am i just not cut out?

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skylark

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i'm very disciplined when it comes to studying; my friends tease me and call me a nerd. funny thing is...i dont even GET spectacular grades, and when i say that i mean, i just found out i got a C+ in physics (lowest grade so far) a B- in stats. science classes hover at a B+. overall gpa is kinda downward trend which also worries me.

What worries me is that not im not even taking that heavy of a load. I'm a sophomore, but i seem to be struggling already and i dont think classes will get any easier. sometimes i think im just dumb...im not really quick at picking up things academically either. i study A LOT b/c i think im mediocre...but my grades dont reflect my structured studying habits

I was thinking about going abroad next fall, but now im thinking of scrapping that, and just staying here to work on the gpa. I have a few ECs, but they are all things i take pride in and make me stand out.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY?! seriously..i feel so dumb even though i've never worked harder in my life..the worst combo ever.
 
i'm very disciplined when it comes to studying; my friends tease me and call me a nerd. funny thing is...i dont even GET spectacular grades, and when i say that i mean, i just found out i got a C+ in physics (lowest grade so far) a B- in stats. science classes hover at a B+. overall gpa is kinda downward trend which also worries me.

What worries me is that not im not even taking that heavy of a load. I'm a sophomore, but i seem to be struggling already and i dont think classes will get any easier. sometimes i think im just dumb...im not really quick at picking up things academically either. i study A LOT b/c i think im mediocre...but my grades dont reflect my structured studying habits

I was thinking about going abroad next fall, but now im thinking of scrapping that, and just staying here to work on the gpa. I have a few ECs, but they are all things i take pride in and make me stand out.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY?! seriously..i feel so dumb even though i've never worked harder in my life..the worst combo ever.

Quantity does not equal quality. It sounds like you need to learn how to absorb the material that you are reading (i.e. you need to re-learn how to study in a way that works).
 
Make an appointment with an academic resource center and examine your studying habits. If you're studying as much as you seem to be and still aren't making good grades, the question becomes if you're studying the most efficient way for you.
 
I would do a quick search on google for the most productive ways to study. Try some of the methods out and see how that works.
 
a lot of premeds doing organic, genchem and physics make the mistake that they need to learn theory. while this is important in general to know, and will be very handy for the mcats, you'll use your time better if you work lots of problems.
 
i'm very disciplined when it comes to studying; my friends tease me and call me a nerd. funny thing is...i dont even GET spectacular grades, and when i say that i mean, i just found out i got a C+ in physics (lowest grade so far) a B- in stats. science classes hover at a B+. overall gpa is kinda downward trend which also worries me.

What worries me is that not im not even taking that heavy of a load. I'm a sophomore, but i seem to be struggling already and i dont think classes will get any easier. sometimes i think im just dumb...im not really quick at picking up things academically either. i study A LOT b/c i think im mediocre...but my grades dont reflect my structured studying habits

I was thinking about going abroad next fall, but now im thinking of scrapping that, and just staying here to work on the gpa. I have a few ECs, but they are all things i take pride in and make me stand out.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY?! seriously..i feel so dumb even though i've never worked harder in my life..the worst combo ever.


I'm relatively new to posting on this site, but I've been reading A LOT of great threads that have helped me through times of sheer panic! So I think that at least being honest with yourself on this forum is a great step towards changing your ways.

With that said, I agree with everyone here that it's not how much you study, but certainly how you study to make sure that knowledge is stored in a test-ready manner. This topic covers many aspects of what "good" studying habits should be; for instance: How are you comprehending the material as you progress, do you find yourself feeling like you're trying to learn the material for the first time the days before the test? Is the style of learning that you're employing conducive to the material that's being tested?

