chem II is crazy1! just got the first test back and made 85. wasn't wild about that at all!! I am an A student but this teacher is NUTS and these departmental tests are wicked. It was almost to the point of not asking us the math.. but asking us the concepts behind in an obscure way... anyways.. I hope to really pull up but from what i hear about these next tests.. it only gets harder .. i hate to hear that and hate the fact that I did'nt start off with a HIGH A on the 1st test. I just feel soo out of my rhythm totally different from my Chem I class.. but who knows.. maybe i'm not stupid.. maybe Chemistry is just Hard. I can surely say that i put soo much work into it and didn't get the result back that i had hoped for
Hey Miller, in Gen Chem 1 I started off with a mid B and built up to an A from there. You can do it too, just work harder!
maybe Chemistry is just Hard. I can surely say that i put soo much work into it and didn't get the result back that i had hoped for
Chem II IS hard. I may have done more problems in studying for that class than I did for physics, and that is saying something. You really have to be careful with your math. Work harder than ever on problems and you'll do OK.
thanks guys 
I only wish there were more problems on these tests (thought i’d never say that) it’s the conceptual questions that got me I believe. and I really really dove in deep in the concepts, just the way I guess it was worded didn’t match up to my answer. I’ll keep plugging. he’s supposed to curve, I think my biggest worry is that he’s so lax and I want to know what he really plans to do but he is so non-chalant that noone really knows his next move. could be “volatile” haha ok too much chem on my mind.
One thing that really may help you in the future, not now since you’re already taking the class, but use sites like ratemyprofessors.com to find out about teachers beforehand. I realize it’s not always an option, but I don’t care what anyone says about not worrying about picking teachers because you won’t get to pick 'em in med school, use any advantage you can…including finding out which teachers grade fairly beforehand.
well yeah i heard some terrible things about this guy but honestly it was my only option to get this out of the way… sure I could have waited, but I really had a plan to take this organic chem fast track program and bio in the fall. and he’s acting kind of lax and kind of easy going so who knows… he could either give us all A’s or fail us all LOL@ the stuff we went over tonight… rate laws and stuff was sooooo over my head and he was going 300 mph but anyways… i’m gonna go study at the med school tonight… it’s encouragement anywayz. but yeah that website is super good and it’s surely accurate by what i read so far!!! if I can just get through this summer i found some really good quality professors in the fall… sure it’s a juco, but they have a great science dept. and me and this guy are finishing all our pre-reqs by may… say what you want… i think we’ll get in med school anyways.
well chem II has turned out to be my worse nightmare. I am only hoping to pull a B at this point. these tests are horrible and much worse since I am not being taught and am having to teach myself. poor me right anyways, if I don’t get the A in this class it won’t be totally my fault!
Big GChem II test for me. T minus-42 hours and counting… basically on equilibria, acid/base euquilibria, a/b titrations and a tidbit in gechem2 solubility.
I feel like I can do the math pretty well, and quickly setup the formulas, ICE-boxes, and determine what I need to do,etc… quite frankly it’s the vague conceptual questions that really scare me.
Any tips on how to survive this next ordeal would be good. On the other hand… looking forward to “decompression” on Friday night.
It’s all about time or the lack thereof imo for these spring/summer courses. The sheer bombardment of information and compressing a 4 month course into a 1.75 month sprint borders on lunacy. 
It's all about time or the lack thereof imo for these spring/summer courses. The sheer bombardment of information and compressing a 4 month course into a 1.75 month sprint borders on lunacy.
Preach it, bro'. Maybe we should sticky this post so we can point to it every spring when people ask about taking summer science courses!
Mary
Oh, forget 1.75 months. Both of my Gen Chem classes are 4 weeks long. 4 weeks! I must be insane by doing this plus add a 40/hr week job on top of that. yeah!! i’ve had fun this summer but at least I’m getting 8 hrs of pre-reqs out of the way. and will hopefully have an A in both. will let you know exactly 1 week from today! Although it’s been tough, it’s a sweet feeling to get it behind you and not have to keep waiting till fall semester begins to start your journey. Now I’m knee deep in and don’t feel like a newbie anymore. although I sort of still am
I feel your pain: taking Phys I and II this summer. Each class is 4 weeks long. I’ve read a lot of posts that say this whole journey of getting into medical school is a “marathon, not a sprint”. I sure as hell feel like I’m in a sprint this summer.
After tonights class, 1 week until I’m on the beach for a much needed vacation. I’m tired and my brain hurts.
hawkeye- how is physics? I am hoping to have a break from math with Organic I and Bio I in the fall and the 2nd in the Spring. then hit the math again… which looks like will be Physics in the summer !! LOL i just love torturing myself it seems!
Lots and lots of problems. Work as many as you can from the book. The material seems pretty straightforward until you start working problems. So the more you do, the more you learn how to apply the concepts. If you get a good prof it makes it easier.
Problem is, in the summer, the classes are 4 hours long 4 nights a week. After working all day and being in class until 10pm and then studying for a couple of hours, you get a bit burnt out by the end of the summer. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
this S@#$ is finally over for the summer!!! 8 hrs complete… this guy was stressing me out sooo much was sooo vague when i asked if we could drop the final as the syllabus states drop 1 out of 5 tests. crap he finally curved more when I went to the dean and hopefully i buzzed out an A. don’t see how I couldn’t have as my test grades were 93 100 100 97 so hopefully we’ll be seeing a good 8 Hrs of A’s for the Gen. Chem. family!!! so happy to have this first leg out of the way:) went to the class tonight and 1 person was in ther eabout to take the final… i was like dude, can i really drop this as my lowest grade… he was like yes. and last night he was all “uh… sure you should be fine” no definite answer… nonetheless i studied gibbs for the long 20 min or so and that was it… i was gonna go in blind… would have probably still done better than the otehr person bless her heart but i let her go ahead… she’ll automatically get a 100 as rounding to the nearest person … so yes!!! glad to be done with Gen. Chem!!! now organic 
It’s OVER!!! got the A in both Chem I and Chem II so I can now say summer well spent! it’s been a journey but wow was it a great feeling to learn alot and also get this pre-med stuff started right and now feel like I’m immersed in it. there’s no turning back- after putting myself through that I never knew I’d find such satisfaction in studying my @$$ off and working harder than I ever had before. I’m LOVING THIS!!!
My Gchem II final battle tomorrow morning (8:30 AM lol). Cumulative final, so not a lot of partying this weekend :(.
It’s been a rollercoaster for me, 3 exam scores have been 98, 77, 87… raw scores as the class is uncurved. The other components of my grade are higher, near perfect HW, very high quiz grades, and other lower percentage stuff.
The other make or break for me will be the lab. My lab score (which is 20% of the total class grade) is I estimate to be somewhere between 88% to 92%, which means an automatic loss of 2% of the overall grade.
So yea… I have probably a 4 to 5% buffer from where I stand to the 90% cut-off mark going into the final… so yea, hoping for the best tomorrow, and REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to 2 weeks off before fall (physics, orgo, cel bio).
hope you kicked some tail dude ! it’s a great feeling to get it out of the way… man it’s been a nice 2 weeks so far of break and I guess it’s about time to get back into it for the Fall starting next monday gotta love it though!!
HA… I SURVIVED W00t! Somehow pulled an A on Gchem II. Well, time to rest up and heal, next semester gonna be brutal… 2 weeks of freedom though