Suggestions? Advice? Anything??

[littlewings]

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Hey everyone, I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster, first year pre-vet student.

I have a bit of a problem, and I was hoping someone might have suggestions for what I could do to improve my situation.

This is my third year out of high school, I took a year-long diploma course at a college straight out of high school, and started a 2-year business diploma after that. I shortly realized that I should have just jumped right into the university pre-vet program instead. I finished my year off there, and transferred for this year.

My first semester didn't go so well. Basically, C's across the board, all in pre-req's. Stressful, but not overly, as I thought that with a different schedule I would be able to pull up my grades. I did a MAJOR overhaul on my at-home study regime, I have multiple tutors, and I go to instructor-led review sessions, as well as taking all review sessions for any course I'm taking now.

My problem now is, that despite this huge effort, I am having unbelievable problems with understanding the material and doing well on lab reports, exams, assignments, etc. This is starting to make me a nervous wreck!!

After getting back my physics midterm (which I did all the review homework, practice midterm, had TWO tutors for) I realized that something has got to change. I got 42%. The week before I got back my chem 102 midterm with a 28% (same deal, but one tutor this time). I honestly have no idea what I can do differently. l have an appointment to meet with my physics teacher next week (earliest possible time), but there's still calculus, biology (tomorrow actually, so you can see why this is extra panic-ful, not that I can really do anything different now), and the final chem midterm left. These marks have me in a completely stressed out.

I already have a tutor chem and phys, the worst of the subject for me to understand, have signed up for pre-midterm review classes, and do the homework. I also try my very best to do weekly reviews of each subject, and typically I have days set aside for each subject to get the homework done and review. I don't know what else I can be doing to improve my grades.

I looked around in some of the other threads, and some suggestions were to drop everything and do 1 or 2 at a time until A's are achieved, and that's basically what my dad suggested for me to do too. I'm typically the type of person who strives to do well, and doesn't quit (except for business school), but this is really making me upset and I don't know what to do.

Please help my cause, SNDers!!! Thanks for reading this far if you have!

 

[DVMorBust]

First, breath. Lots. You're doing the right thing by addressing the issues you're having, and panicking is the only sure thing that won't help.

The big red flag that pops out at me is that it seems like you are putting a lot of effort into studying, and studying more instead of studying better. Unfortunately, there's not an across-the-board answer in regards to how to study...so now it's time to do a little legwork. There's not going to be a magic switch to make things better, so if you're worried about your GPA it honestly might be worth it to drop some classes (if feasible) and address the issue with a lighter courseload, then pick it up again next semester.

Once you decide whether to stick it out this semester or lighten up a bit, you need to figure out what the problem is. Do you understand the material when the professor goes over it in class, and then find you don't remember the information later? Does it go completely over your head in lecture, and you feel like there's not enough time to get it down outside of lecture? Do you go into tests feeling OK, but suffer from test anxiety? Is it something else completely?

Do you know what kind of learner you are? These are from a quick google search, but they may give you a starting point:

http://www.chaminade.org/INSPIRE/learnstl.htm
http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/fourls.htm

Universities aren't set up to accommodate all learning styles, so if yours doesn't mesh with a professor it takes a little more creativity to figure out how to study. To confuse things further, it seems that different subjects bring out different learning styles in the same person, which means sometimes a nice scramble to sort out how to study each semester in the beginning of classes. But being aware of your strengths and weaknesses will set you up to evaluate classes and determine a method that works.

One last thing, don't keep trying the same thing over and over if it's not working. It sounds like you tried switching it up recently, but that the new method's not working. So switch it up again! Even in the middle of the semester, frightening as that may sound sometimes.

OK, another real last thing - I find this blog has a lot of good tidbits if you search through it:

http://www.calnewport.com/blog/

Good luck!

 

[WildlifeSaver]

I am just curious and probably not helpful, but what type of school setting are you in? A large public school, private, cc? Do you have a lot of students in your class? Something I know I like if I have a lot of questions and whatnot is having smaller class sizes. It can be a more helpful learning environment. I am not suggesting to change your school.

