4.0 Semester HELP!

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PM504

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For this upcoming semester, I REALLY want to achieve a 4.0 semester GPA.

My classes with include;
Physics Lecture (3 credits)
Physics Lab (1 credit)
A&P I ( 3 credits)
A&P I Lab (1 credit)
Nutrition (3 credits)
Behavior Theories (3 credits)
=14 credits

Plus I will be working 20 hours a week. AND volunteering 3 hours a week!!

I really need some guidance as to how I'm going to get a 4.0 this upcoming Fall !!
 
Start on your assignments the day you get them. Nothing is worse than playing catchup.

Go to office hours and utilize tutors at your school (most schools have a free learning center).

Working 20 hours a week is going to make things really tough. At the end of the day, I'd say that your work should never come before your studies, since you really don't want to be in the position of having to repair a terrible GPA.
 
Start on your assignments the day you get them. Nothing is worse than playing catchup.

Go to office hours and utilize tutors at your school (most schools have a free learning center).

Working 20 hours a week is going to make things really tough. At the end of the day, I'd say that your work should never come before your studies, since you really don't want to be in the position of having to repair a terrible GPA.

I'm wondering if going to office hours, every other day would get on the professors nerves?
 
I'm wondering if going to office hours, every other day would get on the professors nerves?

That might be excessive. Go when you don't understand something.

On the other hand, almost all of the profs I ever went to OH for enjoyed helping out, since most people don't take advantage of it. Then they get to know you and like you better.
 
For this upcoming semester, I REALLY want to achieve a 4.0 semester GPA.

My classes with include;
Physics Lecture (3 credits)
Physics Lab (1 credit)
A&P I ( 3 credits)
A&P I Lab (1 credit)
Nutrition (3 credits)
Behavior Theories (3 credits)
=14 credits

Plus I will be working 20 hours a week. AND volunteering 3 hours a week!!

I really need some guidance as to how I'm going to get a 4.0 this upcoming Fall !!
Study. Put in the appropriate amount of work. I don't want to be rude but my easiest semester in undergrad was much harder than your proposed schedule and any medical school semester will be orders of magnitude harder.
 
I think my schedule is harder, and I work 50 hours a week, am unable to study at work, and volunteer about 6 hours a week. You just have to stay on top of things and be consistent.
 
Study. Put in the appropriate amount of work. I don't want to be rude but my easiest semester in undergrad was much harder than your proposed schedule and any medical school semester will be orders of magnitude harder.

Agreed. I think the schedule posted is very easy, you shouldn't have any problem with it.
 
I think my schedule is harder, and I work 50 hours a week, am unable to study at work, and volunteer about 6 hours a week. You just have to stay on top of things and be consistent.

images
 

Not my intention at all. Just saying its possible, physics, nutrition, and personality are easy classes. I work because I have responsibilities and bills. I have rent. That doesn't make me a bad ass, it makes me hate my life haha. I envy the premeds living with mommy so they can do what they want.
 
I'm wondering if going to office hours, every other day would get on the professors nerves?

That might be excessive.

Visit all your professors at least once early in the semester to introduce yourself, etc, and then go when you don't understand something (e.g. if a test is coming up).

You can also periodically email them questions. You want them to recognize your name (in a good way)
 
Tbh it will just help prepare you. If my schedule is too easy I slack off, but if its tough then it keeps me on beat, forces me to stay on top of things. You will need to learn to adjust to life anyways, start now.
 
My best advice is in line with others on managing your time...here's how I did it. Last semester I took 16 hours of classes and lots of busy work in those classes and worked 30 hours a week.

Get a planner. Write down test dates,assignments, even your work dates....everything. This will help you so much in visualizing where you have time to get work done and study. When you have a job and hard classes, you have to make the most of the "free time" you get. So for example, I would work at my job 5 pm-midnight most nights. Most of my studying and homework was done in the mornings between classes or before class...basically, having that planner helped me so much to schedule everything and know what I needed done.

Good luck!

OH and this was huge for me....when you find out your major test dates....do EVERYTHING you can to ask off work the day before or plan on studying a few days earlier. This killed me once, but I learned to ask off or study earlier.
 
Does it work?

Yes, but it is a ton of work. Here is the gist of it.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=14222779&postcount=16

In addition to all of the recommendations, I would do as many practice problems as possible, particularly from the assigned book. But, I am an engineering student, so I am biased.

Also, the seminar happens every fall at my school, particularly for engineering students. We even have workshops to reinforce the work involved to students that are a part of the program.

You can get the book here to understand the "plan" further. http://www.amazon.com/Guaranteed-Follow-3-Step-Plan-Dont/dp/0974264806
 
For this upcoming semester, I REALLY want to achieve a 4.0 semester GPA.

My classes with include;
Physics Lecture (3 credits)
Physics Lab (1 credit)
A&P I ( 3 credits)
A&P I Lab (1 credit)
Nutrition (3 credits)
Behavior Theories (3 credits)
=14 credits

Plus I will be working 20 hours a week. AND volunteering 3 hours a week!!

I really need some guidance as to how I'm going to get a 4.0 this upcoming Fall !!

