I Nearly Failed Organic Chemistry…!

That day will be burned in my memory forever:
Here I was, in my Premed advisor’s office – bawling my eyes out.

I was on the verge of failing Organic Chemistry — and failing would mean my dream of getting into medical school would go up in smoke.

It didn’t make sense.
While I’m not a genius, I’m certainly not a dumb student. I’d been earning top grades on some very difficult science courses. Yet, here I was crying like a baby because of Organic Chemistry.

I thought I did everything right!

I showed up to class, took good notes, attempted homework regularly and memorized solutions when I got them wrong.

I even went to the learning center for help when I got stuck. I crammed the night before exams. And yet here I was, about to fail.

This class was about to wreck my GPA and chances of getting into medical school.

But why?

The threat of failure was devastating.

I remember the horrified look on my advisor’s face as this big girl (me) towered over his tiny 5-foot frame crying because everything I’d worked and sacrificed for was about to go right down the drain.

What went wrong?

In high school, I was considered “smart enough.” Not brilliant, but smart enough to take it easy. Cram just enough the night before exams to suit my lazy habits and still get good grades.

I worked just a bit harder in college. And it seemed to be enough. I aced History, Biology… I even outscored the native Spanish speakers in Spanish class, all 4 semesters!

Orgo, not so much.

You probably know what’s coming: One does not simply show up to class, take notes, cram before exams, and ace this course. Not going to happen. This is a lesson I learned the hard way, and perhaps just a bit too late.

I was crying because my advisor asked me to make a decision: withdraw from the class 2 days before the deadline, or walk away with a big fat F on my transcript.

My dreams of being a doctor were crumbling right before me, and there was nothing I could do. Without passing Organic Chemistry, there was no way I could go to medical school.

Could I even BE a doctor now?

Not unless something changed. But if I couldn’t pass then, how would I pass later?

I didn’t understand HOW to study and learn Organic Chemistry. I tried to memorize concepts and reactions, and somehow walked away with a 56 on my first exam. Sadly, the class average was a only a 27… so this 56 was about a B+/A-.

My advisor assured me that if I studied hard I could bring my grades up. I could even walk away with an A!

I believed him.

And I tried… I REALLY, REALLY did! I went to office hours to ask questions. I went to the Learning Center to get peer tutoring. And I memorized ALL THE HOMEWORK QUESTIONS.

But therein was the problem.

I didn’t really get it.

I memorized reactions and mechanisms.

And when they were tested in an unfamiliar format, I froze! I had no idea what I was looking at. I had no clue how to tackle mechanisms and synthesis questions.

And I never recovered from that 56.

The withdrawal deadline was just days before my third exam. So I chose the cowardly option and ran as far from Organic Chemistry as I could.

The breakthrough I didn’t see coming…

Still a Premed student, I HAD to retake the class. And so I spent the next 2 years fretting about it. Trying to figure out WHAT I could do differently this time. Worried that I’d waste even more money on a class I still couldn’t get through. Scared that if I failed again I’d never get into medical school.

What could I do to ensure that I not only passed, but get an A in the class?

During this time I was working as a Biology tutor in the Learning Center. While helping Biology students master cellular and molecular biology, I slowly began to understand what it meant to actually LEARN… as opposed to just memorize.

The method I discovered is the very method that helped me not only ace Organic Chemistry the second time around, but it helped my study group single-handedly destroy the grading curve.  In Organic Chemistry 1, and again in Organic Chemistry 2.

I fell in love with the science and declared Chemistry as my second major.

What was the secret that made the massive shift for me?

It’s not a secret at all.

It was really and truly UNDERSTANDING concepts instead of memorizing them…

Understanding the logic behind every nucleophilic attack and broken pi bond.
Understanding the reason why every electron pair will form a bond or break away into a lone pair.
Why certain atoms get attacked while others prefer to DO the attacking as a nucleophile or base.

Classmates began to ask for my help… and their friends… and their friends! And before I knew it, I was the Organic Chemistry tutor. Despite having THE HARDEST Orgo professor, my students came out with top grades.

Now it’s your turn.

My strategy involves taking complex material, breaking it down on a micro level, and making it make sense. Plain and simple.

My passion for helping people through medicine transitioned into a passion for helping students (like you) not only ACE Organic Chemistry, but perhaps even to learn to love it like I do. And it happens! Every semester I help dozens if not hundreds of students not just pass Orgo… but blow it out of the water.

I’m not just a tutor. I mean, I can be… but one-on-one tutoring doesn’t work for everyone. I charge $120/hour for daytime sessions and $160/hour for limited night/weekend sessions. But there are only so many hours in the day in which I can help students.

I also find that Organic Chemistry students always need help with the same concepts and the same questions, but not all at once. Each student has a different pace, following a specific professor’s schedule.

What you need is a tutoring program that you can customize to your own pace and schedule.

And so I’ve created  the Organic Chemistry Study Hall.

It’s a self-paced, tutoring alternative following the very system that helped me ace Organic Chemistry, and helped hundreds of my Orgo tutoring clients do the same.

There’s one thing you must do to pass Orgo…

Actually get it.

It’s the only way to do well.

