Two "weed out" classes as a Freshman!

[tcollins10]

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I need some study skills advice. I attend a small private school called Austin College and the pre-med program here is pretty competitive. As a freshman, the Intro Bio and Gen Chem classes are considered "weed out" classes and a lot of students are highly recommended to take this to continue in pre-med.

I wanted to take only one science. But it only complicated things since only some science classes are available during certain semesters (its frustrating how they schedule courses here).

However, my goal is not to simply "make the grade", I did that in high school and it left me with poor study habits. I really want to be able to learn it well because this is what I really want to do. I do not enjoy science for any other reason other than I love it.

With that said, what is your advice approaching these classes? What did you do in similar situations? What are secrets that can help me get ahead and stay ahead in my courses?

Please share your knowledge, I'd very much appreciate it!!

 

[TarHeelEMT]

I need some study skills advice. I attend a small private school called Austin College and the pre-med program here is pretty competitive. As a freshman, the Intro Bio and Gen Chem classes are considered "weed out" classes and a lot of students are highly recommended to take this to continue in pre-med.

I wanted to take only one science. But it only complicated things since only some science classes are available during certain semesters (its frustrating how they schedule courses here).

However, my goal is not to simply "make the grade", I did that in high school and it left me with poor study habits. I really want to be able to learn it well because this is what I really want to do. I do not enjoy science for any other reason other than I love it.

With that said, what is your advice approaching these classes? What did you do in similar situations? What are secrets that can help me get ahead and stay ahead in my courses?

Please share your knowledge, I'd very much appreciate it!!

My advice is **** the suggested "pre-med" schedule unless there's some reason that you have to stick to it. If you don't want to take more than one of the classes right now, then there's not really any reason for you to do so. Nobody cares that you took X class during Y semester. All they care about is that you took them and did well in them, so take them when you're ready to do well in them.

It sucks that your school apparently has funny scheduling of courses, but don't take a course if you're not ready for it. You can always take it elsewhere during a summer or after you graduate. You're more likely to excel when you're doing it on your terms.

 

[TarHeelEMT]

That said, Timothy is right. There really isn't any trick to basic level science classes. Two are doable, so if that's what you want to do, then saddle up and do it. Do all of your homework assignments and readings, and you should do well. They more or less tell you exactly what's expected of you.

 

[tcollins10]

Yeah that's the advice I seem to be getting often. I'm just starting from scratch with working on study and time-management skills and I just don't want it to get in the way of me doing well. But it might be that doubting my capabilities is the issue. I mean, yeah, they are only intro courses so it is doable. Thank you for your advice!

 

[Stewie32]

You may want to check out this site for some great study advice: http://calnewport.com/blog/category/tips-studying/

Try some of the techniques that the site has for studying, organization, avoiding procrastination, etc. Good luck!

 

[oaklandguy]

I need some study skills advice. I attend a small private school called Austin College and the pre-med program here is pretty competitive. As a freshman, the Intro Bio and Gen Chem classes are considered "weed out" classes and a lot of students are highly recommended to take this to continue in pre-med.

I wanted to take only one science. But it only complicated things since only some science classes are available during certain semesters (its frustrating how they schedule courses here).

However, my goal is not to simply "make the grade", I did that in high school and it left me with poor study habits. I really want to be able to learn it well because this is what I really want to do. I do not enjoy science for any other reason other than I love it.

With that said, what is your advice approaching these classes? What did you do in similar situations? What are secrets that can help me get ahead and stay ahead in my courses?

Please share your knowledge, I'd very much appreciate it!!

There are no secrets that will help you to stay ahead. That is all up to you.

The reality is, biology and chemistry are completely different courses.

For bio, I recommend reading ahead, so that you read what will be covered in lecture the night before the lecture. That way, the lecture confirms what you read and can answer any questions you had during your reading. Then, I recommend finishing your homework, or re-reading right after lecture. You have to memorize very specific details for bio, so the more times you read the material the better.

For Chem, memorize the periodic table and the trends of the periodic table. Also read ahead and do as many practice problems as possible, even some of the ones that weren't assigned. Always start your homework assignments early, in case you have questions. Actually read the book and the example problems in the book before you go to lecture so that lecture is just you making sense of what you previously read.

That is my advice. What happens in my science classes is that profs fly threw material, so I want to have read it before so that I am not thinking too deep during lecture and instead I'm just confirming everything I learned the night before. These are just my study habits; find what works for you and stick to it.

 

[portlandpixie]

Agree with what others have said except that part about memorizing the periodic table (although for the final for one of my gen chem classes, we had to fill in a periodic table as part of our test so maybe that is a good idea...)

As someone who has completed one year of college thus far, the thing that shocked me the most was how well you have to know the material in order to do well. That sounds like common sense but when you realize that your grade is based on 3 or 4 scores max, it's kind of overwhelming to think about. So, you can't really mess up on any of them or else you're screwed. It's always a blessing when profs include hw in the grade because that always helps.

But, if you keep on top of hw, the lectures, and ask questions when you need to, you should be fine. I liked reading, or at least skimming, the chapter before lectures just so that I would understand and have things sink into my brain more. Also, always try and start hw early because you never know when you're going to run into a toughie and have to get help. Besides that, persistence and hard work should do the trick! Good luck!