Question for upper classmen pre-meds

[JPSmyth]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am currently a sophomore but I'm in the position of a freshman, I didn't take any sciences my first year. I currently have a 3.8 overall GPA with a 4.0 sGPA, and an internship at a hospital in a research lab. I know I am headed in the right direction, but recently I have been really worried about my future. Last semester I took gen chem 1, molecular biology, and statistics. This semester I am taking gen chem 2, evolutionary biology, and calc 1. I am doing well in the classes and getting As so far, but it is definitely harder.

I am worried because I know that I am not really that bright. For example, I only got an 1830 on the SAT, while I know many other premeds got a 2200+. I feel like I have to put in more effort than other students, which has been working so far. But how much harder can it possibly get? Will I really be able to handle Orgo II and Physics? Or will there be a point when hard work just won't cut it and I need the brains. I'm afraid I don't have the intelligence and I will burn out eventually.

I want to ask upperclassmen / med students, how much harder does it get from here? if anybody else is in my situation, were you able to get through with a GPA above 3.7+?

 

[scruggs92]

In my opinion, OChem 1 was pretty easy, but OChem 2 definitely takes a lot studying. I am currently taking Physics 1 and it isn't too bad. For OChem and Physics make sure you buy the solutions manual with your textbooks because doing as many practice problems as possible is the best way to study for those classes. Good luck.

 

[DAPI]

In my opinion, OChem 1 was pretty easy, but OChem 2 definitely takes a lot studying. I am currently taking Physics 1 and it isn't too bad. For OChem and Physics make sure you buy the solutions manual with your textbooks because doing as many practice problems as possible is the best way to study for those classes. Good luck.

I wouldn't recommend this without consent from your professor as there have been way too many threads on here about people getting IA's after their professor found out they were using a solution manual.

As for how hard it gets, IMO, undgrad got easier over the years.

 

[MDwannabe09]

Of course classes get harder, but if you really care, you'll work harder! I know some people in my upper div. science classes, who just sit and don't take notes the entire lecture, barely study, and ace the tests. I'm not one of them, so I just put in the extra effort and time to study well and work hard. Your life probably won't get easier going into upper division classes, but not all of them are hard. I hated physics, but I still managed to get A's. It's all about the time you're willing to put in...

 

[eleveneleven]

I am currently a sophomore but I'm in the position of a freshman, I didn't take any sciences my first year. I currently have a 3.8 overall GPA with a 4.0 sGPA, and an internship at a hospital in a research lab. I know I am headed in the right direction, but recently I have been really worried about my future. Last semester I took gen chem 1, molecular biology, and statistics. This semester I am taking gen chem 2, evolutionary biology, and calc 1. I am doing well in the classes and getting As so far, but it is definitely harder.

I am worried because I know that I am not really that bright. For example, I only got an 1830 on the SAT, while I know many other premeds got a 2200+. I feel like I have to put in more effort than other students, which has been working so far. But how much harder can it possibly get? Will I really be able to handle Orgo II and Physics? Or will there be a point when hard work just won't cut it and I need the brains. I'm afraid I don't have the intelligence and I will burn out eventually.

I want to ask upperclassmen / med students, how much harder does it get from here? if anybody else is in my situation, were you able to get through with a GPA above 3.7+?

If anything is going to bring you down in the future, it's your current mindset. Sure, upper division courses are "harder" than lower division courses, but you have also eased into that and have ideally developed efficient and effective study skills required to succeed. In my opinion, there is no pre-med course where hard work "just won't cut it." If you are an effective studier, and do everything you can to succeed, you can pull off the grades you want. However, if you go into courses telling yourself that perhaps you "naturally" are inclined to fail, then it's very likely a self-fulfilling prophecy will emerge and you will do exactly that.

Imagine you get a poor grade on a test, for example. You have two possible responses:

1. You tell yourself that it's a result of your lower "natural" intelligence. As a result, you don't bother learning what went wrong or analyzing your study skills, but instead resign yourself to the fact that you're destined to fail. You then do poorly on the next test, and the next, and the next.

2. You figure out why you got a poor grade. You analyze your study skills. You adapt your methods to ensure that you don't repeat the mistakes. You work and review harder for the next test. You go to office hours and ask questions. You are constantly changing and improving your study skills and go on to score well on the next test after figuring out what went wrong.

Now, to me it seems like the person who responds with #2 is actually the one with "natural" intelligence.

 

[scruggs92]

I wouldn't recommend this without consent from your professor as there have been way too many threads on here about people getting IA's after their professor found out they were using a solution manual.

As for how hard it gets, IMO, undgrad got easier over the years.

Really?! My OChem teacher encouraged everyone to buy the solutions manual.You should ask your professor before buying them I guess.

