Concerned about a Post-Bac GPA

[brdmadgrl82]

Hi There,

I have posted on here before. 29 years old, I am currently in a formal post-bac pre-medicine program (associated with a med school)...It's not going as well as I had hoped, and I am not getting the advice/guidance I need from my advisor. Not to mention I just did horrible on my first physics exam...and I am still scarred from the summer inorganic chem I attempted.

I guess I am looking for reasurrance, advice, reality check as to my current chances...Did anyone else have a not-so-easy time in their formal post-bac?

Background:

My undergrad included first 2 years at a community college, followed by two years of psychology coursework with a final cgpa of: 3.38, bcpm: 3.7 (included Bio I in undergrad, math up to pre-calc)

Current/Post-Bac:

Bio II- B+, Bio II Lab- A-
Chem I (summer)- "w", Chem I Lab (summer)- B-
current class: Phys I and Lab I

To date post bac gpa: 3.26...and I have a bad feeling about physics. I don't know how I can possibly get A's...I love Bio but I am not enjoying chem or phys... :/ ahhhh *serenity now*

What do you guys think/recommend? Should I take more Bio classes to bump up that gpa between the nightmare that is chem and phys for me? Should I look into masters programs and hold off on med school (even though that is my ultimate goal I wouldn't mind diving into research- but without experience might be hard).


Volunteer & Other Background:

Currently work as tech at physicians office, I do yearly holiday food drives, supported family member with cancer/depression

I really want this...I just feel so ...

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[TFS]

i didn't have an advisor for my do-it-yourself post-bac, and frankly don't think i was missing out on anything.

are you putting enough time into your classes? what do you think is holding you back from pulling all A's?

 

[brdmadgrl82]

i didn't have an advisor for my do-it-yourself post-bac, and frankly don't think i was missing out on anything.

are you putting enough time into your classes? what do you think is holding you back from pulling all A's?

Thank you for your reply! I think I'm putting enough time into them...I would say I spend all weekend in the books (between 10-16hrs a weekend). I work during the week m-f and get home pretty late (around 7pm). My commute is pretty painful too...
Most of the classes at my University are very large and 75% seem to be pre-med/vet/dental undergrads who live on/near campus. I'm usually the oldest in my classes.

Another issue might actually be exam taking...I do worse if there is a time limit (and my summer chem class 1/2 the class wasn't done when the time was up and there were a bunch of short answer problems to work out still).

I also am HORRIBLE at solving physics problems- they all just sound the same to me (boring). I am trying hard to do practice problems but I always just seem to get stuck even though I have no trouble understanding concepts. I was shocked when half the class got A's and I ended up with a 64% what is wrong with me

 

[Chevy Chase Fan]

I think you're struggling with physics because you don't understand the concepts as well as you think. You need to make note of where you're getting stuck in the homework and go to the professor immediately. I bet you'll see its a physical principle, not math, that was giving you trouble. Have you been doing that?

I also think your attitude toward the subject (its "boring") doesn't help. You need to find a way to make it interesting for you, to see the value in it. Honestly, physics is probably one of the most fascinating classes I've ever taken, so I'm kinda surprised you feel that way, but I know everyone is different. I think if you understood the concepts better it would be a lot more enjoyable and worthwhile for you. My 2 cents.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

If you aren't getting all (or mostly all) A's in undergraduate, then you are doing something wrong. You need to figure out why you are scoring poorly on exams. Are you running out of time? Are you misreading questions? Ask your professor to help you figure this out by going over your exams and identifying any trends. You must get all A's (or darn near it), especially in post-bacc work if you want to impress the COM selection committees.

You may want to read some materials on test taking strategies. Or better yet, figure out your own. Find what works for YOU. For example, I always keep an internal-timer in my head and if I'm spending too much time on a question, I circle the question number, guess and move on so that I have time to come back. There are strategies to taking exams, and it will become even more important when you take the MCAT, and even more as you progress through medical school and take your step exams.

Talk to your peers, talk to your professors, make a list of things you might be doing wrong and what you are doing to correct them.

 

[ChE04]

If you are horrible at solving physics problems, then shouldn't that tell you that you either a) do not understand the concepts and/or b) are not putting enough time into it? Same goes with not having enough time to finish exams. The fact that 50% of the class doesn't finish the exams should mean nothing to you. Half of the class is also below the average score, which is usually low 70's (at least in the classes I've taken)... Not exactly where you want to be.

 

[n3xa]

A master's degree isn't going to offset the ugrad+post-bacc gpa if med school *is* your ultimate goal.

+1 with what lifetimedoc said about getting help from anyone and everyone you can, from office hours to study groups to whatever.

Best of luck to you.

 

[LUCPM]

If you have trouble doing problems under time pressure, it is generally due to lack of practice. Understanding concepts is one thing and being able to do problems quickly is another. If you aren't getting satisfactory grades with current method, you will need to change the way you study entirely. This may involve doing assinged HW problems multiple times until you can do them in your sleep. Good luck.

 

[brdmadgrl82]

If you have trouble doing problems under time pressure, it is generally due to lack of practice. Understanding concepts is one thing and being able to do problems quickly is another. If you aren't getting satisfactory grades with current method, you will need to change the way you study entirely. This may involve doing assinged HW problems multiple times until you can do them in your sleep. Good luck.

This is excellent advice.

I did discuss this with the professor and he said I should be spending more time on the actual practice problems instead of reading the book...I seem to get through parts of the problems and then get stuck on something and have to peak at the solution in order to continue on...I think this is what got me on the last exam.

I will do more practice problems until I can do them in my sleep as you said...

Another change I made this week is during my 3+ hour of commute between school, work, home...I have been listening to the Examkrakers MCAT Physics to review the concepts we have covered up to date.

Thank you very much to everyone for responding...It opened my eyes more (even the harsh words)...I better get it together...

I guess I forgot/never learned how to study for these types of classes since I was a psych undergrad without hs sciences...(now I know...less reading more doing the problems)