General Admissions & OTCAS retaking undergraduate classes

[ot_pedi10]

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Hello,
I am on the process of getting my bachelors in pre-ot and I failed anatomy 2 because I had an insanely hard professor. Does anyone in the Tennessee area know if belmont or tennessee state's graduate programs would take my retake grade of an A or B as what counts toward their graduate program?

 

[Makingmoves2014]

Hello,
I am on the process of getting my bachelors in pre-ot and I failed anatomy 2 because I had an insanely hard professor. Does anyone in the Tennessee area know if belmont or tennessee state's graduate programs would take my retake grade of an A or B as what counts toward their graduate program?

Are you applying to Tennessee State? I don't live in Tennessee but I'm applying to Tennessee State University and Belmont University. Are you applying this summer?

 

[c2902]

Having an "easy" professor is only part of what it might take to succeed. People don't generally fail classes JUST because their professor was difficult. Having good note-taking habits, good study habits is also very important, especially with a class like A&P. There is a lot of memorization involved, for example which, if you know this is not your strong point, takes some extra work. It also takes knowing the right questions to ask when asking for help; most professors won't hold your hand, but many are willing to help you out if you are really struggling as long as you approach them with your concerns. Grad school is difficult, so it's important to have some solid academic skills before you enter into a program.

 

[ot_pedi10]

Thanks everyone for the help. I am retaking it this fall. I was thinking of doing a review with posters. Other than that, do you have any other suggestions on how to patch up my weak spots? I know I failed anatomy because I did not understand it and my hard teacher. @Makingmoves2014, I am finishing my prequesties at NSCC then going to TSU to finish up my bachelors there then graduate school.

 

[c2902]

It was A&P II you have trouble with, right? Were your A&P courses broken up with A&P I being the basics, and bones and muscles and A&P II being more of the physiology and all of the systems (neuro, endocrine, etc)? Bones and muscles are not hard per se, just a lot of memorization of facts (origin, insertion, etc). A&P II is where a lot of people get tripped up, as there are a lot more conceptual ideas you need to be able to understand. Did you ever approach your professor for help, or ask any other fellow students for help? (I'm not trying to pick on you, just trying to understand better, so I can give you some more constructive feedback!)

 

[ot_pedi10]

@c2902 Yes my A and P 1 class was more of the basic bones and muscle structures and A and P 2 I felt alot of it was physiology especially case studies. I did ask the fellow students for help, but they were just as confused as I was. There was one student who did help me a lot but when it came to the test and we had a case study I froze up. I did approach my professor as well but I felt like her explanations were not clear and when I needed her to explain something she made me say what I thought it meant and she ended up correcting every little thing I got wrong on the email. I felt like I did not fully understand that way when she did that though. I mean I learned what I did wrong, but not the concept. I understand you are not picking on me. I also went to tutoring. For studying, I wrote things out for the case study, looked over my textbook some because my professor said we won't be using it (I mainly used it for clarification), did some youtube videos, did study groups, and answered the questions my professor put on the slides. I got c's in the beginning for her tests then I started getting F's. I think I struggled in respiratory system because the physics part confused me (and I missed one of her lectures because I was sick so that really threw me off and did not get explained well by the students or professor), endocrine, immunity, and urinary system ( actually understood it well but the test did not show it). I feel really embarrassed and disappointed that I got an F in anatomy 2 because it was not like I was lazy. I worked my butt off to try to get better grades and understand everything, but no matter how hard I tried I still failed. I realize I do have weak spots though. THat is why I want to take care of them before fall so it will not slump me once we get to that section. I got an A in anatomy 1 by the way.

 

[TennesseeOT]

@ot_pedi10 I'm in Tennessee! I took A&P I and II at NSCC and retook I at UTC because I got a C the first time. There is hope, I promise. Who are you taking this summer? If you can, take Dr. Loerakker (I misspelled that for sure). She tough, but fair and you learn A LOT. I have no idea what she's doing at a comm college.

 

[ot_pedi10]

@TennesseeOT Im actually taking it in the fall with ragland at nscc. Have you heard of him?

 

[ot_pedi10]

@TennesseeOT I need an easier teacher that explains things well because I had dr.hu at nscc and she was too hard and I don't understand her teaching.

