I don't get it, what am I doing wrong :(

[Jambino]

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I've been having so much trouble in my chem class for some reason. On the first test I got a 59. Okay, figured I had to study more. So I decided to study everyday for about 2-3 hours after I got home. On the week before finals I would increase it to 4-5 hours.

Second Exam: 65
Seriously?!? I increased my hours even more, doing practice problems and pretty much scouring the entire book. I even hired a tutor

Third Exam: 75
WHAT??? So I increased hours with the tutor

Fourth and Final Exam: 68
I don't get it. I study my ass off for this ****ing class and I don't get **** in return. I ended the class with a C- and it wasn't due to me (at least I don't think). I even went to the professors after my first test to discuss what I could do to improve. They suggested studying more, and that's what I did. Even when there's nothing to study, I'll go over my notes. This sucks man 🙁

Any advice?

 

[Frazier]

I've been having so much trouble in my chem class for some reason. On the first test I got a 59. Okay, figured I had to study more. So I decided to study everyday for about 2-3 hours after I got home. On the week before finals I would increase it to 4-5 hours.

Second Exam: 65
Seriously?!? I increased my hours even more, doing practice problems and pretty much scouring the entire book. I even hired a tutor

Third Exam: 75
WHAT??? So I increased hours with the tutor

Fourth and Final Exam: 68
I don't get it. I study my ass off for this ****ing class and I don't get **** in return. I ended the class with a C- and it wasn't due to me (at least I don't think). I even went to the professors after my first test to discuss what I could do to improve. They suggested studying more, and that's what I did. Even when there's nothing to study, I'll go over my notes. This sucks man 🙁

Any advice?

How were you missing exam questions?

I.e. misreading what the question was asking, miscalculating, running out of time, simply having no idea of the answer and guessing....

Make an account at myedu and check out the said professor's past grade distribution. Perhaps s/he is very hard - perhaps not.

 

[PromisingCapita]

Occam's Razor: You are dumb.

 

[munchymanRX]

I've been having so much trouble in my chem class for some reason. On the first test I got a 59. Okay, figured I had to study more. So I decided to study everyday for about 2-3 hours after I got home. On the week before finals I would increase it to 4-5 hours.

Second Exam: 65
Seriously?!? I increased my hours even more, doing practice problems and pretty much scouring the entire book. I even hired a tutor

Third Exam: 75
WHAT??? So I increased hours with the tutor

Fourth and Final Exam: 68
I don't get it. I study my ass off for this ****ing class and I don't get **** in return. I ended the class with a C- and it wasn't due to me (at least I don't think). I even went to the professors after my first test to discuss what I could do to improve. They suggested studying more, and that's what I did. Even when there's nothing to study, I'll go over my notes. This sucks man 🙁

Any advice?

You're falling into the age old trap of thinking that more time spent studying=better results. You don't get points for just the hours you put in, merely what you're able to understand and drive home in your own head when you do study.

Look at your past tests. Note the mistakes you've made and understand why you made them and ore importantly, why they're mistakes. You're probably making similar mistakes on multiple tests, so correct these before just returning to the book and reading everything. Memorizing the whole textbook verbatim isn't going to help if you don't understand anything. It's a bit like memorizing a French novel, but not knowing French.

 

[BenjaminT]

I genuinely hate to believe that anybody is just too stupid to get good grades, but if you're seriously studying between 10-25 hours a week for one class and still can't get higher than D's there is something wrong.

You need to reevaluate the way you study since you are clearly putting in enough time. If you are doing everything right when studying and you still can't get higher than a C in your basic sciences then you need to reevaluate a career as an MD.

 

[JonnyL]

What chem class is this?

Does the professor let your keep your test? If so, look it over and see the mistakes that you made and see what you're doing wrong in your study.

 

[cowme]

I've been having so much trouble in my chem class for some reason. On the first test I got a 59. Okay, figured I had to study more. So I decided to study everyday for about 2-3 hours after I got home. On the week before finals I would increase it to 4-5 hours.

