Is it over?

[Iamnumber24]

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Hi everyone Im sure many of you have heard these stories but im a freshman whose about to complete my first year of college and i have a HUGE problem. That problem is calculus. I took it last semester and got an NP and so i retook it this semester and really busted my butt and got a D...yes a D.... Yes I know that is sad that taking a class over and getting a D is pathetic but thats what happened. So How does this look down the road when I apply to med school? any tips and advice and etc. would be highly appreciated.



Thanks

 

[lil'trooper]

Calculus itself is not going to show up anywhere on the MCAT or in any basic science classes (you can usually opt to take physics with or without calculus and it still counts without).

BUT, I wouldn't worry about the grade itself so much as your abilities to learn and retain info. Conceptually, I find calc easier than o-chem. I know others will disagree. It is totally possible to not be great at math and go to med school. If you are awesome at science stuff in general and just have a mjor math block, you can still do it. But if you can't "get" first semester calculus, you are probably in trouble.

thoughts?

 

[135892]

Hi everyone Im sure many of you have heard these stories but im a freshman whose about to complete my first year of college and i have a HUGE problem. That problem is calculus. I took it last semester and got an NP and so i retook it this semester and really busted my butt and got a D...yes a D.... Yes I know that is sad that taking a class over and getting a D is pathetic but thats what happened. So How does this look down the road when I apply to med school? any tips and advice and etc. would be highly appreciated.



Thanks

If you can't handle a basic calc class.... then yeah, it's over

 

[Phenol312]

Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!

I myself got a C in calc...don't sweat it. It's early yet. Just don't get a C/D in any of your big premed science courses and you'll be fine

 

[DesertSonata]

A little advice when taking a math course that saved my *** through college: choose you teacher wisely.

 

[HumidBeing]

It will look like you got a "D" in calculus your freshman year. 😀 That's about it.

It's not over. It's a long way from over. A "D" in calculus won't kill you, unless you need it for your major. All this will do is cut out the very few schools that require calculus from your list of possibilities. It won't even kill your GPA by the time you calculate 3 years worth of classes. The biggest injury from something like this is to your ego, because it really does sting.

Just keep moving on, do the best you can, and let your other coursework speak for your abilities.

 

[RySerr21]

If you can't handle a basic calc class.... then yeah, it's over

yea because you will be doing calculus so much throughout the rest of your career....its definitely over.

i mean WHOA... classes like biology, anatomy, physioloy, organic chemistry, general chemistry.... loaded with calculus!!! theres no way you can get by w/o being able to grasp it.

dont even get me started on med school....you basically just do calculus all day.

 

[nu2004]

don't worry so much about the grade. it isn't the end of med school hopes for you.

however, the better you are at math, the easier the rest of the sciences will be for you. if you consistently struggle with relatively simple mathematics (i would put intro calc into this category), you are going to find physics and general chemistry to be very difficult.

is this the case, or were there extenuating circumstances?

i just read lil'troopers post and essentially echo those sentiments.

 

[Jolie South]

don't worry so much about the grade. it isn't the end of med school hopes for you.

however, the better you are at math, the easier the rest of the sciences will be for you. if you consistently struggle with relatively simple mathematics (i would put intro calc into this category), you are going to find physics and general chemistry to be very difficult.

is this the case, or were there extenuating circumstances?

i just read lil'troopers post and essentially echo those sentiments.

i disagree calculus is not "simple" and it has little bearing on whether or not you can succeed in the other science pre-reqs. just because you're horrible at complex math concepts doesn't mean you won't be able to work out the algebra involved in other classes.

some people aren't math minded and this is completely separate from their ability to do well in science. higher level math is intangible which is harder for some that like concrete topics that they can visualize like in o. chem and bio.

 

[nu2004]

i disagree calculus is not "simple" and it has little bearing on whether or not you can succeed in the other science pre-reqs.

intro calculus is essentially algebra. would you disagree that algebra has any bearing on the science pre-reqs?

