“The TAs teach sections every day, and we make sure that time is useful to students. “We love the course, we love the students, we love the material, and we are here to help,” says Hamel. Stay focused on your goals and how doing well in organic chemistry will help you reach them.” Nick Sikaczowski, who completed organic chem at Harvard Summer School while enrolled in a premed program at Northwestern, says, “Every student is going to be rattled by a difficult exam at some point (even if they don’t show it). “You are training for success in this class! You need to warm up (draw mechanisms, put diagrams in your room, make notecards), work hard while you’re at practice (always pay very close attention in lecture), and cross-train (do all of the problems and work with your teaching assistant).” 3. Tip: Sperduto approached organic chem with the same mindset as she would training for a sport.

Twelve-year veteran teaching assistant Peter Hamel offers a fair warning: “Expect it to be a full-time job and then some.” “I did not have a strong background in chemistry, so reviewing basics and getting a little exposure to new material gave me confidence coming into the course.” 2. Louis, read Organic Chemistry as a Second Language I.

Tip: Preetha Iyengar, a junior at Washington University in St. You will be in that situation many times throughout the summer.” This will help you get used to looking at something that scares you and looks entirely foreign.

“Prepare yourself for the rigor and intensity of the class, and if the teaching staff recommend a book, go through the entire book and do all of the exercises. Maria Sperduto, a Dartmouth College junior, suggests that a little work ahead of time will make your life easier.

Mcat organic chemistry khan academy