 

[Angelo84]

You may have just overloaded your schedule by taking bio, chem, physics,s and calculus in the same semester. I would probably withdraw from the course that is giving you the most trouble and plan to take it over the summer or next year. Find other people in your class that are doing okay and would be willing to do a study group. Talking thrngs through outloud and quizzing each other has always helped me.

Good luck

 

[ellehan]

Hey I am in the same boat as you. I literally study more than anyone I know, yet my grades do not reflect this. For someone who puts in the amount of effort that I do you would expect to have straight A's in everything but this is not the case. One of my problems is I am a terrible test taker and on tend to over-analyze everything. I am a very visual learner so I have adapted strategies, which have helped some.

 

[sumstorm]

It sounds like the situation may be really dire, with failing grades. Is there a learning center on campus that could help you with identifying learning styles and skills.

In all honesty, F's on early tests are hard to recover from. You might want to talk to an academic advisor or dean and see if you can withdraw for the semester, spend the rest of the semester focusing on developing study skills that help you learn more efficiently and effectively, and tackle the courses in another semester. I think it is a hard decision, but many of us on here have a hard time recovering our GPA from a few C's. Sit down and realisticly figure out if you can recover the classes from those initial grades.

Panicing isn't really going to help right now, and you may have to suffer through low grades on some more exams before you can discuss this with anyone at your school. Schools don't want thier students to fail, but there is only so much they may be able to help you with.

As a former tutor, I could often tell what was hindering my students (poor basic skills, anxiety about the course, test anxiety, lack of problem solving skills, etc). Do your tutors have any ideas of what is going on?

How are you studying now? That seems like a hard question to answer, but unless you can put your study methods in concrete terms it will be difficult to understand what other methods are possible.

 

[DreamComeTrue09]

Hi there. Well, I really think you should drop one of those science classes...you have alot going on there...I'm sure you have biology lab, chemistry lab, and physics lab as well....so a good portion of your time is spent in lecture and lab leaving little studying time..I would suggest giving yourself a break and dropping one of those clases...drop the one you have received the lowest scores in.... In my opinion a W looks alot better than an F. Does your lowest exam score get dropped? I don't think one can really recover after getting a 28/100 on an exam...you said that was the midterm...are there only two exams? midterm and final? If that is the case, if you do the math say you were to get a 100 on the final exam...28+100=128/2=64 and perhaps your lab grade would pull you up to a C? That's if you have a perfect score in lab and on your final...you really need to sit down and play with numbers to see whether or not you can pull off a C or better..realistically...if you can, I would continue with the class....I really think you should drop chemistry and re-take it...is it offered in the summer?

 

[VAgirl]

In my opinion a W looks alot better than an F.

The OP will want to double check how "W"s get recorded at their school. At my undergrad, you didn't just get a "W," you got "WP" for "withdraw passing" or "WF" for withdraw failing. So taking a W might not keep the fact that the OP is failing off of their transcript.

With how much studying and how many different methods the OP says they're employing, (major overhaul of at-home study regime, multiple tutors, going to instructor-led review sessions, taking all review sessions for all courses), something has to be wrong to still be pulling grades in the 25-50% range. Perhaps testing for some learning disabilities is warranted.

Also, I don't think just taking 1-2 classes at a time is the answer. That's precisely the kind of thing that vet schools look at...whether or not you can handle multiple hard science classes at the same time since that's how things are structured in vet school. Some people have trouble gaining admission to vet school if they only took 1-2 pre-req courses at a time. Still, if a person can justify that they had to take their pre-reqs this way for employment reasons or financial reasons, they have can make the case that, "Yes, I feel confident that I can handle a full science course load...I was only taking courses I way that I did for outside circumstances." If the OP takes 1-2 courses at a time because they cannot handle more at once, that's a red flag.

Not to be a Debbie Downer. Certainly the OP could turn things around if something clicks or whatever, and that's one thing. But I think the current situation is a sign that there's something wrong and some deep introspection (and definitely some outside help, academic counseling, disability testing, etc.) is needed to figure out what is going wrong and why, and whether it is possible to fix it.

