Freak Out!

[psilovethomas]

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Have you ever felt like you're not going to get into vet school because you did poorly on an exam in one of your classes?

I'm certain I just bombed my third physics I exam, and will probably be left with a 3.5 overall in the class, unless I perform perfectly on the final.

Am I the only one who feels like this!?

 

[cowgirla]

Have you ever felt like you're not going to get into vet school because you did poorly on an exam in one of your classes?

I'm certain I just bombed my third physics I exam, and will probably be left with a 3.5 overall in the class, unless I perform perfectly on the final.

Am I the only one who feels like this!?

I did poorly on a lot of exams, in a lot of classes.
A couple bad exam grades won't kill your chances. Neither will a couple C's on your transcript.

And who cares about physics anyhow???

 

[lalzi22]

Don't worry! I got a B- in Physics 2. I HATED physics. Plus a 3.5 is still a great grade. You'll be fine. Breathe, go watch terrible VH1 shows and have a glass of wine (or 5). It WILL be ok.

 

[psilovethomas]

I did poorly on a lot of exams, in a lot of classes.
A couple bad exam grades won't kill your chances. Neither will a couple C's on your transcript.

And who cares about physics anyhow???

Don't worry! I got a B- in Physics 2. I HATED physics. Plus a 3.5 is still a great grade. You'll be fine. Breathe, go watch terrible VH1 shows and have a glass of wine (or 5). It WILL be ok.

This is why I love SDN!

 

[HopefulAg]

3.5 isn't anything to worry about.

A 2.5, however....but even that's not the end of the world.

A 0.5 though, yah.

 

[deleted266066]

.

 

[cowgirla]

My worst grade ever was a 38%.

I got knocked down an icy hill by some idiot on a bike, and my bad knee was the size of a watermelon within minutes... Prof wouldn't let me reschedule, so I suffered through the exam before I went to the emergency room. Turns out it wasn't only twisted, I had a major bone chip as well, and was pretty much a scraped bloody mess under my jeans.

👎 for professors with no understanding whatsover.

 

[nitheninny]

Trust me when I say that the admissions committees understand that **** happens (to an extent). For example, fall semester my sophomore year I was taking calc II and gen chem II (I hatehatehate gen chem the way most people seem to hate physics), and I was getting C's in both. I decided my GPA couldn't take such a big hit, and so I late dropped calc and worked my ass off in chem. That late drop shows on my transcript, though, and in at least two of my interviews, I explained what happened. My Ohio State interviewers actually asked me about that semester, because my GPA was significantly lower than any other semester. They gave me the opportunity to explain what happened.

What I think schools care about is not so much what your grade was or why you dropped a class so much as what you learned from it. I explained that I overloaded myself that semester and didn't ask for help until it was too late, and I learned that:
1. I needed to reach out to all available means of getting help in the future, that it was okay to admit that I needed help.
2. I needed to know my own limits and not try to do everything at once.
3. I really needed to know when it's time to admit that I can't win this round, that it's okay not to be perfect and not to be able to handle everything all at once, and sometimes it's better to cut your losses and try again later.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I have this recurring dream (seriously, I've had at least one every couple of months) that involves me being enrolled in a class I'd forgotten about... or were aware of, but never went at all for some reason, that's also required for me to graduate. In all of these dreams, I'm already accepted and ready to go to some program after graduation... and it's one stupid unrelated class that's going to keep me from going.

I had one about missing a whole semester of PE classes and being about to flunk out of high school just a few months ago.

Last night, I had a dream that I was enrolled in an English class and I'd missed the first 1/3 of the course. I was about to leave for school, and I came to the realization that I hadn't been going to class. I was almost late for class, but I realized that I hadn't read the book that I was supposed to... and it was a major exam that day! So naturally, I decide it'd be better for me not to go... all the while, anxiety was building and shooting out the roof.

I graduated college 2 years ago, and I still get these nightmares... and EVERY TIME, I wake up breaking a cold sweat.

I really didn't attend very much class from high school through junior year of college... so I guess my worst fear all along was that I would unknowingly miss classes/major assignments and flunk out. Come to think of it, I did have a high school teacher who called my mother and threatened to flunk me (so my college acceptances would be rescinded) if I didn't start showing up for class.

