Scared to death

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MoonGlo

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Hey all! I'll be starting my sophomore year of undergrad this fall semester, and I will admit that I am absolutely terrified of Organic Chemistry... and the MCAT (when I take it in a couple of years, of course). I have done well so far (3.89 GPA freshman year), but I just have this thought stuck in my head that I don't have what it takes to make it through these hard classes and the MCAT to go to med school someday. Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated :(

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everybody goes through that self-doubt from time to time..i was scared about orgo as well so the summer before i watched those cheesy standard deviants tapes and felt a bit more comfortable when class actually started...just really attack orgo and do AT LEAST an hour of it every night (seriously) and you'll be the master in no time...your GPA is great so far so you are on the right road...don't worry abou the MCAT too much yet...if you don't cram material during the semesters you should learn it well enough so your mcat studies are more a test-taking experience than anything...there are plenty of mcat tips on here by really intelligent folks so look em up and you'll be cool...good luck and remember how many peoiple before you have actually done this from better or worse backgrounds/situations.
 
Thanks for the tips, fish. You are right... I'm just going through some self-doubts. Part of it has to do with my surroundings, I think. I have people around me that are very encouraging and honestly think I can go the M.D. route (my parents being those people). Other times, I just feel like everyone else looks down on me, and I'm at the bottom of the ladder. I'm very ambitious, but I just have a lot of doubts.
 
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i absolutely know what you're talking about..went through the same thing and thought i was the worst chem student in the world (never liked it in high school and only got B's in gen chem as a frosh)...then, i ended up with a's in orgo 1 and 2, i ended up tutoring orgo at school, doing independent research in orgo, and now, i'll be teaching it at TPR (i think i got every orgo question on the mcat right=12 on the bio)..if you need any help with the stuff i can probably dig up some old web sites i used to visit when i was in the course...let me know when your semester starts as i have a pretty good tutor outline i use anyway. good luck and don't sweat it!
 
Hello, just relax and continue doing whatever you are doing and you will do fine. You have a strong GPA so far, continue studying hard, and just try your best. Realize that you don't have to get a perfect score in orgo or any other subject for that matter, med schools will be looking at the your overall application, one or two slip ups will not mean instant rejection by all medical schools. I know one girl that got into Wash U's med program with a C in orgo. She had pretty much A's on everything else, but my point is that one bad grade or two is not the end of the world. Also try and get involved with some non-medically related activities. Besides looking good on your resume, it will help you personally by keeping things in perspective. I tutored during my senior year after things stopped going on my resume for med schools and I found it to be one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done. You don't have to get the highest score or be the best at anything to be accepted at medical school. Good luck.
 
I know I don't have to be "the best" at everything, but I would really like to try. I had a perfect 4.0 until I screwed up in a general sociology class. I'm just afraid that I'm gonna screw up big time and have too many "C"s or "W"s on my transcript. I just hate being "not good enough" or even worse, "barely good enough." Its hard to explain. Does anyone understand what I'm going through?
 
I will take "barely good enough" every single damn time! (^_^)
for example: barely good enough to get into harvard, barely good enough to get into JHU med, barely good enough to become president, barely good enough to go to heaven. damn, sounds like the good life...

Ochem is difficult. However, it's not as difficult as people make it out to be. With enough practice and patience, and help from TA's, friends, profs, you will get through it fine. Since you are ambitious, you will probably find avenues to get the help you need in that class instead of just sitting at your desk hopelessly. If that's the case, you're golden.
 
Schoolboy, I know what you are saying. The problem is, I don't know how to build confidence in myself. Sure I've done well so far, but I still have a LONG way to go. Sometimes I just think that med school and getting an M.D. is far from my reach.
 
MoonGlo,

I got a B in Organic Chem for 2 semesters. I just finished my first year of medical school at Johns Hopkins. Even if you don't get a prized A, you can be a competitive applicant for med school.

Relax. Good grades are important, but getting an education is all that really matters.

Good luck,

doepug
MS II, Johns Hopkins
 
The thing about organic chemistry is that some people just get it right off the bat. I absolutely love it; it fits my method of thinking. I do not know about you, but in high school and general chem I always wondered what it looked like and why certain things happened. Those things are the basis of organic chem; you get to visualize the chemical reaction. If you are more of a visual thinker (like me), organic chem will be easy. If you can visualize in 3D, organic will be one of the easiest classes you ever take, because it all makes logical sense and if you can see the 3D reaction in your head, you will not have to memorize all of the reactions because you will just be able to see them. At least, that is how it worked for me.

Just try not to psych yourself out before you ever even have your first lecture.
 
Thank you so much for your advice. I guess when all you hear is how hard something is, it just gets stuck in your mind that it is impossible. So organic ISN'T impossible? :D
 
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