<p>I've heard that McGill, formerly known as Morkin, hasn't taught Organic Chemistry in about 2 years, so many upperclassmen dont have much feedback to give me. I've heard a lot about Weinschenk- Very challenging, one of the toughest teachers you may ever face, but you will also love his course and love organic chemistry. I don't want my GPA to die, but I also want to learn orgo well. </p>
<p>I know that many students like McGill as a gen chem teacher, but I cant just assume that she will be good for orgo as well, so if anyone has any insight (exam difficulty, lecture style, etc.) , I would really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Just take Weinschenk. The tests are tough, but the curve is soft compared to other profs. in his league of challenge. Morkin teaches orgo. pretty well (Weinschenk is more engaging though), but has kind of low averages without much of a grading curve. I’m sure her grades end up lower than Weinschenk’s despite the exams perhaps being easier. Also, Weinschenk is really over-rated in terms of difficult. The only reason he is known to be difficult is because he gives a part of the exam that is all memorization and basic knowledge (60-70 points are legit freebies if you keep up with the material. This is much better for an average student than Gallivan or Soria’s exams for example, which evolve to have essentially no freebies), and a part that involves application that usually has a couple of fairly difficult problems (usually worth no more than like 8 points). The averages in 221 are usually between 60-75 (same for Morkin), and the people at the mean will usually get a B, plus he’ll bump you up if you show improvement. For example, you could bomb one exam and do well on the others and still be awarded an A even if you dont exactly land there on the grading curve. The key to beating the curve in W’s class is to do more than memorize and try to really understand it. That way, you can get a large part of the second half of the exam correct and score around 80 (which will normally get you at least an A-). Your GPA wont die in his class unless you are only good at memorization. You just need to stay on top of the material, get help when needed, and try to do his OYOs (on your own problem sets) before going to orgo. mentors (because you want to develop your own approach to problems and be able to attempt difficult ones on your own first without the SI leader telling you the answer. The SI leader won’t be with you in the exam so you have to try on your own. The people who usually score the average don’t try this. They go to orgo. mentors for the answers and merely memorize material). </p>
<p>Another advantage to taking a person like Weinschenk or Soria is that their courses kind of get you used to taking MCAT like exams (not the orgo. part which is small, just in general). When they give applied problems, often you’ll have to read a passage or something for information that may ultimately hint at how to approach the problem. If you can take a class that gets you used to this if you haven’t taken the MCAT (or a GRE subject test in my case) yet, then it’s a good opportunity to gain this skill. This way you aren’t in a position where you know a lot of the content on the MCAT but are not able to get used to addressing it in more complex contexts as presented in a passage. I’m sure Soria and Weinschenk do it on purpose. Morkin does it in gen. chem but she doesn’t do it in orgo.</p>
<p>Any info or tips on Huw Davies for Organic Chem?</p>
<p>I mean, he’s known to be kind of easy, but I don’t recommend him. He’s not that great and not worth taking as he won’t teach 222. You’ll have to switch to someone who is likely much harder, or you’ll be stuck in a trap where you aren’t used to working that hard so can’t even perform well in the easy instructor’s course (this is manifesting itself this semester in a new prof’s class. Most students in his class came from easy sections of 221. And even though he is the easiest 222 prof., the students overall are doing worse than the 3 other sections with significantly more challenging profs). If you are worried about rigor or want to avoid the challenge, simply split the middle and go with Morkin (then you can easily choose whoever you want for 222, whether they be easy, or if you want to upgrade to Weinschenk or go to Gallivan, you can do that as well) I guess. Stay away from Davies and Menger, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>I took freshman orgo 221z with Devies and he is far from being easy. The last midterm has an average around 60.</p>
<p>@liujunyi with averages like that, how’s it even possible to do well (B+, A) in the class?</p>
<p>Yes, but if you compare his tests to say, Soria, Weinschenk, or Gallivan, you would most certainly realize that you had it good. I heard that Davies mostly gave high grades anyway. The low exam average either reflects on his teaching or the students’ lack of effort (From what I heard from the 226-L lab TA’s most of you guys seemed not very worried about the course and apparently confessed to cramming all the exams in McDonald’s 222-Z class for example. Davies and McDonald don’t run tight ships but just inflate grades, which explains how students can fail easy exams). Freshman orgo. w/o Soria is a comparatively low pressure environment that doesn’t elicit anywhere near the same level of effort or proactiveness on the students’ parts. Not to mention, the depth of knowledge gained in either is not even close to any of those three I mentioned. The new freshman orgo. is comparatively low in caliber. I would put it in the Liotta and Menger tier of organic chemistry courses. Some breadth, but not much depth. </p>
<p>Sanguine, they just curve the course to some arbitrary average (Soria just gives bonus points to go toward exam grades for class participation and solving difficult problems in class, and those essentially functions as a curve), usually a B- or B. If you get a bit (maybe 5 points) above the average, you’ll get like a B+.</p>
<p>In my perspect Mcdonald is easy, with unchallenging midterms and generous curves. Too generous i say, since 80 out of 100 is an A on his last two midterms. I’ m some worried about taking advanced chem courses with upperclassman in the sophomore year lol.</p>