Freshman Pre-Med Panic

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Sorry, failing students like crazy is not a good way to build reputation, regardless of the logic behind it. It says "this school sucks" not "our graduates are highly qualified." If you want to build reputation, you vet students before accepting them, not afterward. An uncurved 27% average in a class will make the administration flip out.

Look at med school. Well over 90% of matriculants pass, but I don't think anyone would argue that it's not difficult enough. That's because they have a rigorous application process and don't just accept whoever then thin the ranks.

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Just learn it. I don't see why you have to drop it just because you -may not- get an A. How ridiculous. Take classes to learn things, not to boost your GPA. (I mean, obviously don't get like a 2.0) but seriously- if you are too scared to get through a class just because you -might not- get an A. I think you need some more confidence in yourself and your ability to reach your goals :)

I'm not dropping it. :( I don't know quite what is the matter with me, however. The material is...boring, especially the second time around. It irks me to think that I may switch to a liberal arts major now, because it would be related to an inability to handle the upper division science courses. And unfortunately, studying in groups tends to be inefficient and ineffective for me, but studying alone can be depressing for hours at a time, especially since I just can't focus.

Thanks for the hSDN information, Depakote.
 
Dude, the whole pre-med curriculum is brutally bad, and it doesn't prepare you for med school at all. Pushing through stuff that sucks is just one of the wondrous parts of the pre-med and half the med school experience. If you don't like getting assaulted with lots of useless facts that don't interest you, definitely consider getting a marketable degree with pre-med stuff on the side. That way, you'll have an out if you decide that slogging through 2 semesters of organic when all you need is the first week or so is too excruciating.
 
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Dude, the whole pre-med curriculum is brutally bad, and it doesn't prepare you for med school at all. Pushing through stuff that sucks is just one of the wondrous parts of the pre-med and half the med school experience. If you don't like getting assaulted with lots of useless facts that don't interest you, definitely consider getting a marketable degree with pre-med stuff on the side. That way, you'll have an out if you decide that slogging through 2 semesters of organic when all you need is the first week or so is too excruciating.

Would you mind providing an example of a good marketable major? Obviously this probably won't be anything in the liberal arts arena, but maybe biomedical engineering or clinical laboratory science? Come to think of it, I'd actually prefer to stick with biology, if those are my only other options.

No, you're right, the pre-med classes are unrelated and annoyingly packed with cutthroat pre-med students...not an environment I necessarily enjoy. But sadly enough, the only major for me in which homework doesn't feel like homework AT ALL is English! That's not marketable in the least, but I enjoy it way too much. :)
 
If you like English, you could try a journalism major. You won't be driving a Bentley any time soon, but you'd have a job doing something, for sure. Political science might not be awful, either. If you're sticking with sciences, organic chemists are in huge demand, and anything in engineering or physics is a guaranteed $60k right out of college, practically.
 
If you like English, you could try a journalism major. You won't be driving a Bentley any time soon, but you'd have a job doing something, for sure. Political science might not be awful, either. If you're sticking with sciences, organic chemists are in huge demand, and anything in engineering or physics is a guaranteed $60k right out of college, practically.

Actually, I do love physics for some insane reason. What kind of jobs out of college can a physics major actually get?

Journalism and political science do not interest me as future professions, unfortunately. However, I thought both of those fields were experiencing high unemployment rates anyway? I have never taken organic chemistry, but I do notice such chemists are in high demand, so perhaps it may prove interesting.
 
Well, when I was fretting not getting into med school, I did a little bit of searching on the subject. I don't recall many of the options besides obvious ones (teaching, working in a lab, etc.), but one of the most striking options was being a corporate analyst. You make big money for using sophomore-level math. Score!

Google brought up this site: http://www2.swgc.mun.ca/physics/jobs.html

Do be prepared to take a GPA hit if you pursue a physics degree. It's tough stuff.
 
Well, when I was fretting not getting into med school, I did a little bit of searching on the subject. I don't recall many of the options besides obvious ones (teaching, working in a lab, etc.), but one of the most striking options was being a corporate analyst. You make big money for using sophomore-level math. Score!

Google brought up this site: http://www2.swgc.mun.ca/physics/jobs.html

Do be prepared to take a GPA hit if you pursue a physics degree. It's tough stuff.

Thanks for that link, I'll check it out. :)

It is difficult, and I will probably only survive through the intro class...if that, despite how much I love it! What about clinical psychology as a profession? Do you know what that takes in terms of undergrad coursework and post-undergrad requirements?

Also, how does one get a job working in a lab after graduating from college? No one has ever actually mentioned that option to me, and for some reason, everyone who works in labs that I know are either undegraduate or graduate student volunteers. Maybe paid jobs are easier to come by under big corporations?
 
Sooo, this is what the professor told us today. To make up our scores, he will cancel this test grade and REPLACE it by giving us extra similar problems on the remainder of our tests. These problems strewn over the course of the semester will all be averaged at the end of the semester for a test grade. It sounds decent, but now I need to buckle down and figure out how to study. Any further tips are always welcome!
 
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