have to retake my first premed class

[DoctorJJJ]

I am a First Semester Freshman who is about to start up school again in 2 weeks, and I just got an email from my academic advisory saying that I need to retake Principles of Biology 1 in either this Summer or in the Fall Semester (Have a D+ while the grade to pass is a C-). Being from fresh from High School, I have never experienced doing so poorly in a class and been in this situation. Do you guys have any advice or information on how to go about this? I don't want this to bog down my performance 2nd Semester as it has affected me pretty bad mentally upon getting the news...

I also would like to add that I got a C on the concurrent Lab course for this class and was thinking whether I should retake this class also?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted965487]

I am a First Semester Freshman who is about to start up school again in 2 weeks, and I just got an email from my academic advisory saying that I need to retake Principles of Biology 1 in either this Summer or in the Fall Semester (Have a D+ while the grade to pass is a C-). Being from fresh from High School, I have never experienced doing so poorly in a class and been in this situation. Do you guys have any advice or information on how to go about this? I don't want this to bog down my performance 2nd Semester as it has affected me pretty bad mentally upon getting the news...

I also would like to add that I got a C on the concurrent Lab course for this class and was thinking whether I should retake this class also?

I don’t know how it is at your school but at my school the retaken class and the taken class’ gpa quality points are averaged, so D+ and A makes I’m guessing B-. This does not replace the grade, it’ll just show up on the transcript as each respective grade.

Adcoms can be forgiving for the fresh/soph year as long as there is an upward swing.

Retaking this class should be your wake up call to make a change and you should try to get as high of grades as possible

B’s in high school were good enough, not in college

 

[jarednogeek]

See what the successful students are doing. Some med school won’t take anything less than a C for pre reqs and have average GPAs of 3.6-3.9 so do whatever is necessary to improve your grades.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Yes, you need to retake the lecture but not the lab. Always calculate your GPA according to AMCAS guidelines which averages retaken courses. It does not replace them. Like the poster above me said, find out what the students who got A’s are doing. They’re probably reading the chapters and/or lectures before each class, going to every lecture AND paying attention, using a calendar to always know what’s ahead, studying for exams a week or two before, doing bonus even if they don’t need it, etc.

 

[candbgirl]

And just a FYI, a C in a lab is okay because you don’t have to retake but if it continues, it won’t be okay with ADCOMS. If you are experiencing issues with time management or study skills go to the Academic Counseling office immediately and ask for help. You have to fix whatever is wrong now not later. Good luck.

 

[deleted965487]

See what the successful students are doing. Some med school won’t take anything less than a C for pre reqs and have average GPAs of 3.6-3.9 so do whatever is necessary to improve your grades.

Maybe my $.02 could be helpful

I think what was helpful in classes like biochem was recording the lectures (with the instructors permission), and then listening to it over again when I was studying.

Another thing that was helpful was starting to study earlier and harder. If you think starting to study three days is enough make that four or five.

Another way was predicting the material that was on the exam. Think if my professor was a $&@%, what would s/he put on the exam? That prepared me for much harder exams.

Also, you will come across a lot of people who say they don’t study and they get A’s. Either they are literally Jesus Einstein Christ or they’re lying, and most probably the latter. All successful people in pre-med study as hard as they possibly can, and it takes time to be able to sot down and learn the skills to study effectively.

Also the MCAT is the hardest exam you will ever take before med school, do not take it lightly and study as much as you can. You’re going to come across pre-med gunners who will tell you they’re going to destroy the MCAT and get into their #1 choice school, ignore those people (they probably won’t anyway and are probably going to lull themselves into a false sense of security).

Do what you have to do. Study hard. Get A’s. And you’ll be good

Edit: grammar

 

[Pharaoh95]

There is no excuse for doing that poorly in an introductory bio class, let alone any class. You're not trying hard enough. How bad do you want it? You should be spending every waking minute in the library studying, and I mean actually studying (focused with timed breaks), until you understand the material forwards, backwards, sideways, and upside down. That was my mentality in undergrad and it paid off.

Also, if you have bad test-taking anxiety or are struggling in any way mentally or emotionally, seeking counseling from your school is a great option. Keep your chin up and give it another shot.

 

[jhamaican]

honestly, if you cannot even pass introductory biology with lab,

you may want to reconsider your career choices.

 

[Hirro]

The goal is to learn studying techniques that work efficiently for you while also maintaining balance in your life. Success does NOT necessitate "spending every waking minute in the library studying." That's a destructive mentality to perpetuate and is one of the reasons why so many people pursuing a medical career suffer from mental illness.