 

[Geebeejay]

I am currently a sophomore but I'm in the position of a freshman, I didn't take any sciences my first year. I currently have a 3.8 overall GPA with a 4.0 sGPA, and an internship at a hospital in a research lab. I know I am headed in the right direction, but recently I have been really worried about my future. Last semester I took gen chem 1, molecular biology, and statistics. This semester I am taking gen chem 2, evolutionary biology, and calc 1. I am doing well in the classes and getting As so far, but it is definitely harder.

I am worried because I know that I am not really that bright. For example, I only got an 1830 on the SAT, while I know many other premeds got a 2200+. I feel like I have to put in more effort than other students, which has been working so far. But how much harder can it possibly get? Will I really be able to handle Orgo II and Physics? Or will there be a point when hard work just won't cut it and I need the brains. I'm afraid I don't have the intelligence and I will burn out eventually.

I want to ask upperclassmen / med students, how much harder does it get from here? if anybody else is in my situation, were you able to get through with a GPA above 3.7+?

They get harder, but with the right devotion you can do them. If you're doing fine so far in these classes (all A's), that is great and keep doing whatever it is you're doing. If you start dropping all your grades (a few B's is okay, but anything less), then maybe it's time to worry or change your study habits, but seem like you can handle it. There will always be people smarter than you, but once you realize that you can just worry about yourself and don't waste time, energy and pain comparing yourself to others.

 

[Mehd School]

I mean ... these classes generally comes down to who knows the material, obviously. You don't know the material by being smart. Physics and Organic Chemistry isn't inherent knowledge. It basically boils down to hard work. Sure, if you have a significant level of intelligence, it may come easier to you. However, you don't have to be Neils Bohr to get into medical school. I'd say I'm right at average intelligence, perhaps a touch above (wtf is intelligence anyway?), but I didn't learn how to work hard until my 2nd year of school.

I'm paying for that now. Don't do that.

 

[graduate2be]

Classes will get harder; however, if you put in the work, you'll be OK. This is an endurance race and you'll have to be on point but you'll get to where you want to go.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using SDN Mobile

 

[k2on3hru]

Comparing yourself to other people will only hold you back. Do the best that you can in every class and put in as much work as you need to for you to get the grade that you want. During my freshmen year I honestly didn't think how i would make it through the classes that I am taking now...but trust me, you get better at studying and learning the material. Also, forget about the SAT i know people that did great on the SAT and dropped out. YOU GOT IT MAN! Dont bring yourself down!

 

[Silverflash]

Hard work >>>>> intelligence. If you let yourself get bogged down in the "i'm not smart enough" mindset, then you WILL have to struggle to get by. There will always be people smarter than you; but if you put the time into it and work hard, you may even surpass the so-called geniuses.

As far as specific classes go, OChem sucks and will eat up your time. Be prepared to work very hard for what may seem like mediocre grades. But if you persevere, eventually it will just click, and everything is much easier from there. For the record, OChem didn't click with me until halfway through OChem 2, so if it takes a while, don't worry too much.

 

[Barcu]

It gets harder, but you don't know if you can do it until you try. You have done well in lower courses, there is no reason you can't do well in higher courses.

Seriously, every year, it seemed like I worked so much harder. But each year, I was able to rise to the occasion. Med school has been more of the same. It is unbelievable how much I work now. I never thought I could. But I do it, and I have been doing well. You really don't know how hard you can work or how smart you are until you are actually pushed.

Don't worry if other people seem smarter. Don't worry if you are smart or not. Just keep up the work, and you will see if you can make it. No point predicting failure without even trying.

 

[deleted407021]

I imagine that you are in a better position than most of your 'premed' peers, in regard to your growing ECs. Just like what you do and make connections between your scientific disciplines. That realy helps.

 

[jorgediaz]

This is a very inspirational thread. I can relate to you too OP - I had 1850 on my SAT's, so I never regarded myself as an exceptionally gifted person. I started college feeling exactly how you feel now, except I didn't do so hot my first semester and subsequently had more doubts about my own ability. I gradually realized that to succeed in college, you simply have to put in your best effort, and discover passion + interest in whatever classes you are taking.

I'm matriculating in August, but TBH, I still have doubts in regard to my ability to excel in an MD program. But I know that as long as I try hard enough, things will work out.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Honestly, a lot of it is studying smarter, not harder - but this comes with time. You'll get a feel (or professors will say outright) for what content you need to focus on, and as classes become more and more upper-level/specialized, it'll be easier to figure it out.

In what way do things seem harder? Gen Chem and Calc are for sure more basic classes that most people take, but that doesn't mean it takes any less time. In fact, it probably takes more because you have so many ways to practice what you learn instead, so you spend much more time doing that. You won't find much of this in upper-level courses.

 

[Jazzy G]

Honestly, a lot of it is studying smarter, not harder - but this comes with time. You'll get a feel (or professors will say outright) for what content you need to focus on, and as classes become more and more upper-level/specialized, it'll be easier to figure it out.

