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How to Survive Organic Chemistry | To-Be-MD
Organic Chemistry is probably the most infamous pre-med class there is (although I thought Physics was WAY worse). I think one of the reasons it can be so intimidating is that it requires a different set of study skills/habits than most classes.

I managed to get through Organic Chemistry with *most* of my sanity intact (although my parents and a few of my friends may disagree) and did well in the class overall. So, I decided to share some of the study strategies I used in the hopes that it will help someone else make it through with some sanity and a good grade.


Do NOT try to crash study: 
- Look I know it's tempting to put off studying until a day or two before the exam but I promise you that does not work for OChem. And yes, I know everyone says that about every single class but OChem is honestly different than most pre-med classes.

- In order to succeed you need to be able to apply the skills you learn via practice problems onto exam problems (duh). While this may be the case for classes such as Physics and Math... I believe it is more practice based in OChem. In math and physics you learn what equations or steps apply to which types of problems but it is not so simple in OChem. Instead, you are given a novel compound and can be asked to do a variety of different problems using that compound. This takes PRACTICE (I'm going to keep saying it because it is so important).

- To me, OChem didn't feel like a class where I could master every problem-type and be ready for the exam because there is such a huge variety of problem-types. In order to feel comfortable you need to practice as much as possible (while still taking care of yourself and getting enough rest).

Utilize school resources: 
- At Berkeley we had special study classes held by upperclassman for certain classes (OChem was one of them). The classes were held twice a week in a small classroom. They were half lecture (on material our professor had already attempted to teach) and half group work.

- I cannot stress enough how much these classes helped. I went to every one and had the most amazing teacher (she was a senior and had done well in OChem in the past). Not only did it keep me accountable for the material throughout the entire semester, but we had a senior teaching it in a way we could understand. Berkeley professors are great but they don't always make sense.... This saved me SO much time because I could spend my time on practice problems rather than trying to figure out basic concepts.

-Most schools have some type of peer-tutoring so find it and utilize it! It will save you so much stress and time when exams come along. Mine also gave us practice worksheets which meant more study material for finals!

Invest in a white-board: 
- This goes along with my insistence that you practice as much as possible. White-boards (especially the big ones) are great because you can do problems over and over without killing a forest. Don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of studying on real paper (blog post about my biology study habits to come) but it just does not work as well for OChem.
- We named our whiteboard Sheila because we spent THAT much time with it (see below)

Sheila the Whiteboard

Don't be afraid to do the same problem 10 times: 

- Professors don't always give you enough practice problems to feel secure for the exam but that is okay! For OChem you can reuse problems over and over and it will still be helpful (trust me you won't memorize them)

- You can also do problems backwards! For example:
                 - If you are given a synthesis problem: do it in reverse!
                 - If you are given an arrow-pushing problem: make it into a synthesis problem
This is will help you increase the amount of practice problems you have!

Find a study buddy: 
- I attribute SO much of my success in my pre-med classes to my incredible study buddies - shoutout to Bri, Dina, and Angie.

- Having someone to study with for OChem is key because there will be concepts that you just do not understand. Ideally your study buddy will be able to explain it - sometimes you just need to hear it put in human terms for it to click.

- Having a study buddy will help you stay focused and less stressed:
            - One night I was studying for a final with a friend and by hour 10,000 I had lost my ability to focus. Bri looked at me and said "I need you to go walk around the kitchen for a while and come back when you are normal again".... it helped and we got back to studying (please see below for a grainy picture of this night)
             - Side note: I'm not the only crazy one...
                                - Earlier that day my friend was crying/laughing over something random - this was in the middle of dead week so give us a break - and I looked at her and said "Are you crying? I really don't have time for that right now." It was funny and gave us a reason to laugh off the stress before we went back to studying.

Photo evidence that I had lost my ability to concentrate 

Check out my "Self-Care While Studying for the MCAT" for more useful study tips! 


Believe it or not - OChem is kind of a positive memory for me. That honestly may be my brain trying to protect me from the terrible memories but who knows. I thought doing practice problems was kind of soothing in a weird way. I also made some of my best friends through my OChem study group.

Good luck and Happy Studying xoxo





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