CHEM 5110

This class is as difficult as you would expect a graduate-level chemistry course to be. Dr. McGarvey does a good job explaining very difficult material. Don't take this class unless you are serious about chemistry and willing to struggle with the material. If you are then this class is definitely worth it.

Overview:
If you think that organic chemistry is pure memorization of reactions, then don't take this class. McGarvey is not going to baby people with useless problem sets/tests filled with questions about general principles or quintessential questions of reactivity/mechanism. He's going to make you think. With that said, you must be able to recite/reference mechanisms and principles from intro orgo. If you can not, you will struggle in the class.
The class provides a rigorous analysis of reactivity of compounds. McGarvey does this by assessing structural characteristics. He surveys different reaction mechanisms of functional groups and presents reasoning, both from a thermodynamic and kinetic approach, in order to predict preferential reactivity and product formation.
He integrates some physical chemistry concepts such as Huckel calculations and MO theory for pericyclic reactions. He integrates some instrumental analysis when it comes with reasoning data to explain electronic structure of molecules or isotope effects.

The problem sets are difficult. As I said, he's not going to give you some example from class. Instead, you will get problems that require A LOT of effort. With that said, the problem sets were not graded, but they helped prepare you for the tests.

The tests are also amazingly difficult. McGarvey compensates for this by allowing regrades where you rework the problems and receive a portion of the points back. After all the regrades are done, McGarvey will post a key and work out some important problems in class to further reinforce lecture principles.

In the end, it was an amazing course. I actually felt that the time I put into the class was rewarding rather than just p***ing me off.
Also, McGarvey could easily become an artist. What he can do with a piece of chalk and a chalkboard is damn near inspiring. Watching him draw structures on the board is enough to keep you interested, even if you have no idea what is going on.

There's not much more I can add to the other reviews except for my own personal opinion.
I loved this course. The concepts we covered were amazing. The further into details you get with organic chemistry, the more fun it becomes... and more difficult!
As the others on here have said, this course is best if you really, really enjoy organic chemistry, because it is no joke. The exams are excruciatingly difficult. But it's not because the exams aren't fair, they're just designed to make you think about the material covered in class, sometimes at a level one step above what was covered in class.
What definitely made it all worth it though was the level of interest. The material was incredible and I learned so much. The problem sets really developed and improved my ability to work with mechanisms. I could go on and on...
If you like organic, I absolutely recommend this course. But get ready, it's a journey.