disappointing semester, bad profs..advice please

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Long time lurker, first time poster...

I stacked 3 first rounds of pre-reqs in a DIY post-bac, and am most likely going to get 2 C's and a B. I had 2 horrible profs who made exams nearly impossible (off the wall questions, didn't test on lectured material, etc.). I ended up finding two other fantastic profs at other schools who have let me audit their courses (although this didn't happen until Oct., but has helped me pass terrible said exams).

I am angry, resentful, and wish I would've withdrawn. I had an upward trend (until now) with great/recent experiences with math prof and neuro prof who I made A's with. I will be switching Uni's next semester, and have sought out profs with good reviews, and am armed with all the resources I need to succeed (thanks to SDN'ers and my own leg work).
Should I continue with the second series of pre-reqs at new school or re-take C's? FWIW, I think I could get a great rec letter from prof I'm auditing (in one of the classes I will have a C on paper with the bad prof)


which classes?
 
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What's your GPA now? If it's too low to consider MD, then you are in D.O. land which means retakes can only help you. If its really good and these are a couple of blips on the radar, then it might not be worth retaking.
 
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C's in gchem 1 and physics 1. B in Bio 1

There are some really important lessons to learn in gen chem 1, so even if you don't re-take it you should probably go back over the stuff you struggled with. It will come back to haunt you in other chemistry classes. Physics 1 is sort of unique in that you don't really need it to do well in physics 2. Retaking it would probably help you on the MCAT, but if you aren't going DO then the damage has already been done. Good luck!
 
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Don't blame the professor for your C's man. Sometimes I had no choice but to take the hard professors because of my work schedule. I still managed to pull high Bs and low As. You need to ask yourself what YOU could have done better to make good grades. Own your mistakes.
 
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Don't blame the professor for your C's man. Sometimes I had no choice but to take the hard professors because of my work schedule. I still managed to pull high Bs and low As. You need to ask yourself what YOU could have done better to make good grades. Own your mistakes.

The only thing I could've/should've done is taken a W when I could have. I've shown other profs and docs my exams, and they agree that the material is often beyond the scope of general pre-req classes or more on the honors/advanced level.
 
The only thing I could've/should've done is taken a W when I could have. I've shown other profs and docs my exams, and they agree that the material is often beyond the scope of general pre-req classes or more on the honors/advanced level.

What do you expect them to say?
 
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Well Dr unapathetic I wasn't looking for a shoulder to cry on

Why did you show them your old exams, if not to garner a little empathy? If you'd have aced your tests and shown them to other professors, do you think they would have told you how challenging the material is? What if you led by telling them how simple the test was? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you may want to use another (more objective) measuring stick to gauge how difficult your general chemistry class was.

I was just making a point

Point taken
 
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The only thing I could've/should've done is taken a W when I could have. I've shown other profs and docs my exams, and they agree that the material is often beyond the scope of general pre-req classes or more on the honors/advanced level.

Welcome to medical studies! The previous poster had a good point even though it might seem off-topic. We don't get to pick our professors in medical school and often times the tests do not reflect what was covered in class.

This is a growing experience, you obviously learned when to push and when not to. This concept was huge at my medical school; they wanted us to be able to admit when we were over our heads and would offer more help to those who asked earlier than those who were stubborn. In retrospect, I think it was an early lesson in humility.

If you're thinking about DO, keep in mind that the MD/DO merger should be complete by 2020 so many residency programs will be open to you. The only issue with that is it's harder for DOs to do well on the steps. Regardless, if you pull up your grades going forward that's all that matters -- show your determination and grit and it will be reflected in your grades. Furthermore, if you can show that you have the ability to adapt it will be a plus on your applications. The key to this strategy is building a network of people who can help you get into the school(s) you're interested in now so they can possibly help you when application time comes around. I met with the counselors at the local medical schools during my first semester of premed and constantly checked in with them each following semester. Even though they didn't have to speak with me because I wasn't a medical student at their school, they were very kind and had excellent advice for a premed.

Personally, I don't think two Cs and a B is that bad when you know that you have the ability to crank out As in the future. My gut is that retaking the classes would make me (I can't speak for anyone else) more complacent and not prepare me for the battles ahead when all the material is new. Just my personal experience.

Good luck!


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Welcome to medical studies! The previous poster had a good point even though it might seem off-topic. We don't get to pick our professors in medical school and often times the tests do not reflect what was covered in class.

This is a growing experience, you obviously learned when to push and when not to. This concept was huge at my medical school; they wanted us to be able to admit when we were over our heads and would offer more help to those who asked earlier than those who were stubborn. In retrospect, I think it was an early lesson in humility.

