Worried about 3rd year undergrad chemistry
Hi
I am studying Medicinal Chemistry, going into 3rd year. I was slightly disappointed that I was so close to a 2:2 in 2nd year. 0.8 off. I worked really hard (sacrificed badminton on many Tuesday nights because of needing to finish stuff off). I have Dyslexia so it can take me up to 3x the effort and hours to complete work like tutorials, revision and reports especially tutorials I cant manage to sit down and complete say anymore than 2 mechanisms on any day so if theres 14 it takes me forever. We only get an overall score in the module and not a break down of exam and coursework. I really want a 2:2 this year. Anybody been through third year of a chemistry degree any tips. I have been told to write a description of the mechanism beside the arrows in Organic which I did last year. My Organic and Inorganic marks were up from 1st year, I had depression then which made revision really impossible and I kept mixing things up knowing they werent right.
I am studying Medicinal Chemistry, going into 3rd year. I was slightly disappointed that I was so close to a 2:2 in 2nd year. 0.8 off. I worked really hard (sacrificed badminton on many Tuesday nights because of needing to finish stuff off). I have Dyslexia so it can take me up to 3x the effort and hours to complete work like tutorials, revision and reports especially tutorials I cant manage to sit down and complete say anymore than 2 mechanisms on any day so if theres 14 it takes me forever. We only get an overall score in the module and not a break down of exam and coursework. I really want a 2:2 this year. Anybody been through third year of a chemistry degree any tips. I have been told to write a description of the mechanism beside the arrows in Organic which I did last year. My Organic and Inorganic marks were up from 1st year, I had depression then which made revision really impossible and I kept mixing things up knowing they werent right.
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Original post by cdoyle
Hi
I am studying Medicinal Chemistry, going into 3rd year. I was slightly disappointed that I was so close to a 2:2 in 2nd year. 0.8 off. I worked really hard (sacrificed badminton on many Tuesday nights because of needing to finish stuff off). I have Dyslexia so it can take me up to 3x the effort and hours to complete work like tutorials, revision and reports especially tutorials I cant manage to sit down and complete say anymore than 2 mechanisms on any day so if theres 14 it takes me forever. We only get an overall score in the module and not a break down of exam and coursework. I really want a 2:2 this year. Anybody been through third year of a chemistry degree any tips. I have been told to write a description of the mechanism beside the arrows in Organic which I did last year. My Organic and Inorganic marks were up from 1st year, I had depression then which made revision really impossible and I kept mixing things up knowing they werent right.
I am studying Medicinal Chemistry, going into 3rd year. I was slightly disappointed that I was so close to a 2:2 in 2nd year. 0.8 off. I worked really hard (sacrificed badminton on many Tuesday nights because of needing to finish stuff off). I have Dyslexia so it can take me up to 3x the effort and hours to complete work like tutorials, revision and reports especially tutorials I cant manage to sit down and complete say anymore than 2 mechanisms on any day so if theres 14 it takes me forever. We only get an overall score in the module and not a break down of exam and coursework. I really want a 2:2 this year. Anybody been through third year of a chemistry degree any tips. I have been told to write a description of the mechanism beside the arrows in Organic which I did last year. My Organic and Inorganic marks were up from 1st year, I had depression then which made revision really impossible and I kept mixing things up knowing they werent right.
Hey there !
As a fellow Chemist and soon to be 3rd Year I can echo a lot of your worries.
I too am worried about my 3rd year but am quite looking forward to the challenge. I can understand however that our circumstances are quite difficult.
Rather than learning by rote each mechanism in org. chem. I try to rationalise the overall mechanism.
I'm not sure whether or not you've done a lot of heteroaromatic chemistry but if you consider any Paal Knorr synthesis for a furan or thiophene based molecule you could learn a series of steps/curly arrows or you could ensure you have a solid grounding in enol and enolate based chemistry and work from there.
Additionally, I would highly recommend getting in tune with the idea of pKa values and how to rationalise them. I've found that pKa trends are excellent for figuring out a good leaving group for example.
Lastly, you've probably already done this but make sure that you are indeed getting extra time in exams for your Dyslexia and depression. I would also consider speaking to your personal tutor about this or at least getting it down on record. The reason I say this (please confirm the following with your tutor as I'm not 100% sure about this) is because if you are on a boundary between a 2:2 and a 2:1 for example at the end of you degree then an external examiner may see fit to bump you up.
If there's anything else you'd like any advice/help on then feel free to PM me or post here. I may be a bit late in replying given I'm a bit busy with work atm
EDIT : Also, with regards to mechanisms, I would agree that annotating your mechanisms is a very good thing to do. Make sure to use certain key phrases such as SN1/2, E1/E2, ene reaction, sigmatropic shift... You get the idea. Also, be wary of using straight arrows in lieu of a equilibrium arrows... This is especially true when forming an enamine for example.
(edited 9 years ago)
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