Advice to a student who never took high school science and is now in college

[altamont850]

Hey guys,

I know most of you probably don't have this problem but for anyone who never took high school science (I got bored with high school in the 10th grade, and took the GED), how do you compensate for this in college? I know from my perspective, my state's public high schools tend to focus on preparing for standardized testing rather than actual thought provoking teaching.

Don't get me wrong I actually love learning about new things (esp. science).
The feeling I have is not one of being overwhelmed, it is just that I'm inundated with new information. I've bought some chemistry and biology books and I seem able to grasp bit and pieces of information but I seem to have no confidence in my ability. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

Thanks

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[Mr Hippopotamus]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you made it through 10th grade, the rest of high school science is just a watered down version of what you'll hear in college. Pay attention, go to office hours, and do the practice problems. You'll be fine.👍

 

[HH8911]

I too dropped out of high school at the beginning of my junior year, got a GED and started college a year earlier than my class. What I learned the hard way is to always take all necessary and suggested pre-req's for science classes...I took less than a year of high school chemistry, then decided to jump right into General Chem I in college, ignoring the suggested "Foundations for General Chem" class pre-req, because it wasn't technically required for my degree or otherwise. Suffice it to say, I was completely lost by the second week of Gen Chem and failed the first exam. I dropped it, took the "Foundations" class, and after that Gen Chem was a complete breeze.

In short, don't be under the impression that because high school was easy for you that college will automatically be easy too. The science classes are a lot more impersonal in those big lecture halls, and super detail-intensive. Keep with it, do practice problems even if they aren't for credit, and get help from a tutor or at office hours ASAP if you begin having trouble.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[Unclipped]

I did not remember much from high school by the time I went to college. I think they do a good job in the intro sience courses starting from the beginning. All the pre reqs; physics, chemistry, and biology require no basis of knowledge. You should be fine. Just work hard, don't fall behind, and get help if you don't understand something.

GOOD LUCK

 

[deleted357625]

Yea i worry about this also. I never payed attention in my bio/chem class back in HS. I don't even know how i passed, but i do remembering failing a lot of tests ;p

Right now I currently registered for a bio and general chem class for spring term, and i basically forget everything I did in HS.

But, hopefully if i just pay attention and study i will be fine, and plus my school offers free tutoring. Hopefully everything goes well.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

As long as you put effort into biology you'll probably manage to get the whole thing down without a problem. However chem is difficult and if they have a pre general chemistry class I would highly recommend that.

 

[CoolWhipp]

Biology is something you can catch up with easily, as the ideas cycle over and over again.

Chemistry and physics is something else, you need to start at the beginning and build a good foundation. Playing the catch up game in physics, when you happened to be absent when they explained a of law, makes things very difficult.

 

[deleted357625]

As long as you put effort into biology you'll probably manage to get the whole thing down without a problem. However chem is difficult and if they have a pre general chemistry class I would highly recommend that.

Yea they have the intro chem class, but i skipped it and went straight to gen chem, I'm taking it this spring.

But i heard that bio is mainly memorization and chem is jut repetition of practice problems.

So i think anyone who puts forth the effort and even gets tutor help will do fine, which i plan on doing

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Yea they have the intro chem class, but i skipped it and went straight to gen chem, I'm taking it this spring.

But i heard that bio is mainly memorization and chem is jut repetition of practice problems.

So i think anyone who puts forth the effort and even gets tutor help will do fine, which i plan on doing

True enough, but there are certain concept which they will not cover which might put you at a disadvantage. Chem 1 is probably 50% concept, 50% problems. Chem 2 however is 90% problems, 10% concepts. Biology as long as you study and read the book/power points will more or less make sense. If you don't understand something then google or wikipedia things or words you don't understand.

 

[ygree001]

I also had next to no science in high school. You may have to work harder than other people in bio but it is doable. Everyone will be in the same boat for orgo as well. For gen chem and physics, it depends on your strengths. I was strong enough in math to make up for the lack of exposure. I was able to do well in chem and physics because the equations made sense.
Good luck.

 

[deleted357625]

I personally just don't want to waste $ on some intro class if it really isn't necessary. Even tho it might be recommended, but any class it just requires your ears and thought process.

I mean for example, a lot of people who are not even math whizzes skip pre-calc to go to calc even when it's recommended and still do fine. But, then again everyone is different.

 

[plzNOCarribbean]

Work your ass off. Period

i too blew off high school. I was very math difficient, and IMO that is one of the biggest weaknesses that I worked hard to fix. Biology becomes easy to grasp, especially after the first general bio weed out course. If you can make it through there, you will be fine. There are tons of great books/videos on youtube to supplement your studies.

what you will need to devote the majority of your time to is gen chem and physics, especially if you had a weak math/science background as i did. I never took physics in high school, and I had to work extremely hard to make good grades in those subjects. I would recommend becoming familiar with basic algebra and manipulating equations, understanding variables and take gen chem 1 before overwhelming yourself and taking any of those classes concurrently. If you put in the hard work and effort, you will be successful.

 

[deleted357625]

Work your ass off. Period

i too blew off high school. I was very math difficient, and IMO that is one of the biggest weaknesses that I worked hard to fix. Biology becomes easy to grasp, especially after the first general bio weed out course. If you can make it through there, you will be fine. There are tons of great books/videos on youtube to supplement your studies.

what you will need to devote the majority of your time to is gen chem and physics, especially if you had a weak math/science background as i did. I never took physics in high school, and I had to work extremely hard to make good grades in those subjects. I would recommend becoming familiar with basic algebra and manipulating equations, understanding variables and take gen chem 1 before overwhelming yourself and taking any of those classes concurrently. If you put in the hard work and effort, you will be successful.

Agreed. 👍