Organic Chemistry 1020 with Professor Mayan (June 2017-October 2017)
I finally finished my class with a B. I will say that I only got it due to the curve at the end and working through the problems in the chapters. I made the worst mistake of trying to study for the MCAT, take this class, and move across the country all at the same time. Worst mistake of my life, but I think I still got a pretty decent grade with all things considered. I also waited until September to start studying for the course, so that took a toll as well.
First Half and Midterm
The first half was slightly difficult, but manageable. I did the best on this part of the course. I read the chapters and did the homework for each. The book explained the concepts very well in my opinion and it helped me to connect together a lot of info I came across when I studied for the chem/phys section of the MCAT. I did okay on the midterm. I did not take as many notes, so I mostly used my book and printed out quizzes for this part and took other posters' advice on skipping the lectures.
Second Half and Final
The second half was so much more difficult for me. There were so many different reactions with each functional group. I felt overwhelmed! I was working full time and trying to finish up the second half in the only three-ish weeks that I had left. I definitely recommend making a quick reference/glossary of each functional group with its reactions and the substances used in the reactions. It would have saved me so much time and I would have had much more points if I would have consolidated all of it together. Plus, a much more in-depth understanding and more practice would have helped me as well, but that is neither here nor there now. For the exam, I had my notes, my book, printed quizzes, and a word document that I printed out with tidbits I found helpful from stuff I found online while studying and doing the homework. My book was my best resource but it also took more time away from me. I created a table of contents for the midterm and final to help me quickly find certain topics in the book during the test.
Biggest Takeaway
The class was much more difficult than the second semester of organic chem through UNE. I took this class before at my institution, but I did horribly due to missing class from the medical issues I was having at the time. I am glad I took it again through UNE and got a much better understanding of the material. I think the book was wonderful and definitely helped me a lot. I hope I helped answer at least a few people's questions they may have had about the course. I definitely recommend Chegg to help with studying. It had the answers to the book's homework and explanations for the answers, which helped me check my answers and understand why I missed it. It is also helpful with the quizzes.