Getting yet another B

[Latteandaprayer]

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I’m not really looking for advice, I’m just here to rant. I figured a community dedicated to going to med school would be a nice place to leave this.

I’m getting a B in genetics for sure. The absolute best I can do is an A- if I get 100% on the next midterm and final and all the assignments. It’s not likely, because I studied my ass off for the second midterm but oh well. I got a D.

I’ve gotten a B in gen chem, B+s in calc and stats. I got an A- in intro bio lab. An A- in orgo 2 lab. I’m probably gonna get an A- in physics 1. I just can’t do this anymore.

Becoming a doctor is my dream but clearly I’m too stupid. How could I ever survive med school? People are going to say to take a gap year but what good would that do? Nothing, because I’ll waste it and still end up no where.

I’m so sorry to dump this here. I’m in the middle of an actual panic attack and I can’t do it anymore.

 

[PhilzCoffeeAddict]

I got a B in genetics! I got a B in calc. I got a B in English. I even got B's in AP chem and AP bio in high school. Getting B's won't kill you (it won't help you either). Run with what you got. There's a golf saying (privilege speaking): Aim for eagles, live for birdies, and expect pars. You're going to hit roadbumps, Adcoms want to see you get over those roadbumps. So you get a B in genetics, get an A in biochem or another upper division bio. They don't look at every class individually. They weigh the overall GPA and if your GPA is a 3.7+ they'll probably just say say this person is fine, lets look at their extracurriculars.

 

[stickgirl390]

Honestly, I feel like adcoms would rather see 3.5 students with passion and determination than 4.0 students who think medicine owes them something. Your grades only open the door; your personality/ECs get you through it. (Hijacked from Goro 😉)

Also, I got an F in AP Chem in high school. Now I’m a high school chemistry teacher. Life is weird.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

1) Your grade is not you. You are much more then a number from a 4.0 There is much more to you then a number. Sometimes I look through SDN and see 3.98/522 esque numbers and feel bad about myself, but then I realize that they at the end are just numbers. Just like social media where most (sane) people post the positives and not the negatives. No one (except for me) would post about having a 3.4 gpa. You are clearly not getting C's or doing terribly. Heck even if you were there is nothing wrong with that. Some people have harder times with different concepts compared to others. There will always be people you will see doing better then you. I guarantee that there is someone looking up to you that thinks your grades are amazing and wishes that she had the studying skills and knowledge base that you do. People with 4.0s still see failure and still have reasons to look at others and feel badly about themselves. It's a universal human thing.

2) There are people to help you. An important thing you did was that you posted on SDN. You vented and that's a great thing! No need to apologize for it. But people do care and people do want to listen. If you have panic attacks, I highly recommend you see counseling services at your school. One time I felt extremely overwhelmed, and seeing them allowed accommodations to be made which relieved a lot of stress for me that one semester.

3) Most med students I know did not have perfect A's, or even perfect B's. I've always said that I personally look up to those that struggle and persevere, rather then those who are able to float by with good grades. (I guess us Americans love the comeback stories). There is nothing wrong with how you are doing. Take a deep breath, a chug of your favorite beverage, maybe a 15 minute nap, and go study to your favorite music!

You are going to become a doctor OP. I believe in you!

 

[Latteandaprayer]

I have 5 B/B+s on my transcript right now if that makes you feel better. Though 3 of them came in my very first semester in college and only 2 are in prerequisites.

That’s the problem. My Bs are distributed throughout so I’m not showing an upward trend, and all of them are in pre-reqs. I’m the perfect what not to do example.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I doubt it’s because you’re not smart enough. You probably aren’t studying efficiently or making sure you fully understand the concepts. Have you tried to change up your study methods? I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I’d hate to see someone give up over some Bs.

 

[Jdp00921]

I doubt it’s because you’re not smart enough. You probably aren’t studying efficiently or making sure you fully understand the concepts. Have you tried to change up your study methods? I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I’d hate to see someone give up over some Bs.

I strongly agree with this post ^^^. If you were truly "too stupid," you wouldn't be getting A-s/Bs. I think it may be more your study methods/efficiency rather than your intellect level. Try different methods of learning things. I have had friends in the past that struggled with the same issue as you and when I would see them study, I noticed they often were very rigid in their study methods, reluctant to try new things (aka - flash cards for everything, etc.). When I study, some things come easy with flash cards, some things with just reading and re-reading, and some things with videos/lectures, and even more so, some things with discussion with others. My favorite way to study is to speak out loud. I like to read through PPTs out loud and question things/read things in different ways/put things in different words. For whatever reason, hearing things out loud helps it to sink through my thick skull and into my brain.

