GPA about to get wrecked

[Teleologist]

So I've been slacking a lot this semester and I just feel no motivation. I'm a 3rd year and so far my GPA has been perfect. This semester however is going to change my GPA (yeah, wreck was probably a bit of an exaggeration) ... I'm looking at maybe a B/C in Physics II w/ calculus and maybe an B in Mechanistic Biochemistry. Oops.

So:

1) These are relatively high level courses and at least one is rather critical for med schools ... how is this going to affect me?

2) I really don't feel like trying in either course ... should I just accept a B/C in Physics II and a B in Biochem? Or should I pull my act together and try to get something higher? I hate to say this but it feels like I've been working hard for a few years now and I sorta "deserve" a break ... crap attitude of course and not something I'd express at all to the adcoms but that's what in my head. I just don't have any motivation for school left in me ... most of my focus has been channeled into gymming and club sports and just having fun in general. I'm trying also to make the club sport I'm in a bigger part of my app cause I definitely don't want to walk into the room with the adcoms and have them all think "ANTI-SOCIAL ONE TRICK HORSE *AHEM* NERD."

I'm serious about this. Yeah I'm a bit salty that my winning streak is about to come to a close but on the other hand I'm just like who cares, lots of people get into med schools without perfect GPAs. Plus studying less (read: not studying) and doing club sports instead is fun.

So talk some sense into me - is my defeatist attitude acceptable?

ETA - worst case scenario (straight Bs in all my courses) I'm looking at a 3.77 cGPA. That's not counting the remaining hard courses I have to take for med school/major (genetics, microbio, anatomy and that's basically all.) Considering what's happening to me now I don't think I'll be able to pull off amazing grades in all these remaining courses ...

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[amazing tekkers]

Where did your motivation run off to?

 

[Teleologist]

Where did your motivation run off to?

Like I said, other activities. Such as competitive club sports.

Also I forgot to mention: Friday nights.

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Tough sh**. Suck it up. You're an adult.

You don't get to neglect your job just because you "don't wanna". How would you feel if your parents' physician had that attitude?

You don't need to be inspired and motivated. Just mature and persistent. We don't do everything that we want to. We do what we have to, whether we like it or not, because we're not children, and we know better. You don't "deserve" a break; you could certainly benefit from one, but no, you're not entitled.

The snowflake never believes it's responsible for the avalanche. But believe me, this attitude will begin to carryover and pileup.

Not the most compassionate, but it's tough love, and the fact that you posted here demonstrates that you are mature enough to understand that you need a change. Good for you; the first step. I've been there, and only a bolus of reality does any good

Not being perfect is fine. Don't kill yourself. But don't neglect either.

 

[Hospitalized]

Still plenty of time before the semester is over, no? I pretty much always hit a low at some point during the semester. Like the above poster said, it's more about maturity. Life has highs and lows, regardless of what point you are at. Acknowledge and persevere.

 

[amazing tekkers]

Like I said, other activities. Such as competitive club sports.

Also I forgot to mention: Friday nights.

Kind of a poor excuse to be honest. Off topic but Sean Kory had the best mugshot of all time.

 

[Teleologist]

Tough sh**. Suck it up. You're an adult.

You don't get to neglect your job just because you "don't wanna". How would you feel if your parents' physician had that attitude?

You don't need to be inspired and motivated. Just mature and persistent. We don't do everything that we want to. We do what we have to, whether we like it or not, because we're not children, and we know better. You don't "deserve" a break; you could certainly benefit from one, but no, you're not entitled.

The snowflake never believes it's responsible for the avalanche. But believe me, this attitude will begin to carryover and pileup.

Not the most compassionate, but it's tough love, and the fact that you posted here demonstrates that you are mature enough to understand that you need a change. Good for you; the first step. I've been there, and only a slap a reality does any good

Not being perfect is fine. Don't kill yourself. But don't neglect either.

Thanks for the advice. You're absolutely right and that's what the angel on my right shoulder has been telling me. Now if only I could shut the guy on my other shoulder up for a while.

I think I might take the summer off and lay off on classes to recharge. I might just TA for two professors this summer and take no classes.

Aren't students lucky that they get a summer off? Most adults don't ... unless you're a primary or secondary school teacher. Guess I better take advantage of it while this benefit lasts.

I hope this attitude I have right now is temporary and doesn't resurface later.

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Thanks for the advice. You're absolutely right and that's what the angel on my right shoulder has been telling me. Now if only I could shut the guy on my other shoulder up for a while.

I think I might take the summer off and lay off on classes to recharge. I might just TA for two professors this summer and take no classes.

Aren't students lucky that they get a summer off? Most adults don't ... unless you're a primary or secondary school teacher. Guess I better take advantage of it while this benefit lasts.

I hope this attitude I have right now is temporary and doesn't resurface later.

Mindful focus helps; loud, internal monologue of that angel on your right shoulder can help make a habit. Also, keeping post it notes and writing down feelings/impulses you have helps, as well as having a buddy system where you hold each other accountable.

Don't feel bad about falling through; you're human, and we all screw up.

