Struggling to beat the curve...

[heartsink]

Quick background; postbacc with 3.75 cGPA and virtually no science, started taking science prereqs last winter. I took 3 science classes of physics and chem over winter and spring, and this summer i took two more:

Just finished summer quarter last week and grades came in today. Before summer quarter, i had a 3.32 sGPA and now, for summer quarter I took two science classes (bio and chem);

2.8 for bio and expected 2.8-3.0 range for chem.

I'm also working 25-28 hours a week at a hospital. Between work, commuting, labs and actual studying, I didn't feel like there were any more hours in my week to actually put into studying. I felt like i put my heart and soul into studying this quarter but test after test I kept hitting the mean, or barely above it, for both chem and bio.

I just don't know what else i can do to improve this. I'm pretty resilient and difficult to discourage, but this is my second quarter in a row i've gotten mediocre grades. My planned postbac has about 10 more science classes to damage control this sGPA before i'm seriously in trouble to even apply DO, much less MD.

I'm at a pretty large university with huge classes, curves set around ~2.6, and I'd like to believe it was just a particularly sharp class I was up against but spring wasn't much better. The problem is me and I'm still figuring out why my studying is not bearing fruit.

More of a venting thread than anything else, but any suggestions on improving my study efficiency is welcome.

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[Avicenna]

recondisder med school, if you cant beat the game maybe you need a new game

 

[Aerus]

Your study habits are not working for you. You need to approach your classes differently. More hours put into the class doesn't necessarily mean you will do better.

 

[Being]

Maybe we can help if you describe your process a bit. When do you start studying for a test, what do you do when you're studying, etc?

 

[heartsink]

Maybe we can help if you describe your process a bit. When do you start studying for a test, what do you do when you're studying, etc?

For concept classes like bio, I never have trouble getting through the reading for the day, I hand-write my notes because it helps me retain it better, and I consistently cover all the topics we go over in lecture that day. The day before the test I'll go through every slide of every lecture power point, ensure I can answer every bullet point question, I make note cards of key concepts and obviously significant terms and theories, memorize details about the concepts etc. Then i'll get to the test and it will ask for 1 example of X, and i have 6 examples of X; meanwhile it gives me an example of Y and I can't recall what term they are defining. Biology in particular was a vexing class because frequently instead of being about "calculate the correct answer", it was about "whats the best answer among several correct answers". I'm not fond of sciences that are so wishy-washy like that.

For math-heavy classes like chem, i'll try to spend a couple hours a day on our web-based homework doing the practice problems they have (which are all very basic), I'll go through the textbook pages and work every problem and make sure I'm getting the answer they are without help. I've even tried doing some of the extra practice problems in the back. It all makes sense in the moment; then we get to the test and several concepts appear at once, or information is presented unusually (pressure given in mmHg or torr) which throws me off and I just get a blank stare, or I'll miss one key footnote about the problem that changes all the subsequent answers...I also usually get caught off guard by concept questions (why is a blackbody this way versus that way etc) because I never care about the big picture when 90% of what I'm trying to learn is math. I try to fill my hours at the school with studying of some kind, with intermittent breaks for eating and mental rest, but I'm consistently there from ~8 in the morning to 7 at night, I commute home and basically go to bed.

I work friday saturday and sunday 7 am to 4:30 pm, and I'm absolutely drained by that job. I try to get homework done on those days but usually i'm just so gone mentally it's not in the cards. If it wasn't so helpful in building clinical experience and so uniquely relevant to what I want to do in healthcare i'd drop it in an instant.

I guess if I woke up earlier and slept a little less I could squeeze more time in, and maybe that's what it will come down to. Coming back to college for me has been a lot about relearning how to learn.

 

[Holmwood]

Do your courses curve down?

 

[Aerus]

For concept classes like bio, I never have trouble getting through the reading for the day, I hand-write my notes because it helps me retain it better, and I consistently cover all the topics we go over in lecture that day. The day before the test I'll go through every slide of every lecture power point, ensure I can answer every bullet point question, I make note cards of key concepts and obviously significant terms and theories, memorize details about the concepts etc. Then i'll get to the test and it will ask for 1 example of X, and i have 6 examples of X; meanwhile it gives me an example of Y and I can't recall what term they are defining. Biology in particular was a vexing class because frequently instead of being about "calculate the correct answer", it was about "whats the best answer among several correct answers". I'm not fond of sciences that are so wishy-washy like that.

