I got a C in General Chemistry. At a Community College. Now What?

[Emsteez]

I would like some real life advice on how the hell I make up for my C in intro to Chemistry.

I got a 78.7% in a course with no curve, no extra credit, no dropped tests. The instructor was new to the school, and was often befuddled by our book, and admitted openly that he didn’t teach the subject well, while I was adjusting to a new job, and having just finished my Master’s program. I bit off more than I could chew, and the conditions weren’t right.

I have a B.S. in Psychology (3.6 GPA), and a Master’s of Public Administration (4.0 GPA), so I am not completely without academic success. I also have a decade long career as a public servant, did AmeriCorps programs, work in policy, and believe I have a solid career track record and interview and test well.

What will I need to do to make up for this? I am planning on taking my O Chems and Physics at community college (I have no gold bars left to pawn), though believe I can do well this semester and beyond. Will that be enough?

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[Goro]

Even if failed the course, it won't be a negative if you do better from now on.

DO NOT .retake!

 

[Emsteez]

Even if failed the course, it won't be a negative if you do better from now on.

DO NOT .retake!

Thank you very much, Goro. That is encouraging!

 

[Violagirl]

Just keep working hard and pushing through with your classes going forward! If you ever are unsure of any key concepts, make sure to seek out the instructor either after class or during office hours. Make sure to do all homework problems to really emphasize the material to yourself so that you know what to really study for exams. Finally, I will always say to study early for exams if possible to really hammer in the material and allowing yourself time to go over any material that does not make sense with your instructor or with classmates.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Emsteez]

Just keep working hard and pushing through with your classes going forward! If you ever are unsure of any key concepts, make sure to seek out the instructor either after class or during office hours. Make sure to do all homework problems to really emphasize the material to yourself so that you know what to really study for exams. Finally, I will always say to study early for exams if possible to really hammer in the material and allowing yourself time to go over any material that does not make sense with your instructor or with classmates.

Best of luck to you!

That is very, very heartening. Thank you for your feedback. I am off to do better!

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

Chemistry gets much harder and it's cumulative, so you need to double-down on your efforts if you want to make it through.

Best of luck!

 

[Emsteez]

Chemistry gets much harder and it's cumulative, so you need to double-down on your efforts if you want to make it through.

Best of luck!

I agree. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[Biochemistry69]

I had 1 C+ and 1 D+ (retaken w/ an A) at CC.
I came to university and got 2 C's.

cGPA projected at 3.75, sGPA at 3.74.

Do well in your upper level classes from here on out. Do so well that your interviewer will not want to ask you about those your C because of your top-notch performance in your other difficult classes.

 

[Emsteez]

I had 1 C+ and 1 D+ (retaken w/ an A) at CC.
I came to university and got 2 C's.

cGPA projected at 3.75, sGPA at 3.74.

Do well in your upper level classes from here on out. Do so well that your interviewer will not want to ask you about those your C because of your top-notch performance in your other difficult classes.

Thank you for your feedback. If you don’t mind me asking, what study habits did you change to improve your grade, or what other advice could you share to improve my performance? I have already started the semester, and am of course studying more, but am very open to your input considering what you were able to pull off. Thank you!

 

[Biochemistry69]

Thank you for your feedback. If you don’t mind me asking, what study habits did you change to improve your grade, or what other advice could you share to improve my performance? I have already started the semester, and am of course studying more, but am very open to your input considering what you were able to pull off. Thank you!

I started by studying significantly more. For problem based classes, I redid the homework problems. For other classes, I regularly reviewed the material by going over slides/my notes. From that point on, I started to tailor my studying to my individual needs.

IMO, the hardest part is finding out your own style. Just study until you find your own groove, and remember, good grades are largely determined by effort, and not by intelligence. Everyone is capable of making an A, as long as they work hard and don't give up.

 

[Emsteez]

I started by studying significantly more. For problem based classes, I redid the homework problems. For other classes, I regularly reviewed the material by going over slides/my notes. From that point on, I started to tailor my studying to my individual needs.

IMO, the hardest part is finding out your own style. Just study until you find your own groove, and remember, good grades are largely determined by effort, and not by intelligence. Everyone is capable of making an A, as long as they work hard and don't give up.

Thank you very much for your great advice- I will redo homework problems for sure, and it never hurts to remember how much effort matters! Very encouraging!

 

[DarklingThrush]

Chemistry gets much harder and it's cumulative, so you need to double-down on your efforts if you want to make it through.

Best of luck!

While I agree that it gets much harder and OP really needs to buckle down and get some solid study habits, I don’t really think Gen Chem carries over to Ochem and Ochem doesn’t carry over all that much to Biochem. If there is a concept you can’t remember, you can always do a refresher on Khan Academy. Ochem and then Biochem are all different kinds of beasts from each other. You do need to have a solid foundation for the MCAT though, so it’d be worth running through some material and figure out where you went wrong.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

I'm in Biochem now and we just started, but on Day 1 we've already gone over Ochem functional groups, stereoisomers, nucleophilicity, molecular geometry, pH and pKA, and Gibbs Free Energy equations. All of those topics, of course, require understanding the stuff before them like valence, acids/bases, entropy/enthalpy, etc. So yeah, I'd say there is probably some carry-over.

 

[DarklingThrush]

I'm in Biochem now and we just started, but on Day 1 we've already gone over Ochem functional groups, stereoisomers, nucleophilicity, molecular geometry, pH and pKA, and Gibbs Free Energy equations. All of those topics, of course, require understanding the stuff before them like valence, acids/bases, entropy/enthalpy, etc. So yeah, I'd say there is probably some carry-over.

Oh for sure... but it wasn’t too bad from what I remember. I took Biochem last fall. I think the first few chapters of Biochem was a little gen chem heavy and maybe a few mechanisms later on that you would learn in ochem, but the majority of Biochem is new material. Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong and am losing my mind

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

... but the majority of Biochem is new material. Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong and am losing my mind

Ask me again in 4 months and I may be able to save you a trip to the therapist.

 

[Emsteez]

While I agree that it gets much harder and OP really needs to buckle down and get some solid study habits, I don’t really think Gen Chem carries over to Ochem and Ochem doesn’t carry over all that much to Biochem. If there is a concept you can’t remember, you can always do a refresher on Khan Academy. Ochem and then Biochem are all different kinds of beasts from each other. You do need to have a solid foundation for the MCAT though, so it’d be worth running through some material and figure out where you went wrong.

Thank you for that feedback. I am definitely studying more, and have come across some study tips that echo your advice.

 

[Lawfairy]

Agree with the advice of Violagirl. You can do it. In addition to making improvements in your studying habits, don’t forget to reflect on the reasons you didn’t do well. No one likes setbacks, but they can teach you a lot about not-so-great study habits and some personality traits that may have hindered your success, such as being too shy to ask for help. I got a C too in gen. chem. at a CC, among some other low grades, and still got in. Stay committed, and you’ll get there too!