so discouraged and I've barely started

[cerulean]

It's my 2nd semester and my main courses are orgo and calc III. I spend a lot of time each week reading ahead for lecture, doing homework, doing practice problems, going to office hours, going to study group, and when first exams rolled around, I thought I was well-prepared and would do well on them. Results were not what I expected/wanted and now I feel like there's no hope of me ever getting an A on an exam.

I know the courses are only going to get more difficult and I don't know how I'll handle them if I can't even handle these pre-reqs right now even with all the work that I'm putting in. My course schedule isn't that bad right now (only 2 difficult classes) but after looking at all of the reqs I need to graduate and to complete pre-med reqs, I'll need to take 3-4 hardcore engineering and sciences every semester (plus 3 this summer). I can't imagine being able to do well in them since the info will be more difficult and it'll be even more work than now.

Some days are just so long (classes, research or volunteering, study group, studying) that I'm gone from my dorm the whole day and I'm losing contact with some of my friends since I never get a chance to see them. I don't know what commitments I can give up and I can't afford to do badly in my classes. I get so stressed out some days and have this feeling that I'm going to burn out and that it'll be soon.

Can anyone offer any advice or encouragement? I'm in desperate need of some. I know that people have handled much more than I am and have done well, but I'm feeling inadequate. Thanks.

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[DrWorkNeverDone]

Congrats you have become a pre med...really though why do you have to take the engineering?

I have had so many days like the ones you say....I have had to work full time and full school and volunteer stuff as well. Maybe you could find some online sites to help you out? Or maybe recopy your notes? I realized that I learned a whole lot more if I recopied my notes instead of just stared at them....its true! The only part I did really bad on today for ochem was the notes I did not recopy.


DO NOT LOSE HOPE...You get what you give in..even if it does not seem like it now...if you made it to ochem you are already half way there.....gchem is usually the seperater...

things will get hectic though but that is why we are here.

 

[bewitched1081]

i dont think it gets any harder than ochem and calc. the only other classes that students say they have problems with are physics and biochem. some of the upper division classes are a lot easier and have less work required. if you are understanding the concepts, then you might be over the greatest hurdle. maybe you just need to memorize more equations or facts. sometimes students believe that as long as they understand the concepts, they'll be fine. but when you have time constraints, it's hard not to get flustered and not be able to think of that one thing that will help you answer the problem. so memorizing things might help.

 

[mrsmotivation]

Hey,

Don't give up. That's what OCHEM is--a weed out course to take out all the people who THOUGHT they wanted to become doctors. And believe me, you're not the only one who spends more time studying than anything else. I know exactly how it feels to study for a test for hours only to get a B or worse. And about your friends--there are lots of sacrifices that you'll have to make to succeed. The first thing is your social life. You're gonna have to stay at home and study instead of going out to eat with your friends and also turn down that movie that you really wanted to see. My friends and I have a special day--Friday nights--that we hang out. They are education majors, which means they never have to study, and they understand my situation. So I study every other day and Friday nights after work, we'll go hang out. Don't give up, it will get better. I promise!

Good Luck!

 

[quideam]

Hang in there, it will definetely get better! The upper-level courses are definetely not as difficult because there's less work, they're not trying to weed you out, and they're more specialized to a particular topic so you're not constantly learning a thousand different things about a thousand different things.

Seriously, though, why are you doing engineering too? If you like it and you're good at it, go for it. But if you're having trouble, consider switching your major - you want a good GPA when you apply to med schools.

Good luck and hang in there!!!!!! I know how you feel - we've all gotten frustrated with ourselves. You chose a very difficult path - stick it out, and you'll be fine! You'll be dissecting cadavers in no time...

- Quid

 

[cerulean]

about engin:

I attend the University of Michigan and when applying to colleges, I wasn't sure if I wanted to major in engineering or a science. At Mich, it's a lot harder to transfer from Arts & Sciences to Engin than vice versa so I decided to apply to the College of Engineering and transfer to A & S later on if I wanted to. I received a scholarship from the College of Engineering which is great in that it makes out of state tuition much more affordable (and that's basically why I picked Mich too), but if I transfer to A & S, I lose my scholarship (I checked). I can't afford to switch out of engin and since I'm doing engineering for sure, I'm planning on doing biomedical engineering (biochemical concentration) since, out of all then engin disciplines, it has the most common reqs with pre-med reqs.

Does anyone have any tips on studying more efficiently? I'm sure that there's probably some things that I could be doing to get more out of my studying while spending less time doing so. Right now, I read before lectures to acquaint myself w/ the info so lectures not a waste of time, and that seems to work to some extent. I find the bulk of my time is spent doing practice problems and though I've tried, I can't seem to cut down on the hours that takes. Maybe I should be more selective in the problems I do (rather than doing all of the recommended ones)?

I guess I'm just stressing right now since I thought that if I put in all the work, it'd be possible to get the A (esp in the lower level classes). I'm usually a pretty good test-taker so I don't know why I'm having problems now and it's freaking me out that I'm trying my hardest and giving it my all and the best I can get is a B. I have friends who've already taken and aced the courses that I'm taking now and they've mentioned the courses that I'll have to take in the future in a manner that doesn't bode well for me.

