Postbac Result! HELP

[wantmd]

---

Members do not see this ad.

hey guys. I am in an ivy postbac program- structured program geared toward for people who has never taken core classes. ITs a two year program. I just completed my first semester... 3 or so more to go?! I don't think I did so well in the introductory biology (first one of the two) course. I think I'm walking away with a B or B-...

What does this mean? DO I need to give up the dream? 🙁

Thoughts and suggestions HUGELY appreciated!! thanks!

 

[gatewasani]

It's one class, I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet, and a B/B- is not the worst grade in the world.

I would say, you need to figure out what you were doing wrong and correct it ASAP in order to kill the next part.

For now tho, I would say relax, understand what mistakes you made and correct them.

 

[wantmd]

wow thanks for a VERY quick reply!

im afraid i took intro bio 1 and intro chem 1. both of which i didn't do too well... a ****ty semester i guess...

thanks for the advice.

any advice on taking good notes/study habits for science courses? lol rather NATURAL science courses hah

thanks again!

 

[bhung]

You can redeem yourself with an upward trend grade. Don't give up yet. Btw, what was your undergrad cgpa/sgpa. I'm also interested in a post bac. Thanks

 

[NewmansOwn]

If you only took two prereqs this semester and did poorly in both of them, you need a serious overhaul -- that really shouldn't have been too overwhelming.

Look over your tests carefully and figure out where the information tested in the question you got wrong came from. You may notice a trend, such as most of the questions coming from the textbook, or lectures, or review sessions, etc...Then, you'll know to focus on that medium for that lecturer in the future.

Also, as much as I support doing the least work possible to make the grade, there is really no substitute for hard work. If you want to have any chance at all of admission down the line, you need to work considerably more hours next semester until you've identified your weaknesses. Repetition, while not enjoyable, will serve you well in the postbac -- and it is the only answer in medical school.

 

[deleted248403]

If you only took two prereqs this semester and did poorly in both of them, you need a serious overhaul -- that really shouldn't have been too overwhelming.

Agreed with this.

One could understand if you had struggled in 1 of the pre-reqs (say chem for sake) and that chem was just not your thing. But you should have ace'd or at least done better than you did.

To put it in perspective, doing poorly in 2 of the pre-reqs is 25% of the total pre-reqs (2xorgo, 2xbio, 2xgenchem, 2xphys).

You'll need to step it up next semester, and if it doesn't go well - i think you'd have to ask yourself if a career in medicine is well-suited to you if you struggle with intro science classes as med school classes are infinitely harder than most upper level sci-classes which in turn are harder than intro sci classes.

Try finding people in the class who understand the material, seek out the TAs, spend hours fighting your way thru it. As Newmans said, there is no substitute for hardwork.

Good luck

 

[wantmd]

thanks guys. Yes... there is no replacing hard work. success is 95% hard work and 5% smarts... I never really had to work hard but i guess science courses are different. its less of understanding-figuring out but spending time to memorize and applying

anyways, i was wondering if just an upward trend is good enough or if i should retake the two intro courses i did mediocre in? I've notice some people who are in the special sciences retaking some intro classes...

thoughts?
Thanks!!

 

[deleted248403]

Special Sciences means you are at Penn - so hello fellow classmate.

I am an SSP student taking an intro science class but thats cos I AP'd out in my UGrad - not because I did poorly. I don't know any other SSP kids retaking an intro class because they did poorly. Some take it cos they AP'd out, or because they just happened to miss that class in their majors.

You ought to check Penn's restrictions on repeating a class. My UGrad would avg your old and ur new grade together (if the old was over a C+) and would replace it only if it was below C+.

Bio is a lot of memorizing but a lot of gen chem is math-based so its not just memorizing.

 

[Nuggles]

Special Sciences means you are at Penn - so hello fellow classmate.

I am an SSP student taking an intro science class but thats cos I AP'd out in my UGrad - not because I did poorly. I don't know any other SSP kids retaking an intro class because they did poorly. Some take it cos they AP'd out, or because they just happened to miss that class in their majors.

You ought to check Penn's restrictions on repeating a class. My UGrad would avg your old and ur new grade together (if the old was over a C+) and would replace it only if it was below C+.

Bio is a lot of memorizing but a lot of gen chem is math-based so its not just memorizing.