I certainly believe that for certain subject material different studying methods are necessary. For example, Biology or Anatomy classes are strictly memorization for me. And so I'll prepare, throughout the course, flashcards so that as I'm reviewing the chapter notes, I can also quiz myself on the things I thought were pertinent. For application type classes like calculus or Organic Chem, I don't stop doing practice problems. I'll do every problem in the chapter and then some from practice exams that the teacher gives out. I find that extremely helpful in understanding concepts. So you see, it only drives the point of not only how many hours you put into studying, though time is a crucial factor, but also how you study. Going to your learning resource center, or even speaking with your professor and asking him/her how you could improve your study habits should point you in the right direction. In the end, showing med school adcoms that you matured and learned how to study like an adult can prove to be as much of an asset as a good grade.
 
i'm very disciplined when it comes to studying; my friends tease me and call me a nerd. funny thing is...i dont even GET spectacular grades, and when i say that i mean, i just found out i got a C+ in physics (lowest grade so far) a B- in stats. science classes hover at a B+. overall gpa is kinda downward trend which also worries me.

What worries me is that not im not even taking that heavy of a load. I'm a sophomore, but i seem to be struggling already and i dont think classes will get any easier. sometimes i think im just dumb...im not really quick at picking up things academically either. i study A LOT b/c i think im mediocre...but my grades dont reflect my structured studying habits

I was thinking about going abroad next fall, but now im thinking of scrapping that, and just staying here to work on the gpa. I have a few ECs, but they are all things i take pride in and make me stand out.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY?! seriously..i feel so dumb even though i've never worked harder in my life..the worst combo ever.


I'm relatively new to posting on this site, but I have read MANY of great threads that have helped me in the past through times of sheer panic! So I think that at least being honest with yourself on this forum is a great step towards changing your ways.

With that said, I agree with everyone here that it's not how much you study, but certainly how you study to make sure that knowledge is stored in a test-ready manner. This topic covers many aspects of what "good" studying habits should be; for instance: How are you comprehending the material as you progress, do you find yourself feeling like you're trying to learn the material for the first time the days before the test? Is the style of learning that you're employing conducive to the material that's being tested?

I certainly believe that for certain subject material different studying methods are necessary. For example, Biology or Anatomy classes are strictly memorization for me. And so I'll prepare, throughout the course, flashcards so that as I'm reviewing the chapter notes, I can also quiz myself on the things I thought were pertinent. For application type classes like calculus or Organic Chem, I don't stop doing practice problems. I'll do every problem in the chapter and then some from practice exams that the teacher gives out. I find that extremely helpful in understanding concepts. So you see, it only drives the point of not only how many hours you put into studying, though time is a crucial factor, but also how you study. Going to your learning resource center, or even speaking with your professor and asking him/her how you could improve your study habits should point you in the right direction. In the end, showing med school adcoms that you matured and learned how to study like an adult can prove to be as much of an asset as a good grade.
 
i'm very disciplined when it comes to studying; my friends tease me and call me a nerd. funny thing is...i dont even GET spectacular grades, and when i say that i mean, i just found out i got a C+ in physics (lowest grade so far) a B- in stats. science classes hover at a B+. overall gpa is kinda downward trend which also worries me.

What worries me is that not im not even taking that heavy of a load. I'm a sophomore, but i seem to be struggling already and i dont think classes will get any easier. sometimes i think im just dumb...im not really quick at picking up things academically either. i study A LOT b/c i think im mediocre...but my grades dont reflect my structured studying habits

I was thinking about going abroad next fall, but now im thinking of scrapping that, and just staying here to work on the gpa. I have a few ECs, but they are all things i take pride in and make me stand out.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY?! seriously..i feel so dumb even though i've never worked harder in my life..the worst combo ever.

A lot of good advice on here. Also, have you ever thought that you might be stressing yourself out over your tests and your own worse enemy?

Other than that, go to office hours. If you are struggling, your professors should be on a first name basis with you.
 
Find out a best way to study. How do you study for tests?
Me for chem I make flashcards and do practice problems.
Biology I just read over the notes 3 times a week.
Math do problems
I don't know how to study for English yet; I have tried different things but none have worked thus the B in the class.
 
i'm in the same situation. sophomore with several C's already. a lot of them are in science classes. i'm going to retake the C-'s a bit later. the thing is i haven't taken any upper division classes yet. i study a lot too and my friends think i get stellar grades when in fact i'm getting C's. 🙁
 
Welcome to my world...

