is this semester doomed?

[EHCMD]

UPDATE: 11/10/10

hi guys...i'm back to stressing about this semester...no excuses this time...i'm just gonna tell it like it is...this is what i'm worried about...

somehow, on Election Day this year, I impulsively got myself elected SGA Representative/Publicity Officer of the new Science Club at my school!...that's great and all...i'm excited about it...

However, I need to apply for a scholarship by the 15th of this month, and the last day to drop a course with a W is the 18th!....so I'm struggling with what to do about my Microbiology course...

as i said below (in my previous post) I am taking Pre-Calc, A&P, and Microbiology on Tue/Thur...and I work 4 hours a day on Mon/Wed/Fri. I'm on track for an A in all of my classes except Microbiology. The best I can hope for in that class is a B...and that is with a LOT of extremely hard work in the next 4-5 weeks...so I'm struggling with this decision about whether or not to drop the Microbiology class.

I love the class, I love the professor, but I really feel as if I'm only studying to get a grade, and not really learning the material.

Do I settle for a B in a class that I haven't actually learned the material in, or do I drop it, take a W, and retake the class next semester and get an A

And as a non-traditional applicant...which would look worse on my transcript/application, a B or a W?

sorry, i'm just stressing about this and have to decide before next week.


What do you think?

What would you do?

initial post from early oct.------------------------------------------------------

hello...

i haven't read/posted to this forum lately cause i've been focusing on studying...but now I got a problem and figured i'd come seeking advice...so here goes...

this semester I am taking Pre-Calc, A&P, and Microbiology on Tues/Thur; I work 4 hours a day on Mon/Wed/Fri...I had a pretty good routine going until the month of Oct.

This month, I've been hit from all sort of life issues...relationship issues with my spouse, teenage issues with my son, and random drug related shooting in my driveway, and now...to top all that off...I've caught a cold!!!.

I am completely behind in my Pre-Calc homework...i just bombed the second lecture exam in A&P...and I'm just going to microbiology class to get my second exam back which I'm pretty sure I failed that too and then I'm leaving cause right now I feel like total crap!...

I was dead on course to get A's in all three of my classes this semester, and now it's starting to look like that's not going to happen, so I'm getting discouraged. Which is why i figured I'd come on here and vent...I don't know what else to do!... ???HELP!!

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[Richardh]

if i was in your sitatution, the best thing i would do will be to take time off from school and recuperate. it's not a good idea for you to force your way through school while many things are distracting you from doing well.

maintaining high gpa is one of the important things when you apply to med school so it's really best to take some time off and come back and do excellent intead of heading straight through all the chaos and hoping that things will get better.

get well soon!!! prioritize your health first then family and finally school

 

[opheracco]

if i was in your sitatution, the best thing i would do will be to take time off from school and recuperate. it's not a good idea for you to force your way through school while many things are distracting you from doing well.

maintaining high gpa is one of the important things when you apply to med school so it's really best to take some time off and come back and do excellent intead of heading straight through all the chaos and hoping that things will get better.

get well soon!!! prioritize your health first then family and finally school

I would NOT do this. I would find a way to get through. You do NOT want 3 W's on your transcript. I've spoken to people who know people who have matriculated and while you should have a good GPA, it doesn't have to be perfect. If I were you, I would choose my lowest credit course and let it 'fall on the grenade'. Study for A's in the other 2 and you can get an A or a B in the other one. IMO, precalc sucks, I didn't do that well either, but a single bad class probably won't ruin your GPA.

Of course, the best plan would be to try harder to the point of insanity and get those A's. After all, medical students probably have it as bad as your busiest semester during pre-med.

 

[EdLongshanks]

I would NOT do this. I would find a way to get through. You do NOT want 3 W's on your transcript. I've spoken to people who know people who have matriculated and while you should have a good GPA, it doesn't have to be perfect. If I were you, I would choose my lowest credit course and let it 'fall on the grenade'. Study for A's in the other 2 and you can get an A or a B in the other one. IMO, precalc sucks, I didn't do that well either, but a single bad class probably won't ruin your GPA.

Of course, the best plan would be to try harder to the point of insanity and get those A's. After all, medical students probably have it as bad as your busiest semester during pre-med.

Bad, bad, bad advice. The grades that matter are the ones that say "GPA" on them. I have several W's and haven't been asked about them yet.

 

[MCAT guy]

look at this like a college football season.

You want to be perfect. A, A, A, A, etc.

Things will go wrong, so you need to plan ahead for that. If your schedule is so tight that if you have "life issues" it causes you to bomb everything, then your schedule is overdone.

Remember, if you can't do very well in these pre-medical classes then medical school will be almost impossible.

SO... what has happened has happened, either drop the course or work through them BUT you need all A's the rest of the way. Imagine if you were in medical school and all of those issues occurred? You may fail everything and have to drop med school after investing 40k a year.

 

[MCAT guy]

Bad, bad, bad advice. The grades that matter are the ones that say "GPA" on them. I have several W's and haven't been asked about them yet.

