MCAT and Organic Chemistry Study Guides, Videos, Cheat Sheets, tutoring and more

  • Tutoring
  • Organic Chem
    • Organic Chemistry Videos
    • Organic Chemistry Tutoring
    • Study Hall – Membership Site
  • MCAT
  • About
  • Contact
  • Tutoring
  • Organic Chem
    • Organic Chemistry Videos
    • Organic Chemistry Tutoring
    • Study Hall – Membership Site
  • MCAT
  • About
  • Contact

Sample Organic Chemistry Preview Calendar

June 30, 2015 By Leah4sci

Organic Chemistry is one of the more difficult undergrad courses you’ll face. Notorious for it’s low class averages and high withdrawal rates, this course can impact your GPA negatively if you are not prepared.

With your Orgo 1 or 2 course just around the corner, don’t risk starting the semester unprepared. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you may fail and have to endure the expense of retaking the course.

For a specific list of what to study when, given how much time you have till your semester begins, check out my Organic Chemistry Preview Study Guide

Instead, use the time between now and your upcoming course to prepare and pre-learn the material.

Yes you’ll wind up going through everything twice,

but on YOUR OWN TERMS!

How do you prepare for the upcoming course?

  • Become as familiar as possible with the curriculum
  • watch tutorial videos
  • read your textbook
  • work on practice problems
  • find EVEN MORE problems to practice

Given the level of difficulty, you cannot and should not attempt to cram.

You can’t cram during your orgo semester, and you certainly cannot cram for it in preparation for your upcoming semester.

Remember: Organic chemistry is about understanding rather than memorization.

Especially when it comes to reactions and mechanisms.

  • You have to work through each reaction mechanism slowly to ensure you understand EXACTLY what is going on.
  • Why do these electrons move to attack?
  • Why does this particular atom get attacked?
  • What does the intermediate look like?
  • What attacks the intermediate?
  • What’s the purpose of this reaction?
    and so on…

While it may appear that your current break will go on forever, it’ll be over before you know it.

You absolutely cannot wait till the last minute to start preparing for your organic chemistry course, and you certainly cannot afford to show up to class on day 1 expecting to learn the material for the first time.

So How Do You Prepare?

Your goal is to set up a realistic study schedule breaking down the required material into bite-sized chunks. Learn a little bit each day, mull it over, and learn some more the following day.

With this method you won’t find yourself overwhelmed and you’ll still see measurable progress on a weekly basis.

So how do you create a balanced schedule that allows you to learn the material but ALSO gives you time for everything else in life? Take a minute to watch this video first.

As an orgo tutor, my students often ask me to help them come up with a study schedule to map out a realistic timeline. I’ve decided to include a few samples here to help you create your own.

Remember, these are samples, you need to compare my calendar to your schedule taking into account work/school/life/holidays… and adjust accordingly.

Students preparing for Orgo 1

If you’re preparing for Orgo 1 your goal is to get through ALL of orgo 1 in time for classes to begin. If you have just 1-2 weeks till classes begin try to at least cover the material required for your first exam and then proceed to stay ahead of your syllabus all semester.

Students Preparing for Orgo 2

If you’re preparing for Orgo 2 then you must create a schedule that allows you to do both.

  • Review organic chemistry 1
  • Preview organic chemistry 2

Many orgo 2 students don’t realize this, but orgo 2 is simply orgo 1 on steroids. You will encounter the very same reactions, concepts, and mechanisms, but taking to a higher level.
The reactions will be the same, but more complex, the mechanisms will follow the same logic, but have more steps, and the reagents will be greater in number and complexity.

Students Reviewing ALL of organic chemistry for Exams

If you’re already taken organic chemistry but require a crash course in preparation for your upcoming MCAT / PCAT / DAT… then you need to devote equal time to reviewing both organic chemistry 1 and 2.

Where do you find concise review materials?

  • Have time and want hard-core step by step review? Join the Organic Chemistry Study Hall for semester-paced in depth tutorial + practice videos
  • Have some more time? Check out my
    • Orgo 1 Preview/Review YouTube Playlist
    • Orgo 2 Preview/Review YouTube Playlist
  • Really low on time? I recommend the Organic Chemistry Bootcamp Crash Course meant to be consumed in 3-5 days per orgo semester.

