Need some advice on pre-med path, grades, future plans; sophmore

[LimeInTheCocunt]

Hey guys,
Long time reader, first time poster here.

I'm currently a sophomore at Northwestern. I am on the pre-med track, but as of late, I'm doubting myself, experiencing what I think is depression, mostly caused by the fear of bad grades and disappointing my family and all.

Grades(Freshman Year):
Bio C
Chem B+
Calculus I B+
Spanish B

Bio C+
Chem A-
Calculus II A-
Spanish A

I picked it up second semester, but Bio got me again. I feel like I worked hard, but the class was extremely hard for me. It was a typical weed out class, but nonetheless I just couldn't do well on the exams. So, now I'm a sophomore, taking Orgo, Physics, Intro to Psychology and an elective requirement. I just can't concentrate anymore and feel like I'm gonna
get a C in Orgo just like Bio(Got a C+ on first exam for Orgo, A- for physics).


So far, I haven't been able to find research or any sort of internship work. I have been volunteering since start of freshman year and have shadowed a gen physician last summer.

How do I get through this rough patch? I feel like I'm just not "happy" for some reason. Even when I hang out with friends or watch sports on weekends, I'm still scared about whats going to happen in terms of grades and all. I mean its comes down to the point where I think of what it would be like if I wasn't pre-med? I mean I still want to be in pre-health(Med school/Dental School etc), but I don't whats going wrong in the thought process.

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[Richardh]

getting assistance/tutoring with bio (next time) and organic chemistry might be a good idea also i would recommend you not to multi-task and also take too many credits/course work during the school year. there should be a balance between academic life and social life

if you can drop out and take organic chemistry during the summer session i would strongly urge you to do so. i think if you focus solely on organic chemistry then you can handle the material.

 

[CoolWhipp]

Hey guys,

...How do I get through this rough patch? I feel like I'm just not "happy" for some reason. Even when I hang out with friends or watch sports on weekends, I'm still scared about whats going to happen in terms of grades and all. I mean its comes down to the point where I think of what it would be like if I wasn't pre-med? I mean I still want to be in pre-health(Med school/Dental School etc), but I don't whats going wrong in the thought process.

First off, I wanted to let you know that all the people I've met from Northwestern were intelligent and well-rounded people, I don't doubt that the curriculum over there had something to do with it. I recommend taking an easy semester, it will make you feel better and give you a mental break for a good 4 months (which is a long time).

If you still have to ask yourself if you want to be a doctor, I recommend some shadowing experience. Or studying abroad, it seems like many of my friends had life changing epiphanys while visiting another country. One of my smartest friends whom went to a small village somewhere for a semester now does that after graduating. No idea how the loans are going to be paid off, but my friend couldn't be happier.

 

[enterthepanda]

Hey Lime,

I'm a senior at Northwestern, and I just wanted to say that taking Bio as a freshman couldn't have been easy - most freshmen just take Chem, and save Bio for sophomore year. Orgo can also be a pretty rough class (which professor do you have right now?), but it looks like you're working hard, so good job with that.

I think the other posters have good advice - take some sort of a break. If you're having a rough time with something, don't just keep doing it; stop and think about what's happening. Is it the course material? Is it the tests? You say you're worried about disappointing your family, but wouldn't they want you to be happy? Do you want to keep doing this even though it's causing you to suffer? Etc.

There are definitely people out there who can help you; try talking to some upperclassmen who were in similar situations, maybe they can give you some advice on how they made their decisions/what they did.

Good luck, and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[Ponger]

Bad grades aren't the end of the world

My grades in pre-req's:
Gen Chem: C+/B-
Orgo: B+/B
Phys: B+/A-
Bio:B/B-
Calc2: B
Eng:A/B+

Throw in a C+ in economic statistics for good measure.

I just had to be awesome in my other classes.... and EC's..... and life.

But seriously, realize that you may not be ready to handle pre-health yet. It only gets harder at every level. You may want to consider pursuing another major and coming back to pre-health when you're comfortable. The worst thing you can do is continue to make poor grades in science/core classes because you're head's not in it (yet).

 

[peripherin]

You improved from first semester to the second! It looks like you're learning. Don't worry too much, many people enter college not knowing how to study and learn it over the course of their four years there. What counts is that you're improving each semester. Baby steps!

Talk to your professors during office hours and ask about study tips, useful resources, etc. Learning HOW to study is just as important as what you're studying. Sometimes, just going in for help can help your professors think more positively of you.

Study with other people - just make sure you're studying and not goofing off. Sometimes, students can explain things to each other better than professors can.

Part of what makes biology tough is that people don't realize right away that it is ALL memorization. If you're having trouble reasoning stuff out, go in and ask your professors to explain it to you or consult a textbook. However, just knowing how/why something happens is the easy part and is not enough. You have to be able to explain it in bio-language and that means using the correct verbs to describe the actions, the correct names to describe the proteins/cells/etc, and be able to write out the pathways/mechanisms.

 

[JJMrK]

Moving to WAMC.