Second Exam: 65
Seriously?!? I increased my hours even more, doing practice problems and pretty much scouring the entire book. I even hired a tutor

Third Exam: 75
WHAT??? So I increased hours with the tutor

Fourth and Final Exam: 68
I don't get it. I study my ass off for this ****ing class and I don't get **** in return. I ended the class with a C- and it wasn't due to me (at least I don't think). I even went to the professors after my first test to discuss what I could do to improve. They suggested studying more, and that's what I did. Even when there's nothing to study, I'll go over my notes. This sucks man 🙁

Any advice?

'Some people are just bad at chemistry. It happens. If you make up for it in bio, physics, etc you will be fine. If you find the same problems in these classes, then...gotta be honest, you are going to be fighting an uphill battle to get into med school.

 

[MedIsInMyBlood]

You're falling into the age old trap of thinking that more time spent studying=better results. You don't get points for just the hours you put in, merely what you're able to understand and drive home in your own head when you do study.

Look at your past tests. Note the mistakes you've made and understand why you made them and ore importantly, why they're mistakes. You're probably making similar mistakes on multiple tests, so correct these before just returning to the book and reading everything. Memorizing the whole textbook verbatim isn't going to help if you don't understand anything. It's a bit like memorizing a French novel, but not knowing French.

Yeah. Don't just study just to rack up more hours of studying...as if your professor will automatically give you more points for more hours.

Also, maybe you're burning out on test day. You need to relax at some point. Depending on when your next test is, put in the necessary hours. If your test is a month away, try to relax. You will then have the energy to go ridiculously hard (put in like 10 hours the day before the test perhaps) when your test is a few days out.

 

[devilpup]

Occam's Razor: You are dumb.

Try taking the condom off your head sometime, it will help you in the future.

OP, keep demonstrating to your professor that you care about your scores and that you're putting serious effort into your studies. I would also suggest talking to a counselor that can show you different learning strategies that work best for you. Doing so will help you cement solid learning skills which will help you in other basic science classes and even in med school. It's alright to feel bummed out, but don't let it affect your self-confidence or make you feel dumb/stupid.

 

[deleted357625]

You should of sat down with your professor and asked if y'all can look over the test.

Also, most likely the test would not be multiple choice I'm guessing, maybe when you calculate the problems there could be minor errors when calculating.


I have my first chem test this Monday ;/
The main thing i need to do is slow down and calculate the problem slowly.

 

[azide10]

Gen Chem? That was a nightmare for me. I did alright in it but bio, physics, and the first semester of orgo gave me no troubles. Like others are saying you are definitely going about something wrong. Don't let it get you too down though, just figure out how to improve and chug on. Good luck!

 

[orthomyxo]

If we're talking about intro chem here, you should really reevaluate your study habits. If it's orgo, well....it's orgo and that's basically how it goes. 75 would be considered excellent in my organic class. Hell, all those grades would be above the average.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Have you ever sat down and gone over your exam, what you did right/wrong? You said you talked to your prof about doing better, but did you sit down with him/her and go over some of the stuff you got wrong? Saying you got a 68 doesn't offer insight to what the problem is.

Short story - friend needed help in calc. Went over her exam which she got a 58 or something, which after the curve was a C- or something. I looked at her exam, 75% of her mistakes were algebra. Most of the concepts she had down, but little mistakes add up very quickly.

Hit up your prof to go over some of the stuff you got wrong.

 

[addo]

Occam's Razor: You are dumb.

and youre an *******

Other than that, i got nothing to add OP, as youve already gotten pretty good advice.

 

[Ladoctora44]

I believe that it is not about the quantity of studying that you do, but the quality. I found, especially in science classes, the best thing for me is to study a little everyday for a really hard class. So, the day before the test, I just mostly review. Also, work to your strengths. If you are an audible learner, then get with your tutor or a study group and go over problems. If you need to completely shut out the world and focus on chem, then do that. You can make a good grade in this class, it just sounds like you haven't hit your study stride. Experiment and find what is best for you to succeed.

 

[deleted357625]

You say you study a lot. So I'm assuming you do well with practice problems? Repetition is the key.

