<p>Has anyone taken Organic Structure?</p>
<p>I took AP Chem junior year and got a four. </p>
<p>I want to know the pros and cons on taking this special course for freshman over General Chem and the difference between this and Sophomore Organic Chemistry.</p>
<p>I took it, it was very good. I recommend it as gen. chem is very dry and boring to a person who has AP credit. Soria’s class is kind of hard It’s harder than most sophomore sections. Dr. W beats it first semester, but is on par or easier than Soria second semester. Despite this, bonus points and a smaller environment will make for what may be a higher grade if you work hard enough, but it’s really good. You get to learn in a much smaller, more supportive environment than either gen. chem or sophomore orgo. The student-teacher interactions are superior and much more conducive to effective learning and a possibility for a solid recommendation from him and a generally good relationship w/a faculty member who cares about your future even after the course (Soria is really accessible and can provide great advice). The only con is that if you are pre-med, you will need to take another inorganic w/lab since you skipped 141 and 142. Ideally, it’ll be 260 w/lab which really shouldn’t be hard, so no problem.<br>
Also, beware of Soria first semester. He tricks you by making the first 2 exams pretty easy (except that exam 2 normally has one pretty tough part, but it’s only 25-35% of the grade and it tells you how he’ll tests from then on), and then exam 3 and 4 tough, with 4 being significantly tougher then exam 3. However, he knows you’ll have a learning curve on his final (the final for both semesters are pretty bad, but the 2nd semester one is much worse) so he lets you go into the 1st semester final w/any bonus points you have left over (you know provided exam 3 doesn’t kill them). Exam 3 just depends on how he feels that year. If he’s annoyed, he’ll make it harder than normal. Like last year’s was pretty tough (the toughest I’ve seen, a bit tougher than when I took it).<br>
Back to Pro side: You can take Soria’s lab (yes, he runs his own orgo. lab section) which is significantly easier and more laid back than the 221/222 lab. It’s more of a go w/the flow, do you your research and perform experiments type lab as opposed to being “by the rules” and “cookbook” style chem. lab and subsequently grading is less harsh (in fact it is very easy grading and he very often cancels lab. Given that, you have more time for lecture prep.).<br>
Also, Soria fosters a lot more group activities to build community. For example, on bonus point quizzes, you’ll pair up to do it. He’ll also sometimes have things like a “girls vs. boys” bonus point activity where he’ll present a really difficult problem and have about 3 girls and 3 dudes go down to board and work on it (He’ll also play volleyball or basketball on a team of upperclassmen vs. the freshmen class for bonus points. He’s athletic. Note that these “fluff”, community building bonus points are essentially neutralized by his finals for most). The first to finish w/a viable answer wins. Also, this is a very common practice in Soria’s class: To have students come down to the board to attempt to answer difficult problems. This is unique and you won’t really see it in any other science courses. Again, it’s a very unique environment where you will learn a lot (he introduces lots of current research and special topics in class). It’s worth the difficulty (you will probably get no lower than a B first semester anyway, so little risk).
I say try it the first semester. If you feel uncomfortable/don’t do well. Pursue sophomore organic chemistry options (students are allowed to switch from Soria to other sophomore sections). I just don’t recommend Dr. Weinschenk if you switch w/below a B because Dr. W’s class is just as intense, but is a much less supportive environment even though he is a great teacher (he fosters a pretty good environment, but there are limits due to the size). If you do not want to continue w/organic second semester, you are allowed to go back down to 142 as you still have the 141 AP credit. I’m basically saying try it it.<br>
*Oh please note that you need to take meticulous notes in his class because he tends not “rehash” material as much and moves at a more random/not fluid pace. He isn’t as organized as his very talented counterpart, Weinschenk, who plans out the topics of his lectures. Soria essentially lectures what he finds relevant at the time. Given this, Soria doesn’t follow the book as much and certain jumps around w/topics and tends to present more complex topics (he also tends to provide exceptions to rules a lot, so watch out for it, you’ll see it on exams in a very obscure forms) in class (as oppose to the basic stuff in the book which you still need to read on your own if you want to get the advanced stuff), whereas W. does relatively simple stuff (at least compared to exam content) in class, and expects a more rigorous understanding on the exams/on problem sets. Soria exposes you to advanced material before the exam so you kind of expect it on harder exams and get used to the type of thinking he expects on harder exams (whereas in W., you get the advanced understanding moreso on your own). You’ll basically start learning how to think out of the box in class before you tackle his problems which will starting at exam 3 require stretches of imagination. Both methods (worth comparing because both are rigorous profs. w/ different styles) are effective.<br>
And make sure that you actually make a viable attempt to answer questions when he calls on you in class. If a large portion or group of students begin to reply “I don’t know” or get an attitude, he’ll get annoyed and punish you w/the exams and you won’t see it coming. He’s really big on generating his “big, happy, community of intellectuals”. If a few try to ruin it, the whole class will suffer. </p>
<p>This is as detailed as I’ll get here (clearly very lol).</p>
<p>If you have any reservations or questions: PM me. He’ll probably also be at a booth during orientation in August, so you should discuss the course w/him.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great reply, Bernie12. </p>
<p>I am strongly considering the course now. Do you have any advice on how I can prepare for this class before school starts this fall?</p>
<p>Just don’t prep. It’s not worth it. Again, the first 2 exams are pretty basic. The first exams are essentially things that are review from AP plus some additional stuff. However, he’ll cover that material in his own context so that you have like a 1.5 month (maybe less) refresher. The first two exams are really made to identify really weak students (seriously, if you can’t handle the first two, you will not survive).</p>