I'm in the same boat with you. Although I study so much for my classes, I'm still struggling in my classes. My roommate, who studies less than me, gets stellar grades. I think it's because she studies effectively such as highlighting important points (while I would read the whole thing and eventually forget everything) and refresh her mind by getting enough sleep or getting many small breaks.
 
I have noticed in college that a lot of people study a lot, but they study the wrong stuff, and, as a result, receieve poor grades. I think thats the major project, students focusing on the wrong material. I don't know how to correct it, but i think thats the issue. wow, i am no help at all.
 
For me, I know exactly what to study and how to study. I get A's in my midterms but somehow once finals hit, I get really stressed out and I dont do so well. Since finals are worth a huge chunk of your grade, I usually end up doing bad on them which bring my grades down to a B or C overall in the class. I think the reason I"m so stressed out is because:

My first two years in college wasn't very great because I wasn't focused and unsure of what I want to do, so my gpa was around a bare 3.0. Now that I've decided I really want to be a doctor, there's more pressure on me to drastically improve my gpa. This pressure reaches its peak when finals hit. I get so nervous while studying for finals that I went to the bathroom almost every 30 minutes. What do u guys think I should do?
 
For me, I know exactly what to study and how to study. I get A's in my midterms but somehow once finals hit, I get really stressed out and I dont do so well. Since finals are worth a huge chunk of your grade, I usually end up doing bad on them which bring my grades down to a B or C overall in the class. I think the reason I"m so stressed out is because:

My first two years in college wasn't very great because I wasn't focused and unsure of what I want to do, so my gpa was around a bare 3.0. Now that I've decided I really want to be a doctor, there's more pressure on me to drastically improve my gpa. This pressure reaches its peak when finals hit. I get so nervous while studying for finals that I went to the bathroom almost every 30 minutes. What do u guys think I should do?

i think you need to be more organized. I am sure you are pretty organized now, but if you time manged well throughout the semester you shouldn't be stressed. If your finals are comprehensive, i'd recommend looking over the old material periodically throughout the semester, so the old info is always fresh in your memory. I know it sounds like a pain, but it makes studying for the final a breeze. If they are not comprehesive finals, i don't know why you would be more stressed than normal.
 
i think you need to be more organized. I am sure you are pretty organized now, but if you time manged well throughout the semester you shouldn't be stressed. If your finals are comprehensive, i'd recommend looking over the old material periodically throughout the semester, so the old info is always fresh in your memory. I know it sounds like a pain, but it makes studying for the final a breeze. If they are not comprehesive finals, i don't know why you would be more stressed than normal.

Thanks for your comment! That's what I thought too, which is why I plan on constantly going over old notes throughout the quarter. Thanks! Let's hope this will work or else... I know where to look for you:meanie: j/k.
 
well im not too sure how to "correct" my studying habits.

i do not procrastinate very much and i keep up with the reading side by side with my lecture notes (i highlight as well in my notes and book). After the reading i go ahead and do problems, and i consult the solutions manual to understand what i did wrong. I pretty much do everything. and study 2-3 hours at a time before taking a break. i feel confident as well after a day of studying.

so..i dont know how to improve? i feel im already doing a lot. the only thing i dont do is go to office hours.
 
I definitely went through the same thing. Struggled in Gen Chem II and in Phys I and II. I had the problem of not actually focusing while I was studying. I'd read a chapter in chem, then start the review problems and barely remember any concepts discussed.

It helped me a lot to read a small portion from the book or from notes, write down the concepts or equations. Very paraphrased (one sentence per paragraph max). Then I found problems in the review or on practice tests, to do and see if I really understood what I'd read. Once I got better at this, I would just make up problems in my head while reading, to see if I understood the relationships between the variables in equations.

So don't get discouraged. If you really want to be a doctor, I'm sure you can adjust your study habits and find out how to make the best use of your time. And although the upper div. sciences sound difficult, that may not be the case once you're there. I averaged C's in both physics and chemistry. Then got As in both O-chems, and a B+ in biochem.