If you do fine when you study then what's the test like? Is the test something totally unexpected? Because i mean if you study and you even hired a tutor what are you having problems with? Chem is basically equations

 

[Lil Mick]

Don't study your notes. They're basically useless in gen chem/physics/math... Do problems in the back of the book. If you get questions wrong, work backwards to find out what you're doing wrong. Keep repeating this until you can get new problems correct on the first try. It's really that only way to prepare for completely new problems that you'll see on exams (and the really tricky questions that sound completely unrelated to what you studied but actually apply the technique to something else). It will serve you well in many other classes and when it comes time to take the MCAT...

 

[kcin]

Occam's Razor: You are dumb.

I like your style.

 

[PSU2013]

i've been having so much trouble in my chem class for some reason. On the first test i got a 59. Okay, figured i had to study more. So i decided to study everyday for about 2-3 hours after i got home. On the week before finals i would increase it to 4-5 hours.

Second exam: 65
seriously?!? I increased my hours even more, doing practice problems and pretty much scouring the entire book. I even hired a tutor

third exam: 75
what??? So i increased hours with the tutor

fourth and final exam: 68
i don't get it. I study my ass off for this ****ing class and i don't get **** in return. I ended the class with a c- and it wasn't due to me (at least i don't think). I even went to the professors after my first test to discuss what i could do to improve. They suggested studying more, and that's what i did. Even when there's nothing to study, i'll go over my notes. This sucks man 🙁

any advice?

its not the hours you spent in studying the material it's whether or not you grasp what you have been studying. Clearly, you have not. I had the same problem last semester, and this semester i changed my grade on the first exam from a d to a b which meant i understood more. My solution was to go to the professor and ask questions when i "understood" things. Do practice problems if you are doing old class exams and getting the correct answer chances are you are going to encounter a similar problem later on and will be able to solve it this time around. If you are just reading txtbks and notes that is a recipe for failure. You need practice constant practice.

 

[Holderlin]

GenChem sucks balls.

-There's nothing interesting about it. It's purely foundational.

-It's a 200 level class so there's no sense of accomplishment if you do manage to get A's, and only a greater sense of worthlessness if you struggle.

-They're always packed full of a bunch of annoying, naive, dull, sober premeds.

-It can be really hard.

 

[Holderlin]

Don't study your notes. They're basically useless in gen chem/physics/math... Do problems in the back of the book. If you get questions wrong, work backwards to find out what you're doing wrong. Keep repeating this until you can get new problems correct on the first try. It's really that only way to prepare for completely new problems that you'll see on exams (and the really tricky questions that sound completely unrelated to what you studied but actually apply the technique to something else). It will serve you well in many other classes and when it comes time to take the MCAT...

This.

And what exactly are you having trouble with? 2nd term Gen Chem?

 

[CarlATHF]

Do you mean actually "studying" or "I'm gonna do one practice problem and then spend 20 minutes on facebook, end up doing 8 practice problems and calling it a night." Either you're studying the wrong way or you're not actually studying as much as you say you are.

 

[fizzgig]

You should of sat down with your professor and asked if y'all can look over the test.

Also, most likely the test would not be multiple choice I'm guessing, maybe when you calculate the problems there could be minor errors when calculating.


I have my first chem test this Monday ;/
The main thing i need to do is slow down and calculate the problem slowly.

this poster and a couple of others hit on this. DO THIS. go over your exams with your prof, and figure out your types of errors. take prof's advice. if you get to take your exams home you can do them again with the answers removed. if you have access to cold tests, make sure to do those under timed conditions before an exam. i started out screwing up in chem1 as well.

 

[studmuffin]

I hate to break it to you, but you are just not smart enough to get into medical school. My best friend is in the same situation-he tries and tries only to get mediocre grades. I'm his tutor- chemistry and calculus. He just doesn't seem to be able to do things on his own, I go over him with his disasters of tests and mostly the errors are due to misreading the question or not applying a concept correctly.

 

[aSagacious]

You're doing it wrong

 

[TallScrubs]

Occam's Razor: You are dumb.

I prefer Ochem's Razor: The hardest answer is probably the correct answer