Is it possible to balance biochem with a social life?

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
C

cryhavoc

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2014
Messages
805
Reaction score
579
Members don't see this ad.
So my last semester of college is upcoming. I really think I should take biochem. It would finish up my chem minor I been accidentally building, and it would help if I ever want to retake the MCAT/prepare me for my first year of medical school.

But I've only been to three college parties in all my years of college, never had a girlfriend in college and barely hang out with people.

I'm am determined to join a club for fun, go to almost every party/friendly invite I am invited to, date a girl just for fun, etc.

But I am also determined to get an A in biochem. No matter what, I want to finish strong and show I can handle upper-level (1000) level science classes.

Is it possible to balance both? I plan to spend syllabus week getting a few chapters ahead and keeping that head start all semester.

What do you think? Can I cram the college experience into one semester and ace biochemistry?
 
It depends entirely on how sociable you feel you need to be and how much you are willing to put into the class when the time comes. I made an A in biochem and I spent time with friends on a weekly basis through a club sport and occasionally through a meet up. Honestly, I could have spent more time with them and been fine.
 
Depends on what else you're doing (classes, volunteering, working etc). I took slightly easier science classes (or with easier professors), but otherwise was working and volunteering and socializing as normal, and still got an A. You'll just need to keep to a schedule and stay focused while studying.
 
Okay, I think it will be vital that I determine exactly how to study for the class so I spend my time studying it the right way. I will have volunteering 6 hours a week and I do work ten hours a week at the school.

In addition to answering this thread's questions, anyone want to give me tips on how to study "smart" for biochem?
 
picard-facepalm.jpg
 
^^Haha I'm either too stupid for medical school because I think I can't balance it, or a nerd for putting my grades over my social life. Funny memes aside, actual advice is preferred over Star Trek.
 
You seriously don't think its possible to juggle ONE CLASS with a social life.

Most med students I know go out more than you do and handle a curriculum that is definitely less laid back than undergrad. Some honor too.

I think the real advice is that your study techniques, time management needs reviewing if you are sacrificing this many social events for studying when in college.
 
I am taking 15 credits almost every semester, volunteer, have a job, volunteer at a lab, and work out every day.

I figured since biochem is so hard, it might hurt my already floundering social life, especially since I want an A.

I am confident I can pass any class with minimum effort. Any. But no matter how much work I put into difficult science courses, even studying 60+ hours for one midterm, I plateau at a B+. I really want an A, but even with a rough idea of how to study properly, it will take a lot of effort. Hence my concern over wanting a social life this last semester.
 
The professor I am taking has a 1.8 on rate my professor with hundreds of people stating they studied 12-25+ hours a week and failed his exams. With each exam (of four) expecting the total memorization of roughly 700 slides with diagrams and formulas.. As much as 20% of an exam can be based on 1/700 slides. And it is cumulative. I'm very nervous.
 
The key is to become friends with people who are in biochem with you. Study together, party together. You will have the same class responsibilities as them so you can keep each other accountable. Instead of partying the weekend when there's a test on Monday, you guys will study together instead.
 
Hospitalized said:
The key is to become friends with people who are in biochem with you. Study together, party together. You will have the same class responsibilities as them so you can keep each other accountable. Instead of partying the weekend when there's a test on Monday, you guys will study together instead.
Click to expand...
This is the best idea, I should have seen it. When I meant "party" I meant get-together, which I should have clarified. I'm like the opposite of a "partier", I just want to socialize and make some friends. Have some get-togethers and hang out. But getting some like-minded students together to study would be a great idea as it would kill two birds with one stone.

Any tips? Just approach students sitting near me, or maybe ask the professor if I could post a request outside the classroom door or something?
 
15 credits isn't bad, I've always taken 18 😕, and worked 10-15 hours a week. Not to say you don't have it hard, just saying that it can be done. I take one night out of the week, Friday night, to hang out/go on dates with my SO, then I sleep in Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend studying.

Your biochem class sounds lame 🙁. Try to get as much help as possible from the prof, office hours, stay after class and ask questions. I've had similarly structured classes and staying in contact with the teacher and asking lots of questions in office hours helps.
 
cryhavoc said:
This is the best idea, I should have seen it. When I meant "party" I meant get-together, which I should have clarified. I'm like the opposite of a "partier", I just want to socialize and make some friends. Have some get-togethers and hang out. But getting some like-minded students together to study would be a great idea as it would kill two birds with one stone.

Any tips? Just approach students sitting near me, or maybe ask the professor if I could post a request outside the classroom door or something?
Click to expand...

It can be tough, but I think the best way to do it is to just sit right next to someone (like don't sit one chair away, sit in the chair next to them) on the first day and start talking to them right away about the class, expectations of teacher, etc. This kind of conversation generally tends to lead to study habits and so forth. You might have to move yourself around a bit in the first few weeks until you find people worth sitting next to.

It sounds like you aren't very social given you have only been to 3 parties in college and your last semester is coming up. I can relate, given I didn't do anything in my first two years of college. I really only started branching out this semester, and overall people are very welcoming. Just talk about your interests. There was this 40+ dude in my cell bio class who became friends with the hottest chick in the class. If he can do it with his smoker teeth/breath, you can do it.
 
