Important question about Biology

Started by ilikecomputer
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ilikecomputer

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10+ Year Member
Hi, i got 60% on my first biology midterm which counts 20% towards my final grade. Should i continue or withdraw from the class? My teacher does not curve by the way. Even if i score 85% on the next midterm and final, the best grade i can get is only a B-. Should i just take the W and take it again next quarter?


thanks.
 
What is it recently with people wanting to get Ws for Bs?

First of all, if you tell yourself you can't get higher than a mid-B on two more exams then you're already putting yourself behind the eight-ball.

Two, if you're that willing to give up, I don't want you as a colleague. Apply yourself and score higher than 85 and get your B+ or better!

Three, a B is acceptable, as long as it's not habitual. Remember, UCSF accepts people with 3.6 and3.7 routinely, which allows for some Bs.

Identify why you're performing poorly and fix it. Don't give up. Go see a tutor and introduce yourself to the teacher... Don't just throw your hands up and withdraw- this is a defeatist attitude and won't get you anywhere.

Just my $.02
 
well the problem is that i don't have a very high overall GPA. C+ or B- could really hurt me. I could have gotten a least 75% on my first midterm but i misread some questions. I'm pretty sure if i retake the class next quarter i can get a least A- or B+ for the course but if i settle for this class right now, the best grade i could get now is a B or B- since the materials will get harder.
 
This happened to me last term in calculus. I would suggest staying with the course and examine why you got a grade you didn't want; did you study enough? did you believe you really understood the information? Don't fall into the trap of passive recognition while you study. After you figure out why, fix the problem. - I received an A on both the mid term and final in calc. securing an A in the class.
 
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ilikecomputer said:
well the problem is that i don't have a very high overall GPA. C+ or B- could really hurt me. I could have gotten a least 75% on my first midterm but i misread some questions. I'm pretty sure if i retake the class next quarter i can get a least A- or B+ for the course but if i settle for this class right now, the best grade i could get now is a B or B- since the materials will get harder.
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While you're playing the what if game, also consider explaining a W with an already uncompetitive GPA and the possibility you'll score lower the second time around.

Look the challenge square in the eye and fight it. Running from
A bad situation that you put yourself in isn't admired by anyone, least of all AdComs.
 
ilikecomputer said:
well the problem is that i don't have a very high overall GPA. C+ or B- could really hurt me. I could have gotten a least 75% on my first midterm but i misread some questions. I'm pretty sure if i retake the class next quarter i can get a least A- or B+ for the course but if i settle for this class right now, the best grade i could get now is a B or B- since the materials will get harder.
Click to expand...


Even if you would have gotten the 75%, with 85% on the next two exams you wouldn't have gotten the A. It seems you do not have faith that you can get an A on the exams, so how do you suppose you could get an A in the course? If your answer is that you now know all of the information that is taught in the class, then just take the B and do well on the PCAT when you take it since you have all of the knowledge from the course. Why waste the time and money when the point is to learn what they have to teach?
 
ilikecomputer said:
Hi, i got 60% on my first biology midterm which counts 20% towards my final grade. Should i continue or withdraw from the class? My teacher does not curve by the way. Even if i score 85% on the next midterm and final, the best grade i can get is only a B-. Should i just take the W and take it again next quarter?


thanks.
Click to expand...

With that attitude, why don't you give up altogether? .6 x .2 = .12 Add .8 for acing the rest of the course and you get .92 - an A (or A- if your school uses that). The W will look worse on your transcript than the B-. Study your butt off. It'll be good practice. If you can't study hard enough to ace a couple of bio tests, you can't study hard enough to get through pharmacy school. I'm not saying that to be mean; I'm telling you to get motivated or do something else. You'll save a lot of time and money by changing career paths now instead of second semester of P2.
 
One or two w's means nothing in terms of your overall coursework. If it is your first W, and you honestly think continuing is mute - then feel free to drop. Just know that things get more difficult from here - and you will reach a point when dropping is simply not an option.

Dig deep - study hard - and slam dunk the rest of the course - that is what I would do.

If you really want to blow away an ADCOM - and I know this from 1st hand experience. Get a RIDICULOUS LOR from a professor that you got a C or B in. Everyone gets there best course professor to write their LORs - It says something special when you are willing to take a different approach.

"So and so met the challenges of this course with vigor - he rose the challenge, and distinguished himself from his peers..."

I read several LORs like the above - each and everyone of the applicants received interview invites.
 
i would rather finish the course and then re-take it if i have to than just drop it all together, if u think u can get an A the second time around, u should have no problem getting a good grade on the next 2 exams, besides, if a B- can hurt u that bad, maybe u should use ur time to re-take some other class instead... wait and see what u get on the next exam then drop if u want to...
 
Pet peeve, but why do people title threads with titles that have nothing to do with the actual topic? This isn't a biology question, but rather whether to withdraw from a class. (Sorry if I'm being too particular, but I think I have a sinus infection, so I'm grumpy at the moment).

But, I did want to provide some insight to your dilemma. Personally, I wouldn't drop your class but try to do the best possible with the exams you have left. If you study really hard, you can still do well. And if you do end up with that B-, well, I have a suggestion for that, too. From the pharmacy school I'm going to, they suggested that a way to make up for a lower grade in a class was not so much to re-take that class (as it seemed like an easy way to turn a B- into an A) but rather to take a harder class in that field and do well in it. This can help make up for a bad day in an exam or a not-so-good teacher.
 
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