Overcoming setbacks?

[chemdoctor]

How do y’all overcome setbacks? Two years ago I took Orgo for the first time. In six weeks over the summer.

Didn’t do well. Had to withdraw retook in the fall for a C. Pulled a C in Orgo II as well. Went through a bad semester.

Really disappointed and frustrated with my grades. Really mad at myself. How do I overcome it? Did y’all ever blame yourselves? It’s my fault that I messed up. My GPA suffered because of it and it sucks. I keep fantasizing about if I had just done well, then I wouldn’t have the bad grades on my transcript.

@jm192 @LizzyM

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[psychgirl95]

You just have to keep keeping on, I guess. (After having officially lost my 4.0 today after nearly 90 credit hours, this applies to myself as well. I’m not particularly happy about it. )

If your goal is to become a doctor, then focus on that; use it as motivation to do better in the rest of your classes and on the MCAT. You’re human, and you may have stuff going on in your life that affected your performances. Give yourself a break and just do the best you can. If that means getting a B instead of an A, oh well. At least you’ll be done with the class (and one step closer to graduating).

For what it’s worth, I have a ton of withdrawals because of medical issues, surgeries, procedures, etc... So I don’t think your one (presumably?) W will be a huge deal.

 

[chemdoctor]

But I messed up. And I went from a W to a C. Had a really bad semester. Got a D in Bio and retook it for a B

 

[candbgirl]

You can’t change the past. Learn from your mistakes and move on. If you have to blame someone of course it would be you but what’s the point? Was the bio after the orgo? Have you figured stuff out now? Are you doing well and setting an upward trend in your grades? Only you can control what’s happening. Oh and don’t do a course like orgo in the summer.

 

[chemdoctor]

You can’t change the past. Learn from your mistakes and move on. If you have to blame someone of course it would be you but what’s the point? Was the bio after the orgo? Have you figured stuff out now? Are you doing well and setting an upward trend in your grades? Only you can control what’s happening. Oh and don’t do a course like orgo in the summer.

Yeah a bit of an upwards trend. Just mad at myself

 

[jm192]

I got a C in a 5 hour math course my freshman year. I had to withdraw from Gen Chem 1. That was all semester 1.
Second semester I decided I was going to really commit to it. It was my job. Get up go, go to class. After class go study, do homework, etc. I went office hours 2-3 times a week to clarify things I didn't understand perfectly. I skipped group things with my friends. I stopped prioritizing the social part of college.

Med school IS full time job. All the focus is on getting in. But you've got to operate in a way that will carry over into medical school. Anyone can master anything if you spend enough time on it.

 

[chemdoctor]

I got a C in a 5 hour math course my freshman year. I had to withdraw from Gen Chem 1. That was all semester 1.
Second semester I decided I was going to really commit to it. It was my job. Get up go, go to class. After class go study, do homework, etc. I went office hours 2-3 times a week to clarify things I didn't understand perfectly. I skipped group things with my friends. I stopped prioritizing the social part of college.

Med school IS full time job. All the focus is on getting in. But you've got to operate in a way that will carry over into medical school. Anyone can master anything if you spend enough time on it.

Yeah. Idk if I can do that. Leaning towards PA now sigh

 

[chemdoctor]

@jm192 like how do I forgive myself and move on? I messed up. It’s on me. But I just blame myself. Not sure what to do

 

[wb100]

I got two C's for ochem (quarter) then went to B- my last quarter. C in biochem then B in second quarter. Not really great upward trends.

Move past it and ace future upper div courses. I got in this cycle despite these C's and B's on my transcript.

 

[chemdoctor]

I got two C's for ochem (quarter) then went to B- my last quarter. C in biochem then B in second quarter. Not really great upward trends.

Move past it and ace future upper div courses. I got in this cycle despite these C's and B's on my transcript.

It’s realy hard to move on. Struggled in Orgo and Biochem. Doing well in other upper divisions tho. Isn’t it demoralizing for you?

 

[wb100]

It’s realy hard to move on. Struggled in Orgo and Biochem. Doing well in other upper divisions tho. Isn’t it demoralizing for you?

I struggled as well. It sucked like hell but I took it as a learning opportunity. Make sure to change your habits so those grades don't repeat. In my head giving up wasn't an option because I was confident in my decision to pursue medicine. You're going to need that in you if you want to succeed the rest of undergrad and especially in medicine. You're your biggest supporter but can also be your worst critic, so don't dwell and move forward!

