Pre-Med bound for a bad freshman year of college, depressed, how to cope?

[Protagonistic]

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So this time, no, nothing about undergraduate, nothing about that stuff but basically my life.

I came into college with high expectations of making a 4.0 GPA, did I work super hard my first semester? Okay, I wasn't a bookworm. I took Sociology, History (rough professor), Chem 1, Pre-Calculus (didn't take it in high school, did good on the university placement exams so they put me in there), and English.

I made a C in chem 1, A in sociology, and B's on the rest of my classes. Ended up with around a 2.9 GPA.

Got put on probation for a scholarship I have for doing good my final two years of high school (graduated with a 3.4 at a supposedly difficult high school).

Well this semester I am taking chem 2, have decent on all of my tests, will probably pull a B in that class, will pull an A in two of my other classes (english 2 and PE, yes they make us take that). Unfortunately, I may be in danger of failing Calc 1, I aced my first test, did terrible 2nd time around, and my third test, well a lot of students say they failed it and I am sure I might have failed it too, can pull a C in that class at best.

Thing is, in my chem class it is only me and two other kids who are first year students. Most students are juniors or sophomores, we even have some post bac students in there. I feel that I really should have delayed taking chem my first year.

On the other hand my parents have faith in me and think I can make straight A's but I just don't know what it is. They want me to go to med school but I know that I may just be too dumb for it.

I am depressed over my performance, some days I pray that something seriously injures me or takes my life away, and I am really uncertain about what the future holds. I am a biochem major and I don't know what to do....

 

[th1nk]

On the other hand my parents have faith in me and think I can make straight A's but I just don't know what it is. They want me to go to med school but I know that I may just be too dumb for it.

I am depressed over my performance, some days I pray that something seriously injures me or takes my life away, and I am really uncertain about what the future holds. I am a biochem major and I don't know what to do....

Don't think like that my man, the opportunities for you to go to med school are infinite, and you will get there, don't worry.

 

[Torr]

This is going to get locked (again) before anyone can really help you on here. Why not speak with a counselor at your campus about these issues as well?

 

[ahyes]

If your struggling already, its going to be a LONG road

 

[Adaggiote]

How do you freakin' make a C in chem??? I'm just joking. Anway, I would recommend ratemyprofessor.com to allow you to choose your professor based on level of difficulty...

 

[th1nk]

Also, if you are seriously feeling the way that you described, I would recommend, 1st and foremost, talking to a friend, family member or even possibly a counselor at your school. There is no shame in feeling depressed, we all feel sad sometimes and sometimes we need someone to talk to.

Back to the academic difficulties that you are having, If you are really struggling, try this.

A) SMile, tell urself that you are smart and that you will go to medical school. (Half of success in school is having a stable mindset, you can't be pessimistic and sometimes you just have to have a short term memory)
B) In chemistry, because this is ur most impt. class and ur lowest grade, I would focus as much energy as possible on improving that grade. 1st do all the work that is assigned in the class and read your notes over and over frequently, keep urself updated with new material and keep urself sharp with old material. If you are struggling with any particular subtopic in Chem, go find a friendly looking upperclassmen or post-bac who is doing well in the class and ask them if they can help you study. Also, go see your professor and ask him questions about the text, and ask him where you can get tutoring.


*Overall, you need to remember to keep things into perspective, there have been millions of people who have gone to med school in history, and I can guarantee that many of them have struggled in the same way you have at some point in their college experience, so don't ever feel like all hope is lost, because all hope is never lost.

Work hard, work smart, smile and be happy.
for those of us who will be going to med schools, we need to keep in mind that this is a big time commitment and if we don't take the time to sit back, smile and be optimistic, time will just fly right by us.

Just remember me when you get that A on ur chem final. 🙂

 

[Protagonistic]

This is going to get locked (again) before anyone can really help you on here. Why not speak with a counselor at your campus about these issues as well?

ya thats the sad part, given the chance, a lot of users on here can be pretty helpful and I don't think anyone can really help me in real life, at least not a counselor

 

[Protagonistic]

If your struggling already, its going to be a LONG road

I won't doubt it............

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

On depression you might want to go talk to a psychologist. There's no shame in talking to one and it might do you some good. Basically you've got a rocky start, I personally had a similar start, I did mediocre in general chemistry and got Bs in classes I should have gotten A's in. But overall that's freshman year, you've got a long road ahead and you've got time to fix and learn how to be successful. I personally after freshman year ended started studying significantly harder ( Thanks operational conditioning hierarchy I guess) and realized that I need to optimize my study skills. And then boom.. since Freshman summer I've maintained straight As.

 

[Protagonistic]

On depression you might want to go talk to a psychologist. There's no shame in talking to one and it might do you some good. Basically you've got a rocky start, I personally had a similar start, I did mediocre in general chemistry and got Bs in classes I should have gotten A's in. But overall that's freshman year, you've got a long road ahead and you've got time to fix and learn how to be successful. I personally after freshman year ended started studying significantly harder ( Thanks operational conditioning hierarchy I guess) and realized that I need to optimize my study skills. And then boom.. since Freshman summer I've maintained straight As.

