<p>Is it wise to take it over the summer? Some students have told dd that summer is the best time! I tend to disagree but wanted advice from others. Doesn't slow & steady win the race in this instance? </p>
<p>Generally speaking, not a good idea to take OChem over the summer. </p>
<p>Biggest issue: crams a lot of complex material into a very short period which doesn’t offer much chance to “digest” the material or to recover from a poor quiz/test. This is a class where it’s incredibly easy to get left behind quickly.</p>
<p>Some other reasons: Summer classes often truncate material to fit into a summer session. Student is only taking 1 class at a time–which doesn’t demonstrate to adcomms that the student is capable of juggling multiple difficult classes at once (a skill needed in med school). Competition for grades in summer classes is perceived to be less strenuous than in regular semester classes (could devalue an A or make a B or C look even worse to adcomms). </p>
<p>Acceptable reasons to take summer OChem: late decision to do pre-med and the student needs to “catch up” with pre-reqs before graduation; need to take Ochem ASAP so student can take more advanced chem classes.</p>
<p>Thanks. I appreciate your advice. I will discuss this with DD over the holidays. She also needs to understand that everyone’s set of circumstances are different and what applies to their lives won’t bode well for hers.</p>
<p>I would recommend not doing it over the summer. You really need a full year to digest the material and get behind all of the abstract thinking and reasoning (plus a summer with nothing but organic would be incredibly miserable IMO, and this is from someone who loved organic)</p>
<p>If she is majoring in chem or biochem, they may not accept credits from a summer program. If she is taking this to fulfill pre-med requirements but not as part of a major, then she could do it, but it’s really not recommended. Organic is a very special beast and really needs proper time to absorb, and is critical to so many courses she will take later. It MIGHT be easier over the summer - but it may come back to haunt her later on.</p>
<p>OK. Sounds like everyone is on the side not taking it! Just as I expected. </p>
<p>Besides the reasons already stated, it is best if summers are used for other things such as research or volunteering.</p>
<p>I really appreciate everyone’s input. I’m trying to let her UG experience be her own. I was very involved in hs & want to give her the space she needs now. But when she tells me that her college buddies are giving her advice that doesn’t sound kosher, my radar goes up. </p>
<p>How do I bring this up without being a pain in the ass?</p>
<p>Suggest that she ask a chemistry professor or her pre-med adviser if this is a good idea. </p>
<p>If your kidlet is as stubborn as mine were, you’re telling anything her will do zero good. She needs to research this for herself.</p>
<p>Here’s what I’d suggest–</p>
<p>1) tell her she needs to talk with her pre-health advisor at her college. (It’s their job to know this stuff. And bonus, the advice isn’t coming from Mom.)</p>
<p>2) have her read these posts by Ochem instructors who lay out the pros/cons of summer Ochem.</p>
<p><a href=“http://leah4sci.com/organic-chemistry-summer-survival-tips/”>http://leah4sci.com/organic-chemistry-summer-survival-tips/</a>
<a href=“Full Year or Summer? - OChem Tutor”>http://ochemtutor.com/wp/full-year-or-summer/</a></p>
<p>Also remind her there is no single successful path to med school. (I have 2 med student daughters–and their journeys could not have been more different!) She needs to do what works for her. Some students thrive on the intense pressure that is a summer class; most don’t. Remind your D she needs to be honest with herself about her abilities, her preparation, her willingness to commit to do the very hard work and her reasons for taking Ochem in the summer. </p>
<p>I appreciate the links. I will pass them on to her. </p>
<p>@WayOutWestMom,</p>
<p>DD & I spent a little time together yesterday, I brought up the subject of organic chemistry gently & discussed the pro’s & cons of taking it over the summer. She listened & agreed! Go figure! I sent the links to her last night. I hope she ultimately makes a good decision about the class. Thanks again. :)</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters and would reiterate that summers can be used for such better things than required classes! Research. Internship. Study abroad. Service trip. Conference. Vacation. Cool job. Boring job. Language immersion. </p>
<p>Another thing to think about is this: premeds are ALWAYS looking for ways to “game the system.” News flash, adcomms are not idiots. They know the tricks. This is literally their life’s work during every single admission cycle. They are not some silly pencil pushing dummies. They see straight through the “Oh I’ll pull a fast one on them and…”</p>
<p>I think you should encourage your D to take classes that she thinks will be stimulating and interesting and challenging. If she wants to take summer O chem to have an easier professor/shorter course/nothing else to distract her/she thinks she would do better, those are probably bad reasons. If she’s taking O chem 1 in the summer so she can take Ochem 2 and Ochem 3 during the following school year, then maybe that’s a different story, and I’d probably be ok with it.</p>
<p>Another school of thought (which I personally subscribe to) is that inevitably, there will be some “dings” against your application. Some of these “dings” are relatively outside your control. In my opinion, it is wise to avoid the avoidable “dings” so that when other “dings” occur, you don’t actually have “dings” accumulating. Some adcomms probably view summer prereqs as a “ding,” which would be enough for me personally to avoid it. All about minimizing risk here.</p>
<p>(Similar rationale to people who pay to have traffic tickets fixed–you don’t want those points accumulating against your record if you can avoid it somehow, but in the end, it’s a lot easier/less painful to obey the speed limit than it is to do some damage control down the road.) </p>
<p>I agree @kristin5792. DD has allowed her college buddies to get into her head & scare her about OC. It brings me back to the first day of her freshman year in HS. She comes home, throws herself on the couch in the throes of exasperation. Her issue? Everyone told the freshman the required Latin I class was THE WORST CLASS ever. Everyone flunks out, and her teacher, a very strict German teacher was the meanest, most horrible man on earth.</p>
<p>Well guess what? She fell in love with the class, was one of his top students and she absolutely adored him!!! Yes, he was very strict and had high expectations but dd was a disciplined student and thrived. So much so that her major from very early on? The Classics. </p>
<p>So I think this chemistry class will be in the same vein. If she avoids the negative voices and works hard, she will do just fine. </p>
<p>I’ve learned early on not to listen to others when it comes to difficulty of the class. When my son was going into freshman year of HS everyone was telling him that he’s crazy for taking all the honors classes that it would be too hard. And everyone had different advice. Don’t take honors math or don’t take honors history. But every student is different and no one can really give you advice on how well you will do in a course. He’s a junior in college and when people tell him not to take a certain class because it’s too hard or the teacher is too mean I remind him of the freshman year in HS. It’s great to listen to advice and people’s experiences but then you should make your own conclusion based on your own abilities. </p>
<p>@momworried </p>
<p>I agree. I didn’t think of that day/experience until this morning. I will remind her of that the next time we chat. DD has always been the type of kid to second guess herself. Even when she is flourishing. Her own worst critic. </p>