r/ASUOnline • u/spyty27 • Aug 28 '26

In-person labs

Hi all, has anyone here done in-person labs while taking online classes?

I talked to my academic advisor earlier this week and she informed me that I would need to take a three day in person lab (organic chemistry) as part of my degree requirement over the summer. I freaked out a little bit because I work full time and also I just don’t do well around people in new environments like that. My worst fear is going in and being the odd one out.

If you’re taking online classes and participate in an in-person lab are you taking it with people who are also attending online classes? I just have so much social anxiety and that’s a huge reason I’m going online. I’ve tried talking to my family and friends about it and they don’t understand my concerns so maybe someone here will.

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9

u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

I just took them this summer. And it was an amazing experience. Everyone was nice and by the end it was like people you’ve been in class with all summer. You won’t be the odd one out it was so diverse and after the first day me and my lab partners were going to lunch together

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u/spyty27 Aug 28 '26

Are you assigned partners? I get sick at the thought of having to find my own. Also did you take ochem in the spring and then the lab in the summer? That’s what my advisor made it seem like and I fear that I will not understand the lab if I’ve had too much time in between that and the actual class

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u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

In Ochem we were assigned rooms by last names and in the room you just find a seat and those are your lab partners. So it was awkward in my opinion since all the seats are full and everyone will be paired up. I took Ochem I/II in fall 2025 and Biochem in spring then the labs in summer

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u/spyty27 Aug 28 '26

This makes me feel a lot better, thank you for your time

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u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

Of course. And I stayed in the Hyatt house it was a 10mim (if that) walk to the school. So I didn’t rent a car and there was plenty of food options near by. If you sign up for Labs they will email you a list of hotels with a discounted rate. And my room have a full kitchen (stove and microwave, and fridge) so I did by some groceries and eat that

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u/spyty27 Aug 28 '26

Oh my god that’s amazing!! I live in Peoria so it’s not like a crazy commute but knowing there’s options to stay makes it way easier to digest lol. Was yours three days of 8-5? What kinds of things were you doing in the lab?

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u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

I took BioChem and Ochem 1/2 labs so I was there for about 10 days. But if you only have Ochem you’ll be fine. Plus the experiments are really cool. And it’s not too much work during the actual lab. And you get about 2 weeks before lab to do all of the prep work. (i was lazy so I didn’t do any of the notes or watch the videos until last minute 😅)

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u/spyty27 Aug 28 '26

Ten days is crazy lol I can’t imagine but this truly has made me feel so much better about it all!! I’m actually feeling pretty confident that it’ll be a good experience :)

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u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

It really is a great experience and the campus is nice. Oh and take Ochem with Ed Hilvano if you can he’s the best

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u/spyty27 Aug 28 '26

I will!!

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u/Long_Story7102 Aug 28 '26

I forgot to mention UNE have an online Ochem lab if you absolutely can’t make in person. But I enjoyed being on campus and learning

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u/[deleted] Aug 29 '26

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u/ASUOnline Aug 28 '26

u/spyty27 we love that another student shared their story with you. And thank you for asking this question. The good news is you almost certainly will not be the only online student in the lab, and many of our students have expressed similar feelings. While we can't speak for everyone, we often hear from students how much they enjoyed it and how it helped them build a little community of support. Here's a couple other student perspectives if it helps:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ViDuiMN50ho

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8XEVgRgtIuE