MCAT Organic Chemistry: Top Study Strategies from a 528 Scorer

[@danielmccammon7299]

You can't tell me this isn't the chillest guy in the world

[@Shemmassian]

You certainly could say that... it'd just be a lie... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@thoughtfulsamosa6037]

The graphics and design in this video are beautiful! Congrats on the score and thanks for the great video. Also, quick tip, perhaps make the buzz sound at 7:04 (in future videos) quieter 😅 Kinda scared me 😂

[@Shemmassian]

Noted ;)

[@philipeaugustoleao9138]

I was almost sleeping hahaha

[@carsonneal]

scared the hell out of me!!!!!!!

[@autumnrae1468]

PLEASE🙏🏾 do Physics next! I really loved the way this video was broken down to a system. I was just about to go crazy studying the details of reactions. Saved me a lot of time and stress!

[@Shemmassian]

You will be pleased to hear that our MCAT Physics video will be released at 3AM PST (6AM EST) this Friday!

[@JGscienceGaming]

thank you so muccccchhhhhhhhh! im almost done with my bachelor's and taking the next two and a half years a semester at a time to study each topic thoroughly by means of going through the MCAT review, this really puts my mind at ease and i look forward to the rest of the videos on this topic.

[@Shemmassian]

Hi Joshua! I'm glad that the tips have been helpful; I imagine you can definitely speed up the timeline to study. I don't think you need 2.5 years to study each topic. Most effective MCAT study schedules go from 2-5 months!

[@JGscienceGaming]

I’m currently planning on working towards the Masters program in counseling psychology so I have about 2 1/2 years totally worth the effort I’m putting into studying the material. Plus I I have been taking these classes yet so I have time. I’ll be in rolling in the premed program next spring one class at a time on the side of what I’m doing until I’m done my masters

[@thecatherinema1996]

Thanks for the tips. The hemiacetal structure should have another R group instead of a OR. (though most people will probably not pause every frame to draw out the structure like I did.)

[@vikcheban923]

I was starting to zone out, until the BUZZ sound at 7:05. Woke me up pretty quick

[@Shemmassian]

We got you ;)

[@kameronkeoho9633]

RIGHT?!? It made me jump lol. Totally scared me

[@natfrags]

Short and to the point! Thank you!

[@Shemmassian]

Glad it helped!

[@GhilledM21]

my man is doing so much work. thank you. and thanks for waking me up with that buzzer at 7:06

[@gwynyong]

This series is so helpful. I do not know how to organise to study for the MCAT and this helped me a lot. Thank you for your great works

[@Shemmassian]

Thanks, Andrew! Best of luck to you :)

[@sarahm.7514]

thank you for the mini-review!! honestly was super helpful!

[@Shemmassian]

We're so happy to hear! :)

[@DrJay-wr1df]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the naming of the compound @6:36 is incorrect; two benzene rings would be bibenzyl and they would be connected to each other by an ethyl (two carbons). The compound you drew was biphenyl, which would be a problem for this particular example because biphenyl has a higher density than water (as opposed to bibenzyl, which is less). Aside from that, thank you for the great video!

[@Shemmassian]

Hi Dr. Jay! Thank you for your detailed analysis. While we might have made a small mistake, the main point we are trying to drive home is how students should think about organic chemistry for the MCAT. Instead of getting lost in the weeds, we want students to really understand how to apply concepts they've learned to new situations. In an actual passage, you'd be given context, the proper name of the molecule, and likely the density if the test-writers plan on asking you a question about it. In any case, thank you very much for your comment and happy you enjoyed the video :)

[@yourfuturedocburenbeiya]

Thank you so much for these helpful videos!! The beeping/buzzer definitely got me alert and engaged answering the questions lol

[@Shemmassian]

Hah! Glad to hear.