Sorry, quite off topic, but I definitely have my freak out moments for very random things!

 

[aspiringDVM]

Am I the only one who feels like this!?

Heck no. I've spent the last four years making wild extrapolations along the lines of "if I don't stay up another hour and study, I'll do poorly on this quiz, and then fail the test, and then have a bad grade in the class, and my GPA will drop, and I won't get into vet school, and my life will be RUINED!"
We all stress out about this stuff, but the exam is over now so try not to worry about it, learn from your mistakes, and do whatever damage control you can. Drink a cup of tea and get a good night's sleep 👍

 

[psilovethomas]

I'm sorry to hear about that Cowgirla. That reminds me of last week- I came out of a microbio exam feeling great because I knew I did very well. As I was crossing the street and thinking about what I just had achieved, bam, a car came out of nowhere and hit me. Definitely bogged my high spirits down for the rest of the week.🙁

Thanks to everyone for the consolations. You all are awesome.😍

 

[168135]

My worst grade ever was a 38%.

I got a 42 in pre-cal first year. I have no idea how I did it... passed all of my assignments, 71 on the first midterm, can't remember the grade on the second but I passed (most of the class failed) and somehow ended up with a 42. Didn't bother asking the prof why. He was a HUGE jerk. I dreamed that my friend and I went to talk to him about why I failed, he ignored us, so we dumped vinager packages on the huge cake that was sitting on his desk. I could have wrote a supplimental exam to pass, but I wasn't given enough notice and I didn't want to get behind in my new courses.

I got a 38% on a stats midterm. I dropped the course before the withdraw date, retook it with a different prof, and pulled an 86. I pulled out my old notes to study for the first midterm and I still had no idea what the first prof was talking about!!! My roomates, who were taking it with me, looked at it too and they couldn't figure it out either. I don't know what was wrong with that first lab instructor either... I got a 95 on an assignment where 75% of my probabilities were above 1.0.

Man, that feels SO good to get out of my system.

I'm not doomed. Worst comes to worst, I go back for a semester after I graduate and take some of the courses that kicked my butt a little.

 

[purplesaurus]

Yeah, I've definitely felt like that before. Just tell yourself this: It's just one grade, and plenty of people get into vet school with Bs or even Cs. Now, if all your grades are Bs and/or Cs, okay, then you can worry a little.

I have deifnitely freaked out about that (a lot), but I just remind myself (you get the impression talk to myself a lot...?):

1) I just need to work on that class to the best of my ability. If I don't do well here, I'll just make sure I shine in classes that reflect my strengths.

2) Being stressed! in that sort of "Omg I'm a failure!" sort of way only makes me a much worse student over all. So I go take a Me break to chill and then get back to focusing on my school work.

My worst grade ever was a 38%.

I got knocked down an icy hill by some idiot on a bike, and my bad knee was the size of a watermelon within minutes... Prof wouldn't let me reschedule, so I suffered through the exam before I went to the emergency room. Turns out it wasn't only twisted, I had a major bone chip as well, and was pretty much a scraped bloody mess under my jeans.

👎 for professors with no understanding whatsover.

Geez, what a freaking d-bag!!!

 

[iheartpandas]

Heck no. I've spent the last four years making wild extrapolations along the lines of "if I don't stay up another hour and study, I'll do poorly on this quiz, and then fail the test, and then have a bad grade in the class, and my GPA will drop, and I won't get into vet school, and my life will be RUINED!"

Haha, me too! My train of thought often goes from failing the test to getting a bad grade in the class to being a terrible vet to killing someone's pet ALL because I didn't study for one more hour for an undergraduate class that is totally unrelated to vet school! 😛

By the way psilovethomas, I failed chemistry entirely and got a D in physics and still managed to get in!

 

[nohika]

I'm similar...and like a previous poster, I spend a lot of time talking myself out of stuff.

To be honest...my transcript is wretched. I have almost 130 quarter credits with a 3.015 GPA (hopefully a 3.1ish maybe if I rock my 21CR) at the end of this quarter. I really will have to work my behind off at the four-year (I'm at a CC) in order to even have hopes of getting into vet school. I freak out over bad test grades - I flunked a lab exam last quarter in A&P that had me in tears for a week.

