bouncing back from bad first semester

[amy1987]

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did anyone on here go through the experience of having a bad first semester and then bounce back and eventually get into a competitive residency?

my first two exam sets were pretty rough... I passed but my grades aren't something I could brag about. and I have my sights set on a competitive field... of course, I could change my mind but I don't necessarily want the options closed to me. 🙁 🙁 🙁

 

[Brachyury]

did anyone on here go through the experience of having a bad first semester and then bounce back and eventually get into a competitive residency?

my first two exam sets were pretty rough... I passed but my grades aren't something I could brag about. and I have my sights set on a competitive field... of course, I could change my mind but I don't necessarily want the options closed to me. 🙁 🙁 🙁

Either (a), you have not figured out the right way to study, or (b) you're just not going to be at the top of your class. Remember, 50% of a med school class will be below the average. In general, at the start of med school, all med students are gunning for the top; within a few months, the class will have stratified and most people will know where they fall in the pecking order.

 

[sindadel]

Of course it is recoverable. But you need to aggressively get help, analyze the way you are studying and figure out how to do better on the next exams so that you are building a solid foundation of knowledge. You are not doomed to be in the bottom 50% of the class, by any means!

 

[HolySmokes]

Either (a), you have not figured out the right way to study, or (b) you're just not going to be at the top of your class. Remember, 50% of a med school class will be below the average. In general, at the start of med school, all med students are gunning for the top; within a few months, the class will have stratified and most people will know where they fall in the pecking order.

False. Averages do not work that way. 50% of medical students will be below the median.

 

[medstud87]

Of course it is recoverable. But you need to aggressively get help, analyze the way you are studying and figure out how to do better on the next exams so that you are building a solid foundation of knowledge. You are not doomed to be in the bottom 50% of the class, by any means!

I mean, this post is basically wrong all the way around. Some people who were bottom of the barrel 1st year, pwn 2nd year and vice versa. Some are better at certain subjects than others. It switches up quite frequently IMO.

 

[Brachyury]

False. Averages do not work that way. 50% of medical students will be below the median.

Thank you for correcting me; I'm glad to reciprocate.

"False, averages do not work that way: 50% of medical students will be below the median."

 

[sindadel]

I mean, this post is basically wrong all the way around. Some people who were bottom of the barrel 1st year, pwn 2nd year and vice versa. Some are better at certain subjects than others. It switches up quite frequently IMO.

Basically all wrong? My, what an accomplishment.

While it's true that _some_ people do reverse their position between 1st and 2nd year, the truth is that a good foundation of knowledge helps you a lot in clinical years, along with a healthy dose of common sense and good communication skills.

So if you're doing poorly pre-clinically because the idiotic details escape you, that's one thing, but if you're doing poorly due to poor time management skills or inability to master the concepts, then you are probably going to do poorly throughout. Either way, it's stressful to barely scrape by, so I think the OP should do some good work to look at why this is happening.

 

[BlueElmo]

False. Averages do not work that way. 50% of medical students will be below the median.

I don't understand (math was never my strong suit), could you explain please?

 

[NH14]

False. Averages do not work that way. 50% of medical students will be below the median.

Actually, you're both wrong. 49.99% of students will be below the mean (assuming a perfect bell curve) or median. 50% of students would be at or below the median and mean (again, assuming perfect distribution of scores - which rarely occurs). 50% would always be at or below the median by definition.

Now, I have officially wasted 5 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

 

[rmaj79]

Actually, you're both wrong. 49.99% of students will be below the mean (assuming a perfect bell curve) or median. 50% of students would be at or below the median and mean (again, assuming perfect distribution of scores - which rarely occurs). 50% would always be at or below the median by definition.

Now, I have officially wasted 5 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Y'all tryin too hard... 🙄

 

[Morsetlis]

If there is an even number of student, there is a possibility that nobody will be at the median. 🙂