 

[sumstorm]

With how much studying and how many different methods the OP says they're employing, (major overhaul of at-home study regime, multiple tutors, going to instructor-led review sessions, taking all review sessions for all courses), something has to be wrong to still be pulling grades in the 25-50% range. Perhaps testing for some learning disabilities is warranted.

One thing that struck me is the potential for all the methods mentioned to be passive learning. There is a book out by adam robinson that tries to teach how to turn traditionally passive learning methods into active learning methods using inquiry. Passive learning can be problematic because people read/hear something and thing 'I understand that' but aren't able to explain the information on thier own, or can't utilize it to answer more complex questions.

I don't know what to say about the load...that seems kind of typical.

Even if it is WF....I think that might be less problem than a semest of F's. OP needs to find out what her schools rules are (some may replace W's if the course is taken again and passed.) Also, if OP discusses a total withdraw for a semester...in some ways it suggests maturity to realize a pause is needed to determine how to recover. I think that might be easier to discuss as a destraction on an application than bad grades across the board.

 

[sunnex3]

this is just my personal opinion, but i definitely think you're overloading your schedule with too many science related classes.

at penn, we have a ton of premed/prevet students, and no one i know of has ever taken bio, physics, chem, AND calc, all in the same semester.

i think it's important to have a balance of science classes and other classes that you might enjoy (or maybe requirements you might need to graduate. at Penn we have like 15 million other gen ed requirements to fill)

in my schedule of classes that i have planned, i'm never taking more than 3 classes per semester - i don't think that showing the admissions people that you had a tough coarseload is worth it if in the end, you won't do well. i personally think that a moderate (but not too light) coarseload of 2-3 science classes a semester shows the adimssions people that you are committed to your goal, but you still explored other areas of interest to you. like i'm taking photography and a movie mythology class next semester, as well as orgo and bio, but that's so i can have some classes that i'll actually enjoy and have fun in, because i know that my science classes will be rough.

in the end, i feel that if you keep taking soooo many science classes lumped together, you'll just burn out and won't be able to recover easily. i always feel that moderation is the key.

 

[david594]

in my schedule of classes that i have planned, i'm never taking more than 3 classes per semester - i don't think that showing the admissions people that you had a tough coarseload is worth it if in the end, you won't do well.

Fully agree with you on this point. You can shoot yourself in the foot if you take too many classes and then do really bad in them.

i personally think that a moderate (but not too light) coarseload of 2-3 science classes a semester shows the adimssions people that you are committed to your goal, but you still explored other areas of interest to you.

Something to keep in mind though is that showing a person is really REALLY committed to vet school doesn't get them in. A student needs to also demonstrate that they have the ability to succeed. Vet school commonly tell people to major in something they like, so that they have something they can fall back onto if they don't get into veterinary school.

Best of luck to the OP though, They have an uphill battle GPA wise and the classes are only going to get harder from there.

 

[sumstorm]

Best of luck to the OP though, They have an uphill battle GPA wise and the classes are only going to get harder from there.

Was just thinking about this...and I actually found my upper level courses were easier than my intros just because they were more specific (except o chem.) With my intros, I was never confident of what the professors would want minute detail on and what they would want big concepts on. That, or I just figure out how to juggle work and school better which enabled me to learn more /course.

 

[david594]

Was just thinking about this...and I actually found my upper level courses were easier than my intros just because they were more specific (except o chem.) With my intros, I was never confident of what the professors would want minute detail on and what they would want big concepts on. That, or I just figure out how to juggle work and school better which enabled me to learn more /course.

Truly easier or simply just more enjoyable and less of a chore?

 

[DVMorBust]

Truly easier or simply just more enjoyable and less of a chore?

I'm going to second the 'upper levels are easier'. For me, it's just the way my brain works. I find it infinitely harder to remember surface-level information, even if it's conceptually easier, than going much more in-depth in an upper level course.


Although I'd also be willing to argue that something being more enjoyable makes it easier...

