I was planning to take organic chemistry at York University during the summer until I realized it's a 6 unit course, so it includes 20A3 and 20B3. U of T Mississauga has the 3.0 unit course but I heard it's full and it's a hassle travelling there, so I think I'm stuck with taking the 6.0 at York.

Is it even worth taking both orgos? Is 20B3 required later on and so it might actually be better to take them both together?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Christ

I was planning to take organic chemistry at York University during the summer until I realized it's a 6 unit course, so it includes 20A3 and 20B3. U of T Mississauga has the 3.0 unit course but I heard it's full and it's a hassle travelling there, so I think I'm stuck with taking the 6.0 at York.

Is it even worth taking both orgos? Is 20B3 required later on and so it might actually be better to take them both together?

Thanks!

I can't comment on taking the courses at another school because I only took 2OA3 so far, and I took it at Mac.

In what sense do you mean "required"? If you're referring to it from the perspective of having to use your knowledge from the course in the future, then you should check out the pre-reqs for any courses you're considering taking later on.

If you're referring to needing it as a requirement for a professional school or other form of continued education, then you will likely need both 2OA3 and 2OB3.

Originally Posted by RememberTwce

If you're referring to needing it as a requirement for a professional school or other form of continued education, then you will likely need both 2OA3 and 2OB3.

It depends on the professional school, even within the same profession. When I applied to optometry there were school that only required 1 orgo while others required 2.

Originally Posted by jhan523

It depends on the professional school, even within the same profession. When I applied to optometry there were school that only required 1 orgo while others required 2.

Woops, sorry to generalize. The only times I've seen such a requirement, it's been a full year of orgo or none at all.

Originally Posted by RememberTwce

Woops, sorry to generalize. The only times I've seen such a requirement, it's been a full year of orgo or none at all.

It's alright. It's the applicant's responsibility to research what they have to do for professional school through the school's website anyways.

If you are going to take orgo in the summer, take both. I am a second year life-sci student and out of all my courses, none have had more continuity than chem 2OA3 and 2OB3. Without a strong basis in 2OA3 material, you cannot do well in 2OB3. 2OB3 is only offered in term 2 of summer and term 2 of fall-winter so if you split them up, you will be away from orgo for over six months and expected to have a full grasp of everything 2OA3 taught on day one of 2OB3. Taking it in the summer is intense, but the average is usually higher. If taking it in the summer, take orgo only (do not add a second course to either summer term).

Tips: I did it last summer and my lectures were two days apart (Tuesdays and Thursdays, I believe). Firstly, try to get into a lab section on your lecture day - they fill up quickly but offer you more flexibility in your week. The day before the week's first lecture: read the chapter in the text and make note of questions that you have. This is critical, the prof. gets swarmed in class and unless you are prepared with your questions,, few will get answered. The Avenue discussion board is your friend - read every post, they often contain answers to questions you may not have asked or even thought of. Try some textbook practice problems (a good basis point). The day after lecture, reread your notes and mark/post questions, while trying more difficult practice problems. The text has some practice problems marked challenging and there is also online homework (do it). Sometimes finding other online resources, such as old tests from other universities can help. Make sure you repeat the pre-lecture steps for lecture 1 in preparation for lecture 2. The day between lectures will be the busiest day of the course for you. You have a four-day gap between lectures from the end of one week to the beginning of the next. Try to do some orgo in that period (on the weekend) to stay fresh in addition to the other tips I have given.

Final thoughts: Practice, practice, practice - do ALL practice given to you, including old midterms and tutorials. You cannot do well in this course by just reading the text. Tried that for the 2OA3 midterm and it didn't work.

Do not skip the midterm: If you do better on the final than the midterm, your midterm grade gets replaced. Some people decided to skip the midterm as a result. This is illogical because the midterm is NO-RISK -good it stays, bad it goes away (for the most part). In the event you write a poor final exam, the midterm can save your credit, or bump you up a grade point or two.

ATTEND ALL CLASSES: the amount of material covered in each lecture is huge (especially in summer). If you miss a lecture, you may as well drop teh course if you can because it will be VERY hard to recover.

All the best.

Alex

Thanks so much!! Now I'm just worried about when to take physics 1B03 :( I heard it super hard during the year and physics is not my forte at all

I posted this on another thread, but if you want free Orgo tutoring, just PM me closer to the summer. I'm switching back into a Chem program and I'd be happy to help out with problems. I won't be perfect at them, but it'll be great practice for me and extra help at no charge for you

Do 1B03 in the summer if you aren't doing orgo, but don't do both. Balancing orgo with something else in the summer is a disaster.