Help! Advice needed

[cerealrhapsody]

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I have been having serious medical issues for the past month that have caused me to miss a lot of class and fall behind in studying. This wouldn't be such a problem but I'm taking Orgo 1 this semester, and I am in completely over my head. The first exam is tomorrow and I'm absolutely positive that I'm going to fail miserably (if I'm even healthy enough to take the exam in the first place).

I'm thinking about dropping the class, but then I will be left with only 12 credits, and I'm unemployed and pretty uninvolved this semester. I know that will look really bad if I don't get straight A's (unlikely because of my illness).

So...what would look worse to an admissions committee? Dropping orgo 1? Or withdrawing from the entire semester due to medical issues? Or should I be stoic and stay in all my classes and possibly get some really bad grades?

 

[lazyjayn]

if you're not going to do well, withdraw. If stressing over grades will slow your recovery, withdraw. One w due to illness, even with a couple b's tossed in for fun, isn't going to kill you. keeping O-chem and doing badly in everything will look worse. Also- to quote the six fingered man, "if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything"- getting better should be your priority. Besides, push too hard now and you might have to drop everything.

 

[HopefulDVM]

Some advice I'd wish I'd had when I had similar experiences 😉

Just drop the class-even a W (for withdrawl that's late) looks better then an F!!!

And get better soon!!! 🙂

 

[dullflame]

I definitely think it's better to withdraw than to risk a bad grade, since a W won't affect your GPA. Orgo 1 is a really hard class to catch up with if you missed school. Unless you can somehow get permission to take a make up exam, which might not be a great option either if you have very little time to study.

When you apply to vet school, it'll probably be best to explain that you had serious medical issues for a month that forced you to miss school and drop a class. It's a legitimate excuse, imo.

I don't know if withdrawing from the entire semester would be a good or bad choice. Do you think you could pull off some decent grades? Honestly, if you feel too sick to focus on school right now, it might be best to withdraw for the semester. Your health is more important than grades. Just my 2 cents. Good luck and get well!!

 

[lazyjayn]

True- if someone was really seriously, in the hospital or can't move sick, I'd suggest they drop classes totally-

If they lived somewhere or were young enough that it wouldn't affect their health insurance coverage.

If insurance is through the school, You have to check with them, but it usually only covers you if you are actually in school- same for most people covered by their parent's ins.- if you're over 19, and not in school full time (so, like a tax-type dependent) you're SOL.

So if you're sick enough to not be in school at all, check your insurance first. It'd really suck to be so sick you can't go to school, drop your classes to keep your GPA up, and then lose your insurance because of it. When deciding between huge debt for life from vet school, and huge debt for life because dr's are spendy, A hit to your GPA is easier to deal with than an Insurance company.

Wow, I now feel both old and logical. I think I need a drink.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I'm sorry you're having serious medical issues... that's really tough when you have a full course load. I think what you should do really depends on your situation.

What year are you? How many years off are you from applying to vet school? How are your academics otherwise? How sick are you?

If you're so sick that even with only 12 units, you're not confident that you can do well, maybe it's a better idea to just withdraw from the entire semester. It sounds like that's an option that you've thought about. Would you be able to withdraw and still get a big chunk back as a refund for your tuition? Is it too late in the semester to withdraw without it showing on your transcript?

If that's not an appealing idea, then I think at least dropping from orgo is the best idea. Does your school have any policies about medically excused incompletes? My undergrad had a thing where you can have your dean petition for a medically excused incomplete with the academic review board, and if approved, you could have until the beginning of the next semester to finish some of your courses. Given that you get those assignments/exams done at he beginning of the next semester, it wouldn't even show on your transcript that you ever had an incomplete. The "I" gets replaced with a grade. If something like that is an option, I would drop orgo, focus on 1 or 2 of your other courses and ace them, and take an excused incomplete on the rest. Then you would have until January/February to get a final paper or two (or even exams) taken care of.

That being said, one bad semester because you're really sick isn't that big a deal as long as all of your other semesters are stellar. Even if your other semesters are mediocre, you can seriously improve starting next semester. You just have to show that you can rock academically.

I have been having serious medical issues for the past month that have caused me to miss a lot of class and fall behind in studying. This wouldn't be such a problem but I'm taking Orgo 1 this semester, and I am in completely over my head. The first exam is tomorrow and I'm absolutely positive that I'm going to fail miserably (if I'm even healthy enough to take the exam in the first place).

I'm thinking about dropping the class, but then I will be left with only 12 credits, and I'm unemployed and pretty uninvolved this semester. I know that will look really bad if I don't get straight A's (unlikely because of my illness).

So...what would look worse to an admissions committee? Dropping orgo 1? Or withdrawing from the entire semester due to medical issues? Or should I be stoic and stay in all my classes and possibly get some really bad grades?

 

[sumstorm]

I strongly suggest that you meet with your advisor and any appropriate deans to come up with a plan. This is not a decision to make on your own without the consulation of professionals at your school. I also suggest speaking with your doctor about this in terms of what can be done to be functional, if anything can be done.

We, as much as we can be honest with our own experiences, we do not know your circumstances in enough detail, how your school works, or how such a decision will affect your life (ie will you have to start repaying loans, what will the financial damage be, will it affect your fin aid eligibility, will it affect your major, etc.)

Ultimatly, you will have to make the decision, but you really need hte input and advice of those in charge at your school, along with professors and advisors. They have dealt with such things before, and can likely tell you what techniques have been successful for students previously given certain circumstances.