Navigating Organic Chemistry

“The beast.” “The dreaded GPA killer.” “The bane of my college career.” “The class that dissuaded me from pursuing medicine.” We’ve all heard these threatening and scary terms about organic chemistry. It is typically seen as one of the most challenging courses that pre-medical students take.

I was able to start taking organic chemistry in the first quarter of my freshman year by taking an exam over the summer to place out of inorganic chemistry. Some colleges allow students to place out of general chemistry with AP scores and some of my friends took advantage of this resource to get one year ahead.

Starting college, it was intimidating knowing that most of the students in my chemistry course were likely to be seasoned sophomores who already knew how to survive the college academic scene. But I lucked out because a few freshmen in my orientation group and a few freshmen in my accelerated BS/MD program (HPME) were also taking organic chemistry. We sat together, answered each other’s questions, helped each other clarify notes on the blackboard, and communicated through a group chat. This was extremely helpful in making me more comfortable participating in class, feeling as confident as any other student, and that I deserved to be there. In any course, having a strong support network of friends is essential, but for me it was especially true with organic chemistry. Very soon, I found myself drawing a lot of crazy polygons with branches and letters and dashes and wedges—and having others to double-check your work is always a good idea!

My organic chemistry courses were structured with lecture on a particular chemical functional group during the week, and suggested problems to go with it. There were usually about 30 problems for every 40 pages of content. I found myself trying a variety of study systems from reading the chapter after lecture, to working on the problems before a lecture even began. The best system for me personally (and several of my friends) was skimming the reading before the lecture on the material began. This gave me an idea about what types of molecules I was dealing with, how to name them, and a few trends of reactions that tend to occur with that functional group. This way, when lecture went into great detail about the stereochemistry of the Diels-Alder reaction, I could still keep the big picture of cycloadditions in mind. Each day, after lecture, I would work on the book problems relevant to the portion of material covered. If I did not understand how to approach a problem, I read the book in greater detail. In general, I found the book was a good resource for specific concerns or considerations, but my notes were the greatest resource. They would show all the tricks, and usually an example of each reaction that I needed to know, which was much more useful than a long explanation of the theory behind the reaction.

Speaking of reactions, I found it super helpful to keep a running list of them in the back of my notebook. Once I learned a decent chunk of organic chemistry, in January (the beginning of Orgo II), I began tackling synthesis problems. These are essentially problems where you get a starting point, ending point, and devise a series of reactions to get from A to B. Of course, a list of reactions will not be allowed for exams, but using them in practice problems is a way of internalizing them. I found molecular modeling kits are a fantastic resource as well, especially when learning about stereochemistry. (YouTube has some impressive videos that demonstrate how to put together molecules with the kits.)

Even with my study network and these strategies in place, I still got tripped up figuring out how to study at first. There was such a high volume of material covered day to day that it really adds up before a midterm. When I found out that I was going to be tested on over 200 pages of dense material every three weeks, I initially thought that the best way to study was to rely on my memory. I would reread all of the material, hoping to grasp concepts and recall them when they showed up on the exam. My first midterm grade showed me that this was not the best approach. I might be able to recognize material by memorizing the content, but I was not able to quickly problem-solve and tackle unforeseen twists on traditional problems.

After seeing my midterm grade, I made a big switch in how I studied, and really found it helpful. I transitioned into a more math-like approach, which focused on practice. I did all of the assigned problems and frequently went in for office hours to ask questions about these and ask for extra help. My professor posted old practice exams and I took these seriously, without relying on notes or the internet. To gain even more practice, I used the peer support network at Northwestern. Most campuses have a peer group system that gives students opportunities to practice extra-hard problems and clarify course content with upperclassmen who have taken the course before. The study groups gave me a resource to ask questions when I had exhausted my friends, TAs, and even professor (sometimes)! On the second midterm exam, I found myself shocked to find that I had the highest score in the class.

I think that organic chemistry is a challenging class no matter what, but it has started to become a little less painful and a little more enjoyable thanks to finding a peer network and the best study systems for me.  I think that breaking courses down to a systemic study strategy will be useful when it comes to studying for the MCAT. Two years after  I have taken Orgo, I might forget what exactly happens in an EAS reaction, but if I know how to jog my memory and sharpen  my problem solving skills, I’m hoping I’ll be able to tackle all the Orgo that comes my way on a standardized test.

As I wrap up my last quarter of organic chemistry at Northwestern, I can’t help but look back on it a memorable problem-solving adventure. But don’t get me wrong, I am also super pumped to be finishing the sequence!