What's the point of having a Chem minor? This seems really unnecessary to me. Just enjoy your last days of college. And why worry about getting a head start all the time? You'll learn everything that you'll need to in med school.
 
^I had a huge social life in high school. But going 100K in debt with one shot at medical school can dramatically shift your priorities.
 
I was unaware people had social lives in medical school . . .
 
Some people goof off in college and it costs them the rest of their life doing something they dislike. I think my social life in college is a fair price to pay to do what I want for the rest of my life. But I would like to sneak a little in at the very end to say I did it.
 
Mad Jack said:
If I can balance med school with a social life, you're certainly capable of managing biochem with one.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I started a new relationship halfway through MS3.

Was hanging out with someone in undergrad who took biochem as a P/F course in his last semester along with probably 12 other credits, hung out with this person a good chunk of that semester, watched the person write an undergrad thesis for real in under a week, and he still passed the course. Totally possible to keep that social life!
 
cryhavoc said:
Some people goof off in college and it costs them the rest of their life doing something they dislike. I think my social life in college is a fair price to pay to do what I want for the rest of my life. But I would like to sneak a little in at the very end to say I did it.
Click to expand...

Oooh man. There's a wide gap between goof off-and-fail to hermit where social life in undergrad exists. I get the sense that you're terrified of failing (and not getting into med school) and I have an inkling that that terror is just going to convert to terror about not getting a residency position of choice and the social life in med school isn't going to be any better without an attitude shift.
 
Nah, I probably want to be a psychiatrist, no terror about getting a residency (the fact no one wants to be a psychiatrist is part of my motivation to be one, I care a lot about the mentally ill and think a lot of physicians don't take their problems seriously enough).

I am terrified about not getting in though. I wouldn't give up, but having to spend another year on top of a gap year working some dead end job would be awful. Already mad I had to waste so much time learning useless stuff in undergrad and wish America's pre-med program was set up like in the UK, 6 years straight shot . . .
 
You seem like you take life too seriously. Stop being mad about gap years and undergrad classes and make the most out of life.

Personally, I would rather have a medical school classmate with a 3.6 and an easy-going personality than one with a 3.9 and the social maturity of a high schooler. We've seen it mentioned here many times that the former typically make better providers.
 
^I spend a couple of hours a week with troubled kids, an hour a week with the elderly, and almost four hours a week with often dying patients, often just talking with the upset ones when the nurse is busy and sometimes with the families. I've been doing this since my freshman year. I do not think the sort of social skills the average college student gets are appropriate for a hospital setting.

I want to socialize more, don't get me wrong, but purely for fun.

The condescending attitude most people have toward people with slow social lives (happens a lot to me) is completely off-base.

Just because you are more "laid back" and probably go drinking with your buddies more does not give you more developed social skills than me in a professional setting. I can handle hysterical patients, worried families, unstable children, homeless people, and the mentally ill with ease. And I ain't too bad with normal folks either. I don't think my social "development" is stunted. 😉
 
If you feel the need to ask this question, the answer is probably NO.
 
cryhavoc said:
Nah, I probably want to be a psychiatrist, no terror about getting a residency (the fact no one wants to be a psychiatrist is part of my motivation to be one, I care a lot about the mentally ill and think a lot of physicians don't take their problems seriously enough).
Click to expand...

Admirable that you would like to do psych now, but as a lot of MS4s know, many people find out they like different specialties than they thought they would in med school and sometimes those are ones which merit some pretty solid academic credentials (including high-end IM programs). Med school is not known for making anxiety about academics go away and if you already were willing to forgo a lot of social life in undergrad and aren't so happy with that situation, it's not likely your social life is going to get markedly better in med school when the time constraints are far higher.
 
cryhavoc said:
Just because you are more "laid back" and probably go drinking with your buddies more does not give you more developed social skills than me in a professional setting. 😉
Click to expand...

Yes it does. And as a bonus I function well in a professional setting in addition to a personal one. We all have ECs, jobs and such here.
 
So many pathetic attacks on OP's ability to manage his life properly on this thread.

I don't think there's a question of whether to take Biochem, as it is a new requirement for MCAT.

I don't know what your GPA is but DO school will probably always be an option, and psych is matched at DO schools no problem.
 
@cidem, I'm not five. I'm not going to argue you with about how much better you are than me at socializing. I feel I have the social skills to handle patients as I spent the last four years volunteering in a hospital actually interacting with patients. I can tell you're the kind of person who can't sleep at night unless you feel superior to everyone around you in some way. But I digress, that's a job for a therapist, not a psychiatrist.

And thanks alenlchs, but as a future psychiatrist I'm already prepared to be condescended to by other docs. My priority will be patients, not impressing them. 😛 As you asked, my GPA is 3.72 and my science GPA 3.48. I just had a string of weak grades in science classes, hence my desire to perform at an A in this last one.

The point of this was to discuss the experiences of others having biochem and a social life, not attacking me though.
 
Last edited:
cryhavoc said:
But I've only been to three college parties in all my years of college, never had a girlfriend in college and barely hang out with people.
Click to expand...

