<p>I am kind of surprised about the slowness and easiness of my chem class and I am worried about the way this course is continuing and im thinking I wont be fully prepared for the MCAT-when it comes. </p>
<p>Does the difficulty of the class matter or does it depend on the student? Should a course be very hard in order to prepare one for the MCAT?</p>
<p>“im thinking I wont be fully prepared for the MCAT-when it comes.”</p>
<p>You probably won’t be prepared. College chem, physics, bio profs etc., are not preparing students to take MCAT per se. Whether you’re the type of student who can obtain MCAT prep materials and study on own, or also need to take MCAT prep course, get what you can material/concept wise out of the current chem course, shoot for an A, and accept the idea that you’ll need further prep/study as MCAT nears. </p>
<p>“I am kind of surprised about the slowness and easiness of my chem class” - Gen. Chem. is the easiest of them all. Do not owrry about MCAT, you will have to prep. no matter the difficulties of your classes, but maybe not Chem. D. did not have to prep. Gen. Chem. at all, it was the one that she knew. So, it may be the same with you. She had enough for Med. School, basically her HS Regular class (not AP) was pretty much enough.</p>
<p>Her regular chemistry class in HS prepared her?! Woah… What school was that?? @MiamiDAP </p>
<p>Just a HS with the great science teacher. Chem. has been strongest and she ended up liking “kidneys” in Med. school because the study use lots of chem., which she said was opposite of the most who liked Heart - lungs better. </p>
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<p>My son had an excellent HS chem teacher and an excellent HS AP Chem teacher. He skipped Gen Chem completely as an undergrad and moved onto the higher levels of chem. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing it that way, but for some it’s ok. </p>
<p>@Jugulator20 is right. The mission of teaching Gen Chem is not the MCAT. Profs don’t teach to the MCAT. That isn’t their job. </p>
<p>As for your class, we don’t know how strong your class is. Did you get a strong chem foundation in HS? Is that why it’s easy for you? Do you just naturally love this stuff?</p>
<p>What grades have you been getting on tests? 100%? 95%? What?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t use m2CK’s son as a role model though. 
He was a ChemE and would have studied a lot more chemistry than ever needed for MCAT.</p>
<p>I took AP chem in HS, although scoring a 3, my teacher was known for having many kids score 5’s. Although race doesnt mean anything, she was indian and got her PhD in chemistry at age of 24. She was a wonderful teacher and Chemistry is my absolute favorite subject and its the easiest for me to understand, even including my macroeconomics class! In high school i would average 88. So far in lec course i got a 98 first exam. @mom2collegekids </p>
<p>I could also conclude, the kids in my HS class, could skip gen chem 1 and do absolutey fine on the MCAT due to the excellent teaching. </p>
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<p>It is not a conclusion, it is an extrapolation to the extreme.</p>
<ol>
<li> You are taking 1st semester of Gen Chem and finding it easy because you find yourself well prepared from high school.</li>
<li> This is just one college. You might go to another college and find that whatever you know is not at all sufficient.</li>
<li> MCAT test and your college course have almost no relationship. </li>
<li> MCAT covers lot more than one semester of Chemistry. They recommend 2 years of chemistry.</li>
<li> MCAT requires separate preparation. Success in a course from one college does not equal a high PS score in MCAT.</li>
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<p>What I meant with that conclusion, which is no where near extrapolation, is that they couldve went straight into gen chem 2, and pass gen chem 2! No where did I assume a high Mcat score for myself, or for them… Gen chem 1 at one college will be the same gen chem 1 at another college, the only thing that changes is competitiveness and difficulty. As far as concepts, it does not change. So I Disagree with opinion number 2.</p>
<p>May be I misunderstood but how do you define “doing absolutely fine in MCAT”?</p>
<p>Not all colleges teach the same curriculum for a class. Even within a college professors change what they teach if there is more than one professor teaching the same course number.</p>
<p>The hardness of the class can vary quite a bit based on not only the college but also the professor.</p>
<p>AP Chem = two semesters of freshman chem in college (usually 19 or 20 chapters).</p>
<p>(getting a PhD at 24 is not unusual - why would you think it is?)</p>
<p>You should be prepping for the MCAT as you take the courses. Start now, start taking sample tests and finding what you need to know that you didn’t have in HS. </p>
<p>(gen chem at a CC often is WAY less than gen chem at a four-year college. The number of chapters covered, for chem or any other science, is a way to gauge how much material is covered.)</p>
<p>Perhaps the short of it is this: you took AP Chem and if you did well, it is equivalent to two semesters of college chemistry. MCAT includes some organic, so you need to take organic chemistry too. Your 3 on the AP exam means that you have the luxury of retaking (essentially) gen chem 1 and 2, and getting As hopefully, and improving your ability to take tests.</p>
<p>I would like to clarify that my D. depite of her great Chem. HS education DID NOT skip a Gen. Chem at college and she would not be able even she she wanted. She had a REGULAR Chem. in HS, not AP. Later she was hired as Supplemental Instructor by Gen. Chem prof. after never having lower score than 100%+ in every test and seeing that others are lining up for her help after class. She never even applied for the job, she was hand picked for this best job on campus, which lasted for 3 years. She ended up tutoring many who had AP Chem. in HS. Her great science teacher in HS simply did not believe in calling classes AP. As I mentioned, she did not need to review Chem. at all while studying for the MCAT.</p>
<p>@rhandco
<a href=“getting%20a%20PhD%20at%2024%20is%20not%20unusual%20-%20why%20would%20you%20think%20it%20is?”>quote</a>
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<p>Since the average age of newly minted PhDs is early 30s, 24 is pretty special :-bd </p>
<p>I looked up and found that stat, but only for Germany and Canada.</p>
<p>The average age for PhDs who did not work in between undergrad and grad school is around 26.</p>
<p>The old folks who go back to school after they work for 5 years are the ones who are skewing the data. I got my PhD at 35, with 15 years of job experience and going to school part-time in between.</p>
<p>All that tells me is that your teacher didn’t want to work and went right into grad school.</p>
<p>Obviously a BS/PhD program would be quicker than the normal path too.</p>
<p>Most PhD programs kick students out after 7 years without a degree, and give them a master’s and send them on their way. So anyone who went to grad school right after undergrad would normally be 26 years old, but no more than 28 years old.</p>
<p>Early 30s = people going to work before getting their PhD.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06312/”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06312/</a></p>
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<p>The age independent data in the link you provided does not support your statement. I don’t understand where you get this from?</p>
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<p>8-} This is not true 
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<p>No, it’s the overall average. Did you not read your own link? To get a PhD at 24 is exceptional. I have no idea why you would want to argue to the contrary? :-w </p>
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So far in lec course i got a 98 first exam.</p>
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<p>Very good.</p>
<p>I would think that anyone who had a good teacher and a passing AP Chem score would do well at least for the first few tests. Much of it right now has been review for you. If you were learning it all for the first time, you might not be scoring as well. </p>
<p>Be grateful that you’re getting excellent grades!!! </p>
<p>(btw…no one should follow my son’s example, lol. Eng’g major, ugh, took Cell Bio and Ochem as a fall frosh, didn’t study for the MCAT, ugh, only completed 6 med school apps, ugh…he’s practically an example of what not to do if you’re premed.)</p>
<p>“So far in lec course i got a 98 first exam”
-Well, 98% is normal regular grade that you should aim in every single exam / test in your UG years. You did not get 100%+, I would say that 98% indicates normal degree of difficulty for you in this class. There is no issue here, seems to be a perfect fit between your level and the class level.</p>
<p>Does it help to say she got her PhD lets say way before 1990… </p>