 

[sunnex3]

well yes, i should say that i've seen a lot of kids at my school who are pre-health but aren't bio/chem majors. i'm simply a bio major because i enjoy biology and find liberal arts courses to be hard for me to succeed in.

but i know communications majors, sociology majors, etc. who are pre-health.

what i meant to say is, maybe you just need to balance your classload with classes that you can kind of relax in, so you're not stressed out in every single one of your classes. even if you're a science major, you can still manage to fit in 1 or 2 fun classes now and then - that way you won't stretch yourself too thin.

 

[sumstorm]

Easier. Think about something like intro organism biology. Your prof skims through all the anat and physio, including some biochem processes, some micro stuff (rumen environment) and some molecular stuff. Your textbook is dense with the same stuff, but you got even more detail from lecture. You go into your exam, and, at least at my college, the prof might ask about something involving kidney function such as diabetic nephropathy, the involvement of interstitial kidney cells, ask for differences in kidney function across sample species, request a diagram of the kidney in 'as much detail as possible' or ask something as simple as what are the primary functions of a kidney.

If you studied for the last question, you may not be able to answer the others. If you learned some of the others but not all, you might not have studied what is asked, and if you studied all the detail, but only general questions are asked, you spent a lot of excess time. Our tests were always odd mixtures of detail and generalities, along with questions based off of current (recent) published research asking for an examination of data or hypothesis formation.

The advanced classes, you were looking at something smaller, such as medical microbiology, where you were consistently studying microbes, fungi, and viruses, how they caused disease and in what, what the symptoms and progressions were, how to distinguish from other vectors, distrbution/spread. So you had a pretty solid knowledge of what you would be asked. To compare it to my intro microbio section, I would also need to know what scientists discovered each part of id, treatment, in vitro growth, etc, and what year it happened in. I wouldn't need to know all the subtleties, but enough random junk to make it hard....and I probably wouldn't have had to formulate treatment plans or progressive diagnostic plans.

I don't know...I have always found it easier when the class is pretty focused. The exception was immunology and neurobio, just because the fields are still new enough that terms aren't terribly consistent across the field and so many things are still 'unknown' and 'uncertain' which is cool in its own way. I also think our school focused on a really solid foundation to promote research, since our upper level courses were focused on research more than lecture.

Could be that research is just easier for me than the breadth of intro levels. I also didn't struggle with physics, so I might just be an odd ball. chem is my personal weakness.

 

[littlewings]

Alright, I will try to address some question put out for me.

Firstly, I took the learning style tests, and I come out as primarily tactile/kinestetic, and I have gotten some good study suggestions off of the blog and the test sites that might help. Thanks DVMorBust!!!

Next, I am at a big university, with large class sizes. I do ask more questions in a smaller class setting, but now I'm just taking the notes down, asking the teacher after class, or asking my friends who have taken the classes and did well in them.

I didn't realize this was going to be a heavy load. I enjoy biology, and the labs don't feel like work, I enjoy them. For the most part, I enjoy chemistry and the labs, but something isn't connecting from in-class notes and examples to out of class and exams. Same deal with physics on top of I did really well in physics in the past. I was expecting calculus to be my hardest course this semester. The reason I'm so worried about calculus is that I felt confident going into some of my exams (ie physics), but came out with a horrendous mark.

I do have plenty of study time as well. I am out of school by 2 (early start), home by 3 (with the exception of Monday with those long phys labs), and my weekend days are free, I work weekend evenings.

What I do to study is: review class notes, read the readings from the syllabus, I type up the class notes, find examples and do them. If I can't do them, I talk to my tutor about them. Neither tutor has told me where they think I'm having problems. I've told them both my main problem is application of formulas. I also get my family to quiz me, but this only really works for theoretical stuff.

I don't suffer from test anxiety, it seems to be mostly that I feel confident going into the test, but something didn't compute, or I was studying the wrong material, or I don't understand how to apply it fully, and I get a poor grade. I haven't failed yet (the class averages were also low, so D's only.). The chem midterm is 1 of 2. The phys was 1 of 1.

I'm not sure that dropping my classes is the right thing to do, mainly because this course-load shouldn't be that bad. Three labs is hectic, but I'm not cramped for time really. I think thought that I will meet with an advisor and get their two cents.