Flunked three exams the week before finals because a friend tried to kill herself and that distracted me. Am struggling this quarter because my orthodontist killed himself. It's kind of like SERIOUSLY people stop it. I have classes to study for. (Sounds heartless, but...well, it's not something you can dwell on.)

 

[SocialStigma]

I ended up with a C+ in orgo I last semester and I had a meltdown haha. Kind of embarrassing looking back on it but I was throwing myself quite the premature pity party (alliteration ftw 😛 ).

3.5 is still really good!

 

[DVMDream]

Ya I would not worry about it. This semester I am probably going to end up with a W (this is for sure), A, A and a C (only bio class I took this semester and unless I get a 95% or higher on the final I am not getting a B). I am afraid that the adcoms will look down at this final semester especially since I have rocked every semester before this one and this is a sudden negative dip in my transcript. But, the W was no fault of my own (damn snow storm and idiot prof) and the C was a lack of asking for help (I was really busy at the beginning of the semester and by the time I had time to ask for help it was already too late to salvage that grade). One bad grade won't make or break you. Just explain what you have learned from that class and not doing as well and you should be just fine and contine to show that you can do well in subsequent classes. Good Luck on the physics final! I absolutely HATED physics as well!!

 

[marycatherine]

Last night, I had a dream that I was enrolled in an English class and I'd missed the first 1/3 of the course. I was about to leave for school, and I came to the realization that I hadn't been going to class. I was almost late for class, but I realized that I hadn't read the book that I was supposed to... and it was a major exam that day! So naturally, I decide it'd be better for me not to go... all the while, anxiety was building and shooting out the roof.

I graduated college 2 years ago, and I still get these nightmares... and EVERY TIME, I wake up breaking a cold sweat.

I really didn't attend very much class from high school through junior year of college...

Oh man!! I have these dreams, too! I used to be an awful class-skipper and I perpetually have the dreams where I realize I haven't gone to any classes and am going to fail them all.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Oh man!! I have these dreams, too! I used to be an awful class-skipper and I perpetually have the dreams where I realize I haven't gone to any classes and am going to fail them all.

man, a class-skipper too??? damn, we have a lot in common! wanted to become teacher before vet, and immersion in shelter med changed it all.

 

[luplodw]

Well...I had a 4.0 my first 2 years of college then I got a C in a class before I even got a B. It freaked me out soooo badly and I guess it started a trend of getting C's in sucky classes like ochem. Sad 🙁

 

[marycatherine]

man, a class-skipper too??? damn, we have a lot in common! wanted to become teacher before vet, and immersion in shelter med changed it all.

weren't you the one who crammed in all the pre-reqs in a little over a year? my new plan is getting them all done by next may.

...if I can follow in your footsteps with all those acceptances, that'll be great, too!

nevermind! remembered that was someone else!

 

[sunnyshine]

Heck no. I've spent the last four years making wild extrapolations along the lines of "if I don't stay up another hour and study, I'll do poorly on this quiz, and then fail the test, and then have a bad grade in the class, and my GPA will drop, and I won't get into vet school, and my life will be RUINED!"
We all stress out about this stuff, but the exam is over now so try not to worry about it, learn from your mistakes, and do whatever damage control you can. Drink a cup of tea and get a good night's sleep 👍

I couldn't agree with you more aspiringDVM. I am always staying awake trying to cram in just a little more studying. I have this notion that if I am not perfect then I won't get into vet school.

 

[168135]

I couldn't agree with you more aspiringDVM. I am always staying awake trying to cram in just a little more studying. I have this notion that if I am not perfect then I won't get into vet school.

Omg, I do the same thing! I'll be nodding off and then I'll remember that I need to do well so I can go to vet school... I pause dramatically waiting for a boost of energy that's going to help me study... it NEVER comes. So then I move onto plan B... crawling under the covers, getting up early, and studying while sipping on a Red Bull.

