Organic Chemistry

[All_star]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a physics major ( =D ), however I did not take any 2nd year organic chemistry courses. I took mostly general sciences in 1st year (biology, chemistry, and physics) so I do have the rereqs for I believe 5/6 ontario med schools. I was just wondering how much organic chemistry will I have to learn on my own to do the MCAT. In 1st year general chemistry we did have a whole unit for organic chemistry so I am familiar with the basics. Just wanted some input into how much time/ resources is required and if it is doable.

 

Thanks!

[HBP]

Very doable, just get an MCAT prep book and you should be fine (EK is acceptable).

[ChexMix]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a physics major ( =D ), however I did not take any 2nd year organic chemistry courses. I took mostly general sciences in 1st year (biology, chemistry, and physics) so I do have the rereqs for I believe 5/6 ontario med schools. I was just wondering how much organic chemistry will I have to learn on my own to do the MCAT. In 1st year general chemistry we did have a whole unit for organic chemistry so I am familiar with the basics. Just wanted some input into how much time/ resources is required and if it is doable.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. Plan to write in Summer of 2010! May be interested in some Used Resources in the Toronto/Vaughan or in Hamilton near McMaster area.

 

 

I am assuming you are talking about the chemistry course at mac, I go to mcmaster as well and I took the same course (chemistry 1aa3?). Personally I found that unit did not go over the basics well enough at all. Like others said, it is definitely doable to write the mcat without taking orgo, but it requires a lot of time and effort. I wrote the mcat without taking orgo, and I spent about a month in my study schedule going over the basics of orgo, doing any practice or extra material I could find. I practice drawing those structures and diagrams like studying for a real course.

 

You might not need to go through all that, but I am just saying you need to really put in the efforts to go over the basics. The difficult thing about orgo is that you have to learn the language. If your basics are solid, you can understand any reaction. And you won't need to memorize them as much. So practice practice practice!

 

In my opinion, EK is not enough for basics. You need TPR, or berkeley review. However, EK 1001 can be helpful though.

[thereisnotry]

I hadn't taken orgo since 1998, and was able to relearn the orgo I needed from Kaplan and EK audio osmosis in a couple of weeks while working full time. I easily got a 12 on the bio section, and found the orgo passages I got straightforward.

It's basic, basic orgo on the MCAT. Not even everything that we covered in the first semester orgo class at McGill was on the MCAT. You probably don't need to take a class, unless you're one of those unfortunate souls who just doesn't get organic chemistry.

Good luck!

[All_star]

Thanks for the information. Yeah I plan to just borrow an organic textbook from a friend and just learn the basics and what not on my own. It should be easy if I do it during the summer when I have no classes. I forgot to check back this thread because i saved it as a favourites then reformated my computer lol.