The exams are emphasized on understanding, applying and problem solving. The prof goes over things in lecture so quickly that it's really hard to keep up with him. His notes are also only in point forms so if you miss them at first try during lecture, then that's it. He gives a problem set but never posts answers, making us go over them in tutorials. Unfortunately my TA is unhelpful and going to prof office hours doesn't help either. I'm really stuck, especially with protein fusion questions...... The midterm is in less than a week and I still have lots of other things to memorize.. How can you crack this course? I'm so stressed out I think I'm gonna pass out.
You are obviously not understanding this material and you say the "TA is unhelpful" and "going to prof office hours doesn't help either". Why do these things not work for you? How can YOU make them work for you? Can you make an appointment with your professor to discuss getting what you need to understand the material and do well in the course?
No professor WANTS students to fail or do poorly in a course. You are paying tuition dollars and you need to get what will help you understand the material. Are you prepared for this course in terms of the prerecs? Are you making tactical errors on your problem sheets and quizzes? Your professor should be willing to go over your work so that you can learn from your mistakes.
If you can't get what you need to do well in this course, then you need to consult with the chair of the department and then with the dean. You need to request an appointment and take your concerns (in writing) to first the department chair and if no satisfaction, to the dean.
If you have the requisite background for this course, are diligently applying yourself in terms of putting in the study time and are attempting to get help from both the TA and the professor during office hours, then you have a case for something being irregular with this class assuming you haven't had difficulty with your coursework previously.
Another strategy is to try to get help from an upperclassman or someone who is doing well in the class who might be willing to study with you. Are there tutorial sessions at your school that you can take advantage of? In short, stop being worried and start being proactive about getting what you need to do well in the course. If you get "stuck" on something, move onto master something that you do understand and make a note of what you need help on for the professor's office hours/TA help sessions.
As for the lectures, purchase a small digital tape recorder and tape the class. If you miss something, you can go back and get the material from the tape. Also, be sure that you are not going to the class unprepared. This means that you have done your text reading BEFORE not after the class and you know what's in the text and what is not. Also, if you pre-read (don't read for memorization but for getting the gist of what is to come in the lecture), you have a better understanding of how the lecture will flow.
Just for your information, the MCAT emphasizes "understanding, applying and problem-solving" using the information that has been presented in your pre-med coursework. This professor may be doing you a huge favor by offering this type of examination experience so that you can do well on the MCAT.