[@raisashahin5846]

In the IR example you mentioned the correct answer is number (d) which is the carbonyl, but I thought the answer will be option (a) cause aldehyde has -OH bond too

[@Shemmassian]

An aldehyde has a carbonyl group (C=O), a hydrogen (H), and an R group (R). We don't see an -OH in an aldehyde! Hope this helps clarify :)

[@rmsl3720]

Thank you! It helps me a lot. I will come back with a great score and make you feel proud! :)

[@Shemmassian]

Best of luck!

[@jinghan1219]

This is so helpful, thanks!

[@Shemmassian]

You're welcome!

[@alexuselliott9770]

So helpful! I about screamed at the buzzer though lmao

[@NSchafft]

That buzzer scared me so much :P

[@Shemmassian]

Just making sure you're paying attention ;)

[@scarletth8211]

Do you have a video just on general chemistry only? Like the chemistry part of the Chem/Phys section? These videos really help a lot!!

[@Shemmassian]

Hi Scarlett! So happy to hear that you've been enjoying the videos. While we don't have a general chemistry specific video in this style, we have several general chemistry passage walkthroughs you may find helpful :) Also, make sure to read this: www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/mcat-chemistry

[@scarletth8211]

@@Shemmassian Thank you very much!

[@oreo4cheez]

Love this :)

[@Shemmassian]

Glad we could help. :)

[@MaddieCheeks5894]

Hi I love your videos!!!! Can you please release a video for PSYCH/SOC section???

[@Shemmassian]

;) Coming to a KZbin screen near you this Friday

[@graceanim974]

Can you make a video about the best books to use for the MCAT?

[@Shemmassian]

We have a guide on this on our site: www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/best-mcat-prep-books

[@FeedBackJ]

is your hemiacetal drawing wrong? shouldn't it just be R where there is R^3O

[@Shemmassian]

You are right-great catch. Thank you!

[@lindseychanel8529]

Where's the gen chem section?

[@dom6783]

You discussed separations and spectroscopy but which methods were purifications?

[@imosdefinite]

so do I need to know elimination and addition reactions?

[@adamleone3449]

Phenols are aromatic right (in the beginning you listed them separately)? And arent amides polar (I think a section bank question said they dissolve in the organic layer cuz they’re uncharged)?

[@Shemmassian]

You got it-phenols are aromatic! Amides are relatively polar. Is there a section from the video that caused confusion, or are you mainly referencing that section bank question?

[@adamleone3449]

Shemmassian Academic Consulting perfect thanks! Nope, just the section bank

[@lamboozled3350]

Can you make a video on how to approach the tougher/toughest MCAT passages on test day, such as what to do if you're not understanding a passage immediately. (Applies to all four sections) Cuz reading has been an issue for me, and not being able to understand a passage will obviously hinder me from understanding the passage questions. Thank you so much, and you must be over the moon by your 528.

[@Shemmassian]

Hey Anthony! I appreciate your kind words and comment. We will keep this suggestion in mind, and not understanding passages right off the bat is very common challenge for students taking the MCAT. A couple exercises you can try are: 1. Take a few passages without time constraints. This will both give you more time to understand the passage and give you confidence in your content knowledge. The AAMC generally writes passages in the same way (intro to a subject followed by a few experiments), and if you can understand a few passages very well, you can start to tease out the pattern that the test writers use. In general (not always), the first paragraph of a passage is an introduction to the topic. 2. Review every single passage that you take in a lot of depth. When you finish a passage and didn't understand the passage immediately, take it sentence by sentence during your review process. Was it a tricky word that tripped you up? Try to find a definition of that word that makes sense to you. Was it a specific area of content that you were shaky on? Go back to a content review book or KZbin video and try to understand that area of content. Was it a tricky graph or figure? Review every part of the graph and pretend you were going to present it to a scientist later that day. By understanding these different pieces, you are building a toolbox that will help you attack these passages with more confidence and more understanding. Hope this helps :)

[@lamboozled3350]

@@Shemmassian Thanks for your time! I'll probably be asking you a bunch of questions in the videos to come, if that's alright :)

[@Shemmassian]

@@lamboozled3350 That's more than alright! Looking forward to hearing from you. :)

[@lamboozled3350]

@@Shemmassian Hey Vikram, hope you’re doing well! I have another question in which I feel is pretty important. Do you think it’s absolutely necessary to use third party MCAT practice exams (e.g. NextStep, Altius, etc) because besides being good practice for stamina + content review, they’re known to never fully represent the real thing. Or do you think just doing the AAMC FLs is enough to succeed? Thank you so much for your time!