 

[firelily]

A 3.5 is considered a BAD grade??! Hahah, then that makes my 3.25 undergrad GPA look reaaaaally pitiful. And yet, I still managed to get into Cornell! 😀

We all know that admissions take a lot more than just grades into account (I'm proof of that!) so one bad grade isn't going to ruin you.

My suggestion for how to recover after a truly heinous exam is to listen to the Indigo Girls song Closer To Fine. It got me through a LOT of bad tests! It reminds me that it's just life, and we'll all make it through. Nothing is worth being that down on yourself.

 

[StartingoverVet]

. So then I move onto plan B... crawling under the covers, getting up early, and studying while sipping on a Red Bull.

Strangely, now that I am more "advanced" in years (old), your plan B is my plan A (without the getting up early part). Once I am tired I find such a diminishing return on my studying that it is easier to stop and pick it up the next day. See, us old crones have something to offer!

 

[cowgirla]

My suggestion for how to recover after a truly heinous exam is to listen to the Indigo Girls song Closer To Fine. It got me through a LOT of bad tests! It reminds me that it's just life, and we'll all make it through. Nothing is worth being that down on yourself.

Jose Cuervo is generally my preferred remedy for all things gone wrong.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Jose Cuervo is generally my preferred remedy for all things gone wrong.

Jose and I had a falling out a number of years ago and I have avoided him (and some of his buddies) ever since. 😱

 

[BlacKAT33]

Jose and I had a falling out a number of years ago and I have avoided him (and some of his buddies) ever since. 😱

oh no! i guess that means no tequila celebration shots with you! those are the best!! salt and lime required 😀

 

[marycatherine]

oh no! i guess that means no tequila celebration shots with you! those are the best!! salt and lime required 😀

I will take his.

 

[BlacKAT33]

I will take hers.

his lol mmm yes i have no problem taking 2 also! haha this also makes me really happy because i am leaving work early for happy hr!! (no boss at work today or tom!!)

 

[marycatherine]

his lol mmm yes i have no problem taking 2 also! haha this also makes me really happy because i am leaving work early for happy hr!! (no boss at work today or tom!!)

oh man! have fun. my shelter is right around the corner from this hole-in-the-wall bar (with kareoke). we have some great post-work celebrations there.


and sorry StartingoverVet! I assume too many people are female.

 

[StartingoverVet]

oh man! have fun. my shelter is right around the corner from this hole-in-the-wall bar (with kareoke). we have some great post-work celebrations there.


and sorry StartingoverVet! I assume too many people are female.

No worries. It is a pretty fair assumption. Have fun y'all.

 

[Kaisand]

Don't worry! I got a B- in Physics 2. I HATED physics. Plus a 3.5 is still a great grade. You'll be fine. Breathe, go watch terrible VH1 shows and have a glass of wine (or 5). It WILL be ok.

Exactly, this! The icky feelings will abate. 🙂 After I got my last Genetics exam back and realized I had bombed it I went home, crawled under a blanket on the couch and cried, mumbling to myself about being a hopeless failure. With the help of some ice cream and some quiet time with my cat Batface, I was ready to drag my hopeless butt back to class the next day. But it did take a little while to restore my confidence.

Keep fighting!

 

[crittergal]

weren't you the one who crammed in all the pre-reqs in a little over a year? my new plan is getting them all done by next may.

nevermind! remembered that was someone else!

I'm not the one you remembered, because I don't think I ever mentioned it on here. That said, all my prereqs were completed from Jan 2008-Aug 2009. It was a super unpleasant year, but it's doable!

 

[Whyevernot55]

Count me in...I've got an Orgo II exam on Monday that I just KNOW I'm not going to do well on, and I'm FREAKING OUT because I literally haven't got time to study - work all day tomorrow and Saturday, plus a horse show on Sunday = screwed.
I DID do really well on our first test of the semester, so that's a plus. And I got a little confidence boost today on my Parasite lab. We just had a practicum that was horrible. I mean really, truly awful - we had just started cestodes and got told Tuesday that they would be on the exam on Thursday. Yikes! 😱 Our TA made it sound like everyone bombed, and it was horrible, and we all needed to bust our butts on our final project to make up the points.

And I got a 90%. NINETY. I literally walked up to the TA and said "Seriously? Is that the right number?" And then I peed myself with joy.

