Start Early

The two primary reasons students struggle and do poorly in an organic chemistry course are as follows:

Problem 1: Students use a flawed study/learning approach and never properly “learn how to learn” organic chemistry because learning organic chemistry requires an approach that is different from other courses, and

Problem 2: Students don’t learn core principles and how to apply them in ways that make answering questions logical and systematic.

Problem 1 inevitably leads to problem 2 which leads to struggling, gnashing of teeth, and poor performance.

Most students do not have a learned or innate understanding of how to approach this course effectively because the course demands an approach that is unfamiliar to most students. “Studying harder” will probably not be the answer because doing more of the unhelpful approach will probably just result in more of what isn't working. This is why even top students tend to struggle despite putting in a mountain of effort and study time.

You know the Benjamin Franklin saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The best way to combat problems 1 and 2 is to take preemptive measures and address these issues BEFORE, or as your organic chemistry course begins. In other words, let's combine our talents at the very beginning of the course.