 

[Jolie South]

intro calculus is essentially algebra. would you disagree that algebra has any bearing on the science pre-reqs?

no, it's not, unless you're thinking of pre-calc which doesn't count as calc.

we never even needed calculators in calc because it was so concept oriented. there wasn't much to calculate in derivatives/limits/integrals. a lot of times we didn't even use numbers.

algebra does have a bearing, but calc is more than algebra. i aced the math placement exam (which essentially covered algebra topics) and struggled to understand calc that same semester.

 

[nu2004]

PS - for the OP, to help with your continued calculus studies:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1873635453969513506

 

[nu2004]

no, it's not.

uh, yes. it is.

we never even needed calculators in calc because it was so concept oriented. there wasn't much to calculate in derivatives/limits/integrals.

right... because it's all algebra.

algebra does have a bearing, but calc is more than algebra. i aced the math placement exam (which essentially covered algebra topics) and struggled to understand calc that same semester.

we'll have to agree to disagree then. i cannot define calculus by saying "calculus=algebra," but in the end it's the ability to think critically and apply basic algebraic skills that leads to success in calculus. imo.

the take-home message remains. being better at math = easier time in science courses.

 

[scarletgirl777]

intro calculus is essentially algebra. would you disagree that algebra has any bearing on the science pre-reqs?

There is most definitely a connection between calculus and physics.

OP, don't give up. If college is your first calc experience, you are probably at a huge disadvantage--this does not mean you are an idiot. You could try again, but consider filling the math requirement with statistics instead.

 

[135892]

yea because you will be doing calculus so much throughout the rest of your career....its definitely over.

i mean WHOA... classes like biology, anatomy, physioloy, organic chemistry, general chemistry.... loaded with calculus!!! theres no way you can get by w/o being able to grasp it.

dont even get me started on med school....you basically just do calculus all day.

LOL...

It's not that calculus is an uber important course in terms of medicine (although it is kinda important in some areas), but if you actually give some effort and can't even pass a basic, introductory math class then you most likely won't be able to handle some of the more challeging courses that you will eventually have to take.

 

[stiffany]

It's definitely not over. I took calculus my senior year in college and it was definitely the hardest class I had to take. I spent more time working on that course than any other including organic chemistry. However, you need to figure out why you didn't perform well in calculus and make sure that this doesn't carry over consistently in your academic year (Bad study skills for a class where you have to keep up for instance or something else). I think (based on my own experience with some C's freshman year in the, G-D forbid, premed courses) that medical schools are fairly forgiving of poor performance earlier on. Also, make sure as you move along that you do other things to improve your application and make you unique. I definitely didn't get into my medical school (top 20) based on my GPA. Good luck and congrats on finishing first year!

 

[Jolie South]

LOL...

It's not that calculus is an uber important course in terms of medicine (although it is kinda important in some areas), but if you actually give some effort and can't even pass a basic, introductory math class then you most likely won't be able to handle some of the more challeging courses that you will eventually have to take.

a good number of people struggle with courses their first year in college. for some it's math, for some it's physics, for some it's english.

i doubt that many people really felt challenged in high school or had to work at the pace that college students do. it just takes an adjustment. i think it's more about study skills than the OP being able to understand concepts in introductory math.

 

[nu2004]

a good number of people struggle with courses their first year in college. for some it's math, for some it's physics, for some it's english.

i doubt that many people really felt challenged in high school or had to work at the pace that college students do. it just takes an adjustment. i think it's more about study skills than the OP being able to understand concepts in introductory math.

bingo

 

[helsizzle]

The one thing to remember is when you're interviewing in a few years, DON'T BRING IT UP unless your interviewer specifically asks. My freshman calc grade was the worst grade on my transcript so when my interviewer complimented the upturn in grades, I stupidly opened my mouth and proceeded to give about four excuses for that one grade. Eight months later it still makes me cringe...and I'm waitlisted.