My point - try some new study methods and see if things change. Oh, and stop being so morose, you aren't failing at life here, you're just frustrated.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

I doubt it’s because you’re not smart enough. You probably aren’t studying efficiently or making sure you fully understand the concepts. Have you tried to change up your study methods? I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I’d hate to see someone give up over some Bs.

The first midterm I got a B on so I decided to change my study habits slightly. I thought my problem was that, as you point out, I didn’t fully understand certain concepts. I went to office hours and made sure I understood the concepts well enough to explain them, then I redid old homework and quizzes.

I felt I would get at least another B when I went to take the exam because everything made sense to me and I felt much more confident than exam 1. Nope.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

My point - try some new study methods and see if things change. Oh, and stop being so morose, you aren't failing at life here, you're just frustrated.

I get that, but the way my grades are I seriously doubt I’ll get into med school. All of these not-so-perfect grades are in pre-reqs and I’m not showing a strong upward trend. So to me, yes it’s like I’m failing at life because the idea of becoming a physician is my life. I know that’s dramatic and naive, but I never expected that I’d be in a position where my chances were in jeopardy.

Thanks for the study advice!

 

[JonathanHusky]

I get that, but the way my grades are I seriously doubt I’ll get into med school. All of these not-so-perfect grades are in pre-reqs and I’m not showing a strong upward trend. So to me, yes it’s like I’m failing at life because the idea of becoming a physician is my life. I know that’s dramatic and naive, but I never expected that I’d be in a position where my chances were in jeopardy.

Thanks for the study advice!

if all your B's are in prereqs then you still have time to show an upward trend... what year are you in now? also have you considered you may have test taking anxiety?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The first midterm I got a B on so I decided to change my study habits slightly. I thought my problem was that, as you point out, I didn’t fully understand certain concepts. I went to office hours and made sure I understood the concepts well enough to explain them, then I redid old homework and quizzes.

I felt I would get at least another B when I went to take the exam because everything made sense to me and I felt much more confident than exam 1. Nope.

If you understand all the concepts, how do you do on practice tests? When you see a problem, do you know where to start? What to do? If so, then your problem is almost certainly test anxiety. That's something you can deal with, and you'll see a huge improvement probably.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

if all your B's are in prereqs then you still have time to show an upward trend... what year are you in now? also have you considered you may have test taking anxiety?

If you understand all the concepts, how do you do on practice tests? When you see a problem, do you know where to start? What to do? If so, then your problem is almost certainly test anxiety. That's something you can deal with, and you'll see a huge improvement probably.

Sophomore, about to be a junior. Maybe it is anxiety.

On the two practice exams available, I got a B and an A- respectively. So not perfect, but I made sure to go through and see where the gaps were. Unfortunately there weren’t more practice exams available. Upon redoing them a couple days later, I got As but I know that it’s because I had already seen the questions. Maybe it is test anxiety.

 

[bananafish94]

It sounds like your GPA is completely fine. Not everyone has a perfect GPA, certainly not everyone who's accepted to medical school! Genetics is a hard class and requires some serious high-level thinking. In my sophomore genetics class, we had three hours to take a test with 30-35 questions and I saw a lot of people struggle to finish. A few Bs is not going to keep you out of medical school. If you have test anxiety, practice "mindfulness". Envision in your head taking the test and coming to a question that you have no idea how to do. But it's okay because you take a deep breath, move onto the next question, and you do know how to do that one. That way when it happens in real life you don't panic because you've "been" in that situation before! It sounds weird but it works for me.

 

[kb1900]

Sophomore, about to be a junior. Maybe it is anxiety.

On the two practice exams available, I got a B and an A- respectively. So not perfect, but I made sure to go through and see where the gaps were. Unfortunately there weren’t more practice exams available. Upon redoing them a couple days later, I got As but I know that it’s because I had already seen the questions. Maybe it is test anxiety.

When is the last time you felt like you’ve over prepared? Or just went over the top for a test?