How did other people study for physics and chemistry? Lots of examples?

 

[sunnex3]

yeah many of the courses at my school (at least in biology) consistently get easier ratings as you go to the upper 300-400 levels. many of the intro classes for us like gen bio, cell bio, intro biochem, genetics are notoriously hard while upper level courses like embryology, microbiology, immunology, cancer cell biology, infectious disease biology, etc. are all a bit easier and a lot more research based also (the exception being our notoriously hard 400 level bio chem course)

 

[sunnex3]

How did other people study for physics and chemistry? Lots of examples?

i studied for chemistry by:
1) reading through my class notes slowly once
2) reading my book once
3) making detailed review sheets of what i need to know
4) re-doing homework problems, and then doing extra problems that weren't assigned
5) i'd finish off by doing the practice/previous exams that my professor had provided.

i go to a big university also, so i know how hard it can be to ask questions...🙁

 

[sumstorm]

Gee, this is digging up ancient stuff. I realize message boards aren't the place where we show off our writing skills, so I am going to blunty ask: how are your writing/reading/comprehension skills? Also, how are your basic math skills, including algebra and geometry?

Most places suggest 2-3 hours minimum out of class for time in class. If you aren't use to a full schedule with labs, that might be problematic.

If you are a kinetic individual/tactile learner, you will probably try some different techniques. IE, lets say you know how to throw a curve ball, and you need to memorize the steps in a synthesis reaction. Tag each step to the FEEL of throwin a curve ball. Or, jot down those types of things on note cards and go for a relatively familiar walk, focusing on each component at a given landmark on the walk. It just helps your body establish a relationship to the material, helping your mind process it.

Note taking: review what you know concerning the topic in your head, skim the material and formulate some question you want answered based on skimming, read the material that will be covered in lecture ahead of lecture, and look at the problems presented (but you may not want ot work on they till after lecture.) Also, look slightly farther ahead (skimming titles and such) and try one of the reading methods such as SQR3. note potential weak areas/questions for lecture/office hours. in class, take notes every other line and one side of the sheet. immediatly after class, go through your notes and make any clarifications that you need for legibility. Then, flip the page over and write the questions in about hte space the answer will be on the other side (this is kind of like setting up flash cards, but faster.) This helps lock the info down. as soon as possible, review your notes with an idea of turning them into kinetic styles or graphical styles. I don't rewrite except to make more concise. draw out diagrams (not imitations of those in the book, but one syou create) or build them out of blocks. for some kinetic learners, jotting notes down on cards, tossing them in a pile, then formulating them into categories and such help.

See if you can answer the questions you wrote from your reading. If you can't, or there is anything your confused about, go to a secondary source to clarify. Write in your own words.

I really think it may be passivity in learning. Try teaching the subject to others (stuffed animals count.) The better you are at explaining it to others, the better understanding you have of it.

The other issue is if the test questions require synthesis of knowledge, and you are struggling due to that, you might be having a hard time placing the concepts in the overall structure of the course.

Are you highlighting when you read? What exactly are you doing when you redo your notes?

You said application of formulas is a problem. What does that mean? You can't identify what formula goes with which problems? You can't figure out where the values go into a formula? you don't remember the formulas? you lose 'steps' in the formula? you can't track units?

What are your tutoring sessions like?

There is a good book out right now on solving word problems, but I can't think of the name off the top of my head. I used it for teaching an autistic cousin how to solve algebra story problems...I will see if I can find it this weekend.

 

[DVMorBust]

i studied for chemistry by:
1) reading through my class notes slowly once
2) reading my book once
3) making detailed review sheets of what i need to know
4) re-doing homework problems, and then doing extra problems that weren't assigned
5) i'd finish off by doing the practice/previous exams that my professor had provided.

i go to a big university also, so i know how hard it can be to ask questions...🙁

Just to show you the difference in study technique, I studied for physics and chemistry by doing pretty much the opposite of this. Jumping right in to a problem, only having the baseline theory from lecture, and failing MISERABLY at it a few times until I did it right. Once it was right, it was stuck in my head and I could move on to the next concept.

