CHEM 2421

The course that will destroy your pre-med dreams.

This class is as terrible as everyone says. Even though we often finished the weekly 4-hour labs early, the reaction mechanisms and related concepts for each lab were much more difficult to understand and retain. Really understand the reactions while you write the lab report so that it makes studying for the final a lot easier. Dr. Hunt was a good lecturer when he wasn't going too fast and he knows all of the labs so well that he can answer basically any question. I respect him as a professor, but I definitely despise his class because of the unfair grading system and the impossible final (you basically need to remember every intermediate, starting product, transition state, side product, product, etc of every reaction). Hope for a good TA (if not, go to other TA office hours) and work diligently on the lab reports and post lab questions. This class takes over your life, so don't take it unless you have to.

wow. terrible class. you literally open up ISIS and have NO idea what grade you are going to see on your transcript. this class WILL take over your life. hunt told us he aims for the average final to be a 55. just get through it, it sucks for being a year long, and your non pre med friends will be so sick of you bitching about orgo lab. this class stole 15 hours of my life every week my whole year that i will never get back. i have never in my life been so excited for a class to be over-the only good thing is i have heard from someone at uva med if you can get through hunt's orgo lab, you can get through ANYTHING in life. have fun next year

I wanted to hurt myself because it was so hard. I've never had such a hard class before. You might be able to do it.. but honestly, I was trying to pass after a couple of the first couple of labs and lab reports.

If you start early and work hard, you'll be okay. But sometimes, it's a hit or miss. Maybe you'll be fine. Just for me... I know I got owned. Hard.

I never got the impression that Dr. Hunt was some malicious or bitter man trying to punish students. He made jokes in lecture (though he does have a wry sense of humor) and was flexible and understanding when I had to reschedule my final exam. True, this class is hard and requires a lot of work. Sometimes, nobody in the section gets results. I don't think that Dr. Hunt is to blame, though. This is organic chemistry lab - it isn't supposed to be easy. To do well, you have to be willing to put in the hours.

Dr. Hunt is not as cruel as the grades would show. He is a good lecturer. But be warned, regardless of you're T.A. lab reports will again take much longer although post labs are easier as they focus on mechanisms for the most part. DO THE SAMPLE FINAL AFTER EACH LAB. It really helps. Be prepared for another hard final, it will be much more manageable than the 1st semester though. STRUCTURES STRUCTURES STRUCTURES!

Labs and reports weren't too hard as long as you understood the theory behind the experiments. Having a good TA who is willing to help you is helpful, though it doesn't really matter if your TA grades hard or easy, because everyone in your section will be judged the same in the section ranking. Basically your final exam grade determines your final overall grade. Don't be fooled by the fact that the final exam only counts for 20% of your final grade. I went and spoke with Hunt and his reasoning is that you only deserve an A in the class if you get an A on the final exam. You can work your ass off in the class and write top notch reports, but still get destroyed by his killer final and end up with a miserable grade.

Tough if you can't stand a little pressure, otherwise just take it easy and take your time on the lab reports and you will be fine. The final will be hard, but not impossible if you memorize, well, everything...

Great TA this semester. Still the same hard professor as before.

Hard as ballls, like other people have said, you have to spend at least 6 hours a week per lab/lab report/learning lab. It is absolutely essential. I didn't do this first semester and did terribly, spent at least 5 hours a week this year and am doing quite well. Remember, the more time you spend with something the more you will know it, and the easier it will come on the hardest final exam you will ever take in your entire life.