CHEM 361/363

[Guest crimson]

Hey folks,

 

Just wanted to know if it's worth upgrading my Organic Chemistry by taking CHEM 361/363. I had a B+ and B in 161 and 163, respectively. For the most part, the mechanisms and concepts seem pretty intuitive, it's just that i was a hair away from the A- cutoff in 161, and just got overwhelmed in 163. How are the profs? The class averages?

 

Thanks.

[Guest juicyprunes]

Hi Crimson,

 

One of the first things that the professor will tell you is that it's not a good idea to take CHEM 361/3 to upgrade your mark in organic chemistry. I am currently taking CHEM 361 as it is a required course for my program. I can tell you that the class is very smart - majority of students are taking this course because a) it's required they love organic chemistry. Only a small fraction of the class is taking it to upgrade their mark and I'm sure that a lot of them have already dropped the course. However, having said that, the material is not as difficult as you'd expect (ie. a lot of the reactions we learn have been covered before). It's the laboratory that provides the most challenge. I'm sure that if you're willing to work hard, then may be able to raise your mark.

 

I hope that helps

 

P.S. I got A- and A in 161/3...I'm probably standing at an A- with VERY little chance of getting anything higher than that.

[Guest coolguy3650]

Meh, I upgraded my mark in Chem 361 and I think others did to. I wonder if the profs just don't like people taking the course just to upgrade and that's why they reccomend against it. Ultimately, though, be prepared to work your butt of.

 

BTW, I got an A in 261, a B+ in 262, and I got an A in 361.

[Guest 0nsp]

I got a 75% at Queen's in Chem 280 (equivalent to Chem 161 & 163) and that converted to a 7.1 on the 9 point scale, or about an A-. When I talked to admissions, they suggested I upgrade that, so I took both Chem 361 and 363, and got A's in both. Taking it over the course of a regular semester (as opposed to summer) slowed things down enough for me to understand and soak in the info. It becomes really intuitive if you understand the basic chemistry concepts (why a specific molecule adopts a certain conformation, or which is the most acidic proton in a given molecule). I actually enjoyed it a lot. However, especially in Chem 361, about half the class is there to upgrade for med, and the other half are all chem majors, so it does get a little tough. And as someone else mentioned, the labs are hell. I would suggest taking it if you are prepared to stay on top of it, and if you think you would be able to better understand. My sister tried upgrading, and got a B or a B+, and so it was a waste of her time.

 

Hope this helps.