I hate Gen Chem II lab

[Nasem]

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name of the thread says it all...

I am currently working on my postbacc, been doing great in all my sciences (3.5s and mostly 4.0s), and I seem to be driffting toward a 2.5 in my gen chem II lab (1 credit)....

How bad does this look? I mean, its not going to effect my GPA at all, its only 1 credit, but, it just looks embarassing that I can get mostly 4.0s in my hard sciences but can't even pull off something higher than a 2.5 in a 1-credit lab

If your wondering why Im getting a 2.5, its becuase I have the world's stupidest TA, she is such a hard grader and doesn't help at all..... if you ask her for help, she goes "well I can't help you, you have to answer these on your own".....

This is really bothering me

 

[StayFocused]

name of the thread says it all...

I am currently working on my postbacc, been doing great in all my sciences (3.5s and mostly 4.0s), and I seem to be driffting toward a 2.5 in my gen chem II lab (1 credit)....

How bad does this look? I mean, its not going to effect my GPA at all, its only 1 credit, but, it just looks embarassing that I can get mostly 4.0s in my hard sciences but can't even pull off something higher than a 2.5 in a 1-credit lab

If your wondering why Im getting a 2.5, its becuase I have the world's stupidest TA, she is such a hard grader and doesn't help at all..... if you ask her for help, she goes "well I can't help you, you have to answer these on your own".....

This is really bothering me

In my opinion, it isn't a big deal at all. Just because you have trouble in one class shouldn't play a factor in considering your admission - especially when you perform well in all of the others. I wish I could switch my lab and lecture grades in Organic Chem, my GPA would sky rocket. 😀

 

[Phlame217]

adcoms know how to recognize a hard class vs an easier class. If you have been pulling High B's and mid A's and get one random C, it might make a question in the interview but thats about it.

 

[fireflygirl]

Yeah I wouldn't worry about it too much. Have you tried talking to the TA about what the problem is? I had a similar problem in my gen chem labs. I would do really well on the lab write ups and then the exams were so ridiculously hard that everyone would get knocked down an entire grade. It was ridiculous because I felt like it was a bad reflection on my grades but when I saw those grades being factored into my overall GPA, I realised that because of the minimal credit it carried, it really didn't affect things much.

 

[slim78]

I had very similar experiences in my O-Chem and molecular bio labs.

My first test in my molecular bio lab was honestly the worst experience of my life. I seriously questioned whether I would ever become a doctor because of THAT ONE LAB.

Turned out not to be a big deal. I wouldn't stress it. Just do the best you can.

I had 2 Cs on my transcript in science classes and never even heard mention of them in my interviews. Granted, every school/interview is different so take that for what it is worth.

 

[MossPoh]

Also, Is this a single section of many? Are there multiple labs and your TA just grades harder than the other TAs? If that is the case, most grades will be standardized. Chemistry departments aren't stupid, when they look at the averages and see one section with a significantly lower average they'll adjust it. Just do your best and you'll be fine. I couldn't get greater than 20/25 (80%) on my lab reports that I'd spend 12+ hours on a week. It ended up being adjusted to an A since I was significantly higher than others in my class. Other sections would get 24s and 25s handed to them for a plagiarized lab report.

 

[zmeister22]

This is the worst lab, do don't worry. Organic lectures are worse and a higher work load, but the labs are much more interesting and you do more than titrate (I f%$&^ng hate titrations.) Grin an bear it.

This is all true unless you take P.Chem, but only freaks take P.Chem voluntarily😀.

 

[MaximusD]

I've repressed the memory of OChem lab. Now that its memory has resurfaced, I can look forward to night sweats and random flashbacks to 2 papers and a lab quiz every week and countless hours spent earning a B-, redoing synthesis experiments because the stupid cap was leaky on my short vial and having the volatile product evaporate

And I swear that NMR machine was conspiring with the gas chromatography machine to get me...

 

[MossPoh]

I've repressed the memory of OChem lab. Now that its memory has resurfaced, I can look forward to night sweats and random flashbacks to 2 papers and a lab quiz every week and countless hours spent earning a B-, redoing synthesis experiments because the stupid cap was leaky on my short vial and having the volatile product evaporate

And I swear that NMR machine was conspiring with the gas chromatography machine to get me...

I get the impression that PSU expected more from lab reports though. I had to work my a$$ off on those things, even for gen chem. Here I did the same thing and people looked at me weird.