 

[Teleologist]

Kind of a poor excuse to be honest. Off topic but Sean Kory had the best mugshot of all time.

Yeah really now that I think about it neither should be an excuse ... I should be doing well regardless of what I choose to do outside of school ...

 

[tortelliniboy]

Hi, I'm an anesthesiologist. I see you played a lot of sports as well so think of this as your coach yelling at you rather than straight up being condescending. When you've been in the OR for 12 hours straight and you're walking out ready to get some coffee/food and a stat gunshot wound to the chest is called over head do you just walk into the lounge for a quick coffee because "you deserve a break?" Or do you go running straight back to the OR, reenergized by the fresh butterflies in your stomach read to put that breathing tube in and dominate this case?

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

Some say that there is a limited amount of motivation that one has to spend, think of it like points. It sounds like you are spending those points more on areas like going to the gym and sports, and less on academics. It's up to you to what you are going to prioritize, but for med school, there really aren't too many second chances. Push through and watch some motivational videos. Recharge this summer, take it easy, but push/grind it out until then.

 

[mimelim]

Hi, I'm an anesthesiologist. I see you played a lot of sports as well so think of this as your coach yelling at you rather than straight up being condescending. When you've been in the OR for 12 hours straight and you're walking out ready to get some coffee/food and a stat gunshot wound to the chest is called over head do you just walk into the lounge for a quick coffee because "you deserve a break?" Or do you go running straight back to the OR, reenergized by the fresh butterflies in your stomach read to put that breathing tube in and dominate this case?

Our anesthesiologists are never in a case for more than maybe 2 hours before they take a 'break'. My last fenestrated saw 3 different CRNAs and 2 different anesthesiologists. Granted it was a 7 hour case, but ya... OP, you should consider becoming an anesthesiologist.

In before obvious anesthesiologist coffee break joke

I was going to try to make a joke, but a true story seemed more appropriate. Sorry

 

[Goro]

Downward trends in GPAs are surefire killers for med school apps.

Med school will be a lot harder than what you're going through now.

So I've been slacking a lot this semester and I just feel no motivation. I'm a 3rd year and so far my GPA has been perfect. This semester however is going to change my GPA (yeah, wreck was probably a bit of an exaggeration) ... I'm looking at maybe a B/C in Physics II w/ calculus and maybe an B in Mechanistic Biochemistry. Oops.

So:

1) These are relatively high level courses and at least one is rather critical for med schools ... how is this going to affect me?

2) I really don't feel like trying in either course ... should I just accept a B/C in Physics II and a B in Biochem? Or should I pull my act together and try to get something higher? I hate to say this but it feels like I've been working hard for a few years now and I sorta "deserve" a break ... crap attitude of course and not something I'd express at all to the adcoms but that's what in my head. I just don't have any motivation for school left in me ... most of my focus has been channeled into gymming and club sports and just having fun in general. I'm trying also to make the club sport I'm in a bigger part of my app cause I definitely don't want to walk into the room with the adcoms and have them all think "ANTI-SOCIAL ONE TRICK HORSE *AHEM* NERD."

I'm serious about this. Yeah I'm a bit salty that my winning streak is about to come to a close but on the other hand I'm just like who cares, lots of people get into med schools without perfect GPAs. Plus studying less (read: not studying) and doing club sports instead is fun.

So talk some sense into me - is my defeatist attitude acceptable?

ETA - worst case scenario (straight Bs in all my courses) I'm looking at a 3.77 cGPA. That's not counting the remaining hard courses I have to take for med school/major (genetics, microbio, anatomy and that's basically all.) Considering what's happening to me now I don't think I'll be able to pull off amazing grades in all these remaining courses ...

 

[Teleologist]

Downward trends in GPAs are surefire killers for med school apps.

Med school will be a lot harder than what you're going through now.

Well there's nowhere to go but down for me (or straight ahead too I guess).

Is a dip one semester okay?

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Well there's nowhere to go but down for me (or straight ahead too I guess).

Is a dip one semester okay?

"dip" is a relative term.

ADCOMs clearly understand that, with a 4.0, the only direction is down (or maintain). Getting a B or 2 isn't murder. Getting C's will certainly require some sort of explanation.

 

[Goro]

A one semester dip won't kill you.

Well there's nowhere to go but down for me (or straight ahead too I guess).

Is a dip one semester okay?

 

[KungFuPanda123]

Lol this is off topic, but I remember reading your post talking about how amazing your chemistry knowledge is, relative to other pre-meds.

On topic, just deal with it and do well. It's not going to be the end of the world if you peter out right now, but you might look back on your undergrad "legacy" and be a bit disappointed in yourself that you couldn't keep your engine going til graduation.

 

[lumpyduster]

I think a semester of slightly worse grades is okay. Or at least I hope so... I think I will get a B in this 8 week 2 credit hour lab because it's too much work for what I get out of it. I've never done this before. I feel like while I am concerned with learning, I am not necessarily willing to jump through all these hoops for 2 credits. the reports take about 20 hours to write (a lot of analysis) on top of 10 hours of lab and 3 hours of lecture (this doesn't include all the assigned reading/extensive prelabs). I have 4 other classes that are all math and science related.

