Post-Acceptance motivation

[jm192]

Anyone else just unable to find motivation to study after being accepted? I want to do well, but it's just not the same as before. The Library used to be my 2nd church, this semester I've been all of 3 times--one was just to watch the NCAA tournament online.

How are you guys keeping yourself motivated to study and do well?

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[metallica81788]

I'm also having an extremely difficult time staying focused. It's led to some not-so-great test scores, but whatever.

My studying situation isn't as nice as it was last year, so I think that is also contributing.

I just try and coast and when the test is coming up I try and really understand stuff and see if it works. Maybe if you're taking some classes that are relevant to med school you can motivate yourself to do better since it may be important eventually.

 

[mwalker394]

I simply cannot make myself do anything until the night before it needs to be done. I know it's probably not the best thing in the world, but I have rationalized it well with the following logic:
1) We have worked ridiculously hard for (at least) the past 7 semesters.
2) We sacrificed: relationships, our health, sleep, sanity, etc. to get to this point.
3) We are about to want to KILL ourselves in just a few months.
4) For the first time in our college careers, we don't HAVE to get A's (though it'd still be nice...).

I think we deserve a break!

 

[girlofgrace7]

I laughed when I saw this forum. I have mixed feelings now that I'm accepted. On one hand, it renewed my motivation a little bit because I was beginning to get discouraged and worrying that I would have to reapply next year. On the other hand, I'm procrastinating like crazy and studying as little as possible (not difficult with no science classes this semester). I feel like I just want to spend my time doing the little things I need to do in order to start medical school (filling out scholarships, finding housing, etc.). I think it's a better use of my time.

 

[Ischemic]

Anyone else just unable to find motivation to study after being accepted? I want to do well, but it's just not the same as before. The Library used to be my 2nd church, this semester I've been all of 3 times--one was just to watch the NCAA tournament online.

How are you guys keeping yourself motivated to study and do well?

How about that schools will rescind offers if you **** up?? Not saying you will but... food for thought.

 

[Hoody]

think how much motivation you'll have after you match but before you graduate.

 

[VOP]

Shouldn't really be much motivation. Do well enough to not get kicked...relax and enjoy the limited stress free time.

 

[FrazzleSnazzle]

Heh, this thread describes my life pretty much down to a T right now. Senioritis is a very ugly disease indeed.

Of course, I'm also on a bunch of waitlists to schools that I really really like so I guess that has at least been giving me some motivation to still put in enough effort to crawl past this final semester.

 

[CdnHopeful]

How about that schools will rescind offers if you **** up?? Not saying you will but... food for thought.

How many schools strictly enforce this?? Have you heard of ppl getting rescinded because of bad senior year grades? Not failing, but a few Ds?

Just wondering cuz I'm slacking too.

 

[ziggydoc]

I'm working in a research lab but ever since I got accepted I haven't had the same motivation to do the work lol. I can't wait to stop working because I have some awesome traveling planned before med school starts.

 

[violincuty]

How about that schools will rescind offers if you **** up?? Not saying you will but... food for thought.

That's funny that you say that. I was having a similar issue (spending more time researching options, summer opportunities, planning revisits, etc.) than doing school work and it's starting to take it's toll. However, I received an acceptance letter in the mail last week that discussed rescinding my offer if I did not maintain a certain GPA, and all of a sudden 2 papers got written that afternoon!

 

[Ischemic]

How many schools strictly enforce this?? Have you heard of ppl getting rescinded because of bad senior year grades? Not failing, but a few Ds?

Just wondering cuz I'm slacking too.

I think all schools have some sort of policy that addresses this issue but I personally only heard of Georgetown rescinding offers to kids that slacked off and bombed their senior year. There could be other schools but I haven't heard any stories.

 

[Narmerguy]

I imagine straight B's and C's shouldn't be that hard to manage. Personally I'm pretty sure straight B's wouldn't be hard at all. The difference in effort between a B and an A is pretty substantial.

 

[Jihad]

Haha excellent thread!!! I am in the same boat and, because of all the gunners in my major, I was wondering if I was the only one feeling this way. For once in my life, I'm scoring around the average on all my tests simply because I study like the night before. I skip all my morning lectures and sometimes afternoon ones if I don't want to go. It is like a surreal world because I'm actually taking some pretty difficult science courses just bc they sounded interesting and when everyone else in the class is complaining about the difficulty and their bad grades I just laugh inside.

My goal is to get B's, but when I screw up I simply don't care. I bombed a test ( low C) and walked out of the test laughing hysterically and texting all my friends because I had never done it before. I know I will be able to snap into shape starting in med school though because the same thing happened during senior year of high school.

Its true though. Its soooo easy to get C's and even B's. I never rly recognized this until this semester. I now know how some of my friends coasted through without much work and still didn't fail out. I honestly think you have earned the right to enjoy yourself this semester. Some people/med schools claim that this reflects negatively on your character. But honestly, that is a load of crap. You have already proven your worth/potential and realistically you could simply not take any classes this semester and be equally prepared for the coming year.

To all those in my boat, I wouldn't worry about revokation of acceptances. Just shoot for B's or C's and do all the things you couldn't do for the past 4 years! Enjoy life, that's what its for.