That’s where the Organic Chemistry Study Hall comes in.

It’s the very program I wish I’d had the very first time I took Organic Chemistry. It would have saved me from at least one major crisis and years of angst.

Here’s the thing: I’m a tough gal. I handled dual 50-caliber machine guns while on a deployment with the US Navy to Iraq and Kuwait. I’m not someone who cries about much, let alone grades.

And this is the program that would have saved me from that awkward crying spell in my Premed advisor’s office.

But passing Orgo isn’t just about avoiding bad grades. It’s not about getting a decent tutor who loves chemistry and knows how to explain things well. You need a set of proven learning tools that meet you right where you are and won’t let go until you’ve truly got it.

The Tools to Succeed in Organic Chemistry:

1. A means to learn the information in a manner that ensures you understand every concept, every mechanism, every reaction, every reagent.
2. The ability to test your knowledge through practice questions, more than just the questions provided by your professor. And more importantly, get the step by step LOGICAL explanations for each solution.
3. The ability to ASK questions as you get stuck on homework problems. Not IF, WHEN!
4. The ability to learn at YOUR own pace on YOUR own schedule covering the very topics YOU NEED at the time.

And that’s exactly what you get in the Organic Chemistry Study Hall.

With your membership in the Organic Chemistry Study Hall, you get instant access to the tools you need to pass the class, along with ongoing instruction and support with ME, your awesome new tutor.

• Instant access to an ever-growing Organic Chemistry Video Library. This library breaks down Orgo 1 & 2 concepts into logical explanations with practice questions, tips, tricks, shortcuts, and more. You can pick a video on any topic at all and come away with a full understanding. No more hours spent bending over boring textbooks trying to make sense of what’s going on.
• Every video comes with full color PDF notes so you can play to your unique learning style. You can sit back and follow along with your eyes and ears, or get your hands involved and write notes for yourself directly on the explanations. You know what works best for you, and you get to choose.
• New Quiz/Exam review section with videos featuring practice problems and solutions. This includes video explanations to all of the Leah4sci Quizzes AND student-submitted practices quizzes and exams! You’ll get a good feel for how topics are tested AND how to work through the problems with a focus on tips, tricks, and time-saving shortcuts
• Two LIVE Q&A or Review Sessions every month. In these small-group sessions, I’ll be answering YOUR questions LIVE, while also creating the opportunity to learn even more and participate in the group. We’ll reason through and solve problems together — it’s like an actively engaged study group that you can attend from the comfort of your computer.
• BONUS: Facebook tutoring group where you can post your DAILY study questions as you get stuck. Get fast help with any in-class problems, homework, or practice quiz/exam questions you’re tackling.
• BONUS: New videos added regularly. Every time I teach a live workshop, the notes & videos will be added to the Study Hall library.

The Organic Chemistry Study Hall has everything.

This is an exclusive program, and it’s not free.

You know what else isn’t free? Tuition when you have to take Organic Chemistry again. An extra semester (or year) of college enrollment fees because your academic schedule got thrown off when you had to retake Orgo. Living expenses you rack up in the months or years between your original med school timeframe, and your “adjusted” one.

And me! Remember, I regularly charge over $100 for an hour of private tutoring.

So before you resign yourself to another semester of hating Organic Chemistry, let’s take a look at what you really get with the Study Hall:

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• Unlimited Access to the workshop video + notes library, covering just about every organic chemistry topic. That’s 50+ hours, with new videos added regularly.
  (value: $100 each = $5,000+ )
• Quiz/Exam Workshop videos to test yourself and learn where you need to study and what you already know.
  (value: priceless)
• Two Monthly live review workshop Q&A sessions where you can participate and ask questions.
  (value: $200/mo)
• Exclusive Facebook Group to post unlimited questions for me and the rest of the group, with fast feedback.
  (value: $500+/month value for daily or weekly questions)
• Member-Only Discounts on private tutoring AND my full and mini-bootcamps taught through the year.
• Confidence to ace your Organic Chemistry course while studying on YOUR schedule and with your unique testing needs.
  (value: priceless)

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As you can see, the total value of this program easily adds up to thousands, and that’s just for the first month.

If you were to hire a local tutor (or me) to teach you this information, you’d be paying 4 figures and more… and that’s not even counting the 50+ hours of tutoring and notes in the Study Hall video library. That library alone is worth more than $5,000.

But you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to get the help you need.

I’ve put together a special offer for you today, and I think you’re going to like it.

If you join the Study Hall right now, you’ll pay just $99 $67 today, and $99 $67 every additional month for as long as you choose to remain a member.

That’s less than the price of a single hour of private tutoring with me, for full access to the video library, the live sessions with me, and all the other Study Hall resources.

This is a no-contract, stay-as-long-as-you-like, cancel-any-time membership.

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Is the Study Hall right for you?

Only you can decide. But let me ask you this: can you afford NOT to join?

Can you afford to continue struggling with the information?

Do you have the time to waste hours of reading that won’t answer your questions, and then waste additional hours working on homework problems when you don’t really understand how to derive the correct answers (and why)?

Can your overall grade and GPA afford another low score on your next quiz or exam?

