Be Gentle DD Dropped Organic Chem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, moral of the story is you can't just go picking your kid's major because you like the sound of it at cocktail parties.

?

Not that PP but there are SO MANY parents on here who seem to be all in on STEM or nothing. This is a good example of a kid who’s not cut out for it. My DH was another one.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I'm Indian and my parents were both scientists -- an engineer and a chemist by training. They went to great US universities for their graduate degrees. I was not at all inclined towards the sciences or math. That was clear when I didn't even take physics or calculus at boarding school, but advanced French lit! I ended up a journalist! And have had a wonderful career in nonprofit communications, even serving as a speechwriter to a cabinet secretary. I love what I do and am good at it. I don't work crazy hours and don't have law school debt. There's another way, OP! I hope your kid finds what they truly love and excel at! Courage!

[Anonymous]

It could be that these are difficult weed out classes and she could stick it out and do fine. Or maybe science and math really aren't her thing. I say let her figure this out on her own. These are her decisions to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. Is she taking organic chem as a freshman? That is probably a bad idea especially if she didn’t do AP Chem

My dc’s school does Gen Chem I first sem, then OChem 2nd sem. If you do good in Gen Chem I then why wait?

[Anonymous]

She should major in something else but take pre requests classes for PA school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope she changes to a major that is a better fit for her talents and interests. Life is too short to spend it trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

And there's no reason for her to spend the summer retaking the class. Instead, she should find an internship or job (or class) related to something she's interested in.

She’s thinking of maybe public health which requires OCHEM 1 but no further CHEM.

Data analytics and econometrics or biostatistics are what’s important for Public Health.

—signed, a PhD in health Econ from Johns Hopkins

+1.

-- signed, career health policy analyst with a master's in public policy

the PhD here — Or go the other way and plan on law school and MPH. Good for lobbying, regulatory analysis etc

[Anonymous]

They should reach out to the school's academic support and tutoring office. Most school have these. Organic chemistry is hard. It weeded my spouse out of pre-med. They ended up in Business/finance and make 7 figures bonuses now, so don't despair, all is not lost if you don't stay pre-med/biology.

Sometimes a bad grade is a sign that you need to get humble, ask for help and buckle down and sometimes its a sign that you aren't on the right path. No one on this board will know - your child needs to answer this question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She should major in something else but take pre requests classes for PA school.

Not the OP but this is what my DD is doing. She did some research and learned that even if she gets a C in organic, she’ll do fine with PA school
Acceptances.

[Anonymous]

Land the helicopter.

🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAT score was 780 verbal 620 math.

Going into STEM without top-end math skills is going to be tough. Biology is less dependent on math, but Chemistry is certainly more math involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. Is she taking organic chem as a freshman? That is probably a bad idea especially if she didn’t do AP Chem

My dc’s school does Gen Chem I first sem, then OChem 2nd sem. If you do good in Gen Chem I then why wait?

What school is this? Most premed tracks have orgo sophomore year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. Is she taking organic chem as a freshman? That is probably a bad idea especially if she didn’t do AP Chem

My dc’s school does Gen Chem I first sem, then OChem 2nd sem. If you do good in Gen Chem I then why wait?

What school is this? Most premed tracks have orgo sophomore year.

Agree. Was this the “real” orgo chem or the conceptual one often listed for pre-health but non-hard science majors?

[Anonymous]

I have a MS in cell biology and molecular genetics, and hated organic chemistry with a passion!!! I'm very good in histology, genetics, cell bio and all kinds of biology-related things, though

Please tell her not to give up on her dreams, whatever they are. Organic chemistry class is only a blip in her long career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have a MS in cell biology and molecular genetics, and hated organic chemistry with a passion!!! I'm very good in histology, genetics, cell bio and all kinds of biology-related things, though

Please tell her not to give up on her dreams, whatever they are. Organic chemistry class is only a blip in her long career.

I’m with you! I have a MS in molecular genetics, and another in bioinformatics, and organic was by far my worst subject. Even biochem was better.

[Anonymous]

Taking Orgo 1st year is asking for trouble. Terrible idea.