This is your issue. It's not about professional interactions; it's about being able to interact with your peers in school and eventually your co-workers in and out of work, as well as maintaining a personal life outside of school and work to keep you sane. This is a skill to be learned in undergrad that's as important as learning material, study skills, and getting high grades.
 
^If that was really your concern then I apologize for snapping at you, I thought you were trying to insinuate I couldn't be a competent doctor because of my slow social life.
 
What is a running rag? The only rags I know about has to do with the time of the month or magazines with fake stories.
 
OP, take the class and try to be as social as you are comfortable with.

I think people are hating on the OP a little more than necessary. 100K is a lot of debt to take on to pursue a premed course of study (I’m assuming OP studies bio or something similar). There aren’t a whole lot of opportunities post graduation that pay that well for the cost of a bio degree. Even launching a research career in today’s environment is tougher than it used to be.

I myself, as the son of immigrants and an immigrant myself, felt a pressure to make sure I succeeded (admitted this cycle) and to break into a profession that was respected, interesting, prestigious, and relatively well compensated. OP should be more social, but I understand where his concerns are coming from. I think its easier to enjoy the social aspects of college if you have something of a safety net (as much as can be had in today’s tumultuous economy). I hope OP is more social once he has made into med school, and I tend to think he will be.
 
^Thanks. I am one of the first people to go to college in my family and my parents cosigned my loans. If I can't afford them, they suffer. Hence my anxiety over getting into medical school. Once I get in I feel I can relax a bit (study just as much though but without the anxiety).'

It was always my choice to be a doctor, from the very beginning, and my parents stressed doing what I love, and that I don't have to be a doctor and they'd still love/support me. But they always sacrificed a lot of their lives to make sure we had food on the table and got every opportunity. I don't mind sacrificing a bit too to ensure I get in, especially since it is the only think I envision myself doing for the rest of my life.
 
Last edited:
If you don't have a social life, you don't have good mental health. Period.

If you don't have good mental health yourself, psychiatrists are going to eat you alive when applying for programs. Psychiatry is particularly known for sniffing out social awkwardness in their applicants when interviewing for residency.

Here's the crux of your problem though: You are expecting medicine to be your life's fulfillment. You have a 100k education at what I'm sure is a high-tier school and every activity you're doing involves something for your CV. What's the point? Are you having fun? Have you enjoyed college? You make it sound like the whole thing has been a chore. The liberal arts classes you take are going to be way more important to your future career than knowing a Diels-Alder reaction.

Being a physician is fulfilling and whatnot, but at the end of the day, it's just a job... and one that can seriously suck. So let's say you sacrifice your social life and then become an MD/DO... now what? Assuming you go the traditional route, you'll be ~30 when you finish residency. If your only focus is "medicine, medicine, medicine," you're going to develop some serious mental health issues and it's going to show in your performance, it's going to show in your relationships, and it's going to show in your happiness.

Before you put on the short white coat, I suggest figuring out what your life's purpose is OUTSIDE of the hippocratic professions.
 
I like writing as a hobby, not a career. I want to become a published fiction author, but under a pseudonym so it doesn't interfere with my work as a doctor (ex. people wanting to be my patient because I wrote their favorite book or something). Helping the mentally ill, and entertaining people sounds like a lot already, I know people with a lot less meaning in their life that get by just fine.
 
WingedOx said:
If you don't have a social life, you don't have good mental health. Period.

If you don't have good mental health yourself, psychiatrists are going to eat you alive when applying for programs. Psychiatry is particularly known for sniffing out social awkwardness in their applicants when interviewing for residency.

Here's the crux of your problem though: You are expecting medicine to be your life's fulfillment. You have a 100k education at what I'm sure is a high-tier school and every activity you're doing involves something for your CV. What's the point? Are you having fun? Have you enjoyed college? You make it sound like the whole thing has been a chore. The liberal arts classes you take are going to be way more important to your future career than knowing a Diels-Alder reaction.

Being a physician is fulfilling and whatnot, but at the end of the day, it's just a job... and one that can seriously suck. So let's say you sacrifice your social life and then become an MD/DO... now what? Assuming you go the traditional route, you'll be ~30 when you finish residency. If your only focus is "medicine, medicine, medicine," you're going to develop some serious mental health issues and it's going to show in your performance, it's going to show in your relationships, and it's going to show in your happiness.

Before you put on the short white coat, I suggest figuring out what your life's purpose is OUTSIDE of the hippocratic professions.
Click to expand...

This is probably the most amazing post I have read in pre-med.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Is it possible to send individual letters to certain schools only?
Replies
2
Views
551
kiwisun
kiwisun
D
Is it possible for an interview to properly address a weakness in secondaries?
Replies
4
Views
586
Goro
Goro
S
Is it possible to get into a med school with a pattern of academic failure?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Goro
Goro
E
Is it okay to quit my job?
Replies
4
Views
543
LunaOri
LunaOri
I
  • Locked
Is it worth it to attend a lower-ranked full p/f school?
Replies
6
Views
2K
IllinoisEnjoyer1
I
Top