drop biochemistry...?

Started by bjh0609
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bjh0609

bjh0609

島達 也
10+ Year Member
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Hi SDN,

so....I just got my score back for biochem. I am deadlock on the average (which was ~60/100 :scared:); curve makes me around B.

The problem is that this year (btw I am junior) I am mostly focused on bringing my BCPM up (3.73 gpa, ~3.6 bcpm, I am not really taking anything outside BCPM right now) + trying to study for Jan MCAT (should have finished it during summer...yeah I am really hating myself right now🙁). I have not been able to study MCAT properly for last 2 weeks or so (no time+worn out). But then I have to take biochem in med school anyway, and there are 4 more exams to make up (although I am not sure if this is a good thing or not). Lastly dropping this course means that I have to change my major (not a huge deal...to keep my major -biological sciences- I must take cell bio+biochem during senior fall).

here is list of other courses I am taking:

neuroscience
intro to stats
two evolutionary biology classes that probably do not count for bcpm

Any thoughts?
 
As a famous intergalactic hitchhiker's guide once said, Don't panic.

A B grade won't kill you, and a 3.73/3.6 really is not a bad GPA combo. I'm not sure what evo bio classes you're taking that won't count BCPM (anthropology?); if they're listed as biology classes though, use other classes to keep you afloat. If this schedule is 15 hours, you'd have 12 credits (48 points) of A and 3 credits (9 points) of B... meaning your semester GPA would be 57/60, or a 3.8 on a 4.0 scale. Not shabby at all.

However, you should do well on your MCAT. If you can't focus on both at once, you either need to alter your MCAT study schedule and test date or your course load. Depending on when you're applying, this is really up to you. Personally, prepping for MCAT on top of classes sounds like suicide to me... But treat it as another 3-6 hours in your course schedule. If you can't motivate yourself to self study, think about doing a prep course.

Hope this helps, good luck to you.
 
As the previous poster said, a B isn't the end of the world (and you still have lots of time to get up to an A). Yes you will take Biochem in med school. However, taking Biochem in ugrad makes the transition to med school so much easier, and if I had to choose one class to take beyond prereqs, it would be Biochem 100%. So, I would stick with it and try to improve.

Having said that, your MCAT is huge, and you need to do well. If it really is a problem, how set are you on a January MCAT? Could you move it into the spring?
 
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How's the class graded? When I took biochem in the spring, if your final exam grade was higher than your 4 exams averaged, then the final exam grade was your final grade. Biochem makes a lot more sense at the end of the semester than at the beginning for a lot of people.
 
Med schools like to see biochem and it helps for the MCAT. I'd stick with it and study a bit harder.
 
Barcu said:
As the previous poster said, a B isn't the end of the world (and you still have lots of time to get up to an A). Yes you will take Biochem in med school. However, taking Biochem in ugrad makes the transition to med school so much easier, and if I had to choose one class to take beyond prereqs, it would be Biochem 100%. So, I would stick with it and try to improve.

Having said that, your MCAT is huge, and you need to do well. If it really is a problem, how set are you on a January MCAT? Could you move it into the spring?
Click to expand...

I think B is totally fine considering how hard the course is right now. It is just that I do not want to see my bcpm fall (neuro is looking pretty hard too).

My biggest concern is mcat. I was studying a week just for the exam and I could not focus on anything else. It was pretty hard to go back to studying mcat too. Class material is getting way harder and I am afraid it will start to take more time away from studying mcat.

I could move it to spring but it does not really look like I will have easy schedule next semester (~20 hours). I do feel a bit rushed because all my other friends took it during summer.

I am also thinking about auditing the course sometime after, if I drop.
 
anthrovagabond said:
How's the class graded? When I took biochem in the spring, if your final exam grade was higher than your 4 exams averaged, then the final exam grade was your final grade. Biochem makes a lot more sense at the end of the semester than at the beginning for a lot of people.
Click to expand...

4 midterms, one final, no drop + little bit of hw

:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

We also have two professors who alternate during the middle of the semester...kinda makes it worse.
 
trypanosomiasis said:
As a famous intergalactic hitchhiker's guide once said, Don't panic.

A B grade won't kill you, and a 3.73/3.6 really is not a bad GPA combo. I'm not sure what evo bio classes you're taking that won't count BCPM (anthropology?); if they're listed as biology classes though, use other classes to keep you afloat. If this schedule is 15 hours, you'd have 12 credits (48 points) of A and 3 credits (9 points) of B... meaning your semester GPA would be 57/60, or a 3.8 on a 4.0 scale. Not shabby at all.

However, you should do well on your MCAT. If you can't focus on both at once, you either need to alter your MCAT study schedule and test date or your course load. Depending on when you're applying, this is really up to you. Personally, prepping for MCAT on top of classes sounds like suicide to me... But treat it as another 3-6 hours in your course schedule. If you can't motivate yourself to self study, think about doing a prep course.

Hope this helps, good luck to you.
Click to expand...


I am taking conservation biology and insect biology. Will those count?
 
bjh0609 said:
4 midterms, one final, no drop + little bit of hw

:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

We also have two professors who alternate during the middle of the semester...kinda makes it worse.
Click to expand...