 

[TennesseeOT]

@ot_pedi10 Oh yeah, Ragland has been there for years. He's great too- possibly better than dr. Lo. I may still have the books if they haven't changed them and you need them. Try your hardest to get an A in that class. It's going to be very hard, but it's critical for you to offset a failing grade an it will really show how dedicated you are.

 

[ot_pedi10]

@TennesseeOT I have the books but thanks. If you saw the post I wrote to be

@c2902 Yes my A and P 1 class was more of the basic bones and muscle structures and A and P 2 I felt alot of it was physiology especially case studies. I did ask the fellow students for help, but they were just as confused as I was. There was one student who did help me a lot but when it came to the test and we had a case study I froze up. I did approach my professor as well but I felt like her explanations were not clear and when I needed her to explain something she made me say what I thought it meant and she ended up correcting every little thing I got wrong on the email. I felt like I did not fully understand that way when she did that though. I mean I learned what I did wrong, but not the concept. I understand you are not picking on me. I also went to tutoring. For studying, I wrote things out for the case study, looked over my textbook some because my professor said we won't be using it (I mainly used it for clarification), did some youtube videos, did study groups, and answered the questions my professor put on the slides. I got c's in the beginning for her tests then I started getting F's. I think I struggled in respiratory system because the physics part confused me (and I missed one of her lectures because I was sick so that really threw me off and did not get explained well by the students or professor), endocrine, immunity, and urinary system ( actually understood it well but the test did not show it). I feel really embarrassed and disappointed that I got an F in anatomy 2 because it was not like I was lazy. I worked my butt off to try to get better grades and understand everything, but no matter how hard I tried I still failed. I realize I do have weak spots though. THat is why I want to take care of them before fall so it will not slump me once we get to that section. I got an A in anatomy 1 by the way.

t
@TennesseeOT I have the books for thanks for asking. On the post can you tell me what im doing wrong to fail and how I can prepare over the summer for my weak areas?

 

[c2902]

Thanks for expanding on your difficulty with the course - sounds like you might have a better shot with a different professor, but YES, it's imperative that you get an amazing grade this time. A&P I and II are two of the "big money" courses admissions committees are going to look at (and you are going to be repeating the bones/muscles, neuro and possibly some other stuff depending on the program, once you're in OT school).

With regard to specifics, so you were just given case studies as tests? What type of questions do you tend to do better at - multiple choice, short answer, true false, etc? Knowing how to recall the information based on the way it is asked is part of it - not everyone does well with certain formats, and it takes practice to get good at the ones that aren't your strong suit. Understanding the concepts is also key, and unfortunately, it's not always something that's teachable in the same way to everyone. Memory tricks (mnemonics, etc) can help, drawing diagrams to show processes or structures, decent Youtube videos (if I recall, Khan academy has some decent ones), etc, can help, but it depends on how you learn.

 

[ot_pedi10]

@c2902 For her tests, she did half multiple choice and half case studies. She marked everything wrong when I did the case studies. She said I was not specific enough and did not know how to apply. When she told me I was failing, she said I needed to retake anatomy 1 since she knew I had a bad professor. I can't retake anatomy 1 because I have to graduate. It would take too much time to go back n ow. I usually get test anxiety so I do not do outstanding at tests. If I did do well on tests, I would do well on multiple choice tests. How would I practice case studies and be able to look and see if I got it close? I still don't understand how I can get down concepts though over the summer. My professor had us recall information and put it on a poster. I thought that helped some but when I turned it in, she marked everything wrong then too so now I worry that if I do the poster I will get everything wrong. What do I do?! Ahh

 

[c2902]

Tried to send you a private message, but it looks like you don't allow others access? (Trying not to monopolize this thread) The short version is - multiple choice questions are essentially a game, depending on the professor. You can almost always eliminate at least one, if not two choices, and then use your knowledge to pick the correct choice; however, you still need to have some comprehension of the material to do this. With regard to the case study format - it's hard to say, since that would be a subjective format from professor to professor (for those who even use it - my A&P prereq professors did not), and I couldn't give you any feedback without knowing how the professor structures the questions.

If you are able to, send me a private message through this board.