<p>Hey everyone!</p>
<p>I was wondering if i should take organic chem I&II at my local CC through dual enrollment. I'll be taking it for sure when I go to college (premed), but if I take it now at my local CC I figure it'll give me a good foundation. </p>
<p>The problem: I would have to take one less AP class at my school and, possibly, if I get a B, this will affect my college GPA if I stay in-state. I'm not sure if colleges see orgo chem at a CC as rigorous as an AP class. Unfortunately, the instructor at the CC that teaches orgo - the only instructor that teaches orgo - is notorious for failing most students. Few, if any get A's and B's. </p>
<p>But here's what I also thought: Taking one less AP class probably won't be the difference between getting into a top school (dream school is Cornell) since I'll have 14 by end of senior year. And also, if I do get a B, and end up going out-of-state, it won't affect my college GPA and I'll also have a stronger background so that I can get an A at a university. </p>
<p>What would be the best decision?</p>
<p>Consider the following:</p>
<p>a. For medical school purposes, all college courses (including those taken while in high school) count in your GPA. So anything less than a A grade will hurt you for medical school admissions.</p>
<p>b. Medical schools frown on pre-med courses at community colleges, though it may be ok if you take upper division chemistry and/or biochemistry courses at your four year school.</p>
<p>c. Medical schools frown on repeating courses.</p>
<p>I see two questions here:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Impact on UG college admissions.</p></li>
<li><p>Impact on med school admissions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ll address #2, and you should go to the Premed Topics forum and use the Search function for community college to get further information.</p>
<p>First, med schools can have a bias against prerequisites taken at a CC. Second, while the CC course may not affect your HS gpa, it WILL be counted for your med school gpa, most importantly, your science gpa. Go to the AMCAS website and you will see that ALL college coursework, no matter where or when it was taken, is counted. AND there is no grade replacement for retaking a class (they calculate with both grades). So if there’s ANY chance that you won’t do well in the class, you shouldn’t take it now. There is absolutely no urgency in taking it this early, most premeds take it soph year; as a matter of fact, you may want to take it closer to when you sit the MCAT.</p>
<p>x-posted w/ucbalumnus</p>
<p>Don’t take the organic chemistry class without having taken a rigorous college level (Not AP) chemistry class. Organic chemistry is a wonderful subject, but it takes totally new skills and abilities, and just assumes you know chemistry. You need to really understand acids and bases, because this understanding will be assumed when they move into nonaqueous solutions. The thermodynamics you learned in general chemistry is used to predict equilibria, charge distribution will predict reaction rates, and you need to be fast at drawing Lewis structures. You will expand your understanding of electronic structures, and apply this knowledge. The list goes on. There is a reason that O-chem is the weedout course for med school.</p>
<p>I would argue, in contrast to horacio79’s point, that a strong, rigorous AP Chemistry class would be entirely sufficient for Organic Chemistry. It requires a good knowledge of general chemistry, which an AP class is entirely capable of providing.</p>