In undergrad for the classes where my normal studying methods didn’t cut it I did combinations of the following:
if there were practice exams or homework or lecture problems I would more or less do them and redo them until I got a 100. Sometimes this meant doing the same problem set 3-4 days in a row. Id also review lectures until I could essentially recite the entire thing as well as the lecturer - this meant reading and testing myself on my lecture notes like 5/6 times per lecture. This meant studying/working like 80hrs per week during exam weeks

I was more or less in your boat until half way thru sophomore year. Then I decided to just go over the top with studying in terms of hours and efficiency to really see if it was just me being “not as smart” or me being “inefficient”.

After I learned how to get As with going over the top, I was able to comfortably cut back on the excess studying.


I know you didn’t ask for advice here, but like others said a few Bs shouldn’t make you think you’re not “smart enough”

 

[Latteandaprayer]

When is the last time you felt like you’ve over prepared? Or just went over the top for a test?

In undergrad for the classes where my normal studying methods didn’t cut it I did combinations of the following:
if there were practice exams or homework or lecture problems I would more or less do them and redo them until I got a 100. Sometimes this meant doing the same problem set 3-4 days in a row. Id also review lectures until I could essentially recite the entire thing as well as the lecturer - this meant reading and testing myself on my lecture notes like 5/6 times per lecture. This meant studying/working like 80hrs per week during exam weeks

I was more or less in your boat until half way thru sophomore year. Then I decided to just go over the top with studying in terms of hours and efficiency to really see if it was just me being “not as smart” or me being “inefficient”.

After I learned how to get As with going over the top, I was able to comfortably cut back on the excess studying.


I know you didn’t ask for advice here, but like others said a few Bs shouldn’t make you think you’re not “smart enough”

Thank you for the advice! I thought I was prepared, not over prepared. The last time I was over prepared was for orgo.

I meant that I was putting this here to rant and vent to others on this path. Meaning, I wasn’t putting this here specifically for advice, but I appreciate it all the advice you and others have given 🙂

 

[Welshman]

I would get a B about every single semester, as long as there are As to balance it out you're fine. Whats your overall GPA?

 

[Latteandaprayer]

I would get a B about every single semester, as long as there are As to balance it out you're fine. Whats your overall GPA?

cGPA is 3.81, sGPA is 3.61 (obviously will slip if I get a B...). Yes I know they’re fine NOW but I’m so scared about getting more B’s.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Sophomore, about to be a junior. Maybe it is anxiety.

On the two practice exams available, I got a B and an A- respectively. So not perfect, but I made sure to go through and see where the gaps were. Unfortunately there weren’t more practice exams available. Upon redoing them a couple days later, I got As but I know that it’s because I had already seen the questions. Maybe it is test anxiety.

Seems like you get it reasonably well, but could know it better. I’m betting it’s mostly test anxiety. Knowing all the concepts cold and not sweating getting a B on one exam will help. This will sound new agey, but lavender oil is really good for anxiety. You could smell some before your exam.

 

[Welshman]

cGPA is 3.81, sGPA is 3.61 (obviously will slip if I get a B...). Yes I know they’re fine NOW but I’m so scared about getting more B’s.

Use that fear to motivate you into not getting anymore Bs. At least That’s what I did when my GPA was a 3.23 freshman year.

If someone can get an A, you can too

 

[ekmf27050]

I got Bs in every science class until my senior year and things worked out okay

Sure, it was stressful, but I let my stress fuel improvements in study habits and I've been able to explain that well in interviews, and let the strong upward trend show my development.

Just take a breath and focus on your immediate future. You're not applying to med school right now, so focusing on that will only trigger panic mode. What can you control right now? Your course performance, and using all the tools available to you to improve and grow. 😍

 

[Select All That Apply]

@Latteandaprayer To be honest, after reviewing the content you need to talk to your professor about how to refine your study so you can be successful on the next exam. Your D is an outlier on the data grid of your GPA, you shouldn't 180 your 3.61-3.81 studying methods, but tailor it to these courses on a test to test basis.

No one else here has taken your genetics examination and won't understand whether you guys are going into SNP polymorphisms, radio nucleotide sequencing results, or just learning the basics about PMAT, G1, G2, etc. You got a D and that can be jarring and terrible. Take a day or half off to reset and get back into the grind. Everyone has a wide fluctuation in the difficulty of their classes. There are some things you need to take in stride and try to get what you can at the end of each session.