Hopefully some of this helps.👍
 
For me, I know exactly what to study and how to study. I get A's in my midterms but somehow once finals hit, I get really stressed out and I dont do so well. Since finals are worth a huge chunk of your grade, I usually end up doing bad on them which bring my grades down to a B or C overall in the class. I think the reason I"m so stressed out is because:

My first two years in college wasn't very great because I wasn't focused and unsure of what I want to do, so my gpa was around a bare 3.0. Now that I've decided I really want to be a doctor, there's more pressure on me to drastically improve my gpa. This pressure reaches its peak when finals hit. I get so nervous while studying for finals that I went to the bathroom almost every 30 minutes. What do u guys think I should do?

you sound kinda like me. Out of all the science classes i have had, every single one of them has had a cumulative final.

My grades my 1st and 2nd year weren't so hot either and so there has been a insane amount of pressure for me to improve my last two years (i am a senior this year).

I know exactly how much pressure there can be and its kinda nerve racking because at the end of finals week, many of your grades are up in the air. Most of my finals count for at least 25% or more of my overall grade and since A's are around 93% and above, there is little to no room for error during the school quarter and definitely no room for error during finals week.

So you may wonder what i did to improve. First i really got scared at the end of my soph year when i thought that i was pretty much shot at saving my gpa and getting into med school. This kicked me into gear and i was much more focused since then. Find something that gets you excited and motivated, and keep that in the background. I had a lot of stuff going on at that point and i didnt want it to ruin my future. You need to find something that keeps you motivated and excited to do well in school. You have to find that something.

When you start out kinda bad is only adds to the pressure in the later years to do well. I faced this too, but its important to remain positive. Dont worry about grades, don't think about scores and forget about med school and everything else. Just focus on two things, doing well in class (not just getting the grade) and learning to relax.

One of the biggest things that helped me do better was relaxing more.
The school quarter i see as a marathon. I used to burn myself out by week 5/6 and by the time finals week came (week 11) i was burnt....no energy and pretty muck sick of school.

I changed that by making sure that i saw a movie, or hung out with friends, go to the bars. Something along these lines once or twice a week helped a lot over 11 weeks. It helped me relax and focus more. You cant help but get burnt out if you are constantly are worrying about grades/mcats/ec's for 11 weeks.

Maybe this helps, maybe it doesnt. But i realized that the problem may not be with study habits but rather with chilling out more often.

Also another thing that i have gotten much better at is preparing for tests much earlier and finals weeks way earlier too (there is a lot to go over since you have 4 cumulative tests in 5 days...)

I felt more confident and comfortable with myself by preparing much earlier, and this confidence i think helped me relax more and focus on the test itself.

hope it helps :luck:
 
gosh so much typinggggggggggggg too tired to read everything.

anyways, i agree with the others, efficiency/quality matters. i recently had to redo my studying technique since it wasnt as good as it should be. i noticed when i dont stress myself out, i absorb things better (the concepts/theory). dont stress! this is counterproductive in learning things.

also, just do your best. your work ethic sounds pretty good compared to many ppl. you'll make it if you just work on quality, bc your work ethic sounds good for a doctor.

peace outz
 
For me, I can't just READ my notes and the text. I have to read it and then go back and outline the main points. The key for me is writing it all down over and over. The more I move my hand and write something, the more I remember it. Typing doesn't work either - I have to manually write something in order to remember it well.

Another thing you could try is studying in a group. Try asking around your classes at the start of this semester and see if you can put together a group of 3-4 people to study with. I know someone in my class who is very smart and works very hard, but he struggles on tests when he does not study with people because he just doesn't study quite the right things. As a group, you will all guide each other toward the most important points and you will have differing views on lectures. Together you should be able to work out a full outline of a lecture and not miss anything.
 