Then I'd make a review sheet of little tricks that tripped me up to have for easy reference.

Then right before tests I'd do a bunch of super simple problems to get my confidence up.

Point being, if it's not how other people study best...that doesn't mean it won't work for you. I went through a few semesters of trying to study the way I 'should' before just embracing the way my brain works and using it to my advantage.

 

[nyanko]

Just to show you the difference in study technique, I studied for physics and chemistry by doing pretty much the opposite of this. Jumping right in to a problem, only having the baseline theory from lecture, and failing MISERABLY at it a few times until I did it right. Once it was right, it was stuck in my head and I could move on to the next concept.

This is how it works for me, too. I'm not much of a planner (to put it lightly) so screwing something up a couple of times will ultimately lead to my understanding it best. I can't learn by simply reading about, hearing about or seeing something done, at all. I have to be interactively involved with the material to be getting anything from it. That involvement can be as minute as writing down tangential questions as I read things to keep my interest in them, but it absolutely has to be there on some level. I think that's why research and grad level courses tend to suit me so much better than undergrad style courses. Research is all about trial and error, after all!

 

[Fairyblastt]

I second (third, fourth?) the testing for learning disabilities, with the amount of time OP is putting into studying, something else must be going on here as well. It seems more of a quality of studying problem; something needs to happen differently in order for the material to 'click' for the OP.

One caveat though on the 'upper division classes are easier' idea, while I agree with you I don’t think we can assume that the classes actually get easier. I found the upper classes to be more worth while certainly, more interesting, and also with a lot less route memorization (well except ochem 2, I suppose). But not only was I going into these classes fully prepared, I was also going in with a very good start on understanding how the philosophy of science works. I don't think you can make proper sense of more advanced classes if you have no idea of the thought process going on in the background, which is hard to describe to someone, because it becomes so intuitive for most of us.

If you're having issues in the basic science classes, you're not getting the tools needed to do well (or enjoy) the more advanced classes. And I remember plenty of people who had more than their share of difficulty in the upper classes, genetics and biochemistry stand out in my mind as classes where you either both loved it and absorbed it like a sponge... or you didn't. So while it's one thing to say 'oh you didn't enjoy the lower classes, don't worry it gets better from here (and it certainly did!),' it's another to pretend you won't ever need to understand the TCA cycle again past BIO 101 (I actually think this might be the one grain of consistancy in my life ).

 

[littlewings]

Sumstorm: Hm, I always joke that I might be a little bit dyslexic, but maybe it's actually partly true. Otherwise I do not have any learning disabilities. I have always been able to get decent or good grades, but then I have always been in a small setting.

My reading and comprehension are good, I haven't been tested in a while, but I did score pretty high last time (based on age group). Basic math is alright, for both algebra and geometry.

What I meant by "application of the formulas" was that I understand them in basic context, how to use them, etc, but when there's something where you have to apply your knowledge in a more advanced scenario, it all falls apart. Sometimes too, I know what formula to use, but there's information that's not readily available (ie, solve for it), and I tend to have blanks where I can't figure it out, both on tests and at home, but it's not an anxiety blank out, if you can understand the difference. I see the big picture, but I don't know how to get there.

When I review notes, I tend to read the class notes, look up some stuff in the text, underline. Then I will type up the notes, summed where I understand, and detailed where I don't know it well.

Sunnex3, that is a a good plan. I Usually just do the assigned questions, and questions from class again. The "what I need to review" sheet is a good idea too. I think I will start that!

DVMorBust, that is basically what I do now, but it takes really long, and oftentimes I confuse myself more! Possibly it's part of my problem?

I also spoke with my phys prof on Friday (cornered him, really, lol). He gave me a list of tutors he recommends, and we've arranged times where we're both free for pseudo-tutoring/q and a time.

As well, I'm doing that mid-semester overhaul from the blog up at the very top, mainly changing old study habits, making new ways to study, and organizing my time better, in class and out.

 

[DVMorBust]

]

DVMorBust, that is basically what I do now, but it takes really long, and oftentimes I confuse myself more! Possibly it's part of my problem?