At the same time, it is important to remember that everyone is different.

Some actually find their balance is best as a 100% effort put towards studying. I am not this way but I did have to find my balance along the way. I had a 100% mentality during my first semester to establish good habits. As I was in the middle of my second semester, I began to desire and seek the balance you describe. I am extremely thankful that I did. I made good friends and memories that I otherwise wouldn't have without that balance.

 

[Pharaoh95]

The goal is to learn studying techniques that work efficiently for you while also maintaining balance in your life. Success does NOT necessitate "spending every waking minute in the library studying." That's a destructive mentality to perpetuate and is one of the reasons why so many people pursuing a medical career suffer from mental illness.

I agree with you. But you missed the second half of that sentence, "...until you understand the material..." Since the OP is struggling with the most basic of science courses, it is important to build a foundation of discipline and work ethic, but also study technique like you said. I am probably the biggest proponent of living a balanced life out there, but I think early on, brute force (the "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make an A") is indisputably the best way to begin this journey of learning how to do well in science courses. Cover the basics: get 7-9 hours of sleep, eat well, exercise, go to your classes, socialize, and do whatever else is important to you, but don't lose track of your primary goal in college.

You spend day in and day out in the library and then when the next test comes, you annihilate it. You get your first A. You may have overdone the studying, but at least you now know that you are capable of doing well. Over time, you can begin to incorporate more things into your schedule once you've got basic study skills down and your grades up, like taking on more extracurriculars or going out more often. Start off strong academically then build the balance over time.

Also, enough of this fragile snowflake mentality. You are more capable and resilient than you could ever imagine. Look up David Goggins on YouTube and listen to his story.

 

[deleted965487]

Good study habits and mental health are important, but at the same time though so are grades. I definitely think first semester is acceptable but OP needs to realize that it only gets harder here and harder fast.

S/he has one more semester of intro bio before orgo and upper level bio so if s/he doesn’t get their stuff together soon s/he’s going to be in trouble.

That being said your only job in university should be academics. Partying all the time etc. is an easy trap to fall into, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take time off with friends, just be responsible.

I think a big help would be find people to hang out with that do better than you do and study with them


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Pharaoh95]

Valuing mental health =/= perpetuating a fragile snowflake mentality

Agree with everything else you said, thank you for the good insight!

Mental health is first and foremost. Always. That's why I mentioned counseling in my first post. And I don't expect everyone to be in agreement on how to best study or even how to best approach college and life haha. Everyone's going to be a bit different in that regard.

 

[DoctorJJJ]

honestly, if you cannot even pass introductory biology with lab,

you may want to reconsider your career choices.

Thanks for those tough words.....I needed that slap in the face because my study habits when it came to the class were exceptionally bad. I did not take AP Bio in high school (wish I did in hindsight) but I have never been hit with so much information at once and was left disillusioned at how to prepare for exams.

 

[deleted965487]

Thanks for those tough words.....I needed that slap in the face because my study habits when it came to the class were exceptionally bad. I did not take AP Bio in high school (wish I did in hindsight) but I have never been hit with so much information at once and was left disillusioned at how to prepare for exams.

Most of the classes you’ll take in college you haven’t taken in high school.

Your performance was not based on not taking AP Bio, It wasn’t that you haven’t learned to study.

My grandfather always used to say “when the water reaches your butt you learn how to swim”

There’s still time, study hard, work hard, don’t let yourself slack, and you’ll be fine

 

[DoctorJJJ]

Most of the classes you’ll take in college you haven’t taken in high school.

Your performance was not based on not taking AP Bio, It wasn’t that you haven’t learned to study.

My grandfather always used to say “when the water reaches your butt you learn how to swim”

There’s still time, study hard, work hard, don’t let yourself slack, and you’ll be fine

Do you have any good tips on studying Biology at a college level? I have recently found Anki and other more "active" learning methods, but when it comes to studying through these mediums, I end up taking more time to make the flashcards for example than studying them and retaining the information?

 

[deleted965487]

So what I have come to learn in college is that there is no short cut to studying. Flash cards take a long time to make because you need to consolidate information on each card.