It's 2 credits, and I feel like I am learning even if my reports are not perfect, and I would rather spend more hours in lab/at the hospital volunteering. I will never use advanced circuitry again (I hope). It's nice to know how this stuff works, it's not nice spending hours (literally) entering values into a spreadsheet so I can analyze the hysteresis of a Schmitt trigger haha.

I wouldn't know what to say in an interview if someone asked why I got like a B- when I have only ever gotten A's and a few A-'s. I feel like unless the interviewer took the course, he couldn't understand how time consuming and pointless it is and I would come off as lazy/entitled if I said I thought that my time was better spent elsewhere.

Anyway, OP I would not be worried about a bad semester. They happen.

 

[ratiocinate]

Then medicine is not for you. If pre-med is a challenge, then med school will be impossible. I sure as hell wouldn't want a dumb**** like you operating on me!

 

[lumpyduster]

Then medicine is not for you. If pre-med is a challenge, then med school will be impossible. I sure as hell wouldn't want a dumb**** like you operating on me!

Dude has a perfect GPA and says he might get a B or two... Maybe you don't like teleologist for his previous posts, or you're just a troll, but there's no reason to be so mean.

 

[samac]

If you're getting burnt out now it's probably time to change your major. A couple of B's won't kill you getting into medical school, but a "I just don't wanna" attitude will.
If you had a rough semester and was telling us about the dip I'd be patting you on the back saying it's ok.
But saying you'd rather play sports and party on Friday nights shows you probably aren't ready to become a physician.

 

[medic86]

I lol'd.

Some of the people posting in this thread are ridiculous.

OP: "I'm feeling a little burnt out. I might get some Bs."

People: "ZOMG! YOU'RE NOT READY TO BE A DOCTOR. I'D HATE HAVING YOU AS MY PHYSICIAN."

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

Slacking off now won't help you prepare for your MCAT. You never know when you might legitimately need a break or have a bad semester. Keeping going now will give you that buffer. Not trying hard on critical courses is setting a terrible precedent for the future, and if you still get in then you would be reinforced for your poor decision.

The only reason I would slack off now is if it was critical to continue on a larger scale. Otherwise you are just being lazy. You said yourself that you are worried you may have these feelings again in the future. So make a decision now on how you are going to act in these situations, so you won't have to worry about it. Burnout isn't ever going to go away. So you have to figure out how to deal with it and prevent it as often as possible.

 

[medic86]

Those responses were largely attempts at being humorous/ironic given that the OP has previously written posts about how not knowing chemistry well enough makes you a bad doctor who might kill people.

That's... a good point.

 

[ratiocinate]

Didn't mean to insult you. I just find nonchalance incredibly obnoxious.

 

[Teleologist]

Lol.

Well a lot of grades are coming back in as midterm week has just ended.

I basically have Bs across the board in all my classes so far. If I can not try and get a B in Physics II with calc. and a B in mechanistic biochemistry then I figured I should probably add some more effort and just get an B+/A- or even A.

I still have a fighting chance at maintaining the GPA this semester in light of the grades I've received so far ... I was pretty surprised because I thought physics was a lost cause.

This has given me the motivation to:

1) Cancel all my Friday night plans to stay home and relax and mentally gird myself for the rest of this semester.

2) Wake up at 8:30 on Saturday (for once) to pursue what needs to be done (sport and studying/catching up).

I also re-ran the GPA calculation ... there is absolutely no way I'd get Bs in all my classes as several of my credits this semester are for TAing ... I can't see myself getting a B unless I just did something horribly wrong as a TA. I am also taking psychology this semester and it's been a breeze so far and I can't exactly see myself getting worse than an A- in there. Still no reason to rest on my laurels.

Worst comes to worst - B in Physics ... B in mech. biochem ... A in psych and A for the TAing stuff I'm looking at a 3.94 cGPA.

Still no reason to give up. Gotta fight to the end like you guys say. Thanks guys for the "talking to" that I just couldn't give myself. I'm going to buckle down and see what I can do to salvage this semester! At the same time I'm going to pursue a more "balanced" semester ...

Also doing the calculations just made me realize how "fragile" GPAs are ... esp. when you come in with lots of HS credits and don't really have too many uni. level credits ... Amazing how one dismal semester can take a nice big chunk out that number ... so if any premeds are reading this and entered college with tons of credit ... don't let that get to your head and realize that it cuts both ways - you have comparatively fewer credits to take in college and as a result each class has a bigger impact on your GPA than what you might think.

 

[Teleologist]

Then medicine is not for you. If pre-med is a challenge, then med school will be impossible. I sure as hell wouldn't want a dumb**** like you operating on me!

My optician was talking to me about how he at first didn't complete college and entered the army instead and later went back for his degree and eventually wound up as an optician.

I didn't even think much about it when he told me that. The thought that he might screw me up hardly crossed my mind. He seemed competent enough.