new, and it is not like gen chem. Does that mean its harder? No. Its just new, and it really is "different"

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

i totally agree, i dont know why people complain this class is hard, it's all about memorization and visualization.......i was nervous at first before taking this class because a lot of people complained they failed and the materials were too hard........but after taking the whole series, i dont get it, how can people say this class is the hardest in the premed prereqs......it's a lot easier than biochem, biology and such.........

 

[Saregamapadanis]

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

From personal experience, I found that people (including me) who got into the O-chem 1 way of thinking , found O-chem 2 to be much easier.
If you want to master O-chem, you should know that O-chem has certain rules and when you get the gist of these rules, you can pretty much predict the outcome of any reaction.

 

[MossPoh]

Once again, it just depends on the person.

My strong point is visualizing things in 3D. I can rotate molecules, see flows and patterns. That with an understanding of rules makes it a bit easier for me I think. I am by no means a genius, but I seem to stress much less about the class than other people. I seem to spend more time with the vocabulary than anything else. Anything that involves good book keeping skills like gen chem, I have trouble with. I have horrible handwriting, which doesn't help. Biology and I didn't get along because I seem to have a different opinion of what is important versus the professor.

Some people can't visualize. I talked to one girl who "only" studied 5 days for the first organic exam and got a C. She is a smart girl, but it isn't her strong point. I studied 3 hours and got a B (raw) which gets adjusted to a 100 with my bonus points. That being said, I know it'll get harder but it isn't nearly as intimidating as people make it out to be.

 

[osli]

Once again, it just depends on the person.

My strong point is visualizing things in 3D. I can rotate molecules, see flows and patterns. That with an understanding of rules makes it a bit easier for me I think.

Absolutely. I think people's mental strengths and weaknesses are just different. I'm like you, and ochem was a breeze. I can trace this back to at least 5th grade when I had an IQ test done... genious level in spatial relationships and a couple of related categories, borderline ******ed in communication skills and related categories.

Thankfully I seemed to have converged towards the average as I matured!

 

[Beau Geste]

I think Ochem can be hard at first to wrap your head around with all the rules and conformations. Once you learn the basics, then it gets easier. I def. agree that Orgo II is easier, mostly because you've got the basics down.

 

[fabu1ous]

Well unlike most of you self proclaimed orgo geniuses , I didn't get Org I, well, just enough to get a B with the curve... atleast until I took Org II. Ofcourse then, I completely understood Org I... not much of use considering it wasn't going to help my Org I grade, even with all my new found understanding.

 

[Osteomania]

Organic chemistry ...I hated it when I was doing my BSc in Chem. I can't go back to those days but I wish I mastered it back then. I barely passed my orgo courses but got A's and B's in the labs (i guess when I can see what I'm doing I have a better understanding of it and enjoy it more). Apply orgo to real life and it will come to life for you. pushing electrons just didn't do it for me. dry, dry, dry. but tell me that I'm synthesizing DEET or a moth's pheromone and it's suddenly something to think about. its useful after all!

The key to getting orgo is finding patterns as mentioned before. also ask why. don't just memorize. why do deprotonations-reprotonations occur, why is a compound the nucleophile in one reaction and the electrophile in the subsequent reaction, etc. but in my experience the most difficult part for most people is sterochemistry. master stereochem because looking at those structures all day may not be so taxing.

Prof has nothing to do with it. if you start judging the difficulty of every course by whether the prof is a dick then life may not be easy for you. lets take another scenario. lets say the prof is bad at presenting the material in a way that grabs you. this can suck. so many profs are so interested in their research that their lecture duties become chores. it doesnt take brains to be a good teacher (we all know this).

you have to work harder in this case. study groups are good. make a point of seeing the prof and telling him hes a dick...I mean, that he could benefit from working on his lecture notes, like by providing more examples, for example. I say, never be afraid to stop a professor during lecture in order to clarify something for you. dont feel ashamed, you may be helping several people in the class that may have wanted to do the same thing. you're wanting to be a doctor? I say a doctor must exude confidence. stop the lecturer, with confidence, and say, "Excuse me professor. What did you mean by this?" If his explanation makes you look like a *****, so what. you're going to be a doctor. even doctor's make mistakes.

after three organic classes (yes i took an orgo III, it wasnt pretty) and many years of undergrad I have tons of advice to undergraduates. these above all. take all your academics seriously. party only when you have time. don't be afraid to talk to the profs.

