How to study for organic chemistry?

How to study for organic chemistry? I get asked this question pretty frequently…and while there is no easy answer (because every student is different), here is the four-pronged solution that we have come up with here.  This answer is based on a survey of organic chemistry professors that we conducted a while back.  They told us the best ways to study and the ways to avoid.  If you are interested in looking at the results of the entire survey, you can find them here—> how to pass organic chemistry (or even get an A).  We will summarize it for you here though.  It is actually pretty simple.

Situation: the organic chemistry is coming soon.  Too soon!  Not nearly enough studying has been done yet.

Step 1: Watch some organic chemistry review videos. It is really helpful to hear someone else teach the material in a little bit different way, and review videos will condense the material down for you. Here are our favorites organic chemistry videos (which happen to be ours)

Step 2: Work practice tests and practice problems. Over 90% of the professors we surveyed said this was the best way to learn organic chemistry. There are organic chemistry test banks out there (see organic chemistry test bank) that will work wonders for you.

Step 3: Find some good flashcards and practice non-stop with those. If you can’t find decent ones, make your own and emphasize the topics you didn’t do well with in step 2.  Good old fashioned 3’x5′ index cards work great.  Making them will help you learn the material even better.

Step 4: If you can, learn the material rather than memorizing it.  Organic chemistry is a discipline that requiring understanding…HOWEVER if you are pressed for time, then just memorize the heck out of it now and then go back and LEARN it before the final exam.

Hope this was helpful.  Obviously learning a complex subject like organic chemistry is more difficult than just four easy steps, but if you study hard it will go just fine.