Let’s take a look at 3 sample calendars:

  • 2 weeks remain till your organic chemistry 1 course (preview early material)
  • 2 weeks remain till your organic chemistry 2 course (preview early material)
  • 8 weeks remain until your organic chemistry 2 course. (if you’re about to start orgo 1 simply follow the first 3 weeks but give yourself 2-3 days per day for the orgo 1 material to allow for learning and practice)

2 Week Calendar for Orgo 1

Orgo 1 preview calendar 2 weeks

2 Week Calendar for Orgo 2

Orgo 2 preview calendar 2 weeks

8 Week Calendar for Orgo 2

Organic Chemistry 2 study calendar 8 week preview

Schedule doesn't match up perfectly?

That's ok, these are just sample calendars to give you an idea of how to break things up. You need to create a calendar listing YOUR number of weeks and YOUR study requirements.

Be sure to

  • Watch “How to Prepare for Upcoming Semester”
  • Read my new Organic Chemistry Preview Guide: What to Pre-Study for the Upcoming Semester

Created your calendar? Let me know in the comments below or tag me @leah4sci on instagram. 

Organic Chemistry Preview Guide What to Pre-Study for the Upcoming Organic Chemistry SemesterHow to Prepare for Your Upcoming Organic Chemistry Semester by leah4sci

Filed Under: Organic Chemistry Reference Material Tagged With: calendar, cheat sheet, organic chemistry, orgo

3 Month MCAT Plan

What does a 3-month MCAT Study Plan entail? Click to Read/Download

3 month mcat study plan leah4sci

Can I help you find a topic?

Download my Free Organic Chemistry Cheat Sheets by clicking on the image below



MCAT Tutorials, Videos & More

MCAT Home Page
Scroll down for orgo resources
MCAT Math Without a Calculator
MCAT Physics
MCAT Chemistry
MCAT Biology
MCAT Biochemistry
MCAT CARS / Critical Reading
MCAT Resources, Tips & More

Organic Chemistry Tutorials & Videos

Orgo Syllabus Companion
- Gen Chem Foundation for Orgo
- Orgo Basics Foundation
- Resonance Structures
- Naming Organic Compounds
- Acids and Bases
- Newman Projections
- Chair Conformations
- Chirality and Stereochemistry
- Fischer Projections
- Intro to Mechanisms
- Alkene Reactions
- Alkyne Reactions
- Free Radical Reactions
- Substitution Elimination Reactions
- Diels Alder
- Aromaticity & Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (EAS)
- Alcohols
- Oxidation and Reduction
- Acetal / Ketal
- Enolate Reactions
- Proton NMR Spectroscopy

Organic Chemistry Study Guide Cheat Sheets

2025 MCAT Test Dates

Click image below for test + score release dates and more

Radicals: Reactions, Stability Hybridization+

Click for New Tutorial: All about Free Radicals

Free Radicals in Organic Chemistry - Hybridization, Stability, Resonance, Reactions and Mechanism Videos

MCAT Students Come Work With Me

Work with me to figure out exactly what YOU need to ace your MCAT

Option 1: Strategy, tutorials, my help every step of the way in the MCAT Study Hall
[click for details]

Option 2 One-on-one Private MCAT Tutoring

Orgo Students: Come Work With Me

Work with me to ace your Organic Chemistry Course
Option 1: Join me for bimonthly live review/Q & A Sessions, 50+ Hours of Topic-Specific review/practice sessions, direct access to me and so much more... [click for details]

Option 2 One-on-one Private Tutoring

Organic Chemistry Reference Material and Cheat Sheets

Alkene Reactions Overview Cheat Sheet – Organic Chemistry

The true key to successful mastery of alkene reactions lies in practice practice practice. However, … [Read More...]

Click for additional cheat sheets

MCAT Tutorials

mcat math without a calculator 1 play

Introduction To MCAT Math Without A Calculator

While the pre-2015 MCAT only tests you on science and verbal, you are still required to perform … [Read More...]

Click for additional MCAT tutorials

Organic Chemistry Tutorial Videos

KET Keto enol tautomerization reaction and mechanism leah4sci

Keto Enol Tautomerization Reaction and Mechanism

Keto Enol Tautomerization or KET, is an organic chemistry reaction in which ketone and enol … [Read More...]

Click for additional orgo tutorial videos

Copyright © 2025 · Leah4Sci - All Rights Reserved. · Sitemap · Log in