Really agree about gen chem, if you try to only memorize things without understanding WHY it's solved the way it is, you're going to get tripped up during Dr. P's exams. He pretty much designs his quizzes and exams to try to catch the rote memorizers in the class.. As for study methods, I've heard from second years in the program that you should just study almost exclusively off of Dr. P's notes (I'm doing this currently and it works for me). The textbook kind of screws you over by giving you a false sense of security; all of their problems pretty much have one-step solutions..

For Bio, memorization is a lot more important, but I think it's also important to understand how all the pieces fit together, e.g. if all of the K+ ions outside of a normal cell were removed, what effects would it have on the Na-K pumps (and why?), what if the K+ channel proteins were also removed? etc. Dr. Witmer really likes asking these "what if" questions, so it helps to have an understanding of how the different mechanisms work so you could answer them on her tests.

Good luck next quarter!

 

[wantmd]

very true guys. To answer one of your questions, i know a lot of special science kids... and a few of them are in the intro classes due to poor grades. I guess doing it at penn kind of subsidizes for their initial attempt?

I hear from others and some online sources that taking a course twice is acceptable but you'd better do awesome second time around, since you are taking it twice.

anyways, as far as Dr. P's class, i just didn't put in any effort. and always managed to get around the average, if not slight above.

As for Witmers class, the third and final was just too much.... too little time for too much stuff... so by rushing, i actually get flustered.

I should check it out, guess talk to an advisor about retaking a course. BUT i was wondering if you guys have heard if it is better to retake it and get a better average of the two? or a B/B- isn't that poor that i could subsidize it by doing well on an upper level per se?

thanks

 

[Nuggles]

Haha yea, her final/midterm combo was brutally long. Hopefully someone else here can answer your question about retaking

 

[ali20685]

very true guys. To answer one of your questions, i know a lot of special science kids... and a few of them are in the intro classes due to poor grades. I guess doing it at penn kind of subsidizes for their initial attempt?

I hear from others and some online sources that taking a course twice is acceptable but you'd better do awesome second time around, since you are taking it twice.

anyways, as far as Dr. P's class, i just didn't put in any effort. and always managed to get around the average, if not slight above.

As for Witmers class, the third and final was just too much.... too little time for too much stuff... so by rushing, i actually get flustered.




I should check it out, guess talk to an advisor about retaking a course. BUT i was wondering if you guys have heard if it is better to retake it and get a better average of the two? or a B/B- isn't that poor that i could subsidize it by doing well on an upper level per se?

thanks

I would not worry about retaking these pre reqs. Witmer, who I have talked to a couple of times, seemed to think that if you received a b or better in the class then you were fine. From what I understand 102 with her is supposed to be less intense than the first semester was. I really think a lot of the first semester is to weed people out of the program. Plus, according to the lab instructor, 1/3 get As, 1/3 get Bs, and 1/3 get Cs in Witmer's classes, so I would be greatful that you are not in the last 1/3 of people. If you think about it, someone somewhere along the way has to get a b and/ or a c in this model. Dr. P also mentioned that according to the chem department guidelines 1/2 of his class has to get a C. According to the Penn website, they have a 96% rate for gaining acceptance to medical school. I guess it depends on your situation at the beginning of the program, i.e. good vs. average GPA. I would look ahead because you could have been in the C range of people. I could be wrong about not worrying about it, but these were my impressions from these classes. I think an upward trend would be good enough, unless you are very specific to certain medical schools. I personally will be happy getting into a medical school. Also, I would try to do really well on your MCAT in these areas to try to show that you do know the material. I hope this helps!! Sorry for the long reply!!

 

[wantmd]

according to the retaking policies at penn, it appears that if you have not failed it, retaking it means pretty much nothing- it appears on your transcript, but DOES NOT factor into the cum GPA. THus, retaking a course is strictly to show that you took it again, perhaps took it more seriously and you CAN get a better grade. This is so for people who has and wants to take the same course from Penn... so this excludes people who are doing special science who went to different undergraduate schools.

Also, I do think you're right however. I will talk to Witmer and see what her take is. but so long as i improve and stay above, first semester could be an excuse: getting used to the science courses.

Anyways, thanks for you input. PLus, I was planning on taking more than just the core requirements. Thus, these 2 courses mean a bit less than 25% of the GPA.

Thanks guys!

 

[deleted248403]

Yeah but its still 25% of your pre-reqs no matter how you shake it. Also want to think about how many science classes you plan on having your transcript before you apply.

I've never had Witmer but i've heard she is pretty approachable.

You are certainly not done and dusted, a good semester in the spring, and this semester won't matter as much. Two bad semesters....diff story....

Good luck