You have to pass it for a bunch of degrees. No way around ochem. It's like a gate keeper for bare minimum of aptitude. Summer ochem is different. Summer ochem is a fucking warzone, fall, winter and spring all jammed into the shorter summer term. We started "term" 1 with 430 people in a giant lecture hall. "Term" 3 down to 75. I always kept my eyes out for other members of that 75 whenever I had to find study groups. I knew they were strong students.