For math-heavy classes like chem, i'll try to spend a couple hours a day on our web-based homework doing the practice problems they have (which are all very basic), I'll go through the textbook pages and work every problem and make sure I'm getting the answer they are without help. I've even tried doing some of the extra practice problems in the back. It all makes sense in the moment; then we get to the test and several concepts appear at once, or information is presented unusually (pressure given in mmHg or torr) which throws me off and I just get a blank stare, or I'll miss one key footnote about the problem that changes all the subsequent answers...I also usually get caught off guard by concept questions (why is a blackbody this way versus that way etc) because I never care about the big picture when 90% of what I'm trying to learn is math. I try to fill my hours at the school with studying of some kind, with intermittent breaks for eating and mental rest, but I'm consistently there from ~8 in the morning to 7 at night, I commute home and basically go to bed.

I work friday saturday and sunday 7 am to 4:30 pm, and I'm absolutely drained by that job. I try to get homework done on those days but usually i'm just so gone mentally it's not in the cards. If it wasn't so helpful in building clinical experience and so uniquely relevant to what I want to do in healthcare i'd drop it in an instant.

I guess if I woke up earlier and slept a little less I could squeeze more time in, and maybe that's what it will come down to. Coming back to college for me has been a lot about relearning how to learn.

How much sleep have you been getting each night and especially the night before tests?

 

[hoihaie]

if your job is weighing you down, maybe you need to reduce hours, change jobs, or stop working all together (if possible).

 

[Styrene]

I think it's a time issue. I'm certain there are people in the class studying at least twice as much as you, and, if it's a relatively competitive university, at least 2-3 with photographic memories and 10-20 that already know all of the material from other classes and still study twice as much as you. Also, there may be students with test banks or previous tests.

To keep my 4.0 while taking 18-24 class hours with 25 hours of EC (volunteer, clinical research) + 15 hours commuting each week, etc.), I would study 30-40 hours a week, even if it meant getting home at 9pm on Thursday, studying until 2 or 3am, and getting up at 7am to commute 90 minutes and take a weekly genetics quiz/test. Just. memorize. everything.

 

[heartsink]

Courses curve up or down depending on where you are on the bell curve. Average for my first chemistry exam summer quarter was a 35% (as in 35% correct) plus or minus a standard deviation of ~15%, and the mean was set at a 2.6, so the people who managed to get 70% correct (no one got higher than 70%) got 4.0's while people hitting 10-15% correct got ~2.0. Pretty much all the sciences at my university curve like this, around 2.6 ish. The chemistry department expects test averages to be around 60% correct, for example.

On work nights I get 6-7 hours of sleep, on school nights I get around 8-9 hours of sleep, and on test nights it varies, sometimes as little as 6 or as much as 9, depending on when the test is.

I cannot lose this job under any circumstance. I've given a lot of person details that could identify me (paranoia, I know) and would rather not further narrow my identity, but the job I have was very difficult to acquire, its inpatient, and I get really unique experiences from it that will help me offset a lot of the dirt on my GPA. I know it won't stop me from getting screened out with the grades i'm getting, but quitting the job is off the table.

Styrene I admire your dedication and I think I may try to emulate you. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes. I can't fail at this.

 

[Holmwood]

Courses curve up or down depending on where you are on the bell curve. Average for my first chemistry exam summer quarter was a 35% (as in 35% correct) plus or minus a standard deviation of ~15%, and the mean was set at a 2.6, so the people who managed to get 70% correct (no one got higher than 70%) got 4.0's while people hitting 10-15% correct got ~2.0. Pretty much all the sciences at my university curve like this, around 2.6 ish. The chemistry department expects test averages to be around 60% correct, for example.

On work nights I get 6-7 hours of sleep, on school nights I get around 8-9 hours of sleep, and on test nights it varies, sometimes as little as 6 or as much as 9, depending on when the test is.

I cannot lose this job under any circumstance. I've given a lot of person details that could identify me (paranoia, I know) and would rather not further narrow my identity, but the job I have was very difficult to acquire, its inpatient, and I get really unique experiences from it that will help me offset a lot of the dirt on my GPA. I know it won't stop me from getting screened out with the grades i'm getting, but quitting the job is off the table.