 

[osli]

Prof has nothing to do with it. if you start judging the difficulty of every course by whether the prof is a dick then life may not be easy for you. lets take another scenario. lets say the prof is bad at presenting the material in a way that grabs you. this can suck. so many profs are so interested in their research that their lecture duties become chores. it doesnt take brains to be a good teacher (we all know this).

To clarify what I am saying (and would I presume a lot of others are as well) is that a good professor isn't needed to learn organic chemistry. It might help if he motivates students, but you can learn it well enough on your own. Where the "difficulty" part comes in is not in whether it was too difficult to learn or not, but whether he is a dick and makes exams passable or not.

I could make a multiplying fractions exam impossible to pass in the allotted time as well - doesn't mean you don't know the subject material. I think some profs just don't give a damn whether students pass or fail and don't care to evaluate the effectiveness of their tests. Some just curve the grades to fit a decent distribution. Some actually care and try to figure out why students are missing questions. If you get the former, you might be lucky to escape a class (any class) with a respectable grade, regardless of your mastery of the subject.

 

[Internistt]

i don't study in america so i need you guys to tell me something please. what is the typical question of organic chemistry? we used to do it in high school and first year medicine but i am just curious as to what the standards are.

 

[Columbia09]

I agree. It is about concepts but my orgo teacher, she's really good apparently according to people at my school, just says memorize, memorize, memorize. And I agree 100% that it depends on the teacher. Any subject could be hard or easy, it just depends on the teacher. For example my calc 1 class was 1, 000 times easier than my AP history class. And you would think that history is easier compared to calc. And I'm not a math genius. Calc 2 was hard but I still had much harder classes and the teacher btw was the same for both 1 and 2. He was REALLY good, one of the best I had. Orgo now.................the highest grade on our last test was one 80 so that should tell you something. Anyway med schools aren't expecting you to get A's in this subject so don't worry if you're not doing well in the class.

 

[Iheartnachos]

Hello zombie thread.

 

[OCDEMS]

As someone who got an A in both semesters of Organic, I can solidly say that anyone who says O-Chem does not have healthy amounts of memorization is a genius (or mistaken). I also scored well on the ACS final.

Understanding Sn1 vs. Sn2, strong nucleophile vs. weak, good leaving groups vs. bad, inversion of configuration, etc. are all important, but there is simply no way around memorizing the reagents. You will do well to just memorize them, flat out. You're not going to know that you're looking at a Friedel-Crafts acylation unless you can identify the acyl group and the AlCl3.

The appropriate saying should be: Don't memorize mechanisms but DO memorize reagents and what they do. Unfortunately, when you understand what they do, you're pretty much one step from just memorizing the reactions. If your class was like mine, you'll get tested on 3-4 chapters at time with some 30+ reaction types. Also, as others have mentioned, know your functional groups.

I can't emphasize how important this is for testing, particularly ACS where you're just thrown tons of reactions. Even more interesting is that many textbooks display reagents in different ways, so it can be of benefit to go to your school library and pull them and take a look. A good example is the tosylate group, which I've seen written a ton of ways. Sometime you'll be given the structure of 4-Toluenesulfonyl chloride and other times they'll just write TsCL, TosCL, OR just OTs above or below the reaction arrow. Sometimes they'll throw another tosylate out and you just just need to identify it (hint: look for the toulene and sulfonate attached together).

Yes, it is true that a healthy knowledge of mechanisms will save your butt in a pinch, but nothing substitutes just knowing something inside and out. I would suggest flash cards for O-Chem. Also, despite what you may feel, I've always felt that copious practice with steady feedback is one of the best ways to learn chemistry, period. Learn to draw mechanisms in detail.

Finally: nothing substitutes studying. O-Chem is one of those classes where you have to go to class, get a general picture of what is happening in the reactions, and then go home and spend time reading the chapter and make recognizing the reactions and their mechanisms borderline muscle memory.