Just take stats, ace it, and move on.

 

[135892]

a good number of people struggle with courses their first year in college. for some it's math, for some it's physics, for some it's english.

i doubt that many people really felt challenged in high school or had to work at the pace that college students do. it just takes an adjustment. i think it's more about study skills than the OP being able to understand concepts in introductory math.

Let's hope...

 

[Jolie South]

we'll have to agree to disagree then. i cannot define calculus by saying "calculus=algebra," but in the end it's the ability to think critically and apply basic algebraic skills that leads to success in calculus. imo.

the take-home message remains. being better at math = easier time in science courses.

i'm not trying to argue here, but for me at least calculus concepts had no meaning. derivatives, limits, integrals. . . i couldn't put together how they affected anything or why i would need to know them. maybe, that's what made it difficult. it didn't seem like there was a context, so they were not meaningful. i also couldn't visualize a derivative in my head. there were all these rules and laws and i couldn't see why they existed.

whereas, in physics, o chem, bio, i could see concepts as a part of a larger equation, so they made sense to me. they fit into a puzzle.

i'm sure that there are others that have this same issue. if there is no application, then it's useless to me. in any case, that's where i was coming from on that.

 

[nu2004]

i'm not trying to argue here, but for me at least calculus concepts had no meaning. derivatives, limits, integrals. . . i couldn't put together how they affected anything or why i would need to know them. maybe, that's what made it difficult. it didn't seem like there was a context, so they were not meaningful. i also couldn't visualize a derivative in my head. there were all these rules and laws and i couldn't see why they existed.

whereas, in physics, o chem, bio, i could see concepts as a part of a larger equation, so they made sense to me. they fit into a puzzle.

i'm sure that there are others that have this same issue. if there is no application, then it's useless to me. in any case, that's where i was coming from on that.

i wish we could have traded conceptual ideas for calculus and orgo. calculus to me was... just so simple. everything can be expressed graphically, and since i am a pretty visual person this was great. physics was also a breeze. to me they seemed to be virtually the same subject.

organic, on the other hand, i just didn't get. AT ALL. i'm slowly starting to get it (as i look back and - it sounds lame - work problem sets in my free time), but it never clicked while i was taking the courses.

 

[RySerr21]

LOL...

It's not that calculus is an uber important course in terms of medicine (although it is kinda important in some areas), but if you actually give some effort and can't even pass a basic, introductory math class then you most likely won't be able to handle some of the more challeging courses that you will eventually have to take.

meh...i see your point. but dont think you can generalize. for some people, math just doesnt make sense. period. and its like that for any subject. there will be people who breeze through and people who will struggle the entire semester.

just b/c calculus is easy to you, does not mean it is easy for everyone else. yes, people do poorly b/c they don't try. but there are also people that make the effort, try hard, but can not grasp the subject. for whatever reason.

i think its naive and inconsiderate to assume that a class that you find is easy is easy for everyone else. for 1) it makes you sound arrogant and 2) it belittles anyone that doesnt find that class easy.

i also think it is wrong to assume that just b/c one class is challenging that every other class that is a "higher level" will be even more challeging. especially when you are comparing courses across completely unrelated subjects. i could see your argument if the OP was struggling with introductory calculus and was considering signing up for multivariable calculus level 400 or whatever. but thats not the case at all.

 

[suwaifo]

i'm not trying to argue here, but for me at least calculus concepts had no meaning. derivatives, limits, integrals. . . i couldn't put together how they affected anything or why i would need to know them. maybe, that's what made it difficult. it didn't seem like there was a context, so they were not meaningful. i also couldn't visualize a derivative in my head. there were all these rules and laws and i couldn't see why they existed.

whereas, in physics, o chem, bio, i could see concepts as a part of a larger equation, so they made sense to me. they fit into a puzzle.

i'm sure that there are others that have this same issue. if there is no application, then it's useless to me. in any case, that's where i was coming from on that.

