Taking honors organic chemistry and anatomy (both with labs) at the same time?

Pre-Dentistry & Dental School
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Hi everyone who finds this thread! I need opinions on the sophomore classes I have planned.
Here are the classes:

  1. Orangic Chemistry 1 (either the regular or the honors version of the class)
  2. Organic chemistry lab
  3. Anatomy online lecture
  4. Anatomy lab (2 labs a week)
  5. Sociology online lectures and discussion
  6. A design class for my design minor. It’s a studio class.

I’m undecided about whether to take the honors version of the organic chem class or not. The honor classes we have at our school mean that the class will cover deeper materials. I heard the professor is pretty good, being strict but fair. I don’t know if this is smart since I’ll have 3 pretty intense labs every week. I’m pre-dent, so I don’t want to wreck my GPA either. However, the honors class is only around 30 people, so it’ll be a good chance to make a connection with the professor, and I might get a good recommendation letter.

All opinions are welcomed and needed, thanks!!!

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Are you in college or high school?

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Unless you are an absolute chemistry god, get a tutor for organic chemistry. And don’t wait until the end of the semester. It is a very different mindset than almost any other class including basic chemistry courses. It requires memorization AND mechanistic understanding

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College

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There is also a great study book about organic chemistry. @WayOutWestMom can hopefully post the name of it.

Why would you need the college honors version of OChem?

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What does your academic advisor say? Doesn’t matter what a bunch of strangers on the internet think- we don’t know you OR your professors. I’d go with the recommendation of my advisor!

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I’ve heard that they teach the material a lot deeper and you learn the mechanics behind things. The honors course might also help me get a good rec letter since the class is only around 20 people.

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My academic advisor said it wasn’t impossible and it depended on me. I think I’ll email the organic chemistry professor for the expectations of that class.

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I would not do it. DD is premed. She is fine with Org (strong in Chem), but it is not easy and most likely will be B+ (studies a lot, had 4.0 prior to it). Honor Org plus Anatomy- both with labs is not a good idea in my opinion. Do not overestimate your abilities. Do not derail your future and your mental health.

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Thanks! I’ll definitely think it over carefully.

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If in pre-dental, slower maybe better.
DD is in BS/DO and needs to protect GPA to stay in program. Also keep in mind that advisors are not always give the best advice. I know several students that took advisors’ suggestions to double up to fit everything and did not last…

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My college student son is taking three classes with labs right now, and it is very, very time consuming. Labs take big bites out of the schedule; some people feel you should budget time as though you are taking another whole class. I would be conservative with course rigor choices when multiple labs are involved. My 2c.

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I don’t see a huge problem with taking O Chem + lab and a bio + lab course in the same semester. That’s normal for a bio major. However…

What’s your major? A&P isn’t required for most majors.

I know that only some dental schools require lower-division human A&P, and it’s not tested on the DAT. You could always leave that course until your senior year. It’s important that you do well in O Chem. That would be my first suggestion.

I know from my art professor friends that studio classes can take a huge amount of time. If you’re hell-bent on taking A&P and O chem in the same semester, perhaps the studio class is the one that needs to go.

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I agree.

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There is also a great study book about organic chemistry

Organic Chemistry as a Second Language by David Klein.

There are 2 books in the series, one for first semester topics and one for second topics.

If you are a tactile/kinesthetic learner, you may want to invest in a Ochem model kits so you can see and manipulate molecules to better understand how they fit together and bond

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As for honors vs regular O chem, I’d suggest finding out as much as you can about the teachers and taking whichever one has the better teacher.

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Somehow my DD’s Org class is almost without book. (There is some optional book but I guess YouTube helps too), but they were required to get a model kit.

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I’m just a biology BA major. The dental school I’m applying to requires A&P. I looked at my planned schedule, so it’s either this or doing microbiology + lab fall semester, biochemistry + lab spring semester. I think both options are pretty rigorous.
The studio class is a prerequisite to some illustration classes I want to take later on, so I really want that class to stay.

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I was thinking of buying a used Clayden’s textbook over the summer to prepare myself a little. I heard it’s really good!

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I heard really good things about both the regular and honors professors. However, the honors might help me prepare for the DAT better since they value method over memorization more.
But the major reason I’m considering honors is because I need a good rec letter by the end of sophomore spring. A 20-ish person class could help me make a better connection than a 250-person class.