If I talk to a psychologist my parents will know, if they know they will really suspect it is my grades and then there will be a war at home.

I have studied, studied hard, have changed my habits but lots of bad luck. My English professor will be leaving in the middle of the semester so we had to turn our essays in earlier than a lot of other classes did.....

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

ya thats the sad part, given the chance, a lot of users on here can be pretty helpful and I don't think anyone can really help me in real life, at least not a counselor

I really wouldn't be so skeptical of the helpfulness of a counselor or even good peers in real life.

 

[Protagonistic]

I really wouldn't be so skeptical of the helpfulness of a counselor or even good peers in real life.

People in real life will tell me to switch my major.
Parents are heavily against that.

So yea, I have no options, I live at home and hint hint, I have Indian parents, possibly the last kind of parents I would wish to have.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If I talk to a psychologist my parents will know, if they know they will really suspect it is my grades and then there will be a war at home.

I have studied, studied hard, have changed my habits but lots of bad luck. My English professor will be leaving in the middle of the semester so we had to turn our essays in earlier than a lot of other classes did.....

Well there's a non-disclosure clause and most psychologists aren't really the insurance billing type. Most are actually pretty understanding. Also studying is good, but once you polish your study skills and learn better methods it'll be more energy and time effective. For example you can remember material better if you actively memorize versus simply re-reading the material in your head. If applied you could save a lot of time and energy and do better. Anyways really don't be so down over freshman year.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

People in real life will tell me to switch my major.
Parents are heavily against that.

So yea, I have no options, I live at home and hint hint, I have Indian parents, possibly the last kind of parents I would wish to have.

Well.. most parents aren't beyond the realm of reason and logic. If you're unhappy with your major, you could always bring up statistical evidence with states that {insert major} have a higher acceptance rate or mcat. At the same time I'm unless your parents are biochemists themselves and don't look through your classes won't know that you changed your major.

 

[BushidoBrown]

Why are you starting another one of these sob threads? From all the locked threads, I thought it would be obvious that SDN is in no position to help you with any of your first year college problems.

Please seek professional counseling/psychological help.

 

[Protagonistic]

I am wondering if there is like a way out, like a way I could leave college, come back, start all over again with better methods or something but when I get my grades after this semester they are going to be a drag.

Also I am not getting any help from anyone in real life, I do not know where to turn to at all.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I am wondering if there is like a way out, like a way I could leave college, come back, start all over again with better methods or something but when I get my grades after this semester they are going to be a drag.

Also I am not getting any help from anyone in real life, I do not know where to turn to at all.

Life has no restart button. But at the same time you're not in the most horrible position and don't really need one either. Continue to try your best and maybe attend a study skills workshop and pick up a few study skills. It'll all turn out alright. Point is you can always talk to a plethora of people, starting from religious/community leaders to good friends to trained specialists.
Alright.. I'm not sure but if you attend a university with a clinical or counseling psych program, you probably can receive counseling for free if you opt for one of the PhD students. This is the way I believe it works at a few universities I've seen, so it might work that way with yours.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

i didn't even read your post, but if you're continually struggling with pre-med life right now i'd say just forget about it for now. explore other interests. make friends, relationships, have fun, do well, and then come back to medicine later if it's still an interest. you're too young to worry yourself to death.

 

[ycf06]

On the other hand my parents have faith in me and think I can make straight A's but I just don't know what it is. They want me to go to med school but I know that I may just be too dumb for it.

Your parents want you to study medicine? or you want to? Maybe you should think about what you truly want to do before stressing out about getting in to a profession chosen by your parents.

 

[Protagonistic]

Your parents want you to study medicine? or you want to? Maybe you should think about what you truly want to do before stressing out about getting in to a profession chosen by your parents.

I really don't have a choice. I say I want to change majors, dad yells at me and says "WHAT!? YOU WANT TO STARVE BOY!? YOU WANT TO BE HOMELESS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!? GO TO MED SCHOOL SO YOU CAN LIVE LIFE".

You can't explain anything to him either since he is extremely close minded and thinks what he believes is fact. Will be very difficult for me to live on my own since I have no means to pay for myself, no jobs around in my area. I mean they keep pushing me into this profession and when I say no they bring up the past telling me how I slacked off in high school and how I will never amount to anything in life.........

 

[Caesar]

This thread has been reported by several members due to the statement by the OP about self-harm. SDN takes such statements seriously and we would like to remind the OP and all posters that SDN should not serve as a place to obtain counseling or other advice regarding significant psychological issues. Anyone who is contemplating harming themselves should immediately seek professional counseling advice, not rely on SDN or other non-professional resources.

At this time, given the nature of the thread and the concerns expressed, the moderation staff of SDN will close this thread.