<p>would it be wise to take organic chemistry the first semester of my freshman year since its the hardest class and first semester grades are covered? so that I could afford to get a C and not hurt my GPA?</p>
<p>If you have any weak spots in general chem you should retake it before orgo.</p>
<p>hmm... i guess i do have some weak spot, but i heard organic chem is purely brutal. wouldn't it be better to get a C first semester of freshman year(or is that impossible with weak spots) as to a B grade the next year(assuming I can't handle the class).</p>
<p>Organic chem and gen chem really don't have that much in common. A lot of material, like electron pushing and reaction mechanisms, isn't covered in general chem. If you feel prepared, go ahead. I took organic chem as a freshman (at Duke, not JHU), and I was glad to get it out of the way. My advice:</p>
<p>1) Use old exams to study for exams.</p>
<p>2) Go to office hours fairly frequently, especially early in the semester. Later in the semester when things get harder, professors prefer to help the people that've come for help before.</p>
<p>3) Learn to write fast (or use notation). </p>
<p>4) Memorize mechanisms, perhaps with a model kit or flashcards. If you understand the concepts, you'll do fine on the exam.</p>
<p>5) Keep up with the work. Do the reading before the class, and definitely do the assigned problems. </p>
<p>6) Go to the chem Help Room if you need help. (not sure if this is offered at JHU)</p>
<p>7) Sign up for tutoring. </p>
<p>8) Get a study group. Don't try to learn orgo by yourself.</p>
<p>i agree with warblers.</p>
<p>General chem focuses more on problem solving and math and numbers. Orgo is more focused on concepts and critical thinking. just be sure to stay on top of things.</p>
<p>Also, the gen. chemistry class here at hopkins wasn't that great. i enjoy orgo a lot more. </p>
<p>chem lab is also a major pain.</p>
<p>hmm so would most ppl recommend me to take organic chem freshman year?</p>
<p>2 questions.</p>
<p>is organic chem only one semester? or a year long class.</p>
<p>Since the first semester grades are covered and only show pass/fail, are those grades still factored into my overall GPA?</p>
<p>I'd have to agree with what warblers and spikedsoymilk said - if you already have credit for Intro Chem, go ahead and take Orgo unless you really don't feel confident about your Gen Chem material.</p>
<p>Orgo at Hopkins is two one-semester classes. Many majors that require Orgo only require one semester, but two semesters + lab are required for medical schools. Also, for the first semester, your professors official report grades to the registrar's office, but the registrar only includes them as a S(atisfactory) or U(nsatisfactory) on your transcript and they don't count towards overall GPA. (However, if you have a GPA-dependent scholarship or something like that, I believe that you still have to meet the same standards first semester)</p>
<p>Hmm to be honest, I not sure if I feel too confident about Intro chem. Btw the time I graduate HS, I'll have finished Adv. Chem and College Chem. I do however want to get Organic chemistry out of the way.</p>
<p>I heard Organic chemistry is the hardest class to get a good grade in so I figured that If I take it my freshman year, it wouldn't hurt my GPA as much.</p>
<p>It's probably a bad idea to decide when you are going to take classes or which classes to avoid based on your gpa. You don't want to do a crappy job in orgo, then get screwed when you have to take the mcat or when you have to use that knowledge later on. If you are ready, take it. If not, wait until you are ready. The last thing you want to do is take orgo before you're ready and fail it. That will show up on your transcript even during the first semester.</p>
<p>hmm so is there a good portion of organic chemistry on the MCAT?</p>
<p>I think the biological science section is a mix of orgo and biology, but maybe someone who has taken the mcat can confirm this. I'm not completely sure about the format.</p>
<p>Organic is covered on the Biological Sciences section. For more info:</p>
<p>Honestly, I dont think Orgo is any harder than the other General Sciences here at Hopkins. Moreover, I think our Orgo professors are better than the Gen. Chem professors. It depends on which professor you get though, since Chemistry is divided into sections. This means that people whose last names are in the beginning of the alphabet will have a certain professor, the rest will have another. In this case, it's really the luck of the draw.</p>
<p>If you consider gen. chem, orgo, and gen. physics, the differences in level of difficulty aren't all that different. Gen bio is really easy and fun, and I highly recommend that class. :)</p>
<p>To answer the original question, I think that if you feel like you have had sufficient preparation in chem, I suggest that you save yourself the headache of taking another painful intro science class and move on. I'm not the most science savvy person out there, and Orgo isnt that bad.</p>
<p>ah interesting to hear. BTW, my last name starts with an La</p>
<p>good or not as good teachers :)</p>
<p>the professors change all the time (and we didnt find out who it was until the first day of class). but for this semester, La s don't get as good professors.</p>
<p>come to the think of it, are you even admitted to hopkins yet???</p>