Illustrated by Lily Ogburn
For a pre-med student taking biology and organic chemistry at the same time, the lab can be as long as eight hours a week.
Taking biology and organic chemistry classes at the same time is an inevitable fate for many Northwestern University pre-med students. With 2 quarter sequences, each containing 2 to 4 hours of lab time, some students find it emotionally and mentally exhausting.
Most students choose this combination during their sophomore year, but others may choose a different path. Tara Chen, a sophomore at Weinberg College, said, Those who completed the sequence at the end of the winter term found it difficult to manage the total course load.
“I was very relieved to be able to do that,” Chen said. “It just put a really big strain on my sophomore year and I didn’t enjoy my sophomore year of college at all.”
They said they had “zero” free time outside of studying, eating and sleeping during the first two quarters of the school year, partly because of the lengthy lab section.
By the second quarter of the sequence, students typically take two 4-hour labs in addition to their regular coursework in biology and organic chemistry classes. Chen said the eight-hour weekly lab commute, in addition to studying, takes a toll on his mental health.
Chen skipped the Chem 215-2: Organic Chemistry II exam at some point during the winter term because he had a panic attack the night before. That week, they met each other within 24 hours of him taking two tests, followed by four hours of labs and an additional lab report.
“After I finished studying for the bio exam, I would have had to write a lab report and study for the org exam,” Chen said. “It was such a brutal combination that I thought, ‘I can’t do it right now.'”
Their professor accepted them and exempted them from the exam when they got their doctor’s certificate.
Weinberg’s first-year student Ethan Lee is currently taking the biology and organic chemistry sequences, which will be completed in the fall quarter of 2023. His organic chemistry professor said he treated the course lab like another class with quizzes, midterms, and a final exam.
“I only got 3.3 credits, but I feel like I got 4 credits because of the lab,” says Lee.
He said he chose to take three classes each quarter instead of four, but a set of time management techniques he learned from older students in his pre-medical courses. will be taking two online classes this summer to keep up with course planning.
Lee says she uses resources such as peer-guided study groups, office hours with professors, and tutoring opportunities to manage her course load.
Weinberg sophomore Julie Paska, who completed the sequence in the Winter Quarter, stayed after class to ask questions and set up one-on-one meetings with her professor, using whatever help she could find. said. She said the course was difficult, but she managed to do well by the end of the sequence.
“I am learning how to interpret, analyze and leverage a whole new language of science, while also balancing it with other classes,” Paska said. “It’s a little stressful, but not completely impossible.”
On a typical day while taking his biology and organic chemistry courses, Paska would wake up at 6 or 7 a.m., study until about 10 p.m., and wake up the next day to do the same.
Paska said she worked too hard in the fall and learned to prioritize sleep by the winter quarter.
“I realized that I could study for hours at a time, but if I didn’t get enough sleep, I wouldn’t really get anything,” Paska said.
Paska said the persistent challenges presented in class taught her to be a more resilient student and to take initiative when seeking support.
Since she’s no longer in the sequence, Paska said she was “straight-up horrified.”
“I feel like I actually have time to do things outside of school, and I can spend time alone or with friends without feeling afraid or pressured,” Paska said.
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