I don't think a few W's are bad, I've had them and have had a lot of interviews.

BUT... W's in difficult courses that show up repeatedly? different story.

 

[EHCMD]

thanks to all for the responses and suggestions...

although I didn't read them until this past Mon., they were helpful and encouraging...

After I picked up my micro exam (which I didn't do great on, but didn't fail!), I went home and hit the sheets...with day-quil by day, and ny-quil at night, all i did until Mon. afternoon was SLEEP......
By Tues morning, I guess I caught my second wind......
I'm back on track and ready to successfully complete this semester

As for the suggestions, well I gravitated more to 'MCAT guy' and 'opheracco' 's suggestions...both of you are absolutely right...

so...for the next two weeks, all i will be doing is studying...

I need to do whatever it takes to get to my ultimate goal...which is medical school...

once again, thanks guys... all of you.

 

[Bernoull]

hello...

i haven't read/posted to this forum lately cause i've been focusing on studying...but now I got a problem and figured i'd come seeking advice...so here goes...

this semester I am taking Pre-Calc, A&P, and Microbiology on Tues/Thur; I work 4 hours a day on Mon/Wed/Fri...I had a pretty good routine going until the month of Oct.

This month, I've been hit from all sort of life issues...relationship issues with my spouse, teenage issues with my son, and I've caught a cold, and now...to top all that off...random drug related shooting in my driveway!!!.

I am completely behind in my Pre-Calc homework...i just bombed the second lecture exam in A&P...and I'm just going to microbiology class to get my second exam back which I'm pretty sure I failed that too and then I'm leaving cause right now I feel like total crap!...

I was dead on course to get A's in all three of my classes this semester, and now it's starting to look like that's not going to happen, so I'm getting discouraged. Which is why i figured I'd come on here and vent...I don't know what else to do!... ???HELP!!!

anyone got any advice?

Fixed ... u're welcome.

I'd say a shooting in my driveway tops a cold anyday... I hope no one got hurt..

Now to ur school concerns, I'll say try to triage the situation (u want to become a doctor anyway..) first assess ur performance... i have an excel file where I keep track of my current course performance and factor in future performance to get a sense of what I need to do to achieve my goals (A, B, C etc).. Once u have a clear sense of where u stand and what's attainable, now u need to prioritize ur efforts, make sure u don't fail anything, if u're getting a A- in PreCalc and C in A&P, put enough effort in A&P to bring that grade up... Put in extra work on nights/weekends if u need to...

If u have enough time between now and ur next exams, u can quickly practice pre-calc and own that b****! For math u just need to know a few principles and do tons of practice and u'll do great, therefore u could get this out of the way and focus on micro and A&P...

Goodluck!!

 

[EHCMD]

UPDATE: 11/10/10

hi guys...i'm back to stressing about this semester...no excuses this time...i'm just gonna tell it like it is...this is what i'm worried about...

somehow, on Election Day this year, I impulsively got myself elected SGA Representative/Publicity Officer of the new Science Club at my school!...that's great and all...i'm excited about it...

However, I need to apply for a scholarship by the 15th of this month, and the last day to drop a course with a W is the 18th!....so I'm struggling with what to do about my Microbiology course...

as i said below (in my previous post) I am taking Pre-Calc, A&P, and Microbiology on Tue/Thur...and I work 4 hours a day on Mon/Wed/Fri. I'm on track for an A in all of my classes except Microbiology. The best I can hope for in that class is a B...and that is with a LOT of extremely hard work in the next 4-5 weeks...so I'm struggling with this decision about whether or not to drop the Microbiology class.

I love the class, I love the professor, but I really feel as if I'm only studying to get a grade, and not really learning the material.

Do I settle for a B in a class that I haven't actually learned the material in, or do I drop it, take a W, and retake the class next semester and get an A

And as a non-traditional applicant...which would look worse on my transcript/application, a B or a W?

sorry, i'm just stressing about this and have to decide before next week.


What do you think?

What would you do?

initial post from early oct.------------------------------------------------------

hello...

i haven't read/posted to this forum lately cause i've been focusing on studying...but now I got a problem and figured i'd come seeking advice...so here goes...

this semester I am taking Pre-Calc, A&P, and Microbiology on Tues/Thur; I work 4 hours a day on Mon/Wed/Fri...I had a pretty good routine going until the month of Oct.

This month, I've been hit from all sort of life issues...relationship issues with my spouse, teenage issues with my son, and random drug related shooting in my driveway, and now...to top all that off...I've caught a cold!!!.

I am completely behind in my Pre-Calc homework...i just bombed the second lecture exam in A&P...and I'm just going to microbiology class to get my second exam back which I'm pretty sure I failed that too and then I'm leaving cause right now I feel like total crap!...

I was dead on course to get A's in all three of my classes this semester, and now it's starting to look like that's not going to happen, so I'm getting discouraged. Which is why i figured I'd come on here and vent...I don't know what else to do!... ???HELP!!

Updated/Bumped....