College grades

[stardustmemory]

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Ok i'm sort of pissed off right now..I'm a freshmen in college, just finished first quarter and ended up with a C- in chem

I've read similar situations on other forums and most of the responses said a few Cs are fine...but how badly does this (C-) stick out?

Also, do you any of you have any tips on how to do better in chem? I could understand the material (but obviously not well enough to do better on the exams)

Thanks!


P.S in spite of my frustration, happy holidays!

 

[SGPharmD]

some C's are not a big deal because by the time you are ready to apply to pharmacy school you will have a lot of grades which will hopefully keep your gpa up. however, the problem with a C- is that most pharmacy schools say that anything less than a C will not transfer (meaning you can't get anything less than a C in order for it to be accepted that you passed the class) so if you get a C- or below in a course you will probably have to take it again in order to get credit for it.

as for doing better, i'd say get a tutor from right off the bat. chemistry is a very cumulative subject and you need to have a good foundation to understand what's going on when you take the harder course (ochem and biochem). the more you understand from the begining the easier it will be to build on that information.

 

[omnione]

Since many pharmacy schools and colleges consider C-'s to be non-passing and inapplicable to fulfilling prerequisites, it's advisable to retake any C- grades in any prereqs and in any other class.

Look for a chemistry resource center if applicable to your school where you can get personalized help. Since you have already take the class once, perhaps you can get the professor to help tailor and diagnose the reasons for your first non-passing grade.

 

[PharmaZ]

C- is not too bad. If your school lets you grade replace..then do that. I just got my grade back for O chem and i got a C+. It sucks because the pluses and minuses count a lot. It really dropped my GPA a lot, but I am taking another science class (and hopefully getting an A) in it, to balance it out.. I go to UOP and so we get three grade replacements.

 

[Prepharm1214]

First semester/quarter grade problems are not too problematic. If you improve your grades it shows maybe you had trouble transitioning, etc. It also gives you something to talk saying how you matured, self evaluated and realized where you were having troubles. So in short just improve your chemistry grades for the next few quarters and it will probably be overlooked.

 

[stardustmemory]

Thanks for all the replies.

But regardless, I should still retake the class, correct? And yea, my school lets me do grade replacements so thats a good thing

Thanks again

 

[omnione]

Thanks for all the replies.

But regardless, I should still retake the class, correct? And yea, my school lets me do grade replacements so thats a good thing

Thanks again

Yes

 

[AngelaCL]

Meet with your professor and ask how to succeed in the course. In my school, there were group study sessions led by student instructors along with a chemistry resource room full of grad students for one on one help, plus office hours. I was in the resource room every single week - I got help with the homework to make sure I really knew how to get the answers, and I also could pay to photocopy old tests and work off of that. I never went to office hours for chemistry, but I did for physics and it helped a lot.

Plus, it's really good to have the professor know and recognise you - you are showing your professor that you are eager to learn, which has several advantages. First of all, when he is calculating final grades and you have an 89.4%? The fact that he saw you put in the effort might just boost you up. If you ever want to argue for a point on an exam or ask for an extension or something, you are more likely to get your way than the kid who does the crossword or naps during lecture every day. And finally, when it comes to letter of recommendation time, you have a science professor who can say that you are hard working and will do what it takes to succeed.

Take the class over, and start the class at a running pace this time. Start studying from day one; start getting help the first week. Then when it comes to test week, start your preparation a week in advance using all tools available - study guides, old tests, extra homework sets from the book. Ask the professor for study tools like this. Start building up these study skills now, as a freshman, and your GPA will be great. And be careful - too many retakes don't look good, so don't plan on having any more "do-overs."

 

[fiorio]

definitely retake
pharmacy is mainly chemistry. if you suck at it, then ......

 

[Citrusxoxo]

I would retake it

 

[sterling40]

I also got a C- in gen. chem. I and am retaking it.

 

[Cacoethes]

See your teacher 24/7 for help; when I say 24/7 I mean it. I literally prowled outside my chem teacher's door for her help whenever I could make the office hours. I took a trivial test that predicted i'd get about a C in the class; it turns out I worked hard and received an A-.

 

[stardustmemory]

Thanks for all the comments.

Happy holidays

 

[AntiviralsRule]

If it makes you feel better, I got an F in Intro to Sociology (don't ask). I retook it and got an A. I'd say retake Chem.

My $0.02.

 

[stardustmemory]

Yeah, I dont have a choice about retaking it anyway. I emailed USC and they said they only accept grades of C or higher.

 

[Farmercyst]

Yeah, I dont have a choice about retaking it anyway. I emailed USC and they said they only accept grades of C or higher.

Yeah, they're very strict about that. But at least with the replacement and the wake up call your performance and GPA may increase.

 

[evilolive]

I, too, got a C- many years ago and improved..to a C the following semester. Just don't give up!

 

[rocknroll985]

How many hours do you put into studying in Pharmacy? 8 or 9 hours a day?

 

[jspwinter]

I, too, got a C- many years ago and improved..to a C the following semester. Just don't give up!

Sorry but if you retook this class and your grade improved slightly, you need to rethink your priorities. This is only an intro chemistry class. It only gets harder and if you're already struggling, choose a different career path.

 

[stardustmemory]

You're telling that to a pharmacy student..(at least thats what it says in his profile)

And I think the "dont give up" mentality is much better than the "your best grade in general chem was a C; you probably shouldn't do pharmacy" one

 

[evilolive]

Sorry but if you retook this class and your grade improved slightly, you need to rethink your priorities. This is only an intro chemistry class. It only gets harder and if you're already struggling, choose a different career path.

I actually did rethink my priorities many years ago, and I gave myself a timeline as to whether or not organic chemistry would fare better. It did, and well, I'm glad I didn't give up. That's not to say, however, that one shouldn't be realistic about one's capabilities, but it's always difficult to tell the difference between the two. It wasn't just the class, it was the transition to college and the newfound competitive environment I was playing in. It wasn't like high school anymore where I only got As, and all of a sudden, I felt so average. It wasn't a fun realization, trust me.

 

[SGPharmD]

I actually did rethink my priorities many years ago, and I gave myself a timeline as to whether or not organic chemistry would fare better. It did, and well, I'm glad I didn't give up. That's not to say, however, that one shouldn't be realistic about one's capabilities, but it's always difficult to tell the difference between the two. It wasn't just the class, it was the transition to college and the newfound competitive environment I was playing in. It wasn't like high school anymore where I only got As, and all of a sudden, I felt so average. It wasn't a fun realization, trust me.

I think it's also important to see that you don't need a 4.0 to get into pharmacy school. There are average students out there in some class ( I have C's in some classes) who get into pharmacy school and end up doing fine. So to tell someone to give up because of a few C's is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

 

[Lateralus1441]

get the overall and science overall gpa to reasonable levels. I failed bio2 the first time I took it and got a D in cal2 the first time I took that class. Retook 'em and got As, wound up with a good overall GPA and PCAT and BAM, now im partying my face off in austin for pharmacy school.