😱 Math isn't a branch of anything like physics, o-chem, or bio. It's just a thought process. If you drive a car, you are already applying calculus without even knowing it. Limits are like how low you can score on the final exam to get an A in the course. Integrals just have too many examples to name. People don't learn calculus for the sake of just being good at calculus.

For those who say math doesn't make sense, think again because every little bit of it does. I'll just be the first to admit that I'm way too lazy to care, although I do find calculus particularly interesting.

 

[suwaifo]

Oh and one more thing. Stop victimizing yourselves. The classes that you hate are the ones that you should dedicate the most effort to. Then you can look back with your A and just go "I pwned that shiz, foo." Just because a class is difficult for you doesn't give you an excuse to do poorly. Until you've read every single word in the textbook or done every example provided (yeah even the ones without the answers in the back), you can't say that you gave your all. To boot, that's not even all you can do. Office hours, tutors, study sessions, and what not leave no room for people to keep making excuses.

 

[pianola]

Depends on what calc class you take and what school you take it at.

Calc I and II for me = lots of algebra.

Calc III = something else entirely. Lots of proofs.



I think it would be more helpful for the OP to tell SDN what other grades s/he got. I mean, if you only got one D but everything else was a C -- yeah, you're pretty much screwed without some sort of post-bac/master's/SMP whatever whatever whatever.

 

[engineeredout]

First semester freshman year, first time I took Calc I, got a C-.


I'm now a double chemical engineering and applied mathematics major.



Moral of the story: It doesn't mean ****. Do better next time.

 

[searun]

OP, your situation is exactly why law schools were invented. Nobody cares about calculus in law school. And you will discover that law school is the fall back career for at least 50 percent of your friends in college. So you will see alot of friendly familiar faces in your first year contract law class.

 

[Mister Pie]

i wish we could have traded conceptual ideas for calculus and orgo. calculus to me was... just so simple. everything can be expressed graphically, and since i am a pretty visual person this was great. physics was also a breeze. to me they seemed to be virtually the same subject.

organic, on the other hand, i just didn't get. AT ALL. i'm slowly starting to get it (as i look back and - it sounds lame - work problem sets in my free time), but it never clicked while i was taking the courses.

I agree-- the arrow pushing stuff in ochem always seemed a tad arbitrary to me compared to the relative concreteness of physics and calculus.

Also, just so I'm on topic, a D in calculus is not great but doesn't preclude you from getting into medical school... yet. As long as you do well in the other science courses, you are still on track.

 

[Little Etoile]

If it helps, my best friend failed calculus in college and she is now getting set to start her last year at Keck. She just received honors in surgery.

Just dust yourself off, learn from your mistakes and do better next time. 🙂

 

[Dial71]

Don't let these haters get you down.

Everyone makes mistakes, and a single course won't drag you down.

Just don't let it phase you. Put on your game face and charge past this; don't lose your confidence. That will harm you more than any poor grade.

 

[searun]

I was just kidding you about law school. Sure you still have a shot. As they say, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. And she has not sung for you yet. So keep going. Good luck.

 

[bcat85]

Calculus itself is not going to show up anywhere on the MCAT or in any basic science classes (you can usually opt to take physics with or without calculus and it still counts without).

BUT, I wouldn't worry about the grade itself so much as your abilities to learn and retain info. Conceptually, I find calc easier than o-chem. I know others will disagree. It is totally possible to not be great at math and go to med school. If you are awesome at science stuff in general and just have a mjor math block, you can still do it. But if you can't "get" first semester calculus, you are probably in trouble.

thoughts?

Mark me down. Look... I am terrible at math. I worked much harder than should be necessary to get a good grade in calc 1. Live with it, move on, and do well in the classes that matter.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Perhaps you could ride it off as goofing off during your freshman year and with significant improvement in your later years. (Note: I know you said you did work hard in calc, but adcoms have all seen those that once free of their parents, decide not to apply themselves fully, perhaps you could write off your calc experience as such.)