I made the same mistakes too. But I realized that its all about studying smart, not hard. All right, I'll admit you have to study hard too. And this applies differently to different subjects. For Bio, it's just memorization. So your goal is to find out how to memorize the most amount of material in the shortest amount of time. I do this via flashcards. For instance, If I wanted to memorize 500 facts, then I would make 500 flashcards and recite everyone of them. Of course going through all the flashcards over and over will just be a waste of time. I would reduce the amount of flashcards by throwing away the card containing the info that I got the hang of. After all, why recite something that you know already? Well, you may ask, "How do I make the flashcards in the first place?" To do that, you have to know whats important. With the staggering plethora of facts contained in a bio book you just don't know whats important. For that you have to go to lecture. I would skim the chapter/section before the lecture just to get the basic concepts. Then I would get whats important from the lectures. From there, reread and highlight. Create flash cards whats important and memorize it all. Then if you have time, go back to the stuff that received less emphasis. Now for a subject that requires synthesis of concepts( i.e physics, math). This obviously won't work. For something like physics, you have to understand the concepts before starting on the problems. Albeit, skimming before lecture still helps. Once you have the concepts down, you have to start doing problems. But you can't just do all the problems in the back of the section. Once you get the easy problems, just step up a bar or two. The same applies to problems of the same type. If you successfully completed 2-3 incline plane problems(from easy to hard), just move to a different type of problem like pulley problem. Once you understand all the different types of problems, you can then go back to see which type of problems in which you made the most mistakes in. Do those types of problems again and figure out why you made those mistakes. Now, I'm not saying that this will work because everyone learns differently, but it worked for me!😀
 
well im not too sure how to "correct" my studying habits.

i do not procrastinate very much and i keep up with the reading side by side with my lecture notes (i highlight as well in my notes and book). After the reading i go ahead and do problems, and i consult the solutions manual to understand what i did wrong. I pretty much do everything. and study 2-3 hours at a time before taking a break. i feel confident as well after a day of studying.

so..i dont know how to improve? i feel im already doing a lot. the only thing i dont do is go to office hours.

You know what? You may NOT be cut out for it, the "it" being high pressure academics.

Another thought: you may be trying to jam a square peg into a round hole...what I mean by that is that you may be in the wrong academic track (and perhaps the wrong career path, but lets focus on your major first)...but if you would have been better suited as an English major where you could make stellar grades, and then you could have done a post bacc...just a thought, don't know what your situation is...

What is your major? What is your passion? The best results occur when these 2 things align...

Someone had to say it...you may not be cut out for "it" depending on how you define "it."
 
It took me 3 years to figure out the best way to study for myself. I got reamed in sophomore year by the difficulty of the courses compounded by my always poor study habits. Sure, I studied a lot for some of my classes but that wasn't reflected in my grades. Like you, I also had a downward trend.

My study habits cranked into high gear since I was on a time crunch for the MCAT in Fall quarter of Senior year. After that, my study habits became more effective and I got the grades that I feel that I deserved.

Also, what postbacker said should be considered as well. Everyone has friends who have switched out of premed for one reason or another. His comments sting at first glance (pun intended), but it is a legitimate suggestion.

One more thing regarding office hours: they give you the only real opportunity to verify your knowledge prior to the exam. You can confirm that you know what you think you know when you talk to your professor, but you can also gauge if your knowledge is in a form that'll help for an exam. They'll be able to correct details in your thought process that might seem correct but are weak in fundamentals and they can also tailor your study strategies to their individual course. A lot of professor have been doing this for a long time and know how to motivate and teach their students. Seek their help.
 
OP I understand your plight.

Sophomore year was the worst for me GPA wise. Likely because I wasn't set on med school at that point.

What gets me the grades now is a combination of effort and knowing how to study. If you get a grade back you don't like on the first test, figure out what was wrong with your study method the first time. Professors consistently make the same style of test all semester, so really focus on that first test, and adapt your studying methods to it.

This has taken me from being a 3.2 student to a 3.8, with a minimal increase in effort. Your mileage may vary.

edit: if you try this and it doesn't work, you may just not be cut out
 
well im not too sure how to "correct" my studying habits.

i do not procrastinate very much and i keep up with the reading side by side with my lecture notes (i highlight as well in my notes and book). After the reading i go ahead and do problems, and i consult the solutions manual to understand what i did wrong. I pretty much do everything. and study 2-3 hours at a time before taking a break. i feel confident as well after a day of studying.

so..i dont know how to improve? i feel im already doing a lot. the only thing i dont do is go to office hours.