Or maybe you’re not sure the Study Hall really delivers.

Try it for yourself. You’ll see immediately that this is a valuable program that will help you reach your goals.

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But don’t take my word for it.

I’ve helped thousands of students not just pass Orgo, but ACE it. Here are just a few of their success stories:

[testimonial2 author=”David – Predental – Hofstra University” + pic=”https://studyhall.leah4sci.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/20130918_223708.jpg”]“Using the Organic Chemistry Study Hall was absolutely one of the best decisions I could have possibly made for a better grade. Like most people, I was scared for Orgo and really needed help. The Study Hall was amazing because whenever I didn’t understand an idea, a topic, or even a chapter, I easily found everything I needed to review. Leah explains everything is such a way that related more to me, which definitely helped a lot. The videos are so explicit and Leah dedicated so much time to answering any questions I had. The fact that the Study Hall was so interactive with live topic reviews and other Orgo students answering each others questions was the best and most helpful part. I learned so much more then I did in class and without the Study Hall, I would not have passed Orgo with flying colors. Thanks Leah!!!”[/testimonial2]

[testimonial2 author=”Emma – University of Tennessee” + pic=”https://studyhall.leah4sci.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/emma.jpg”]“I think that I have already learned more in the last day or so than I have since August and also have more confidence in my studying. This is awesome!”[/testimonial2]

See Exactly What You Get as a Study Hall Member

Watch the Ever-Growing Library of Recorded Topic-Specific Workshops & Q&A Sessions.

Since opening the Study Hall in 2012, I’ve conducted regular, live, topic-specific, hour-long review Q&A sessions. The video library contains all these recorded workshop videos, edited for brevity, along with full-color PDF notes.

With over 50 videos and new ones added regularly, you can “attend” these workshops by selecting your topic from the list, watching as if you were there. Listen as I teach about the topic basics, then listen for the answers given to student questions.

Pause the video when I ask a question while you attempt to draw the reaction, mechanism or product. Watch the video to see if you go the right solution, then listen for the explanation, step by step directions, and additional Q&A.

Trust me: if you have a question, chances are someone asked the same question and the answer is already waiting for you.

You’ll find videos ranging all the way from Orgo 1 basics to advanced Orgo 2 reactions. See video topic list on the right.

Test Yourself in the Quiz/Exam Video Section.

Feel good about a topic? Comfortable with the reactions and mechanisms? See how well you’ve mastered the information by diving into the quiz and exam review sessions. This is a newer addition to the Study Hall with a new quiz/exam review conducted regularly. Listen for the question, attempt the answer, then watch to see the explanation and solution.

This section includes video solutions to my topic-specific quizzes (written by me) and student-submitted quizzes and exams at the Orgo 1 and Orgo 2 levels.

Join Me for 2 Monthly LIVE Review Sessions.

I conduct a new live workshop or office hours twice a month. Topics are requested by students, and these sessions can be a teaching Q&A workshop, office hours to ask ANY Orgo questions, or Quiz review workshops every time I write a new topic-specific problem set (every other month or so).

Live workshops are conducted using a screen sharing program with a tablet PC. Since they’re online, you can log in from any computer/laptop/tablet with a decent internet connection. Watch me draw out problems and step-by-step mechanisms as you hear me explain logic and concepts along the way. Participate by typing your questions or comments into the chat box throughout the entire session.

Can’t make a session? No problem! Workshops are recorded and posted to the Study Hall library along with the full-color PDF notes from that session.

Join the Exclusive Facebook Group for Immediate Support.

Stuck on a homework problem? Have a question on one of the Study Hall videos?

I realize that tutorials and Q&A videos are not enough. Perhaps you have additional questions that were not asked, or  that simply cannot wait till the next live session.

This is why I created an exclusive Facebook group for the Study Hall community to band together, share goals, and help each other with questions and suggestions.

Unlike your classroom, there is no competition in the Facebook Group. With students NOT competing for grades, everyone is there to help each other and work through problems together

I personally log on to the Facebook group on a daily basis and typically reply to posted questions within 24-48 hours. HOWEVER, if you happen to catch me when I am logged in (which is typically always), you may receive your reply in as little as 5 minutes. I’m told I spend too much time on Facebook, but my students don’t complain.

How Can The Study Hall Impact Your Semester? Your Life?

Take a moment and imagine what the Study Hall would mean for your organic chemistry learning experience, exam preparation, and overall grades.

How much calmer will you feel, knowing that when you struggle with a topic you can simply log into the membership site and watch a video explaining every aspect in logical detail?

How good will you feel, knowing that when you have a question you can simply post it to the members group and expect a detailed answer in just a matter of hours?

And how restful will you feel, no longer losing sleep over this course and approaching the next quiz or exam with confidence?

And best of all, how much better can you breathe, knowing that you no longer have to hunt down tutors and study groups at inconvenient hours of the day, battle traffic to get there, and juggle between life and learning, knowing that the Study Hall will be there for you when YOU have the time?

This is a no-contract, stay-as-long-as-you-like, cancel-any-time membership

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Overview of Study Hall Videos

(this list does not include videos added since after Spring 2016)