Physics lab is usually a joke - you run some experiments and fill out some values (which you might end up copying from others since the experiments don't always work out). It won't require much time outside of class. Lecture won't be too bad (I'm assuming it's not calc based?) if you do your work each day and don't let it pile up. A&P is a lot of memorization, which is made easier again by daily, consistent work.

I can't say how difficult/time-intensive Nutrition and Behavior Theories will be, but the same theme applies: don't let work pile up and stress you out. Make the most of your time and you'll be fine.
 
Physics lab is usually a joke - you run some experiments and fill out some values (which you might end up copying from others since the experiments don't always work out). It won't require much time outside of class. Lecture won't be too bad (I'm assuming it's not calc based?) if you do your work each day and don't let it pile up. A&P is a lot of memorization, which is made easier again by daily, consistent work.

I can't say how difficult/time-intensive Nutrition and Behavior Theories will be, but the same theme applies: don't let work pile up and stress you out. Make the most of your time and you'll be fine.

Hahaha, not at my school.

My last lab report spanned about 50 pages.
 
For this upcoming semester, I REALLY want to achieve a 4.0 semester GPA.

My classes with include;
Physics Lecture (3 credits)
Physics Lab (1 credit)
A&P I ( 3 credits)
A&P I Lab (1 credit)
Nutrition (3 credits)
Behavior Theories (3 credits)
=14 credits

Plus I will be working 20 hours a week. AND volunteering 3 hours a week!!

I really need some guidance as to how I'm going to get a 4.0 this upcoming Fall !!
14 hours is pretty much nothing (imo). Do as much as you can without killing yourself. Btw, I think a hard working student can make this work no problem
 
(time spent) x (efficacy) = work accomplished

if time is your limiting factor, that means you must be efficient.

looking at your class list, it's definitely possible. good luck!
 
Not my intention at all. Just saying its possible, physics, nutrition, and personality are easy classes. I work because I have responsibilities and bills. I have rent. That doesn't make me a bad ass, it makes me hate my life haha. I envy the premeds living with mommy so they can do what they want.

I def. don't have any parental support. :laugh:
 
Nick Saban is s good coach because he studies each opponent vigorously. You must do the same. Look for the little things, make a schedule, stick with said schedule, and get enough sleep. You can do it.
 
Was it calc-based physics? I think I used maybe 20 pages in my lab manual total for one class (non-calc). 😛

Yeah it was. The skeptic portion took forever because we'd have to do error analysis through calculus methods (partial derivatives and stuff).

I probably used more calculus in the 1 credit hour lab than the 4 credit hour class.
 
Seems very doable to me.. are you an incoming sophomore or junior? Hopefully by now you've learned a bit of what works and what doesn't when it comes to studying. I assume that since you're posting this thread, you're not very confident in your ability to excel (as in get all As rather than some Bs). When I was going into my second year of college, I was ambitious to get only As from there on out despite taking my toughest course load yet, and I was in for a rude awakening when I ended having my worst quarter ever (lol).

For me, the gap between being in the B range and pushing myself finally to start consistent As (in science classes of course) was honestly just studying harder and more efficiently. Prioritize the professor's old tests if they're available, and don't waste time going over stuff you already know you're comfortable with--hone in on your weaknesses and don't stop studying until you've eliminated them all. I told myself to start going to office hours, but I rarely do lol. It can never hurt, but of course it takes time out of your day, so when you do go, try to be prepared with specific questions. It's always best to go over all the material YOURSELF first before you start reviewing with friends and asking the prof questions, so that you only need to fill in little details rather than trying to get other people to explain the large but basic concepts to you.

Study study study! If you know you aren't pushing yourself as hard as you can, change that as soon as possible. College isn't supposed to be easy and getting As definitely isn't easy, despite some people on this site making it seem like it is. Good luck!
 
Seems very doable to me.. are you an incoming sophomore or junior? Hopefully by now you've learned a bit of what works and what doesn't when it comes to studying. I assume that since you're posting this thread, you're not very confident in your ability to excel (as in get all As rather than some Bs). When I was going into my second year of college, I was ambitious to get only As from there on out despite taking my toughest course load yet, and I was in for a rude awakening when I ended having my worst quarter ever (lol).

For me, the gap between being in the B range and pushing myself finally to start consistent As (in science classes of course) was honestly just studying harder and more efficiently. Prioritize the professor's old tests if they're available, and don't waste time going over stuff you already know you're comfortable with--hone in on your weaknesses and don't stop studying until you've eliminated them all. I told myself to start going to office hours, but I rarely do lol. It can never hurt, but of course it takes time out of your day, so when you do go, try to be prepared with specific questions. It's always best to go over all the material YOURSELF first before you start reviewing with friends and asking the prof questions, so that you only need to fill in little details rather than trying to get other people to explain the large but basic concepts to you.

Study study study! If you know you aren't pushing yourself as hard as you can, change that as soon as possible. College isn't supposed to be easy and getting As definitely isn't easy, despite some people on this site making it seem like it is. Good luck!


I will be a Junior, and this is Calc based Physics if that means anything?
 
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