Taking Orgo Chem during Undergrad??

[Mila]

Im going into my 2nd year of Undergrad this year and will soon be picking courses for the up coming school year. I just had a question regarding course that should be taken:

 

Do I need to take Orgo chem in order to do well on the MCAT?

 

From what I hear its a very "demanding" course so I was planning on doing it maybe during the summer of my 3rd year of Undergrad (Want to keep my options open for US med schools).. Just to make things easier lol.

 

I know that there are plenty of resources out there (MCAT study courses, books etc.) so I dont know if its worth the effort to take Orgo chem in school before the MCAT ?

 

Side note - some one told me that there isn't much Orgo chem on the MCAT anyways..maybe 2-4 passages max..is this true?

 

Thanks for your opinions!

[Jacques Cartier]

I think that its definitely worth taking before you write. I don't know how you learn, but most of the mcat books assume that you have some basic knowledge on the subject already - you say its a demanding course, but you want to learn it out of an MCAT prep book?

 

In my opinion you'd be wasting time, take the course. Its one of those courses with a pretty low mean grade and a huge standard deviation; meaning that if you study your ass off its straight forward. I didn't even look at the orgo section when I was preping for the MCAT because I understood it so well from class.

[AG22]

Hi Mila,

 

I agree with the above poster. TAKE ORGO. I did not take the course before sitting for my MCAT. I did take a prep course, TPR, thinking that they would teach me everything I needed to know! But boy was I wrong. I ended up doing the worst in the BS section. And sure, orgo is just 2-4 passages, but an understanding of the material wil be so beneficial to you. It could raise your score in the BS! THis summer I am re-writing the MCAT to get a competitive score. And I know that I will not have to "guess" on every reaction in the orgo passages.

 

G'luck,

 

A

[sv3]

TPR. They have a good reference section on stereochemistry (i think its chaper 0 and chapter 1 in their hyperlearning book). I don't have a background in orgo and found the TPR book to be very helpful. If this is the only subject keeping you from writing the mcat you could try that. If your in no rush to take the mcat the course will cut down on your study time later on.

 

sv3

[Quester]

Would you guys advise taking both orgo, while prepping for MCAT during the summer? Is it too challenging?

[Jochi1543]

Would you guys advise taking both orgo, while prepping for MCAT during the summer? Is it too challenging?

 

I think it depends on whether you're doing anything else and what your class schedule will be like. It's possible that you might have to be in class 5 days a week for up to 2 hours a day, and that you might have up to 3 labs a week - which translates into up to 3 lab reports weekly, very likely a weekly exam, and a ton of assignments. That would make MCAT prep difficult - unless you feel like you already have a good background and decent practice scores and won't need to spend too much time reviewing bio or general chem or practicing VR. However, it'll boil down to what your school expects from you in the orgo class. Read the prof's reviews on ratemyprofessor.ca and see if you can find someone who's taken the summer class, so they can tell you what the pace was like.

[AdamP]

Yeah i'd say it really depends on how hard you want to study.

 

Obviously if you have a strong orgo backround it makes for a bit of time saved but it can be done without the class.

 

I know some people who've taken no orgo or bio and scored 36+, rememebr its a critical thinking/reading exam not a science exam.

 

And on that note, the AAMC has been steadly reducing the amount of orgo on the mcat year after year it's now <25% of the BS section

[NewfieMike]

I took 2 organic courses (albeit, required) in my second year. I did not study a page for the MCAT orgo, and doing practice tests looked forward to seeing the O-chem passages for an easy 5-6 q's.

[waterluv]

Depends. I would defnitely take orgo, but think about when you want to take it. If you know that you will do okay & get decent marks, take them during school year prior to the MCAT. But if you are like me and just cannot understand the darned thing then my advice is to take it during the summer to reduce the blow it will have on your GPA.

[Quester]

So is it unwise to take orgo I in 2nd year (during school year), but take part II in second year summer while writing the MCAT? I mean, during the early summer I would study for MCAT, get a job, etc; but starting around mid June/early July, I would take the second orgo, and write my MCAT in August-ish.

 

Is orgo II a direct continuation from part I?

[NewfieMike]

So is it unwise to take orgo I in 2nd year (during school year), but take part II in second year summer while writing the MCAT? I mean, during the early summer I would study for MCAT, get a job, etc; but starting around mid June/early July, I would take the second orgo, and write my MCAT in August-ish.

 

Is orgo II a direct continuation from part I?

 

it wasn't for us.

 

Our Orgo I was all concepts of stability, followed by mechanisms and a thorough description of shape filling models.

 

Orgo II was spec., more mechanisms and synthesis up the ying yang

[thatonekid]

Is orgo II a direct continuation from part I?

You should look at could school's course calender. It will tell you if it's a continuation of part 1 or not. My orgo 2 was a simple continuation from orgo 1, but as NewfieMike pointed out, his was 2 different classes. Every university is different.

[Quester]

So if it IS a continuation, it would be pretty stupid to take them seperately, eh?

[ontariostudent]

So if it IS a continuation, it would be pretty stupid to take them seperately, eh?

 

If you're planning to take the first half in second year, I would plan to continue the second half then too. That way, if you find that it's more manageable than you expected, you can just continue on and get it done. However, if you find it really difficult, you can always postpone part 2. Organic chemistry takes a lot of effort, but it's definitely doable. I took it in second year and it probably helped my GPA, since it helped me work hard in all my courses.

 

Don't be so afraid- it's a course like any other. Chances are that it's marked on a curve like every other course (at least mine was) and you just have to worry about beating the rest of the class in order to do well : ). It was probably one of my highest marks in university, and the course definitely helped me prepare for the MCAT (even though I took the course a few years before I took the MCAT). Have the attitude that you'll manage, and you might be pleasantly surprised. If not, plan B- take the second half in the summer.

[Retsage]

I didn't take it and I did fine. Know yourself, though. If you need the structure of the class - tests to keep you studying, a professor to make the material clear - then take it. If you can set a studying pace and learn well from books on your own, save yourself the stress.

[Quester]

thank you all;)