Styrene I admire your dedication and I think I may try to emulate you. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes. I can't fail at this.

1) Study Skills:
i)If it's a lecture heavy course (biology/biochemistry) and the professor specifically says the book is not necessary, record the lecture and transcribe it. Don't read the book if the professor did not say read the book. Polish the transcription for better readability, and just read it over and over and over again.

ii) If there are practice questions in the book, do it. Get a nice solution manual. If you can answer the questions, you get the concepts.

iii) If there are charts/diagrams involved, practice drawing it out on paper. This includes signal transduction pathways (biology), mechanisms (o-chem), and cycles/regulations (biochemistry).

2) Setting higher standards:What I don't like about this system is that it makes you reckless. You start telling yourself that getting 50% of the material wrong is acceptable. This encourages you to look at critical thinking questions and give up after a couple of tries because "ah, it takes too long. I'll just skip this one and get the next one right." It is the wrong way to go. Set the bar higher (90% raw score), and you should in theory perform at a higher level.
*At my university, we did not curve. A 30%-40% average was the norm, and half of the class withdraws by the second exam. Setting a standard at 70% is going to kill you in this situation, lol.


3) Nap: 6-7 hours is adequate amount of sleep. 8-9 is more than adequate. Sleep deprivation doesn't seem to be an issue, although I do recommend taking a short nap after classes before proceeding to study. Japanese schools have been doing this recently by having a short nap period following the first break. It is conducive for memory retention.

4) Time Management: What's the biggest time waster in a college student's schedule? Food. Specifically making/buying food. Make your food/buy your food over the weekend, and microwave it throughout the week. Eat it quickly and move on with your life. Honestly if you want to buy soylent, fine. This will give you 1-2 hours extra time to study more.

 

[heartsink]

Really solid advice. Good ideas and some things i've never thought about. Thanks holm

 

[Shirafune]

I used Youtube materials a lot because there are plenty of videos that condense most of the information you'll ever need for the class into some pretty short videos. It helps me study more efficiently because I'm not wasting time reading my notes over and over. I usually read my notes once or twice and dig into some problem sets. If I don't understand, I go find a Youtube video and try to understand the concept, an ochem mechanism, for example. Then, I go back to my notes and try to see why I didn't understand it in the first place. In what context does my professor want me to understand and apply this concept? Ultimately, what your professor wants you to know dictates your grade, even if you're kicking butt at every other related topic.

I am also going to recommend that you overcompensate for the first exam of each class. I can get some pretty bad anxiety when I'm taking an exam for a course I have no previous experience in. I probably spend 5x the time I actually needed to get an A, but I usually end up acing the first exam and know how much to scale back for future exams. And even if you end up super swamped later in the term, you'll at least have a bit of a cushion.

 

[blackroses]

You already said it:

I know it won't stop me from getting screened out with the grades i'm getting

It sounds like right now the choice you need to make is whether or not to keep your job. Think about it this way: keeping the job will provide you a unique and valuable experience on your application. Unfortunately, at the rate you're going, no one will actually SEE this experience because your GPA will get screened. Unique and valuable or not, it doesn't do any good if it's preventing you from raising your GPA to a point where you won't get screened out.

 

[heartsink]

You already said it:



It sounds like right now the choice you need to make is whether or not to keep your job. Think about it this way: keeping the job will provide you a unique and valuable experience on your application. Unfortunately, at the rate you're going, no one will actually SEE this experience because your GPA will get screened. Unique and valuable or not, it doesn't do any good if it's preventing you from raising your GPA to a point where you won't get screened out.

My rationale for working and studying has always been "Every other student in my class is taking 15 to 18 credits while I only take 10, surely I can handle 25-28 hours of work each week and keep pace with them."

But you're absolutely right. The thought has weighed heavily in my mind since the going got tough. Great experience or not, I won't last much longer bleeding GPA at the rate I am right now. I'm really going to buckle down fall quarter, I'm going to take a lot of advice from this thread and some other areas I know i'm being inefficient in, become as lean as possible, and if its still not enough by the end of fall, I might have to seriously consider it as the next option.

unrelated note we have the same SDN birthday, high five.