<p>I have an Organic chemistry booking laying around in my room. Is it worth to read it over a month before classes start or would I just be wasting my time because I'd forget most of the material by the time classes roll around?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>no. Spend your time doing other ECs</p>
<p>absolutely not</p>
<p>why not?? yes, you should enjoy your summer, but sit with it for like half an hour a day if you’re not doing anything else. taking time to read something beforehand will give you an edge during the semester…trust me.</p>
<p>Alright, but I just figure if I read the entire book (through once without going back) and being constantly tested in that span, I’d forget most of the material anyways. I can get through the book once again but that’s it. So yeah, just pointless? Will just studying everyday during class time every be sufficient for an A? </p>
<p>And I work two jobs – sales associates and lifeguard.</p>
<p>I’ve tried doing this and it was pointless. You don’t know which chapters your professor will cover, and you don’t know if your professor will even teach lectures based on the textbook. And you’ll forget most of the stuff by the time class starts since you’re trying to learn it by yourself.</p>
<p>Have fun, spend time with your friends. Much more important than going thru Orgo. Why you want to torture yourself in a summer? D. did not take single summer class, let alone looking thru material for her future classes. Seems to be such a waste of precious time.</p>
<p>I think it’s VERY strange to see people here equate LEARNING with TORTURE. Isn’t learning the whole point?</p>
<p>OP, if you have the time, why not. I looked over an old text my father used, the summer before I took orgo. I got an A+ in both Orgo I and II. I don’t know if these things were related, but who knows. </p>
<p>But DO have a fun summer.</p>
<p>Plumazul,</p>
<p>The reason people phrase it that way is because most of the people asking questions like this are not actually interested in learning the material but instead are trying to increase the odds of getting an A in the course.</p>
<p>Alright, that’s what I thought guys. It’s pretty pointless since I don’t even know what the professor will cover and since I’ll only be going through the book once due to time, it’s pretty much pointless.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys!</p>
<p>@Brown, I hope I never become so cynical and that I never assume such cynicism in others by default. :(</p>
<p>Only worth it if you actually enjoy learning chemistry. If you’re going to be reading anything, at least study the first 5 chapters and get them down, so you’ll be ahead of the other peeps in class.</p>
<p>Suggest learning these topics ahead of time:
Basic nomenclature of alkanes/alkenes
Functional groups nomenclature and IR positions
Stereochemistry: R/S, E/Z, fisher projections/stair conformation
SN1 reactions and SN2 reactions & learn what it means to “push electrons”.</p>
<p>That should keep you busy for a while and if you understand those concepts, you should be good for beginning orgo.</p>
<p>There’s some youtube videos that cover the topics if you get confused/bored and need a real human to tell you about it.</p>
<p>plumazul,
" think it’s VERY strange to see people here equate LEARNING with TORTURE. Isn’t learning the whole point?"</p>
<p>-You are very unique if you feel that Orgo is NOT a torture. Congrats!! However, you are underestimating the fact that while you are learning your Orgo, you are NOT learning something else, like how to be a good friend. You cannot be at 2 places at the same moment of time. That is why normally school is off for a summer. Because growing human beings need to learn something other than Orgo’s in their lives. That something other will be crucial in a future life, working or not, MD or somebody else. Later, you will not have your summers off, you will not have this chance. D. had straight A’s anyway, she has never studied in a summer, neither she is genius. She has worked hard during school year, had tons of EC’s, normal college life. She relaxed, had fun with friends and did few EC’s in her summers. You are not a robot, you need a down time. Enjoy while it lasts, you will be sorry later if you do not.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, why can’t learning be fun? What if you take classes with a group of friends? What if you meet your future girlfriend/boyfriend while studying together? Isn’t being an organic chemist vs being a good friend a false dichotomy?</p>
<p>onhcetum, I don’t think you would completely forget the material because you would be reminded of it again in a few weeks. At least you would be laying the foundation for mastery by building the neural connections in your hippocampus for later use during the whole year, for MCAT, for biochem… maybe your whole life.</p>
<p>Absolutely useless. You’re not going to retain very much and you have no idea what to even study. Use your summer time for more important/fun things.</p>
<p>After relaxing over a month, S1 just started a summer research training program with a research group in the school where he will be a freshman. He is the only undergraduate student in the group and was given a few papers to study on the first day. Even with the help from the graduate students in the group, he will have to study a lot on his own during the next six weeks. So far, he and other freshmen in the program seem to enjoy the after hours together. But, he needs to work hard and take advantage of the opportunity. Otherwise, he may get kicked out of the laboratory after the summer.</p>
<p>chillt,
“MiamiDAP, why can’t learning be fun?”
-I have never said that learning is NOT fun. I myslef went to school until I was 40, although working full time as professional since 19 and having family. I only said, that Orgo is not fun for most people. I also said that summers during UG years meant to be spent outside of academics. It is crucial during to spend enough time with friends, do vadious EC’s and just relax. You will not have this chances later on in your life. Appreciate this opportunity.
Went to D’s white coat ceremony yesterday. The most impressive event! One of the speakers - Chief of Staff Emeritus told us story during his speach. It was not a story about how he saved some life. It was a story about how he could not save this one life but has helped the person to feel better during the last half hour of her life. He hold her hand and sang her a song and he saw on her face that it calmed her down and made her at peace and she was ready to be surrounded by her family. It was very touchy, apparently he was very proud of the difference that he was able to make. This type of connection to another human being is not learned in a classroom or reading textbooks. It could only be developed thru spending time with others during growing period of your life.</p>