Not really. But almost.

Just remember, you wouldn't have gotten this far if you weren't pretty awesome to start with. And NO ONE is perfect. Ad coms know and understand that, and I think they appreciate it to an extent.

 

[heylodeb]

I have this recurring dream (seriously, I've had at least one every couple of months) that involves me being enrolled in a class I'd forgotten about... or were aware of, but never went at all for some reason, that's also required for me to graduate. In all of these dreams, I'm already accepted and ready to go to some program after graduation... and it's one stupid unrelated class that's going to keep me from going.

I had one about missing a whole semester of PE classes and being about to flunk out of high school just a few months ago.

Last night, I had a dream that I was enrolled in an English class and I'd missed the first 1/3 of the course. I was about to leave for school, and I came to the realization that I hadn't been going to class. I was almost late for class, but I realized that I hadn't read the book that I was supposed to... and it was a major exam that day! So naturally, I decide it'd be better for me not to go... all the while, anxiety was building and shooting out the roof.

I graduated college 2 years ago, and I still get these nightmares... and EVERY TIME, I wake up breaking a cold sweat.


Sorry, quite off topic, but I definitely have my freak out moments for very random things!

OMG - I have those dreams ALLLLLL the TIME!!!! GOD. THinking you were forgetting to go to a class all semester - or running to a midterm and realizing that you ahven't been to class. oh geesh. Glad I'm not the only crazy one! 🙂

As for freaking out about grades. Yeah, that's why I almst didn't stick with vet med because I was tired of the heart attacks I would get during exams from fear of failure. Worst grade ever : 57% in GenChem1. Lordy, that hurt.

 

[Nechochwen]

Last night, I had a dream that I was enrolled in an English class and I'd missed the first 1/3 of the course.

Yeah, I have this same dream about English. It's always the same teacher, but it's usually near the end of the semester (after the drop date).

 

[Animevet]

I have been "freaking out" about a pre-req class of mine. I got above average grades on the three exams, but it still leaves me with a solid C in the class...my first one ever. And they don't curve the class.
I just got accepted off the Purdue waitlist and I am now convinced after they see my grade in this class they are going to take back their offer. My GPA is 3.72 (3.5 science). Should I be worried? Should I be begging my professor for extra credit?

 

[DVMDream]

I have been "freaking out" about a pre-req class of mine. I got above average grades on the three exams, but it still leaves me with a solid C in the class...my first one ever. And they don't curve the class.
I just got accepted off the Purdue waitlist and I am now convinced after they see my grade in this class they are going to take back their offer. My GPA is 3.72 (3.5 science). Should I be worried? Should I be begging my professor for extra credit?

I would not worry about it. As long as your acceptance does not say that you need to pass x pre-req with a grade higher than a C. Otherwise, I think the only reason they would rescind the acceptance is if you do not pass the pre-req class. CONGRATS on your accpetance!!!

 

[littlegray]

I have been "freaking out" about a pre-req class of mine. I got above average grades on the three exams, but it still leaves me with a solid C in the class...my first one ever. And they don't curve the class.
I just got accepted off the Purdue waitlist and I am now convinced after they see my grade in this class they are going to take back their offer. My GPA is 3.72 (3.5 science). Should I be worried? Should I be begging my professor for extra credit?

Which class? I hadn't taken inorganic chem yet when I applied the first time...was waitlisted...and no call. Wound up getting a C in the class (my first C ever) so I thought applying with that grade would make things worse, but not the case!! I guess I'm proof that they allow a C here or there.

 

[littlegray]

Also...its funny reading about everyone's common dream about failing a class they weren't attending because I know two people who have lived that dream.

One friend has a bunch of health problems and is used to getting away with missing anything with a doctors note. So, she just straight up didn't drop her spanish class that she stopped attending after the first week and then figured they would make some kind of exception for her...nope, not the case. It was just her irresponsibility and not her illnesses that kept her from dropping it so she got a big fat F.

ANOTHER girl I know went to the class next door pretty much until midterms before she realized she was in the wrong room. Sounds unreal, but true. Don't know how that turned out in the end but seriously...how does that happen!! How do I know these people