Dude 4 exams +1 final means you have 5 exams and if you bomb any exams you can study harder for the rest. When I took Biochemistry we had 1 midterm and 1 cumulative final with NO practice exams, quizzes nothing! Your entire 4 credit course depended on 2 exams. I think you might already know what happened to the class, half the damn class literally failed. One of my friends took the first exam scored a 60 % with no curve and even though he realized the trend of the exam, studied harder and scored a 95 % on the final he ended up with a C. So, I think you should find yourself blessed seriously.
 
bjh0609 said:
Hi SDN,

so....I just got my score back for biochem. I am deadlock on the average (which was ~60/100 :scared:); curve makes me around B.

The problem is that this year (btw I am junior) I am mostly focused on bringing my BCPM up (3.73 gpa, ~3.6 bcpm, I am not really taking anything outside BCPM right now) + trying to study for Jan MCAT (should have finished it during summer...yeah I am really hating myself right now🙁). I have not been able to study MCAT properly for last 2 weeks or so (no time+worn out). But then I have to take biochem in med school anyway, and there are 4 more exams to make up (although I am not sure if this is a good thing or not). Lastly dropping this course means that I have to change my major (not a huge deal...to keep my major -biological sciences- I must take cell bio+biochem during senior fall).

here is list of other courses I am taking:

neuroscience
intro to stats
two evolutionary biology classes that probably do not count for bcpm

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

60% is a D- in (uncurved) med school. Work harder 😉

The Biochem you learn in undergrad will help you in med school but it will be only 1/2 the depth of Medical Biochemistry, which includes pathological/clinical correlations...

Try starting with Cell Bio. It's a bit easier and more fun.
 
chill, son (or daughter). it's october, and you're average. plenty of time to improve. set your goals and work for them...don't wuss out just yet, you're still good.
 
Buck up and work harder/smarter. You need to do well in Biochem and bring up that GPA. It's average as far as admissions is concerned, and you never want to be just average as an applicant.
 
OP: Consider yourself lucky that the curve is that huge. I got a 93.7% in my biochem class and that was a A-. And the averages on the tests were all between 55-65.

Try harder.
 
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You know it's easy to say "work harder" but I know that at my school at the end of the term the highest grade in biochemistry was a 71, so we had to have our class curved. I do not think it was because students weren't working hard enough. Honestly, difficulty of one class varies from one school to the next, but our class was taught in such a way that most people who went to med school who had about a 60 in our class got an Honors in med school.
 
DO NOT DROP!!!
Here are reasons why

1-Lots of time and opportunities to bring up Biochem grade
2-When I took it, the material was the hardest on the first two tests. After that it was a cakewalk. Biochem was my major too.
3-Dropping looks bad. You are really close to 3.75 GPA too, which is where you really want/need to be.
4-You need to learn how to deal with too much to do (and doing it well) and no time to do it in.

I know how hard U of H is, and the fact that 2 biochem profs looks tough. When I took it, 3 profs taught biochem 1, and 2 profs taught biochem 2.

You can do it though, just buckle down and don't think of anything else except what you have to do.

good luck
 
Heavens Cloud said:
OP: Consider yourself lucky that the curve is that huge. I got a 93.7% in my biochem class and that was a A-. And the averages on the tests were all between 55-65.

Try harder.
Click to expand...

Really? But aren't the 55-65 averages curved to a B? So how did you end up with an A- with a 93.7? Or is the 93.7 the curved grade?
 
Celerity said:
DO NOT DROP!!!
Here are reasons why

1-Lots of time and opportunities to bring up Biochem grade
2-When I took it, the material was the hardest on the first two tests. After that it was a cakewalk. Biochem was my major too.
3-Dropping looks bad. You are really close to 3.75 GPA too, which is where you really want/need to be.
4-You need to learn how to deal with too much to do (and doing it well) and no time to do it in.

I know how hard U of H is, and the fact that 2 biochem profs looks tough. When I took it, 3 profs taught biochem 1, and 2 profs taught biochem 2.

You can do it though, just buckle down and don't think of anything else except what you have to do.

good luck
Click to expand...


lol just for clarification I go to rice...

anyways thanks for input guys!!! 👍 I will definitely give some time to think about this issue before the end of next week (drop deadline)!
 
smarts1 said:
Really? But aren't the 55-65 averages curved to a B? So how did you end up with an A- with a 93.7? Or is the 93.7 the curved grade?
Click to expand...

Some profs are just messed up. During my orgo 1 the curve was like

100-88=A+~A-
88~60=B+~B-
below 60=C+ and down on

so basically nobody failed but nobody got A's either....
 
bjh0609 said:
lol just for clarification I go to rice...

anyways thanks for input guys!!! 👍 I will definitely give some time to think about this issue before the end of next week (drop deadline)!
Click to expand...

Lol, sorry. Saw Houston and assumed.
 
bjh0609 said:
Some profs are just messed up. During my orgo 1 the curve was like

100-88=A+~A-
88~60=B+~B-
below 60=C+ and down on

so basically nobody failed but nobody got A's either....
Click to expand...

?
that sounds pretty reasonable unless the tests are ridiculously difficult
 
Don't drop. Shamoo and Olsen are really hard and will make you own med school biochemistry in comparison. People know that Olsen is the globin guy, so it looks better to many med schools in TX than say if you took it at some random school. We are all dealing with this class, and I hear the curve at the end is nice.
 
Also, my year I found it helpful to tell Shamoo how difficult his exams were,w hich made his exams after much easier!
 
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