General Discussion

I made the mistake of taking 2 semesters of organic chem in 8 weeks of summer school. 3-4 hours of lecture every morning M-F and lab for 4 hours every afternoon, and then homework. Test every Monday morning. Killer.

This was the summer right after I finished nursing school. I had fantasies of applying to med school after finishing nursing school. The prof was a good guy, and knew pretty much everyone in the class was taking the course because they needed it for some reason other than wanting to be a chem major. He was generous with the curve so no one would fail. The final exam was not graded on a curve, and I was a combination of relieved, embarrassed and proud to pull off a C on the exam - 140 point out of 200. Relieved that I passed, embarrassed to be happy with a C for the first time ever, and proud that I had managed this without cheating. During that final exam, I noticed that a number of other students in the class had written formulas on the legs of their scruffy jeans and had probably been doing so all along, which would have accounted for the As some people were getting every week, while many of us were scraping by. Never occurred to me to cheat.

With a C in organic, I never even bothered to fill out any med school applications, as, back in the early 1970s, no one would even look at you if you didn't have an A in organic.

I will always wonder how I might have done in that class had I taken it over 2 regular semesters. I had nightmares about it for years, always the same - it was the last week of class, and I hadn't done any of the homework or labs, and my dream self was wondering if it was too late to drop the course. My real self should have dropped it 2 weeks in.

I kept that damn book for years as a symbol of having survived the class.