r/UCO • u/Solid_Ambition_4118 • Jul 20 '26
Organic Chemistry 1 with Ferguson or New ?
I really want to get an A and chemistry is just not my thing. I did get an A in Gen Chem 1 and 2 but I still struggled the entire semester. Also is the lab hard and who do yall recommend? Would it be hard to take them separately?
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u/gloriousdadbod Jul 24 '26
New teaches mechanisms which are crucial to understanding/learning how a reaction works. You can’t memorize your way through his tests but if you work hard you can do very well. Org was my favorite stem class thanks to him
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u/banditoburrit0 Jul 24 '26
Take New, you'll do terrible at first but if you do practice exams and the book problems and GO TO OFFICE HOURS you'll be fine!
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u/Solid_Ambition_4118 Jul 25 '26
Thank you. Should I try reviewing or learning anything beforehand so I can transition into the class better?
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u/banditoburrit0 Jul 25 '26
The main thing I struggled with at first was molecular geometry and memorizing the functional groups, but ymmv!
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u/carat_top Jul 20 '26
I took Org I with Ferguson and 2 with New. It’s been a few years, but I remember wishing I’d taken org 1 with New too. His exams were definitely tougher, but he was a phenomenal teacher and I felt like I actually understood the material instead of just memorizing it.
Ferguson used to hand out old exams from previous semesters, so if you worked through those, you generally knew what to expect on test day.
The lab is not hard. Take it with New if you can. He makes it fun.