[@Shemmassian]

@@lamboozled3350 Great question! The third party MCAT practice exams are helpful for the exact reasons that you mentioned, and you should by no means discount the importance of stamina (7 hrs is long!) or content review (you do need a solid foundation of content to succeed on the exam). If you are scoring reasonably close to your goal range after 1 or 2 AAMC FLs, you might be alright with just using the AAMC FLs. In general, however, you should aim to take at least 7 to 8 practice exams (so at least a couple outside exams) when you prep for the MCAT!

[@janem2811]

Do you have any advice for someone who’s never taken organic chemistry? My test is scheduled for August 21st. I’ve been self studying for this subject (this is the only prereq I haven’t taken) and I am also enrolled in the Princeton review prep course. However, I’m finding it quite difficult to figure out which content to study for the MCAT and what to use for material. Any tips would really be helpful!

[@Shemmassian]

Great question, and figuring out high-yield info is half of the battle! For any subject that you haven't yet taken, my recommendation is to work your way all the way through an MCAT review book on that subject. This will help you learn all the material you need to know AND give you a good jumping point for doing more detailed review of the high yield areas. Hope this helps! It is definitely possible to take the exam without having taken one or two prereqs. Student routinely take the exam without biochemistry, for example!

[@camho7116]

can you go over gen chem study strategies?

[@Shemmassian]

We'll add this to the list! In the meantime, I think you'll find this helpful: www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/mcat-chemistry

[@kezakelvey8200]

So what about isomers and their types and so on..... That's something very hard for could you please help??????

[@Shemmassian]

Hey Keza! Those are definitely important, and we'll publish a resource on isomers to help out in the future. In the meantime, do you have any specific isomer questions that we can answer?

[@kezakelvey8200]

Shemmassian Academic Consulting no I don’t have specific for me that concept is hard to understand but I have started working on functional groups cuz of your awesome video which helped me how to start at least thanks bro

[@Shemmassian]

@@kezakelvey8200 Happy to hear that it was helpful! If you come across any specific questions on isomers or functional groups, feel free to circle back here and drop them in the comments. Odds are, if you have a question, other people have the same one, and we'll get back to you with answers ASAP!

[@kezakelvey8200]

Shemmassian Academic Consulting Sure appreciate your help

[@matthewshannon7235]

you are THE man

[@Shemmassian]

Thanks for the support, Matthew! :)

[@Syrianp4pi]

If you have time , is it a good idea to understand and memorize Organic Chemistry Mechanisms?

[@Shemmassian]

Hello! You can view everything you need to know here: www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/mcat-organic-chemistry

[@akshaypeddireddy1235]

Vikram, what are your tips for succeding in the OCHEM MCAT section. Just got done with Ochem 1 and it was a struggle in my college and I barely pulled out the A but kinda nervous that I will be expected to recall all these complex mechanisms and multi-step synthesis questions for the MCAT?

[@DR-kh9bl]

can we take these power points?

[@Shemmassian]

Hi! unfortunately we don't have these in .ppt format. Please bookmark the video and return to it whenever you need to! :)

[@Scriabin_fan]

Good looking and intelligent! I’m ugly Af but at least I’m above average 😫

[@Shemmassian]

Positive self-talk only around these parts. :) You're doing just fine and you'll do great things! We'll help you however we can.

[@hussamm24]

people are harsher on themselves trust me, you probably look fine. also it doesn't mean anything really. Many good looking people are rotten on the inside;)

[@Scriabin_fan]

@@hussamm24 I just hate myself lmao

[@gloow16]

King