[chimistry]

Hello,

I'm a student currently in my second semester of organic chemistry in community college, soon to move on to a university to finish a BS in chem. While I'm performing well in the course, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm not learning enough to successfully transition to a four year school to complete my degree.

I feel as though the curriculum of my school is not rigorous enough, and have asked my professor numerous times if I'm prepared enough to tackle higher level university courses. They believe I'm on the right path and succeeding, however I find myself looking at work being done by other university students (like through this forum), and feeling that my progress is lacking.

For example, I have noticed other students homework on this forum consisting of completing synthesis equations by choosing the correct catalysts and solvent, or even finishing them by predicting the results of the synthesis itself.

When looking at these equations, I don't feel confident to even begin working on it. It seems evident that the homework I'm completing consists mainly of fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions, but I rarely encounter problems like the ones stated above.

I'm determined to make up these shortcomings as best as I can through self study, but I don't have a good reference point to understand what level I should be performing at as I finish the course and move on.

I'm hoping for myself and perhaps future forum readers you could provide me with a reference point through your experiences.

What concepts and problems should I feel confident working with when leaving both general chemistry and organic chemistry?

Thank you for reading

[Corribus]

A good barometer would be something like one of the AP Chemistry exams (or equivalent). Alternatively, if you can answer questions in the back of each chapter of a college-level introductory chemistry and organic chemistry textbook, you're probably on the right track.