one pretty bad semester?

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tex24

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So you may have seen my other thread about withdrawing from organic chem I, and I apologize for blowing this forum up with that thread and this one about my mess ups this semester.

Now it's a little more complicated.

I realize that my physics grade can't be brought up as much as I originally thought. I'll try to make this simple without going into the many scenarios.

biochem major, sophomore, taking 16 credits (sciences are physics, ochem, microbio), 3.81 cumulative gpa from freshman year

So here how things are looking now....

physics - (C-)at worst, will probably get a (C), (C+) at best
physics lab - (A)
organic - likely a (C+), (B-) at best
organic lab - (C+)/(B-) not sure yet [POSSIBLY (B) IF I do very well on the final, but not sure due to weird grading]

When I say "at best" I am being reasonable. For physics, I could get a (B+) IF I got a 100% on the final, and orgo I could get a B IF I got a 100% on the final. I did not include these as they are very unlikely scenarios.

I feel as if these grades are not acceptable, so I've decided that I should probably withdraw from either physics (not lab since I have an A) or organic + lab.

Could I please get some opinions on this? My other classes (careers in medicine, music appreciation, microbiology, microbiology lab) I will have A's in. The ones listed above (minus physics lab) are my problem.

I'm meeting with my advisor tomorrow to discuss this, but would love to hear what yall have to say on here. The last way to withdraw is Friday.

Next year I'm taking genetics, analytical chem, biochem and electives. I am aware adding a class I withdraw from now will add to my workload next year significantly, but at the moment it may be my only option if I don't want to WRECK my gpa this semester. I will not make this mistake again and I am going to be changing my study habits etc significantly to prepare for the added workload.

I really appreciate it, yall have helped me a lot over the last couple of days.

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I guess I will throw in what I think, but take my advice lightly as I am only a freshman.

First and foremost, Organic is tough for everyone so don't be upset that you cant get an A as most people don't. Are you getting bad greades because the course work is too much?

I don't think it would be in your best interest to add Organic/Physics into your next semesters work load because if you think the semester is too much to handle, dropping it again won't look very good.

Another thing to mention is that one bad grade does not diminish your chances.

I apologize if my advice is not the best, but I hope I helped.
 
I guess I will throw in what I think, but take my advice lightly as I am only a freshman.

First and foremost, Organic is tough for everyone so don't be upset that you cant get an A as most people don't. Are you getting bad greades because the course work is too much?

I don't think it would be in your best interest to add Organic/Physics into your next semesters work load because if you think the semester is too much to handle, dropping it again won't look very good.

Another thing to mention is that one bad grade does not diminish your chances.

I apologize if my advice is not the best, but I hope I helped.
I dominated freshman science courses easily and got A's, and didn't change my mindset enough for my harder schedule sophomore year.

And it's not one bad grade, its possible C/C+'s in physics, organic, and organic lab
 
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bump before sleep. goodnight everyone
 
I know its tough, but try not to think too hard about the implications of these grades right now. I was in the same situation when I was a sophomore and ended up getting all B's. It sucked and dropped my GPA but I recovered and it was a wake up call. As long as you try your best and don't let the pressure get to you, you will be fine.
 
Maybe use summer classes to take some of the non-pre recs. Doing so would lighten the load in the coming semesters if you decided to drop a course. I myself took achem and lab over the summer between my 2nd and 3rd year. I understand summer classes can be costly but it's something to think about.

If you do decide to tough it out make sure you improve in the subsequent ochem and phys courses!

Lastly, will dropping ochem put you a year behind since you will likely not be eligible to take the second semester of ochem? Many of my 3rd year biochem courses also had both semesters of ochem as prerecs. As Solo said, make sure you look at the big picture. Good luck.
 
there won't be a 100% correct answer with the grades, but what is certain is that you should go get written documentation from your healthcare provider if it is a physical ailment causing this. Don't delay on this.

As for the grades, I'd probably recommend withdrawing from 1 class IF YOU HAVE NEVER WITHDRAWN, and then try and minimize damage in the other. If you have already withdrawn from a class, then don't do this.
 
Withdraw if you think you can reduce the damage but ONLY if when you retake them you can get at least a B. Otherwise it will be kind of hard to explain later. If you know how to improve, withdraw and retake them. If you have no idea take the scores you get and possible retake them later if need be, although AMCAS counts everything( no grade replacement) so this will just give your GPA a small push upward. Withdraws beats Cs hands down. People don't get rejected because of Ws, they get rejected because they can not justify why they had to withdraw and failed to show improvement. If you withdraw you better improve and know why you screwed up the first time.
 
So I withdrew from physics lecture only, and am taking it again next semester, which will help save my jr year from being a nightmare

Will keep my A in physics lab

Will hopefully score well on my ochem finals and get a B- in both lecture and lab, maybe better in lab

Thanks everyone
 
Man... From what I understand, you guys from the States are so lucky, you can just withdraw from a course if you're not doing that great and it won't affect whether you get accepted or not.

I don't if it's like this in the US, but in Canada (most of it, I believe), if we withdraw a class, our chances of being accepted are nearly impossible. Our GPA will be changed when we retake the course, but our GPA isn't actually THAT important. They check how much we did compared to the other students in every class ever taken. So, withdrawing means you failed a class and it's permanently there.

Anyways, you made a good decision. You'll be able to concentrate on not as many courses.
 
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