Do you spread your studying over multiple days or do you cram one subject a day? If you do the latter, that maybe your problem. You need time to digest material and if you study the same stuff excessively in one day, you'll probably yield less.

The best way to improve studying habits is finding out how you retain knowledge best. The way it worked for me is that I would spread out my studying a lot. I would never do just one subject a day but rather do multiple subjects a day to keep things from going stale. I read ahead before lectures so I could hear the same material said in a different way to better remember what the important facts were. On the weekends, I would do a review of the material for the past week and concentrate on points I thought were relevant, but still looking briefly and what seemed to be minor topics. Reviewing older material seems to help a lot in retaining information. When you review, you should spend far less time than you did when first reading the material so you can move on to newer material.

Anyways, what do you think is making you do worse?
 
I find that I like to rewrite and condense my notes once or twice so that before each final/exam, I have a 1 or 2 page sheet of spark-note style notes. Rewriting things just helps me remember, and I have to think about things in order to condense them meaningfully, so evetually I'll look at the sparse line of notes, and remember all the thinking I had to do to condense the material to that level. That might just work for me though, it's my way of distilling things down to principles for classes, especially bio classes that aren't based on equations.

I second the studying in a group, especially if you can find a group of people who are doing better than you are in the class. When I was failing a class freshman year, my friend helped me review what materials i was concentrating on, and it helped a ton to have her insight (she was also an upperclassman, so knew how to play the studying game). After living through that class, the rest of my college years were a breeze.

Good luck!
 
A lot of good advice on here. Also, have you ever thought that you might be stressing yourself out over your tests and your own worse enemy?

That's what happens to one of my friends. She'll study for hours and hours, and know the material front and back, and then panic on the exam and make a worse score than any of the rest of us in our group. When she just relaxed and didn't focus on studying so much, she did better than about half of us.

This is also the only time I've heard someone really complain about getting a 91 on an exam. (Might have something to do with the fact that a 95 is the cutoff for an A).
 
listen well to these advices....find your study method.... personally I don't take notes in class cause i just wanna listen and absorb the lecture material and if you need to you can reread the book. if the tests are strictly lecture based you bring a tape recorder. Flashcards are useless in my opinion because you may learn to know what is on the other side of the card without actually knowing what the word or concept means...in short a lot of people who uses flashcard can't seem to put all the pieces together and make a mental picture of how everything relates to each other. Learn to read the textbook cause it will be a useful skill in med school too.

Make condensed notes before the test which gives you the big picture and keep materials fresh. and don't cram the materials and allocate your time strategically because you will have multiple tests on the same day or same week. BEWARE of study groups because most of the time you end up talking but this will give you the false impression that you are doing something. the only time when study groups are any good is when you have study everything and you go over with friends who have also studied.

BTW, you are definitely cut out for this, you just have to learn the "method" and learn it fast. Good luck
 
well im not too sure how to "correct" my studying habits.

i do not procrastinate very much and i keep up with the reading side by side with my lecture notes (i highlight as well in my notes and book). After the reading i go ahead and do problems, and i consult the solutions manual to understand what i did wrong. I pretty much do everything. and study 2-3 hours at a time before taking a break. i feel confident as well after a day of studying.

so..i dont know how to improve? i feel im already doing a lot. the only thing i dont do is go to office hours.

you are probably just memorizing without comprehending the material.. by this i mean you have to be able to put pieces together and make a mental note of how everything relates to each other. For instance, all the material in the first semester of physics are related to the three laws of Newton. Circular motion equations, gravitational laws, torque, tension, most of them can be reduced to one another and/or they are anlogous. Understanding the material like this will enable you to see through different type of answers.

PM me if you have any question.
 
pornography. is what you should do.
 
i agree that it's probably how you are studying and that you should focus on study quality not quantity. prereqs can be hard so don't assume that you have the problem and just can't do it. you can do it. you just might need to change how you approach the material. 😳
 
Are you genuinely interested in the material or are you just doing it because you have to? As lame as it sounds readjusting your approach to a subject so that you are interested will improve grades emensely.
 
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