Should I retake OChem?

[an0]

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I'm actually kind of depressed at my grades considering that most of my friends seem to have extremely high GPAs. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on scheduling, time management, and studying habits. I really appreciate any sort of help I can get.

Organic I C, Organic II C+ 🙁
Physics I A
GChem A-
GBio A
GPsy A-
Zoology B
Calculus B+

My GPA dropped to a 3.0 after I got Bs in my humanities classes and a C in Economics or a 3.1 GPA for sciences courses + Economics. 😱 My school starts soon so I need to make up my decision ASAP. I'm a second semester sophomore (undergrad). Do you think I will have a shot at raising my GPA? I plan to apply to a three year Pharmacy program after undergrad. I'm afraid that I might not do well on my future courses because I didn't do so well in my Organic courses.

I was always doing too many things so my studying wasn't very efficient. I had heard that many other science majors were interning, volunteering, taking four courses with 4 hours of lab time, working, Honors program etc.

• During my Organic I semester, I took 5 courses, volunteer for 12 hrs (commutes to my volunteer took 30 minutes to and 30 min from the area), student organization, Honors program. Even though I think my problem is time management, I'm worried that I might still not do well in the course even if I unload my schedule. I think Organic Chemistry is really fun, but I think there are concepts that I didn't grasp in Organic I. My concentration during class was poor. My vision sometimes blurred and I just felt exhausted. I slept enough then so even if I had a course before OChem I, it shouldn't have affected my ability.
• During my Organic II semester, I took only 4 courses with only two 4 hrs lab courses, volunteer (research) for ~10 hrs (commutes were ~40 min to and 40 mins back), student organization, work (6-10 hrs).

It seems like I have to do more in order to be considered. Below are TWO OPTIONS for my upcoming semester:

1. Volunteer for at least 10 hrs (research with 40 mins commute to and 40 mins back), 3 science courses with three 4 hr labs, student organization, work (2 hrs), my college's department research (4hrs for the first month and then the time should decrease b/c most of it is done)
2. RETAKE ORGANIC I + 3 other sciences courses with four 4 hr labs, student organization (I'm just secretary so I don't do too much, just attend meetings & send out emails), work (2 hrs), my college's department research (4hrs/wk for the first month and then the time should decrease b/c most of it is done)

Should I retake Organic Chem? If I retake Organic I, I will also retake Organic II and will plan my schedule accordingly. If I take 4 credit courses next semester and get all As, then I can raise my science GPA to a 3.4. There is a possibility of getting a 3.7 GPA by the send of my Undergrad if I take four-five 4 credit courses and get a A in all the courses, but I think that chance might be very slim as the courses get more complex. I feel completely embarrassed by my score, but I hope that I can raise my GPA by working harder next semester.

Thank you,

A.

 

[crazybob]

I'm actually kind of depressed at my grades considering that most of my friends seem to have extremely high GPAs. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on scheduling, time management, and studying habits. I really appreciate any sort of help I can get.

Organic I C, Organic II C+ 🙁
Physics I A
GChem A-
GBio A
GPsy A-
Zoology B
Calculus B+

My GPA dropped to a 3.0 after I got Bs in my humanities classes and a C in Economics. 😱 My school starts soon so I need to make up my decision ASAP. I'm a second semester sophomore (undergrad). Do you think I will have a shot at raising my GPA? I plan to apply to a three year Pharmacy program after undergrad. I'm afraid that I might not do well on my future courses because I didn't do so well in my Organic courses.

I was always doing too many things so my studying wasn't very efficient. I had heard that many other science majors were interning, volunteering, taking four courses with 4 hours of lab time, working, Honors program etc.