 

[CdnHopeful]

You think one D would screw you over hard in your final year??? lol, i'm leaning towards a few Bs, 1 D and rest A+

 

[Superman DO]

Oh my, how this thread is so relevant! I am still working full time while finishing up my degree, and at this point, I am just sooooo burnt out. I really just do not care about even learning in my classes anymore, and I am just memorizing for the sake of at least passing the test. I just need a break from school and work just so I can have a chance to finally enjoy life for a bit. . .yay for summer break in 8 weeks! Luckily, I saved all my pass/no pass options for this last quarter, soooo three out of my four classes are being used with this option and the stress level is definitely low key. Come August though, I'll be back into kick ass mode again =)

 

[bonsaitree1]

found my motivation to drop only a bit! i guess you develop your work habits from working hard over the past few years, so it's just natural to continue working. but at least you won't feel bad or worry if you do poorly.

 

[Hifey]

I got my first acceptance about a week before finals during fall quarter so I needed to get to hard work not to slack off. Winter quarter, I stopped paying attention in class. So much so that I might as well have not been there. The only thing that kept me working hard was that I was taking my upper div major's classes which were kind of intense and the classes were very small. I discovered that the difference between an A and a B for me is paying attention in class and about three days of studying.

This quarter I'm taking two upper div bio labs so its forcing me to keep on top the material and an easy soc of sex class thats just for pure comedy. I also added on more volunteer work. I want to relax but I get bored very easily.

 

[metallica81788]

Haha excellent thread!!! I am in the same boat and, because of all the gunners in my major, I was wondering if I was the only one feeling this way. For once in my life, I'm scoring around the average on all my tests simply because I study like the night before. I skip all my morning lectures and sometimes afternoon ones if I don't want to go. It is like a surreal world because I'm actually taking some pretty difficult science courses just bc they sounded interesting and when everyone else in the class is complaining about the difficulty and their bad grades I just laugh inside.

My goal is to get B's, but when I screw up I simply don't care. I bombed a test ( low C) and walked out of the test laughing hysterically and texting all my friends because I had never done it before. I know I will be able to snap into shape starting in med school though because the same thing happened during senior year of high school.

Its true though. Its soooo easy to get C's and even B's. I never rly recognized this until this semester. I now know how some of my friends coasted through without much work and still didn't fail out. I honestly think you have earned the right to enjoy yourself this semester. Some people/med schools claim that this reflects negatively on your character. But honestly, that is a load of crap. You have already proven your worth/potential and realistically you could simply not take any classes this semester and be equally prepared for the coming year.

To all those in my boat, I wouldn't worry about revokation of acceptances. Just shoot for B's or C's and do all the things you couldn't do for the past 4 years! Enjoy life, that's what its for.

I agree with the bolded.

It's very interesting looking at grades from the "I don't care" point of view now. You realize how much effort you originally had to put into every A and notice how much less you put in for a B or C.

 

[WTF is Juice]

You think one D would screw you over hard in your final year??? lol, i'm leaning towards a few Bs, 1 D and rest A+

I'm in a similar boat. I saved a chunk of my school's general education requirements for senior year, the biggest pain in the ass being Italian 102. I know that sounds ******ed, but the class has an intense attendance policy, meets four days a week, and it's freakin' Italian - who cares?

So... I recently look my final in the class and it looks like my grade can be anywhere from a D to a C, depending on how hard the professor grades me. This brings me to my predicament: I'm currently sitting on 3 wait lists, so I do not know the schools' exact opinions on senior year grades. Also, this professor hates me with a passion, so I really can't expect any leniency. I previously told this professor that I needed a C in the course to graduate (learned about an hour after my final that I don't), but if a D will result in any potential acceptances being rescinded, I'm screwed anyways. And given how I felt after the final, I don't really think that an even C is in my future. And now, after this lengthy explanation, I come to my questions:

1) Am I just totally boned if I get a D in Italian 102? Last semester I got a split of B's and A's with the exception of a C+ in Italian 101 (I really hate this class). But this semester it's the only class I'm taking, so I don't have any buffers. That being said, a D would still not take my GPA below a 3.65, and it seems like some schools care more about the final GPA than the grade in any single class (especially Italian).

2) If a D really is armageddon (or has a solid chance to be), I can probably talk with my professor and get a C-. This of course begs the question of am I screwed with a C-? This professor really does seem to be gunning for me, so I might be able to appeal for a C, but that would be a lot of work, a lot of arguing, and unpredictable. Not to mention that she might give me a C- (she still thinks that would fail me), and if I'm safe with that, then I don't see any reason to piss her off with an appeal.

Any help would be much appreciated. From what I've read I feel like a C- might be the way to go because it's the easiest to get and this is Italian, but I'm just not sure.

 

[mcphung]

it's especially hard to care when you're still trying to study and the first thing out of everyone's mouth is: "WHY ARE YOU STRESSED OUT?!?! YOU ALREADY GOT IN!!! LET'S GET DRUNK!".......I've taken their advice more than once this quarter for sure lol

But then again, I think 3 years or so of busting my butt has earned me some vacation time (though I definitely had my fair share of party time in college before my acceptance )

 

[JokerMD]

i have absolutely no motivation to do anything aside from being with friends/family and enjoying the last three free months of my life...

 

[docelh]

Applying some common sense goes a long way here.

Take courses pass/fail. Take the easiest classes.

Done.