Retake Physics 1 while taking Physics 2? And questions about burnout...

[PhiloslothicalStudent]

So, I am in a bit of a dilemma. I just received my final grade for Physics 1 and I received a C. I took physics as a post-bac student (I just graduated in August), and this was my first time taking a course with a full-time job sometimes exceeding 50 hours a week (Love that Emergency Medicine Life). I am also in the midst of the application cycle, which has greatly added to my stress over the semester. I would not be too concerned if this was my first C, but it's not as I made 3 C's in undergraduate (retook 2 of them).
So far this application cycle is not going well for me as I have already received 3 rejections out of the 7 schools I applied to. Should I just wait and see what happens the rest of the cycle before retaking physics 1? Or should I go ahead and re-take it while taking physics 2?

Also, has anyone else experienced severe burn out? Since January of this year I feel as I have lost my motivation. At the end of last year (Dec 2018), I was going so strong in my studies and was set to graduate with a 3.7+ gpa. When this year hit I crumbled. I lost all motivation and fire within me to continue trying my best, and my last semester gpa was a (2.7), the worst I had ever received. While my cumulative gpa still held relatively strong I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself. I felt exhausted all the time, and I have yet to bring myself out of this funk, and now the year is coming to a close. It's making me wonder if I do get into vet school-will I even be ready to handle it?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

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[Stroganoff]

The whole point of retaking a C is to hopefully get an A. It would suck to get a C again or just a B. Or a W. I wouldn't take Physics 1 and 2 concurrently + a full-time job + other stuff + burnout state. What if you succeed and get your A in P1 but then get a C in P2? Welp lol. My vote is to slow down and breathe and be good to yourself and see what happens with this app cycle, but I'll let the seasoned vetties really comment on that. My only real experience is taking on more than I can chew. It's a marathon. Just breathe. Your cum. GPA is probably decent if you do some repair work, but that's obviously just one piece of your entire application and what you bring to the table.

I vote just chill and focus on kicking P2's butt. I think it's tougher than P1, more abstract. More calculus if you're taking the hardcore P2. But either way, it's different. If you need to, you could maybe retake P1 during an 8-week summer session or something as long as you don't overload your plate.



Edit: And yeah...the way to cure burnout is to not keep doing things that contribute to burnout. Then you get like...Stage 3 burnout, which burrows deep into like nerve roots or something and recurs for life. Good luck. Relax.

 

[deleted676737]

I more or less agree with @Stroganoff regarding the physics retake, but I wanted to address this...

Also, has anyone else experienced severe burn out? Since January of this year I feel as I have lost my motivation. At the end of last year (Dec 2018), I was going so strong in my studies and was set to graduate with a 3.7+ gpa. When this year hit I crumbled. I lost all motivation and fire within me to continue trying my best, and my last semester gpa was a (2.7), the worst I had ever received. While my cumulative gpa still held relatively strong I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself. I felt exhausted all the time, and I have yet to bring myself out of this funk, and now the year is coming to a close. It's making me wonder if I do get into vet school-will I even be ready to handle it?

Not going to sugarcoat it: a significant downward trend in GPA is usually a bad sign. To vet schools, it might appear to them that you are either a) incapable of handling high-level/upper division science material, or b) you bit off more than you can chew and/or are starting to burn out (sounds like this is the more likely scenario in your case).

If you are already beginning to feel burnt out by the end of undergrad, then you will likely really burn out at the start of vet school. For most students, the jump in volume and pace of material from undergrad to vet school is a difficult one to make; if you’re already feeling super worn down going in, it can feel like a borderline impossible transition, and the last thing you want to have happen is to be forced to leave because you can’t hack it academically and then have a semester or more’s worth of vet school debt to contend with (been there, done that... I had a lot of mental health crises during vet school that caused my grades to suffer to the point that I was dismissed halfway through the program and I am currently trying to juggle $100k of debt with a $13/hr, 60+ hr/week job... it’s not fun).

I hate to be a downer, but if you are experiencing this much concern over your level of burnout and are having doubts that you can handle it based upon your recent grades, it might be wise to wait it out a year or two. Not saying that you shouldn’t try for vet school ever again, by any means, but it does sound like you’ve had a lot on your plate for a while and you are (absolutely understandably, I’ll add) growing exhausted. It may be a good idea to cut down somewhere in the very near future, be it by taking fewer classes, working a little less (if you can swing it financially), or even taking a gap year if you need it. Focus on yourself. Like I said, vet school has a nasty way of breaking down even the most enthusiastic and mentally/emotionally solid students sometimes; my fear is that if you attempt it already feeling severely burnt out, it might end disastrously like my own venture in vet school did.

ETA: Also, are you seeing a counselor or therapist, by chance? Feeling “in a funk” and not being able to focus on things, in tandem with a few other symptoms, can be the result of several conditions like high-functioning depression. If you have something like that, for the love of all that is holy, get help (whether that’s medication, therapy, life changes, or some combination of those) for it prior to vet school.

 

[PhiloslothicalStudent]

I more or less agree with @Stroganoff regarding the physics retake, but I wanted to address this...

Not going to sugarcoat it: a significant downward trend in GPA is usually a bad sign. To vet schools, it might appear to them that you are either a) incapable of handling high-level/upper division science material, or b) you bit off more than you can chew and/or are starting to burn out (sounds like this is the more likely scenario in your case).

