Sundance Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'm going to apologize in advance for the lengthy and possibly confusing nature of this post. That said, here's my situation: I'm something of a non-traditional applicant in that I returned to university after completing my undergraduate degree in order to fulfill the course prerequisite requirements for gaining admission to medical school. No problem there really, except for the way my schedule had to be arranged (and the school I was taking classes at) did not allow me to take a full year of organic chemistry. From what I can tell, organic chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan (where I did my undergrad and my prereq courses) is done a bit differently than most other schools. Instead of teaching the basics (nomenclature, stereochemistry, acid and base reactions, spectroscopy, alkanes, etc.) in the first semester and building on that material to study more complex reactions in the second semester, the U of S introductory o-chem course touches upon the entire spectrum of reactions that is covered in nearly every other full year course I've read about (starting at the basics mentioned above and moving up through reactions of the various functional groups). Of course, in order to do this in one semester they have to omit certain material (such as any mention of spectroscopic techniques, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids), and probably tone down the coverage on other topics. The problem I'm having is in deciding what to do about taking another organic chemistry course in order to fulfill the requirement that I have a full year of o-chem. Of course I can't find a one-semester course that covers all of the material that my previous coursework missed (that would be far too convenient), so I'm stuck having to choose to either: a) take a first-half introductory course to get the material on spectroscopy that I've missed (although I have my doubts if I'd even get credit for taking another first-half year course) take a second-half introductory course because another first-half course probably wouldn't look good on my transcript, even though it means missing out on the material on spectroscopy c) bite the bullet and take a full year of o-chem and grind through a lot of material that I've already covered to get a little bit that I haven't d) some other option that YOU might have for me Wow, was that ever a hand-full...If anyone has any advice for me on what route I should take to satisfy the requirements, please let me know; I'd REALLY appreciate it! I'm going to see if the Admissions office has any advice for me, but I don't have a lot of luck getting useful answers when I do that. Thanks for your patience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arctic_monkey Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hey there, Lol...that wasn't complex at all ... But I have some suggestions for you that you might want to look into. I know that at the University of Alberta, they have a condensed organic (it combines Organic Chem material from both semesters into a short period of time) - so that is something to look into as I believe it gives you credit but I'm not 100% sure... Also, I'm sure you know that not every school needs Org Chem as a prereq...but if you are doing this cuz U of A is ur #1 choice or just to be on the safe side so u can apply to lots of schools, that's cool too... Athabasca University is an online school - they might be worth looking into...one of my friends repeated the second semester Organic course through Athabasca and said it was much easier... I'm not sure if this is 100% correct but the schools you apply to just want to see if you have a full year of Org Chem (ie. 2 semesters) so if you already have the one course, and then have to take another half-year course, I don't see a problem with that really. And if a lot is overlap, you will ace the course so even better right? Is there an Advanced Organic course that builds further on the course you took? Would you be willing to take that? Hopefully these suggestions helped. Best of luck! P.S. I absolutely hated organic! Worst course of my entire undergrad ...the next in line is Biochem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luc_cervelo Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Coming over to the Dark Side of Alberta, I see. Very classy! I CAN advise! I feel special OK: I'm guessing you took Chem 250 (in Saskatchewan)? If not, that's the general introductory course...The required second course of O-chem is 255. It IS Bio-Organic, but the Spectroscopy course you're looking at (either 353 or 342 - 342 is lasers and spectroscopy so I'm guessing you're looking at the organic side of it) is going to be 353. 353 is a GREAT class (loved it) but I'm afraid it hasn't a lab component. You need a lab component, ... I think. If it's not necessary for AB, I know it's necessary for application to other Canadian schools. BTW, 255 also covers spectroscopy to supplement the wee bit o' spectroscopy you learn in 250. It's enough - more than enough for some people. Other than that, Athabasca is a good way to go if you hate Chem, or if you really can't fit it into your schedule. You'll have to check with the Arts+Sci general office before you take it though - some courses don't transfer to U of S. I don't know which ones. I just know (from stories) that U of S is a bit of a stickler on their courses. If you have other questions, PM me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundance Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Hi arctic_monkey and luc_cervelo, Thank you both very much for your replies, I'm really impressed with how helpful everyone on this forum is! The more I look into it, the more I'm leaning towards taking this course through Athabasca's distance learning. I'm trying to get away from Saskatoon for a while (I've spent 5 years there and a break would be nice!), and it would be nice to see what some of our other lovely cities in western Canada are like. If the U of A will accept Athabasca's courses that just might be the ticket. I'd still be able to continue working, and with any luck I'll be in Edmonton anyway come time to do the lab portion of the course. Hopefully I can get a straight answer from the admissions office regarding that. Thanks again for all of your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I took Orgo through Athabasca, it was a pretty good experience, although you definitely need to be very self-motivated. However, I was able to get an A+ in both sections of the course. I had also taken a semester of Orgo elsewhere before, and did miserably (D+ AND had no freaking clue about what was going on). In contrast, I actually enjoyed studying on my own, and I liked the AU textbook (McMurry) a lot more than the textbook I used at the other uni (Sorrell). Now I feel like I actually understand orgo and find it enjoyable. Not to say I didn't have to memorize a ton of reactions or do a lot of extra practice problems in order to get the A+, but you'll have that at any uni. EDIT: and yes, U of A accepts Athabasca orgo (as well as other courses) for pre-reqs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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