• During my Organic I semester, I took 5 courses, volunteer for 12 hrs (commutes to my volunteer took 30 minutes to and 30 min from the area), student organization, Honors program. Even though I think my problem is time management, I'm worried that I might still not do well in the course even if I unload my schedule. I think Organic Chemistry is really fun, but I think there are concepts that I didn't grasp in Organic I. My concentration during class was poor. My vision sometimes blurred and I just felt exhausted. I slept enough then so even if I had a course before OChem I, it shouldn't have affected my ability.
• During my Organic II semester, I took only 4 courses with only two 4 hrs lab courses, volunteer (research) for ~10 hrs (commutes were ~40 min to and 40 mins back), student organization, work (6-10 hrs).

It seems like I have to do more in order to be considered. Below are TWO OPTIONS for my upcoming semester:

1. Volunteer for at least 10 hrs (research with 40 mins commute to and 40 mins back), 3 science courses with three 4 hr labs, student organization, work (2 hrs), my college's department research (4hrs for the first month and then the time should decrease b/c most of it is done)
2. RETAKE ORGANIC I + 3 other sciences courses with four 4 hr labs, student organization (I'm just secretary so I don't do too much, just attend meetings & send out emails), work (2 hrs), my college's department research (4hrs/wk for the first month and then the time should decrease b/c most of it is done)

Should I retake Organic Chem? If I retake Organic I, I will also retake Organic II and will plan my schedule accordingly. I feel completely embarrassed by my score, but I hope that I can raise my GPA by working harder next semester.

Thank you,

A.

P.S. I have work study so that was one of the reasons why I am working, but my research volunteer is unpaid.

Unless you're taking advanced organic or something like that, your future classes will be different topics, and you'll have a chance to do well and better.

You'll need to take many classes to raise your GPA significantly. But focus on one class at a time, and you'll get to the GPA you want.

If you personally feel that there was enough material that you did not understand well enough and feel that you'll gain a lot from retaking organic, then I'd recommend it.

As for volunteering, interning, etc, not everyone has to do them all at the same time. You can try to do as many as you can handle. What matters is how well you did each activity, and not how many activities you've done.

I'd recommend figuring out how much you are able to handle and try not to do too much more than that. If you set up a daily schedule and stick to it most of the time, you can get everything done. But you need to be organized and make sure you actually do what you planned to do ahead of time. It's easy to think that ignoring one thing on your checklist would be ok just for one night, but if that becomes a habit, you may end up ignoring one of your tasks.

 

[North Side]

I retook, but it totally up to you.

 

[an0]

Thank you so much for that advice. I have been trying to load my schedule b/c it appears as if that's a normal thing for science majors. I thought that I could handle it too, but I might not be able to handle it after all. My main focus shall be on raising my GPA, but I feel that it's difficult to drop opportunities. I want to take Advanced Organic chemistry during Undergrad. I will have to eventually take Adv. Ochem in the future if I continue on the Pharmacy track so I think retaking the course is best. Do I still have a good shot at Pharmacy school with "C"s in OChem? It's a lot more difficult to get into Med school with a "C." The same applies to Grad school. What are my chances of getting into Pharmacy school with "C"s on my record for Ochem if I retook the course and get maybe a "B" or an "A"?

 

[crazybob]

Thank you so much for that advice. I have been trying to load my schedule b/c it appears as if that's a normal thing for science majors. I thought that I could handle it too, but I might not be able to handle it after all. My main focus shall be on raising my GPA, but I feel that it's difficult to drop opportunities. I want to take Advanced Organic chemistry during Undergrad. I will have to eventually take Adv. Ochem in the future if I continue on the Pharmacy track so I think retaking the course is best. Do I still have a good shot at Pharmacy school with "C"s in OChem? It's a lot more difficult to get into Med school with a "C." The same applies to Grad school. What are my chances of getting into Pharmacy school with "C"s on my record for Ochem if I retook the course and get maybe a "B" or an "A"?

If you retook and got an A or a B, it'll be fine.

Most people I know would retake organic if they had a C and not leave it at that.

On your second time around, try to figure out where you struggled the first time you took organic. If you can figure out where you had difficulties and learn from it, you can develop better habits and that will help you in your studies in pharmacy school.

 

[kcwang]

I would retake them after your pre req.