I also spoke with my phys prof on Friday (cornered him, really, lol). He gave me a list of tutors he recommends, and we've arranged times where we're both free for pseudo-tutoring/q and a time.

As well, I'm doing that mid-semester overhaul from the blog up at the very top, mainly changing old study habits, making new ways to study, and organizing my time better, in class and out.

I'd say if it confuses you more, then it's probably a big part of your problem. If your issue is taking concepts and applying them to more advanced issues, then you probably want to start simple and build your way up, so you get comfortable with making those incremental steps...if that makes sense. Then when you get to a really tough problem, it's a familiar place for you to be and you know what to do to approach it, since you've already practiced being out of your comfort zone.

Once you find the way you need to study, you won't be as confused.

I had another thought - maybe you could try doing some mind-mapping for the conceptual things in physics/chemistry, and organizing your approach that way? I could see it being really useful for determining where to go and using as a reference, especially if you have issues with the traditional note-taking setup. Plus there's the bonus of creating something fun and interesting, which helps cement it in your mind a bit more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ
http://www.peterrussell.com/MindMaps/HowTo.php

 

[Skillet9886]

I agree with Sumstorm that passive learning is something to be very aware of -- and avoid.

Also, while it works for some (myself included), doing a problem wrong until you get it right is generally a horrible study technique. A lot of people have a problem separating the wrong steps from the right ones when it counts, and based on what you said, it sounds like you may be one of those people. I would definitely suggest that when you do problems if you are confused, stop in the middle of a problem and look up what you're supposed to do. Do it the right way, and then do it again. If you're stuck, stop instead of guessing. That way you can repeat the problem a few times, always doing it correctly, until you can recall it and do it without looking anything up.

Speaking of problems, I am also a kinesthetic learner, and, consequently, rereading my notes is a waste of time. If you really feel like that's something you want to do, at least highlight, which will make you do something, and will also help you pick out main points. If your issue is with application, though, I definitely suggest spending a majority of your time on practice problems. That's how I got through chemistry and physics. Don't just do the assigned problems; do as many as you can. A lot of books have problems listed in order of difficulty, so make sure you understand and can complete the first few problems before moving on to harder ones (depending on how your book is set up).

The best two learning methods I have found, and they might work for you since you said you're leaning toward kinesthetic, are flash cards and teaching. Flash cards keep me active, and during exams I can usually see myself flipping over the flashcard in my mind, whereas I have more trouble recalling something I saw on a page of notes. I must have made at least a thousand notecards for organic chemistry. Also, I know I've mentioned this on SDN before, but I am constantly teaching material from my harder classes to my pets. My cat is learning a ton of microbiology this semester. As someone (Sumstorm?) said previously, teaching is a very effective learning technique, because if you're responsible for someone else knowing material, you have to know it yourself.

A lot of times if I study by reading over my notes, I catch myself going, "ok, yeah, that makes sense. I know that," and moving on. That is BAD. Bad bad bad. The problem is that once I turn the page I find out that I do not know that, and if I let it go until I get to the test, I am very sad. Try to take a more active approach to reviewing, and constantly quiz yourself on what you've just read. If you read "Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492," test yourself before moving on. Who did it? When was that? Where did he go? If you can't remember all the main points you have to review it again. I literally close my eyes or cover the page every few lines when I'm reading notes or the textbook, because I am really bad about passive learning otherwise.

Taking a speed reading or reading comprehension course might help. You mentioned that your reading comprehension was good based on age, but that leads me to believe (with my VERY minimal expertise..) that you haven't checked in a while. I know there's a lot of reading comprehension difference between an 11 year-old and a 17 year-old, but I didn't think there should be much discrepancy between a 23 year-old and a 30 year-old. I don't actually know, though, that is merely assumed. I would make an appointment with an academic counselor and ask about reading comprehension diagnostics and/or classes.

Hm, that's more like 15 cents, but I hope at least some of it helps. Something else to ponder, for what it's worth. One of my high school teachers told us this freshman year. Not sure about the accuracy, and it obviously doesn't account for different learning styles, but it's stuck with me regardless.

We learn...