 

[wjs010]

had my 2nd org. chem test today...wow. I studied for the better part of the weekend, learning the theory of discerning between sn1 and sn2/e1/e2..but when test time came around I blew it. I feel like i failed unfortunately. It was very hard. Most of the time i knew what was "supposed" to happen, but I spent too much time learning theory and not enough time working equations

 

[wjs010]

Organic chemistry ...I hated it when I was doing my BSc in Chem. I can't go back to those days but I wish I mastered it back then. I barely passed my orgo courses but got A's and B's in the labs (i guess when I can see what I'm doing I have a better understanding of it and enjoy it more). Apply orgo to real life and it will come to life for you. pushing electrons just didn't do it for me. dry, dry, dry. but tell me that I'm synthesizing DEET or a moth's pheromone and it's suddenly something to think about. its useful after all!

The key to getting orgo is finding patterns as mentioned before. also ask why. don't just memorize. why do deprotonations-reprotonations occur, why is a compound the nucleophile in one reaction and the electrophile in the subsequent reaction, etc. but in my experience the most difficult part for most people is sterochemistry. master stereochem because looking at those structures all day may not be so taxing.

Prof has nothing to do with it. if you start judging the difficulty of every course by whether the prof is a dick then life may not be easy for you. lets take another scenario. lets say the prof is bad at presenting the material in a way that grabs you. this can suck. so many profs are so interested in their research that their lecture duties become chores. it doesnt take brains to be a good teacher (we all know this).

you have to work harder in this case. study groups are good. make a point of seeing the prof and telling him hes a dick...I mean, that he could benefit from working on his lecture notes, like by providing more examples, for example. I say, never be afraid to stop a professor during lecture in order to clarify something for you. dont feel ashamed, you may be helping several people in the class that may have wanted to do the same thing. you're wanting to be a doctor? I say a doctor must exude confidence. stop the lecturer, with confidence, and say, "Excuse me professor. What did you mean by this?" If his explanation makes you look like a *****, so what. you're going to be a doctor. even doctor's make mistakes.

after three organic classes (yes i took an orgo III, it wasnt pretty) and many years of undergrad I have tons of advice to undergraduates. these above all. take all your academics seriously. party only when you have time. don't be afraid to talk to the profs.

i have a professor like that...her lectures absolutely bore her...not the class..her. She's a nice lady , but omg..we meet twice a week for an hour, then every few weeks have a test. It's crazy hard to teach myself organic while taking maximum load lol

 

[coolingglasses]

I invested a lot of extra time making sure I understood the concepts. Our TA held two group study sessions a week where we went over homework questions... no doubt in my mind that this was the biggest reason I did well. I just wish I did a little better. (B+ both semesters!)

Definitely not my hardest class though. That honor goes to my vertebrate histology/microbiology class.

 

[cabinbuilder]

WOW. I thought Organic was THE WORST, MOST HIDEOUS, HARDEST class of my life but then so was all the other chemistry classes I had to take too. I dropped it more times than I wish to admit it, failed it a few times too. Yikes. I had the hardest professor on campus and it seemed like every test covered 50+ reactions and they all looked different. Glad it's over, wouldn't wish that course on anyone not even my worst enemy, not even my hateful ex-husband. Maybe they taught it different 15-20 years ago??

 

[Mehd School]

Depending on the professor, it can seem awful while you're taking it. Once you're through with it, though, you'll realize it wasn't all that bad.

My professor, I theorize, learned organic from the Fuhrer in the crypts of hell.

 

[HipChick]

depending on the professor, it can seem awful while you're taking it. Once you're through with it, though, you'll realize it wasn't all that bad.

my professor, i theorize, learned organic from the fuhrer in the crypts of hell.

hahhahahhah!!!

 

[sisko]

I loved orgo and thought biology was much harder. Good professor = great success.

totally agree. I'm kicking ass in orgo but my teacher also happens to be great. meanwhile bio, which everybody said would be super easy, is kicking my ass. in that class, i do not like the teacher.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Get a good professor is all I can say.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I'm only 1/2 way into O.Chem 1, but I feel it's kinda easy and gotten As on my tests. Gen. Chem, on the other hand, was a nightmare for me.

 

[HalfListic]

I took it at two schools

at BYU, a University, pretty demanding. At different college, pretty easy.


I think it depends on school, teacher, and your skill set

 

[Mehd School]

I'm only 1/2 way into O.Chem 1, but I feel it's kinda easy and gotten As on my tests. Gen. Chem, on the other hand, was a nightmare for me.

My observation led to me thinking there are two types of pre-meds. The ones that are Chem minded, and the ones that are bio minded. I was chem minded, and struggled at organic more than my girlfriend who is very bio minded. But, she struggled more than I did in gen chem and physics.

