Struggling in my humanities classes

[birdie77]

I am only in my first year of college so I haven't taken any of the harder science courses yet, but I am having a much harder time in my humanities classes than I am in my science classes. I know exactly what I need to do to get As in my chem and bio classes, but I can only manage to squeeze out B+s in my history and english classes. Why are the TAs so damn reluctant to give out As and A-s?? I was a good writer in high school, but nothing I write in college is above average. I've definitely been learning a lot in these courses, I just think I'm bad at them. I see many people on this forum saying how gen ed courses are a breeze, but I've specifically arranged my schedule next year so I'm only taking one humanities class at a time.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? It's really frustrating.

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[hoihaie]

i was like you. A's in science class but bad in GE courses.

just take them all during 1st and 2nd year so it doesnt hurty our GPA later and you will still keep an upward trend

 

[frosted_flake]

Are you putting in enough time for them? That was my problem with history/psych. I just found it too boring to spend any time on. English was just one of those 'sit down and do it' classes for me.

 

[Dr. Biology]

nope, maybe there is something wrong with you. in all seriousness you probably didn't study hard enough. learn from your mistakes and move on

 

[clocks123]

a few B+ grades in humanities classes aren't going to hurt you. Or you can take them P/F.

 

[Aerus]

Humanities and Social Science classes requires a type of critical thinking and analysis that appears to be foreign to most STEM majors. If you are approaching this as if it's "BS" and "objective", then that is the wrong mindset that many STEM majors fall into.

 

[Toadesque]

Humanities and Social Science classes requires a type of critical thinking and analysis that appears to be foreign to most STEM majors. If you are approaching this as if it's "BS" and "objective", then that is the wrong mindset that many STEM majors fall into.

Sometimes it's actually harder to get A's in these classes if you have professors who want something very very specific from you and you don't know what that is until after the assignment has been graded. They grade a lot more subjectively in these classes as well, I remember I had one English class where I got an A on every single essay and an A+ on the mid term. He gave us an open book Final for some really strange reason and it basically consisted of regurgitating answers on to a piece of paper. Somehow I ended up with a D on the Final and thus a B+ in the class. It was a crock of **** but there was nothing I could do.

 

[Aerus]

Sometimes it's actually harder to get A's in these classes if you have professors who want something very very specific from you and you don't know what that is until after the assignment has been graded. They grade a lot more subjectively in these classes as well, I remember I had one English class where I got an A on every single essay and an A+ on the mid term. He gave us an open book Final for some really strange reason and it basically consisted of regurgitating answers on to a piece of paper. Somehow I ended up with a D on the Final and thus a B+ in the class. It was a crock of **** but there was nothing I could do.

Of course there will be subjectivity in these classes. That's the nature of humanities classes. Humanities...Humans....are subjective creatures.

But if you approach this class with the mindset that grading is random and "BS" (whether it's true or not) then that isn't the right mentality to approach such a class.

 

[deleted577188]

I've heard of students who went on to professional school, going to talk to the professors since grading is so subjective and based largely on expectations and opinion, more so than pure right or wrong. Im definitely gonna give this a try if I feel as if I can't squeak out an A in these types of classes.

 

[QuantumJ]

I found some of my humanities classes harder than the equivalent level science classes. Science isn't open to interpretation which fits my thinking style whereas elucidating symbolism in a story was much harder for me. Besides, a B in humanities won't hurt.

 

[hmockingbird]

Have you talked to the professor or TA about how to improve your writing/grades? Have you gone to your school's writing center before turning in papers?

 

[bakedbeans18]

There is a reason why lower grades on humanities won't hurt an application...


...it's because most ADCOMS realize it's BS and for the most part, irrelevant to what your focus will be in medical school, which is objective interpretation of the human body and all the things which make it work or not work.

 

[youmed]

You said it yourself. You were a decent writer in high school, but not in college. Accept it and try your hardest to improve.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

There is a reason why lower grades on humanities won't hurt an application...


...it's because most ADCOMS realize it's BS and for the most part, irrelevant to what your focus will be in medical school, which is objective interpretation of the human body and all the things which make it work or not work.

#1. ADCOMS do care about humanities courses. Or else the sGPA would be the only important number.
#2. The focus in medical school is to learn how to be a good physician. Which requires a lot more than objective interpretation of the human body.

Humanities may not be the most important classes for medical school, but they're certainly not BS.

 

[Patros]

I am only in my first year of college so I haven't taken any of the harder science courses yet, but I am having a much harder time in my humanities classes than I am in my science classes. I know exactly what I need to do to get As in my chem and bio classes, but I can only manage to squeeze out B+s in my history and english classes. Why are the TAs so damn reluctant to give out As and A-s?? I was a good writer in high school, but nothing I write in college is above average. I've definitely been learning a lot in these courses, I just think I'm bad at them. I see many people on this forum saying how gen ed courses are a breeze, but I've specifically arranged my schedule next year so I'm only taking one humanities class at a time.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? It's really frustrating.

When you say you're a good writer, I think you mean "I don't make grammar and spelling mistakes," which is fine for high school. But professors in college tend to look for creativity through interesting theses and well thought-out arguments. Unfortunately, I find that most people who claim to be "good writers" don't have the patience or skill set to write good essays, even if they don't make technical errors. I'm not trying to knock on your abilities, but I'm just guessing the problem is that your essays are boring. The truth is that in humanities classes, especially in English, most people stick with majority opinion and argue the most obvious, basic things. If you are able to challenge the majority opinion, or perhaps introduce a new angle or topic, I think you'll have an easier time getting A's.

Office hours are much more useful in humanities classes than they are in sciences classes. Consider going to the professors and talking with them about novel essay topics. Most humanities professors are much more receptive to discussing class topics than are science professors, at least in my experience as a philosophy major. I think with good guidance from the professor, you should be able to be much more productive in your classes.

 

[Lil Mick]

When you say you're a good writer, I think you mean "I don't make grammar and spelling mistakes," which is fine for high school. But professors in college tend to look for creativity through interesting theses and well thought-out arguments. Unfortunately, I find that most people who claim to be "good writers" don't have the patience or skill set to write good essays, even if they don't make technical errors..

One thing I've noticed over the years has been the falling standards of high school writing. Writing an essay well at a college/professional level takes a different set of tools than using correct punctuation and spelling, and it takes a certain type of logic that isn't found in many college biology/chemistry classes, though it does mirror some of the required proofs in upper division mathematics classes.
Find a good resource or two on writing essays. And read as much original research in that field as you can. If you strive to imitate the writing and logic in those articles, you will do much better in your humanities courses. (I struggled my first semester, tried this, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa later in college. It works.)