<p>I'm currently a freshman who is curious about how doable it'd be to do a year's worth of Chem in a summer. I want to take organic chem next year, but I'd have to wait until my junior year if I waited. I'm considering pre-med, which is why I'd prefer to tackle the requirements before my sophomore year. Do you think it'd be manageable? I'm stuck at an impasse right now. I feel like I could do it if I applied myself, but at the same time, it is a year's worth of material...</p>
<p>I've struggled with gen chem as it is, and I was at the top of my class in high school chem. I'm pre-vet--I don't mind taking organic sophomore year. I'd rather do well in chem while I take the whole year of it than fail because I couldn't keep up with the complex material that was thrown at me within a few weeks during a summer course.</p>
<p>Plus, gen chem II is (at least at my school) a precursor for organic chem, so if you don't understand it, you're going to struggle with organic.</p>
<p>Gen Chem I and II covers a lot of ground and doing well (not just getting an "A", but thoroughly understanding the material) is critical to understanding O-Chem. As to whether you should compress 2 semesters of Gen Chem into the summer session, I wouldn't try it unless you feel you have a very strong background in HS Chem and want to devote many hours to study and homework problems in a relatively short period of time.</p>
<p>No chance in hell unless you devote your life to chemistry during that summer. It actually depends though. If your professor spoon feeds you everything then it won't be that bad but if it's one of those classes where you're expected to handle things yourself then it will be hell. Don't forget the labs either, they take up massive quantities of time.</p>
<p>It's very possible to take a year's worth of chemistry over the summer. Just think about it: the summer is just as long as a regular semester, and during the semester you'll take 4-5 classes at a time. So you are effectively taking only 2 classes instead of 4 during the summer.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters though that summer courses, especially lab sciences, assume that you are devoted full-time to the course. Don't be surprised to spend all day in the lab or doing problem sets.</p>