But in my experience the class will get harder for you. I excelled in the first but struggled through the second semester. I ended up retaking and not doing much better, but good enough that I don't have to take it again. Actually, I didn't have to retake it at all, but I digress.

Once again, it all comes down to professor. My first semester professor was awesome, my 2nd semester professors sucked terribly.

 

[Goro]

Somepeople are good at memorizing, and bad at dealing with conceptual thinking. Or vice-versa. O-chem will be hard on them. Figurative thinking comes into play also because one has to think in terms of structures. That's a lot of stuff for an immature 20ish year old student brain.

Everyone talks about how hard o-chem is, and I just don't see it. I think it can be hard if you approach it the wrong way, but I found, in the end, that it was much easier than general chemistry, and in biochemistry, I remember thinking back to the good old days of o-chem.

I think there are two things that get people with o-chem...

1. It is the first class in the pre-med sequence where you actually have to study. Most kids in a traditional pre-med track took gen chem in high school, and then turn right back around and take it in college as freshmen. Easy. But o-chem is new, and it is not like gen chem. Does that mean its harder? No. Its just new, and it really is "different"

2. Approaching it the wrong way. Everyone says its memorzation. I didn't find it to be that at all. I found it to be very conceptual and spatial. Once you learn how the electrons work, and how certain molecules attack, etc., it is just application of similar concepts to different situations. People sitting down and memorizing trillions of reactions, imo, are wasting their time.

And o-chem 2 is just an easier version of o-chem 1. I had a super-hard prof for the first one, and that made the second one a breeze. Its just the same kind of crap, except you already know the concepts.

Thoughts?

 

[TriagePreMed]

My observation led to me thinking there are two types of pre-meds. The ones that are Chem minded, and the ones that are bio minded. I was chem minded, and struggled at organic more than my girlfriend who is very bio minded. But, she struggled more than I did in gen chem and physics.

But in my experience the class will get harder for you. I excelled in the first but struggled through the second semester. I ended up retaking and not doing much better, but good enough that I don't have to take it again. Actually, I didn't have to retake it at all, but I digress.

Once again, it all comes down to professor. My first semester professor was awesome, my 2nd semester professors sucked terribly.

Physics was actually no problem at all for me. It's the subject I enjoyed most of all pre-med courses.

 

[Owlie]

I don't mind gen chem. It's great stuff! Orgo is what I'm nervous about.... I can memorize things, but that's a lot of info! Hopefully I find a mentor or tutor for understanding reactions in a way that makes memorizing easier.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I don't mind gen chem. It's great stuff! Orgo is what I'm nervous about.... I can memorize things, but that's a lot of info! Hopefully I find a mentor or tutor for understanding reactions in a way that makes memorizing easier.

Only thing I've memorized so far is a simple reactions table and a few solvents. About the same amount you'd memorize for one class period of biology. Just understand what you're doing and don't buy into the hype.

 

[StudyLater]

WOW. I thought Organic was THE WORST, MOST HIDEOUS, HARDEST class of my life but then so was all the other chemistry classes I had to take too. I dropped it more times than I wish to admit it, failed it a few times too. Yikes. I had the hardest professor on campus and it seemed like every test covered 50+ reactions and they all looked different. Glad it's over, wouldn't wish that course on anyone not even my worst enemy, not even my hateful ex-husband. Maybe they taught it different 15-20 years ago??

What, no ratemyprofessors back in 1999?

OP, if you wanna be a doc, you need orgo. It's gonna be super important when you're treating patients. Imo (super experienced on this point so please listen to me) patients may end up dying due to your lack of orgo knowledge. Do not take it lightly as this is life and death. Think that you're saving a patient every time you draw a resonance structure or do proper arrow pushing. Halohydrin epoxide formation will save your patients' lives. And omg good god man do NOT ever, I mean EVER, forget the BP of the 95/5 azeotrope between ethanol and water. You will need this desperately when you are without an anesthetic and have to distill ethanol from that half-empty caprisun juice pouch that has been fermenting in the back of your car for 6 weeks.

I'm sure @cabinbuilder knows all about this stuff as it is absolutely essential to being a good physician. I know this as my advisor told me so. She talks to physicians sometimes and so I cannot doubt this info comes on good authority.