10% of what we read​

20% of what we hear
​

30% of what we see​

50% of what we see and hear​

70% of what is discussed with others​

80% of what is experienced personally
​

95% of what we teach to someone else​

 

[sumstorm]

One problem I would have had with the trial/error problem solving is that we didn't have the answers to check against. What do you do then?

Besides flash cards, I also use something called 'concept cards'

These past 3 semesters I have switched to computer only for notes and such...so I am playing around with a whole bunch of different techniques.

I also love mind mapping, and have an insanely expensive program for it (imindmap) but before this I did it by hand, and used mostly images. I did my entire micro econ class via mind mapping, and I can still roughly redraw all the mind maps (I can see them in my mind just mentioning them.)

 

[California1]

I agree with everyone that said that upper-division courses are easier. With that said, I found that doing well in the earlier courses helps to set you up for an easier time later. They sort of set up a foundation. Lowering your courseload/mixing in easy general ed courses will help--I really wish I had done better with that.

I've heard that everyone likes general chemistry OR organic chemistry. For some reason I just clicked with organic (not to say that I can remember any of it now!)...maybe that is encouraging?

I wish you the best with everyone else's advice! However, if all else fails, there are plenty of people who made it into school with poor grades. Some people just don't test well. If this is the case (and hopefully it isn't), I would put a lot of effort into the rest of your application. Spend time with those who can write great letters of recommendation. Even if you don't do well in a course, the prof will recognize the effort. GET EXPERIENCE! Many schools place a lot of importance on your vet/animal experince. Getting this requirement fulfilled is enjoyable and rewarding! When the time comes...study study study for the GRE. Try to do something that sets you apart from the rest.

The best advice I have is to pace yourself. When you think of the big grand scheme, taking one year longer on your undergrad isn't the end of the world. Focus on school now and when you graduate you can put all of your effort into the other things. The avergage age of a vet student is much higher than those freshly out of school!

 

[DVMorBust]

One problem I would have had with the trial/error problem solving is that we didn't have the answers to check against. What do you do then?

You know, I had never really thought about that as an issue. Some classes, if HW was out of the textbook, we had SOME answers in the back to check against (odd problems, say). And even if the HW wasn't with answers, there are usually book samples that have them, so you can figure out the same 'type' of problem that way and then move on to homework. Aside from that, on HW that didn't have answers anywhere, I just ... went until it made sense.

I think the point was using it to solidify concepts and the answers just came with it...frequently, I'd just do my homework like that and not care if the answers were right, as long as the work made sense to me, and they would be right.

I do think it's an unconventional method that is definitely NOT for everyone, but if it works, it works.

Hmm...now I'm intrigued...

 

[sumstorm]

Our professors that gave out problem sets wrote them...so no answer key....and not necessarily easily identifiable examples in the book...however, I found we were much better prepared for the tests that way. Plus, it meant you could use the book problems as well.

 

[DVMorBust]

Our professors that gave out problem sets wrote them...so no answer key....and not necessarily easily identifiable examples in the book...however, I found we were much better prepared for the tests that way. Plus, it meant you could use the book problems as well.

OK, I was actually thinking about this on my way in to school...ha!

So, our classes were split 50/50 in terms of source of homework. So for some classes that meant the answer was easily available, or at least very similar problems had answers immediately available.

I think what I was forgetting to mention was that it wasn't just a blind run through complex problems - there would be active crossover between notes and sometimes 2-3 different textbooks. I'd just jump in and solve a hugely complicated beast of a problem, preferably one that involved a few different concepts, and the whole time I'd be taking a step, THEN finding the step in the notes and trying again if need be...so I wouldn't do the whole problem over and over and just hit on the right answer, I'd be verifying that I was doing it correctly after every big step and switching it up if I wasn't before I got to the end...

So in that respect, I did review notes and such, but it was more an approach to the concepts through the application of the math.

Then again, on the occasion I just could not figure out a problem, I'd go in for help from the professor pretty quickly - so it wasn't like there was an extended period of floundering, which would be counterproductive for anyone.

Make more sense?

 

[sumstorm]

yep 👍

I think I did physics in a very similar way. chem/bio not so much.