If you're thinking about DO, keep in mind that the MD/DO merger should be complete by 2020 so many residency programs will be open to you. The only issue with that is it's harder for DOs to do well on the steps. Regardless, if you pull up your grades going forward that's all that matters -- show your determination and grit and it will be reflected in your grades. Furthermore, if you can show that you have the ability to adapt it will be a plus on your applications. The key to this strategy is building a network of people who can help you get into the school(s) you're interested in now so they can possibly help you when application time comes around. I met with the counselors at the local medical schools during my first semester of premed and constantly checked in with them each following semester. Even though they didn't have to speak with me because I wasn't a medical student at their school, they were very kind and had excellent advice for a premed.

Personally, I don't think two Cs and a B is that bad when you know that you have the ability to crank out As in the future. My gut is that retaking the classes would make me (I can't speak for anyone else) more complacent and not prepare me for the battles ahead when all the material is new. Just my personal experience.

Good luck!


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Thanks for your helpful and mature post. Yes, I think this is the best strategy for me. I have pubs and clinical experience, but was not expecting this slap in the face. But as you said, live and learn (and fight like hell to get better profs). Great info, thanks!
 
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Well Dr unapathetic I wasn't looking for a shoulder to cry on. I was just making a point to previous poster that it's not me. Anyway, my original question was asking about retakes or not

I don't think it is wise to gloss over the advice here that you are brushing aside. "My prof was bad" is not an excuse and I wouldn't guess that it will fly during a med school interview.

As for your question:

Are you applying DO? Is your GPA on the low end after these grades are factored in? If yes to both, retake.
 
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Unfortunately, Bio, Chemistry and Physics 1 are the easiest that pre-med and med school material will ever be. And if you think that your exams on these topics are convoluted or your professors are not clear, wait until you get to Organic Chemistry and the MCAT, or med school and the USMLE. The sooner you can learn not to be "angry and resentful" when things like this happen, the easier your road will be.
 
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If you feel that you learned the material very well, regardless of your grades, then I would say move on and just take a few extra classes later on to balance out theCs. It is so important that you master this material though, so don't move on unless you're 100% confident with the material.

Regarding the bad professors - I have been in the same situation. Seriously. I have had professors who I couldn't even understand due to such thick accents as well. My best recommendation in those cases is to read your textbook and know it backwards and forwards and also seek out additional instruction online, be it khan academy, etc. Ultimately, you need to learn the info - and while having a bad professor makes it much harder, the responsibility is ultimately yours. It really sucks esp because you're paying for these professors to actually teach you when they're not - but, on the plus side, I have found that when I have to exert so much effort, I tend to remember the material much better which makes it easier later on.
 
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Sigh. Where was his/her advice in that post? Nm, previous post gave sound advice, and "gets it" . will delete now.

So...I guess I need to be more explicit. You led the witness and got the answer you wanted. They gain nothing by engaging in an argument with you.

3 bad grades and all you see is that the instructors are to blame. That suggests a lack of insight. The point of my question was to try to get you to think about your perspective on who is responsible for your performance.
 
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Nothing in the postbac is hard. You should be able to self-teach it. Getting C's means you don't have it.

Are you sure it wasn't racism that led to your C's? Pull a kapernick and join a movement complaining about racial injustices - black lives matter or white nationalists or la raza or whatever. That'd be about as productive as blaming your professors for poor performance.

#blackfridaysmatter
 
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Getting C's means you don't have it.

As a Chemistry professor AND PhD student, this line is complete BS!

What C's typically mean is that the student either didn't work hard enough and/or was ill prepared to take the class. However, getting in a study group very likely would have ameliorated the academic disadvantage of having a bad prof.

PS- Don't think for one second that some Profs don't factor gender/race/athletic student status/ect when giving students grades. It's called being an a$$hole.:cool:
 
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The only thing I could've/should've done is taken a W when I could have. I've shown other profs and docs my exams, and they agree that the material is often beyond the scope of general pre-req classes or more on the honors/advanced level.

Beyond the scope of an general intro level class... :unsure: Poor you...

The thing is, you're not trying to pass Chem 101, you're trying to get into medical school. You need to set your sights considerably higher and take ownership of your own learning process. You can't afford to sit back and wait for the prof to hand you the knowledge -- you need to dive in and master the concepts. You need to own this stuff and be able to take it to the next level. Passively "going through the motions" here is suicidal. You can bet that the few students who did earn the A's were more assertive in their learning.
 
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I would focus on the future. You're in grade replacement country now. Effectively use Rate my Professor and take the path of least resistance.
 
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