"That pre-med orgo thing"...why?

[velo]

The post freaking out about organic chem grades got me thinking, and I think its a topic that deserves its own discussion...

I really wonder sometimes how this myth about the importance of orgo grades gets perpetuated. Organic chemistry, while important for understanding biochemical concepts, is probably one of the less useful classes in terms of preparing you to learn medicine. Classes I'd rank above it in terms of 'utility' would be, lets see...biology, physiology, biochemistry, physics (very useful indeed actually), neuroscience, general chemistry (for acid-base if nothing else), statistics, the list goes on...Things I learned in those courses I've used in medical school, but I can't think of one example of something that was covered exclusively in orgo that I needed to know in med school thus far...what's more I speak with members of our admissions committee regularly and I've never once heard them express any particular interest in orgo grades specifically.

So the course material isn't directly relevant for medical school, and I don't think adcoms really value the orgo grade above other grades...so what's the deal?

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[MarzMD]

I dont think premeds rationalize the importance because of its relevance in the future. Instead, some are led to believe that adcoms look at the orgo grade because it is more reflective of how well you will do in med school(since orgo requires so much memorization and application of knowledge)

 

[quideam]

Yeah, i think that's true - orgo really isn't very useful (maybe a few reactions here and there, that's about it), but it's probably one of the "hardest" (in terms of really thinking, and synthesizing information) pre-med classes out there. But certainly a "bad" orgo grade wont' kill you, so long as it's at least a C and all of your other grades are impressive. If you want, take some additional upper-level science courses, like biochem, or histology, etc., and do really well in them to show that you can handle 'advanced' material.

 

[Law2Doc]

The post freaking out about organic chem grades got me thinking, and I think its a topic that deserves its own discussion...

I really wonder sometimes how this myth about the importance of orgo grades gets perpetuated. Organic chemistry, while important for understanding biochemical concepts, is probably one of the less useful classes in terms of preparing you to learn medicine. Classes I'd rank above it in terms of 'utility' would be, lets see...biology, physiology, biochemistry, physics (very useful indeed actually), neuroscience, general chemistry (for acid-base if nothing else), statistics, the list goes on...Things I learned in those courses I've used in medical school, but I can't think of one example of something that was covered exclusively in orgo that I needed to know in med school thus far...what's more I speak with members of our admissions committee regularly and I've never once heard them express any particular interest in orgo grades specifically.

So the course material isn't directly relevant for medical school, and I don't think adcoms really value the orgo grade above other grades...so what's the deal?

None of the prereqs are all that useful in med school, beyond very minor background. You could likely get by without the majority of the college sciences. Orgo is focused on because it is the "premed breaker", the hurdle at which the largest chunk of premeds crash and burn.

 

[sscooterguy]

I always thought the orgo grade was important because it was a relatively hard class compared to bio. I also think ortho is pretty useless too. I think biochem is much more important, and medical biochem at that (I have realized that when topics are prefaced with the term "medical", it usually connotes a more generalized or abbreviated version).
I personally never excelled in orgo, but I didn't do horrible either. Straight B's. Don't think it hurt my chances of getting in, I'm sure it didn't help me in med school either.
sscooterguy

 

[Rogue_Leader]

I don't think it's a be all end all course, but from my experience it could be considered a fairly important course. I got straight B's in orgo (my school didn't do plus or minuses, just straight letter grades). Of 26 schools I applied to, I got 13 interviews (all of which I went to), I had 2 acceptances, 2 waitlists leading to acceptances, 8 waitlists leading to rejection, and 1 interview leading to rejection. GPA was 3.8, MCAT was 32 R. Take from that what you will.

 

[Boxsterluv]

My orgo prof said that orgo is important because it teaches you to think; that is, you have to understand the concepts and "learn" something, instead of just memorize then regurgitate on the test. It makes sense, I guess..

 

[Law2Doc]

My orgo prof said that orgo is important because it teaches you to think; that is, you have to understand the concepts and "learn" something, instead of just memorize then regurgitate on the test. It makes sense, I guess..

Then it teaches you exactly the opposite of the approach that would be useful for a typical med school class.

 

[21JumpStreet]

I found organic chem to be somewhat helpful for biochemistry. That's just me though.

 

[run4boston]

My orgo prof said that orgo is important because it teaches you to think; that is, you have to understand the concepts and "learn" something, instead of just memorize then regurgitate on the test. It makes sense, I guess..

o-chem is closest to a med school course in the volume and variety of information that has to be learned. if you sink there, med school won't be any easier.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

My gf just decided to go pre-med (for about the 3rd time) but this time she's serious. She claims many med schools onlyu require one semester of orgo. Do you think that will hurt her?

 

[DrBowtie]

My gf just decided to go pre-med (for about the 3rd time) but this time she's serious. She claims many med schools onlyu require one semester of orgo. Do you think that will hurt her?

Tell her to be careful. Some will substitute a semester of Biochem for Orgo 2.
I dunno which is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Tell her to be careful. Some will substitute a semester of Biochem for Orgo 2.
I dunno which is the lesser of the two evils.

yea that's what she was planning on doing. Se did check out requirements of some random schools.

 

[deuist]

Just do the two semesters and be done with it.

 

[aparecida]

Oh, how I wish I had done biochem instead of orgo II. I found orgo II to be difficult and complicated and utterly useless. I am sure I would have also found biochem to be difficult and complicated, but at least that would have helped me some in my current biochem class.

Yes, I am finding organic useful in biochem, but only the stuff from orgo I, and only slightly (nomenclature, structures, and things like the TCA cycle and b-ox).

 

[kayakgirl]

I'm a little different because I was an arts major undergrad and did a one year postbac program, but I found orgo useful because I had never had to memorize and apply so much complex information that made no sense to me before-- a skill that I utilize often in medical school. So it was a good predictor of the intensity of courses to come.

And it's a little applicable to pharmacology and biochem. And makes some of my current classes feel real easy.

 

[Blake]

Funny, Orgo I and II were the easiest courses for me in college. I think it's a bit similar to some of the material we learn in medical school, because it involves a lot of pure memorization coupled with an understanding of basic concepts. I'm not good with words, but you get the point. The same can't be said for physics (*smiles because I'm never touching it again*)