I haven't been doing well in classes, particularly ones that take work... 😉 My heads back in it and I'm ready to attack school. However, after talking to a head adviser, she told me that a handful of people in my medium-sized school get straight As/make the deans list. This worries me, because as a bad student/the lower end of admitted students, how on Earth am I supposed to compete with people smarter than me who themselves don't get As? I was looking at a nearby state school's Orgo stats and exams were similar to ours, but a 40% gets you an B+. When I attempted Orgo, I was at a D with a 68 (I dropped). Should I transfer? I REALLY don't want to and I'd be happy with a B I worked for as opposed to an A I didn't, but medical schools don't give prestigious schools a 1 point GPA boost.
Doing bad to doing better?
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I'm not an expert on the matter, but comparing your school's scoring system to another school's probably won't help you very much. If the other school's class has 40% being an A and you have 68% being a D, its likely that the other school's exams are hard and yours are comparatively easier. I wouldn't assume that you'd be getting a 68% at the other school just because you are getting a 68% at your own, even if you think the exams are similar (maybe grading is harsher).
If you want purely anecdotal evidence regarding a similar situation, a good friend of mine at my school audited orgo at their state school and made 90% (which was an A) very easily and consistently (they audited because the credit wouldn't transfer). When they came back and took orgo for real, they were scoring below average on the tests (when I took orgo, our averages were in the 60s and 70s, but we took the class at different times with different professors so I can't compare accurately), ended up dropping orgo II, and now this person is no longer premed.
The take away is be wary when it comes to comparing classes between schools.
The best thing I've found is to study with people who are slightly smarter than you or have a slightly better grasp of the material. It works well because you can learn from them things you wouldn't have found out on your own and they're not talking at a level completely over your head, but you're also not dead weight to the group. In classes where I did this, I generally did better than classes where I studied purely by myself.
No it isn't.... The exams are just as hard, if not easier. Less quality students go there (average ACT of 20 vs my school of 33). How can it not be easier? But that's not what I'm asking... I don't know why SDN doesn't acknowledge this. I think I'll figure it out on my own/with my school's help (who actually told me to transfer if I want As).
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I'm not sure exactly what kind of advice you're looking for. You only have two options: Fix your study habits or transfer. Did you want advice on studying better?
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Yes!
I'm just asking if it's worth it to go from bad -> all As at another school or bad -> As/B+s/A-s at my current school
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I would say the latter. By transferring, you are introducing another variable which may suggest to adcoms you are not up to the rigors of challenging undergraduate coursework, which may make them wary that you will not be able to handle the much increased difficulty of medical school academics. Of course, this is not the reason that everyone transfers and sometimes there are environmental or social considerations that affect performance, but if your main reason is that it's an easier school, I doubt that would be viewed favorably.
Again, I'm not an expert, but this is how I would view the issue.
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If your study habits are the reason why you're underperforming, then I would say you should fix them. It's not going to get easier in medical school. Why are you not performing as well as you should. If a 68 is a D, then that means the majority of the class did significantly better than a 68. Are you utilizing your time efficiently? Are you using study methods that are not effective? Do you have campus resources that you can refer to, such as tutoring services?
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That kind of thinking is what leads to bad grades. I still often find myself thinking, "This was my reach school, it deflates, I'm stupid, I'd do better elsewhere" and then no studying gets done. It's a terrible cycle. I know lots of people who will tell me that they are not naturally smart but work hard and get As, even at "harder" universities. College is really not about how smart you are naturally, it's about how hard (and well) you work.