 

[chemdoctor]

I struggled as well. It sucked like hell but I took it as a learning opportunity. Make sure to change your habits so those grades don't repeat. In my head giving up wasn't an option because I was confident in my decision to pursue medicine. You're going to need that in you if you want to succeed the rest of undergrad and especially in medicine. You're your biggest supporter but can also be your worst critic, so don't dwell and move forward!

Wow. Yeah you’re absolutely right. I mean, I think with my stats I should at least be able to get an interview from a DO school. Better than not being a physician. Trying to learn.

It’s just that I think to myself “man if only I had done this”/“if only I had done that” etc. and it hurts

 

[jm192]

@jm192 like how do I forgive myself and move on? I messed up. It’s on me. But I just blame myself. Not sure what to do

Dude, who cares.

You made a mistake. You're going to make a lot more. You may make a mistake that kills somebody. If you can't let it go now--how are you then?

 

[Rachapkis]

Of course, it is important to learn from your mistakes so that you don’t repeat them. However, you should not beat yourself up over the past. Analyze what happened in order to improve and stick with your improvement plan. What went wrong? Did you fail to put in the effort? If so, the solution is easy: try harder. If not, talk with you professors and/or students who are doing well to identify possible changes to your approach. Very few people are naturals. You too can become an expert if you put in the effort and modify your approach when it doesn’t work. Good luck!

 

[deleted967981]

Plenty of us got into Med school with Cs, Ds, Fs, and Ws on our record. Most of those are from a bad semester or bad year where we simply struggled to recover, or were dealing with something personal that hurt us along the way.

I’ve played the “what if” game a lot, especially since I took a 15 year gap in my college education. I always made good grades easily, but I really shot myself in the foot my first year of college, because of personal issues. Looking back now after receiving an acceptance, I know that beating myself up over a bad semester or a bad grade was pointless and dangerous for my future.

It’s fine to feel like you could have done better. It’s not fine to feel hopeless and give up on yourself and continually beat yourself down over a bad grade. If you can’t find the mental state where you learn from your mistakes and move on, it’s time to seek counseling.

 

[chemdoctor]

Dude, who cares.

You made a mistake. You're going to make a lot more. You may make a mistake that kills somebody. If you can't let it go now--how are you then?

How do you handle the stress and anxiety? I messed up. And retaking a class and not getting an A the second time is a red flag to med schools

So sometimes I think, maybe I just don’t have it in me. I feel like I’m fuc*** for MD schools too

 

[jm192]

How do you handle the stress and anxiety? I messed up. And retaking a class and not getting an A the second time is a red flag to med schools

So sometimes I think, maybe I just don’t have it in me. I feel like I’m fuc*** for MD schools too

I think you have to do everything 100%.

When you’re studying you have to be 100% committed to studying.

When you are relaxing and decompressing, you have to be committed to that.

Apply DO. I did. If not for a last-minute acceptance to an in-state MD school, I would be a DO today.

If you want to be a doctor, apply DO.

 

[jm192]

How do you handle the stress and anxiety? I messed up. And retaking a class and not getting an A the second time is a red flag to med schools

So sometimes I think, maybe I just don’t have it in me. I feel like I’m fuc*** for MD schools too

Also, you may need to see a physician if classes are giving you that bad of the anxiety.

I forget the numbers, but I think med school is like 28 to 30 credit hours a semester compared to 16 to 18 for college? It’s only going to get more stressful from here.

 

[chemdoctor]

I think you have to do everything 100%.

When you’re studying you have to be 100% committed to studying.

When you are relaxing and decompressing, you have to be committed to that.

Apply DO. I did. If not for a last-minute acceptance to an in-state MD school, I would be a DO today.

If you want to be a doctor, apply DO.

Yeah. It’s just for me, there are several classes here and there that really mess me up. I do well in everything else tho.

Definitely going to be applying MD and DO. Hopefully I should be OK for MD too. What do you think? I’ll definitely try relaxing more man. Thanks

 

[chemdoctor]

Also, you may need to see a physician if classes are giving you that bad of the anxiety.

I forget the numbers, but I think med school is like 28 to 30 credit hours a semester compared to 16 to 18 for college? It’s only going to get more stressful from here.

I know man. Med school is like 30 credits of upper division. I need to find a way to beat my anxiety. How did you do it! Did you ever have test anxiety?

 

[LongLiveThanos]

Just a side note. When you're writing secondaries about overcoming hardships, don't use this example. Plenty of pre-meds have been in your situation and it's more mentally relaxing when you're not thinking about grades all the time.

 

[deleted889094]

If "success" can have 2 C's, why can't you?