Why Students Fail Organic Chemistry (and How to Avoid It)

Organic chemistry has a reputation — and for good reason. It’s often described as a “weeder class,” and I’ve heard countless stories of students changing majors, abandoning career paths, or questioning their abilities after struggling to pass it. What’s even more frustrating is that some universities and professors seem to take pride in how many students they watch stumble.

Whether you're just beginning your organic chemistry journey or already feel neck-deep in reaction mechanisms, this post is for you. I’ve worked with hundreds of students across the U.S.—from community colleges to Ivy League schools—and I’ve seen nearly every kind of exam question (and every kind of meltdown). More importantly, I’ve recognized the patterns that consistently lead students to either succeed or fail.

Let’s skip the fluff and the gatekeeping. Below are the top five reasons students fail organic chemistry. Recognizing these early on could make all the difference in helping you avoid the same mistakes. If you’re looking for practical ways to stay ahead, I’ve also put together a post with my top 5 tips for success in orgo — you’ll find that linked here.

Let’s dive in.

Tip #1: Poor Study Habits

Organic chemistry isn’t the kind of class you can cram for. Pulling an all-nighter and trying to memorize every reaction the night before the exam just doesn’t work — and here’s why.

Think of it like going to the gym: you won’t see progress if you only show up once a week. Or like learning a new language: practicing just once a week won’t make you fluent. Organic chemistry requires daily engagement. A little bit of practice each day adds up and helps you recognize reaction patterns — even when the molecules and formats change.

Another common trap? Studying “harder,” not smarter. Many students passively copy notes or focus only on problems that feel easy, which creates a false sense of confidence. The goal isn’t just to complete problems — it’s to challenge yourself and adapt.

If your professor uses platforms like Cengage, OWLv2, or WileyPLUS, you’ve probably noticed the practice questions are often oversimplified or formatted differently than your actual exams. The same can go for textbook problems — unless your professor specifically says they’ll be pulled directly from the book.

👉 The best strategy is to study from practice problems created by your professor or others in your university's chemistry department. If your professor doesn’t provide worksheets, you can find reliable (and free) practice problems online.

Better yet, check out [my curated problem sets] — each one is carefully organized from foundational to advanced difficulty, so you can build confidence before your exam.

Tip #2: A Shallow Understanding of Core Concepts

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked students to explain something like resonance or hybridization — fundamental ideas they’ve been using all semester — and they can’t articulate what those concepts actually mean. Even more concerning? This often happens midway through Orgo 2.

The problem isn’t laziness — it’s that these topics are usually introduced early and rushed through quickly. But here’s the truth: resonance, hybridization, acid-base theory, and molecular geometry are the foundation of organic chemistry. Without mastering them, students struggle to make sense of complex mechanisms later on.

Think of it this way: no house can stand without a solid foundation. The same is true for orgo. If you skim the basics, you’ll constantly feel like the rest of the course doesn’t make sense — because it doesn’t yet.

I often ask, “What is hybridization?” and students will quickly reply with “sp3, sp2, sp.” But when I follow up with, “What does that mean?” or “Why does hybridization matter?” — I usually get blank stares.

Here’s the takeaway: Don’t just memorize definitions — ask yourself why they matter. How does this topic connect to what you’re learning now? How does understanding it help you predict structure, reactivity, or mechanism?

Mastering orgo isn’t about memorizing buzzwords. It’s about seeing how the puzzle pieces fit together.

Tip #3: Unclear (or Unmet) Professor Expectations

Organic chemistry students aren’t just adapting to new molecular structures — they’re also adapting to wildly different professors. And here’s the hard truth: not all organic chemistry classes are created equal.

Some professors are notorious for trick questions and curveball exam formats. Others reward basic understanding and test only the essentials. I’ve seen students from different universities put in wildly different amounts of effort — not because of ability, but because their professors demand different things.

That’s why communication is everything.

Ask your professor directly:

• How do you recommend students study for this class?

• Are your exams similar in format to the textbook problems or practice sets?

• What should we prioritize before an exam?

  
  

After each test, take a moment to reflect:

• Did your professor prepare you well?

• Were the study materials aligned with what was tested?

  
  

Even if you understand the content well, failing to study in a way that aligns with your professor’s style can lead to disappointing grades. Learning chemistry is one challenge — learning your professor is another. That includes learning their language. For example, one professor might ask, “Identify the most acidic hydrogen in the molecule,” while another phrases it as, “Which proton is most likely to be deprotonated by NaOH first?”

These are asking the same thing — but if you don’t speak your professor’s language, you may miss the point. Learning how they frame questions is just as important as knowing the answers.

Tip #4: Memorizing Instead of Mastering reactions

It’s tempting to treat organic chemistry like a giant flashcard deck: reactant → reagent → product. And while that might get you through some early quizzes, pure memorization breaks down fast — especially when the exam throws in a twist you haven’t seen before.

Here’s the thing: orgo isn’t just about what happens — it’s about why it happens. Reactions follow logical patterns based on electronic flow, stability, and mechanism. When you rely on memorization alone, you miss those patterns — and that makes it nearly impossible to adapt to unfamiliar-looking problems.

I often remind students: your professor can only test you on so many reactions, but they can remix those reactions into hundreds of different scenarios. The students who succeed aren’t the ones who memorize everything — they’re the ones who understand how reactions work and can apply that understanding flexibly.

If you’ve been memorizing reactions like isolated facts, take a step back. Ask yourself:

• What’s the nucleophile?

• What’s the electrophile?

• What drives this reaction forward?

• What stabilizes the intermediate?

  
  

When you can answer those questions consistently, you’ve moved from memorizing to mastering — and that’s when orgo starts to click.

Tip #5: Struggling to Visualize Structures & Electron Flow

Organic chemistry is just as much a visual subject as it is a logical one. Students who avoid drawing structures — or who don’t pay attention to proper geometry — miss key patterns that are essential to mastering the material.

This connects back to Tip #2: if you don’t understand why some bonds are drawn with wedges and dashes while others lie flat (planar), you’ll run into serious issues. You won’t just be asked to memorize structures — you’ll need to mentally rotate molecules to assess relationships like stereochemistry, Newman projections, and conformational analysis.

The same goes for curved arrows. A common misconception is thinking the arrows show atoms moving — but that’s not how it works. In reality, electrons move atoms. Curved arrows represent the flow of electron pairs, and misunderstanding this can lead to major errors in drawing mechanisms or predicting products.

If you’re a student who tends to “skip the drawing” — start now. Sketch molecules regularly, use models if you need to, and treat arrows not as decorations but as the language of electron movement. Mastering this visual language will pay off on every mechanism you’re asked to write.