What I recommend for bio courses and orgo, if you can, record the lectures and take notes in class. Then relisten to the lectures when you start studying with your notes out in front of you and add in stuff you missed. Not only will you be listening to the lectures again, but you will be hearing them again, and writing them again. Then you constantly reread your notes and make flash cards or whatever you use to study (and don’t forget to read the book).
This will take a while, which is why you start early but will pretty much guarantee you that A (in my experience).
This works really well in classes like biochemistry and orgo and animal behavior (A class I thought would be easy but was really flipping hard lol)

You’re not going to want to do it, nobody does, its sucks, but it’s worth it


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[stickgirl390]

I actually do not recommend the above advice to reread/rewrite lectures, as this tends to promote memorization and not understanding.

I suggest exposing yourself to the material in as many different ways as possible. Go to lecture, take notes, make some (some!) flashcards, look up YouTube videos (I recommend Crash Course, Kahn Academy, and Bozeman Science), READ THE TEXTBOOK, try to find practice questions in the book or online. You can also ask your teacher if they have practice questions. Try a study group, try writing your own test questions (i recommend Kahoot), visit your schools tutoring center.

A few of these things will stick out as your favorite methods, and you won’t use the others as often.

 

[differentiating]

Going off of the last post - what kind of learner are you, OP? Do you learn best by reading, writing something out, hearing it, etc.? If you’re not sure, I’d experiment with the methods mentioned directly above and see what works for you. I have friends who swear by reading textbooks; for me, that’s a waste of time, and flashcards are where I get the most bang for my buck. Everyone is different.

Also, does your school have a learning/studying center? If so, it’s likely worth meeting with them to have them go over your study methods and suggest improvements.

 

[DoctorJJJ]

Going off of the last post - what kind of learner are you, OP? Do you learn best by reading, writing something out, hearing it, etc.? If you’re not sure, I’d experiment with the methods mentioned directly above and see what works for you. I have friends who swear by reading textbooks; for me, that’s a waste of time, and flashcards are where I get the most bang for my buck. Everyone is different.

Also, does your school have a learning/studying center? If so, it’s likely worth meeting with them to have them go over your study methods and suggest improvements.

Im a visual learner. I think implementing more videos would be beneficial. I still need to work on using Anki (as I spend majority of time writing the cards instead of studying them. I also need to work on reading the textbook as I become overwhelmed when doing so....

 

[differentiating]

Im a visual learner. I think implementing more videos would be beneficial. I still need to work on using Anki (as I spend majority of time writing the cards instead of studying them. I also need to work on reading the textbook as I become overwhelmed when doing so....

Again, I wouldn’t force yourself to do those things unless you actually find them helpful. I used anki in undergrad, but found it too inefficient for medical school, so moved to other flashcard programs then; it’s certainly not the end-all be-all to academic success. That being said, writing cards can be a form of studying if you do it right. The same goes for book reading.

A lot of my friends who were visual learners did things like drawing out flowcharts and diagrams to help themselves learn.

 

[Mr. Babe]

lol, how do you do that poorly in principles of biology? You're going to need to seriously change your study habits because you'll be screwed when you take difficult classes later.

 

[DoctorJJJ]

lol, how do you do that poorly in principles of biology? You're going to need to seriously change your study habits because you'll be screwed when you take difficult classes later.

What study tips do you have? I know its bad and I am embarrassed but I want to turn my grades around early...........

 

[Mr. Babe]

What study tips do you have? I know its bad and I am embarrassed but I want to turn my grades around early...........

Take 5-10 minutes for each class you have and review what you'll learn during lecture. Have questions that you want answered (like vocab for example)....then you'll be actively learning during class with questions to be answered. Outline each class you have after lecture and review the concepts until you understand them. There's no substitute for working hard and putting in the time. Eliminate distractions and balance your social life and then you're on your way.

 

[stickgirl390]

What study tips do you have? I know its bad and I am embarrassed but I want to turn my grades around early...........

Don’t listen to negative comments like that. You did poorly because you’re adjusting to college courses and that’s perfectly normal. Everyone had a different high school experience and no one is in the place to judge.

 

[DoctorJJJ]

Yes, you need to retake the lecture but not the lab. Always calculate your GPA according to AMCAS guidelines which averages retaken courses. It does not replace them. Like the poster above me said, find out what the students who got A’s are doing. They’re probably reading the chapters and/or lectures before each class, going to every lecture AND paying attention, using a calendar to always know what’s ahead, studying for exams a week or two before, doing bonus even if they don’t need it, etc.

How does one calculate their GPA according to the guidlines?

 

[Goro]

What study tips do you have? I know its bad and I am embarrassed but I want to turn my grades around early...........

YouTube videos