If you are already beginning to feel burnt out by the end of undergrad, then you will likely really burn out at the start of vet school. For most students, the jump in volume and pace of material from undergrad to vet school is a difficult one to make; if you’re already feeling super worn down going in, it can feel like a borderline impossible transition, and the last thing you want to have happen is to be forced to leave because you can’t hack it academically and then have a semester or more’s worth of vet school debt to contend with (been there, done that... I had a lot of mental health crises during vet school that caused my grades to suffer to the point that I was dismissed halfway through the program and I am currently trying to juggle $100k of debt with a $13/hr, 60+ hr/week job... it’s not fun).

I hate to be a downer, but if you are experiencing this much concern over your level of burnout and are having doubts that you can handle it based upon your recent grades, it might be wise to wait it out a year or two. Not saying that you shouldn’t try for vet school ever again, by any means, but it does sound like you’ve had a lot on your plate for a while and you are (absolutely understandably, I’ll add) growing exhausted. It may be a good idea to cut down somewhere in the very near future, be it by taking fewer classes, working a little less (if you can swing it financially), or even taking a gap year if you need it. Focus on yourself. Like I said, vet school has a nasty way of breaking down even the most enthusiastic and mentally/emotionally solid students sometimes; my fear is that if you attempt it already feeling severely burnt out, it might end disastrously like my own venture in vet school did.

ETA: Also, are you seeing a counselor or therapist, by chance? Feeling “in a funk” and not being able to focus on things, in tandem with a few other symptoms, can be the result of several conditions like high-functioning depression. If you have something like that, for the love of all that is holy, get help (whether that’s medication, therapy, life changes, or some combination of those) for it prior to vet school.

I really appreciate all of your advice/feedback. I definitely have decided to just focus on physics next semester, and possibly throw in some GRE studying along the way (the GRE was easily the weakest point of my application this cycle). If this cycle does not pan out successfully I will plan to retake physics 1 in the summer, as well as to take the GRE once more. I am planing on waiting a few more cycles to apply, in order to allow myself to possibly obtain a masters (specifically a non-thesis MS in Biomedical Sciences from TAMU-my instate). This would allow me to take upper level science courses to hopefully prove to admissions committees and myself that I can handle advanced science courses as well as increase my last 45 hours gpa.
To address your last paragraph, I am not currently seeing any counselors for the issues I've been experiencing, and never really considered that option until you brought it up. Maybe there is some other underlying cause to my burn out...

 

[KCgophervet]

I really appreciate all of your advice/feedback. I definitely have decided to just focus on physics next semester, and possibly throw in some GRE studying along the way (the GRE was easily the weakest point of my application this cycle). If this cycle does not pan out successfully I will plan to retake physics 1 in the summer, as well as to take the GRE once more. I am planing on waiting a few more cycles to apply, in order to allow myself to possibly obtain a masters (specifically a non-thesis MS in Biomedical Sciences from TAMU-my instate). This would allow me to take upper level science courses to hopefully prove to admissions committees and myself that I can handle advanced science courses as well as increase my last 45 hours gpa.
To address your last paragraph, I am not currently seeing any counselors for the issues I've been experiencing, and never really considered that option until you brought it up. Maybe there is some other underlying cause to my burn out...

Just want to say that you don't have to get a Masters. If you have burnout, going from school to school to more school is probably not going to help, even if the classes are different. I'd vote for lessening your class load, making sure you nail your remaining pre-reqs (if you don't get in this year you can spread them out more - take some part time post-degree if need be). Get a job and work for a bit outside of taking full time classes, it will help.

 

[WonderingStudent]

Getting a Masters is more money you have to spend. It can be nice to show to vet schools that you can handle the course load but it can also put a strain on finances when vet school already does so. Vet schools love experience and I feel like for some vet schools if you get above their minimum GPA (even if it is the weakest part of your application) and you can impress them with your essays fueled by your array of experiences (especially from an emergency vet hospital).

 

[that redhead]

So, I am in a bit of a dilemma. I just received my final grade for Physics 1 and I received a C. I took physics as a post-bac student (I just graduated in August), and this was my first time taking a course with a full-time job sometimes exceeding 50 hours a week (Love that Emergency Medicine Life). I am also in the midst of the application cycle, which has greatly added to my stress over the semester. I would not be too concerned if this was my first C, but it's not as I made 3 C's in undergraduate (retook 2 of them).
So far this application cycle is not going well for me as I have already received 3 rejections out of the 7 schools I applied to. Should I just wait and see what happens the rest of the cycle before retaking physics 1? Or should I go ahead and re-take it while taking physics 2?

Also, has anyone else experienced severe burn out? Since January of this year I feel as I have lost my motivation. At the end of last year (Dec 2018), I was going so strong in my studies and was set to graduate with a 3.7+ gpa. When this year hit I crumbled. I lost all motivation and fire within me to continue trying my best, and my last semester gpa was a (2.7), the worst I had ever received. While my cumulative gpa still held relatively strong I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself. I felt exhausted all the time, and I have yet to bring myself out of this funk, and now the year is coming to a close. It's making me wonder if I do get into vet school-will I even be ready to handle it?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

You’ve got a lot on your plate right now. I would cut back your work hours significantly and your course load if possible so you can really do well on the courses you have left. I agree that a downward trend is not good and you should do what you can to not repeat that. And yeah, going into vet school already burnt out is a very bad idea for your mental health.

Figure out your priorities and restructure. We’re all human and we tend to take on more than we can handle. Don’t be ashamed to step back and give yourself some breathing room.