I agree with this 100%. Although the course material may be more difficult, your capacity to understand and effectively meet the demands of the class grows naturally with the completion of previous courses.
I'm sure if I went back and took Gen Chem 1 again I would do much better. Educational evolution.

 

[JBOB]

Don't base your intelligence level on your SAT. Like others on this thread, I knew people with very good SAT scores who failed out of college (two of them had perfect scores). I got a 1780 on my SAT and felt the way you do. Then I went to college, figured out better ways to study, maintained a high GPA, scored above the 99th percentile on my MCAT and got into medical school. You've been doing really well in college, you're smart. Keep it up and you'll be fine.

 

[galaxyx]

I wouldn't recommend this without consent from your professor as there have been way too many threads on here about people getting IA's after their professor found out they were using a solution manual.

As for how hard it gets, IMO, undgrad got easier over the years.

There was one person who got an IA for using cramster on graded homework which is not a published resource by the publisher available at the bookstore. If you're doing practice problems on your own, using the publishers student solutions manual, it's a completely different situation. If you can point out more than the 1 student who used cramster who got an IA please let me know, otherwise don't turn one incident using an unauthorized website into "lots of threads about people getting IAs for using solutions manuals"

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I felt like the classes got easier for two reasons:
-most upper level classes felt like more detailed reiterations of material I had already learned, so it was easy to apply the new details to the big picture I already had.
-I got way better at taking notes, reading, and studying.

 

[JPSmyth]

1. You tell yourself that it's a result of your lower "natural" intelligence. As a result, you don't bother learning what went wrong or analyzing your study skills, but instead resign yourself to the fact that you're destined to fail. You then do poorly on the next test, and the next, and the next.

2. You figure out why you got a poor grade. You analyze your study skills. You adapt your methods to ensure that you don't repeat the mistakes. You work and review harder for the next test. You go to office hours and ask questions. You are constantly changing and improving your study skills and go on to score well on the next test after figuring out what went wrong.

Now, to me it seems like the person who responds with #2 is actually the one with "natural" intelligence.

I haven't gotten below an A on a test yet, I was just worried about upper level classes since I heard orgo II takes 2 hours every day of studying just to keep up. thanks though everyone, I know i'll just have to keep adapting to the new courses, and study as much as it takes.

 

[touchpause13]

seriously SAT, ACT don't freakin matter at all. they are not worth basing ur intellegence on. case in point: my ex got a 33 on her ACT, right now she is working full time at the mall because she dropped out of college.

 

[EC156]

The process is meant to weed people out who have a similar mindset as you do right now. I'm sure a lot of people feel as if they work way harder than others do as well, including me. You'll do just fine.

 

[CyberMaxx]

I am worried because I know that I am not really that bright. QUOTE]

Try not to go down this road, the expectations we set for ourselves (and which others set for us) often turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you can make A's in the classes you've took thus far, you can makes A's in your classes until you graduate.

The upside to upper level courses is that you will have had time to build up your confidence and a solid transcript; and will be confident in the knowledge that the difference between an A and a B is the amount of hours spent studying and not simply being remarkably gifted.

 

[passionformed]

I am currently a sophomore but I'm in the position of a freshman, I didn't take any sciences my first year. I currently have a 3.8 overall GPA with a 4.0 sGPA, and an internship at a hospital in a research lab. I know I am headed in the right direction, but recently I have been really worried about my future. Last semester I took gen chem 1, molecular biology, and statistics. This semester I am taking gen chem 2, evolutionary biology, and calc 1. I am doing well in the classes and getting As so far, but it is definitely harder.

I am worried because I know that I am not really that bright. For example, I only got an 1830 on the SAT, while I know many other premeds got a 2200+. I feel like I have to put in more effort than other students, which has been working so far. But how much harder can it possibly get? Will I really be able to handle Orgo II and Physics? Or will there be a point when hard work just won't cut it and I need the brains. I'm afraid I don't have the intelligence and I will burn out eventually.

I want to ask upperclassmen / med students, how much harder does it get from here? if anybody else is in my situation, were you able to get through with a GPA above 3.7+?

Yeah I worried about the same thing, but honestly, once you take enough science classes you realize that brains will only get you so far. You need motivation and good study habits to make it. If you want to be scared of something, be scared of upper level physics courses. Even those, however, can be aced with enough hard work and dedication (can they??)

Plus, who said you don't have intellect? 1830 is a decent score. Most kids who get above that practice and study for the SAT. It is not difficult to do well.

 

[Aerus]

I'm not an upper classman, but I have taken a few classes with upper classmen. An important thing in doing well is confidence. If you walk into a room unsure of yourself, you're less likely to do well.

If you walk in with confidence in your ability and work ethic, you're setting yourself up for success and you'll be more likely to succeed! Don't let a single test dictate your ability and potential. You're more than what a number tries to say about you.

 

[Osteoth]

When the work gets tough the tough get workin'