A senior chemical engineer and chem goddess who got an A+ in Orgo I told me that she thought the chem engin course Reaction Engeering and Design was very difficult. My friend, another chem nerd, got an A+ in orgo lab and is having trouble w/ orgo II and told me that she feels stupid in it. Another friend talked about how physical chemistry lab is so much harder than orgo lab. Another engin freshman took calc III last semester and set the curve w/ a 100 on the final (which was supposed to be extremely hard) and is having difficulty with calc-based physics II. The head of the biomedical engineering department (who taught my intro engineering (w/ a biomed engin focus) course) talked about the Quantitative Physiology course that I'll need to take and even he said to not take it til senior year since it's so competitive (grad students who had 3.8-4.0 engin undergrad GPAs take it along w/ BME undergrads) and underclasssmen would not be able to handle it.

Bahhhhh....it all just makes me feel like I'll never be able to handle it all and it's draining me of confidence in myself. I did really well in high school (w/ multiple science and math AP courses) and though I worked a lot I didn't really have to study a lot. I thought that putting in a ton of work would lead to a good shot at A's in college and I'm feeling sorta pessimistic about things right now. I didn't think Michigan was going to be so hard for me!

 

[An Yong]

Unless you absolutely LOVE engineering, I really recommend you consider switching majors, my roommate (I've known him since sophomore year) is an electrical engineering major, and he constantly complains to me how hard it is. The guy is no dum-dum either, he's really smart and a real math wiz (he's better than me in math and I'm a math major =P ) . From what he's told me, his engineering classes has gotten progressively harder as he went further into the curriculum.

The other option is considering extending your graduation date, which will allow you to take easier semesters (i.e. graduate in 5 years instead of the traditional 4, thats what I'm doing and it helps A LOT in reducing your stress level)

If you feel burnt out already, its really important you take a step back and figure out how to reduce your workload. In the pre-med game (and it IS a game, don't ever equate it with your intelligence/self-worth) you really really want to avoid torching your gpa. In the end, don't let these classes ruin your self-confidence, not getting A's doesn't mean your stupid, it just means you didn't get an A (what I'm trying to say is, not getting an A isn't the end of the world, once I realized that it really made life easier on me).

You seem like a bright fellow to me, (you must be if you are attending UMich on a scholarship), I wish you luck!

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by cerulean
Some days are just so long (classes, research or volunteering, study group, studying) that I'm gone from my dorm the whole day and I'm losing contact with some of my friends since I never get a chance to see them. I don't know what commitments I can give up and I can't afford to do badly in my classes. I get so stressed out some days and have this feeling that I'm going to burn out and that it'll be soon.

Sounds like med school and residency. If you dislike this feeling, I'd encourage a change of plans. Sorry to be so harsh, but that's the way it is.

 

[DrWorkNeverDone]

I think that is harsh...I mean I understand that not everyone who starts as a doctor will be a doctor...but not everyone is ready to be that busy either right off the bat.....true the situation cer. is in is because of too many science base classes....At the same time though even as a resident you must balance life and school.


As for studying: I suggest that you rewrite your notes...or get a recorder....you can always wear one ear phone while driving and listen to your lectures......and rewriting the notes always helps with memorizing..

Study groups are always the best too..it is a way to also have friends who are going through the same crap.

Try to balance life though, always take an hour just to do somethign you like to do....hmm like me and SDN

 

[Habari]

Sounds like med school and residency. If you dislike this feeling, I'd encourage a change of plans. Sorry to be so harsh, but that's the way it is.

false, from my experience [both of us can only comment on the pre-clins of the former]. i worked much harder in ugrad, and i haven't felt this little 'stress' since middle school. there is a lot of work, but the stressors are fundamentally different.

eng@mich is tough. i would drop the research/volunteering until you feel more comfortable about your academics; but stay in contact with your friends - all work and no play makes the wolverine a dull gulo. as far as studying goes, only you can figure out how best to do it.

 

[Pooh Chong]

Originally posted by cerulean
about engin:

I can't afford to switch out of engin and since I'm doing engineering for sure, I'm planning on doing biomedical engineering (biochemical concentration) since, out of all then engin disciplines, it has the most common reqs with pre-med reqs.

If you are set on biomedical engineering then maybe you should not do the biochem concentration, it sounds like you are taking a lot of chemE type stuff and that is generally considered very difficult. Take an easier concentration or a different engineering major - med schools will not care what concentration you have, consider it.

Otherwise good luck.

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Habari
false, from my experience [both of us can only comment on the pre-clins of the former]. i worked much harder in ugrad, and i haven't felt this little 'stress' since middle school. there is a lot of work, but the stressors are fundamentally different.

I worked harder in ugrad too, but that's because I was working 30-40 hours/week to live. Still, I felt alot of stress then, and I continue to think that the stress level is high and the time required in med school is high. If you aren't feeling it by second year, I think you probably will in clinics and beyond. Though in our cases, we could do a post-doc, work in a lab non-stop, and feel that kind of stress. I just don't see an end to stress and time-consumption, though I resigned myself to that a long time ago when I decided to do this.

Then again, maybe it's different for different people. Still, when I was a ugrad I saw alot of people who complained about the level of difficulty then. Most of them didn't get into med school. Which is good, because it wouldn't have become any easier for them. Maybe it's alot different for the op... So I resign myself from this thread to the more positive posters.

 

[cwb]

What I think you will find is that although engineering classes generally get more difficult, your grades generally start to go up... The main reason for this is hard to explain, but IMHO its just due to the fact that you become a great problem solver and you end up spending less time on harder problems. A piece of advice for all your classes, learn how equations/reactions work and why, dont just memorize them. Unless your teacher is an idiot they are not going to just copy an example problem/reaction out of a book, they are going to try and see if you understand the way that the problem works.

 

[mmz6]

keep yo head up- happens to everyone.

mmz6