Which year of undergrad was your hardest and why?

[Universitygeek]

Just out of curiousity

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[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

They were all kind of the same. In my opinion upper division classes were easier but you had more stuff going on outside so it all kind of balances out.

 

[711769]

First year because I didnt care enough and couldn't really adjust to the uni setting

 

[deleted678432]

Incoming junior right now. My freshman year was my hardest so far. All the entry level classes had a lot of busy work and overall, my classes didn't feel as personalized.


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[blablabla1]

Just out of curiousity

Depends on you. For me, my 2nd year was the hardest by far because I took orgo, physics, and a couple other tough classes in combination with research and other extracurriculars.

Other people schedule differently and end up having a really hard 3rd year. It's entirely on you

 

[tle95]

Junior year was the hardest for me because on top of having a full schedule, I was also working, volunteering, shadowing, doing research, etc.

 

[2jz]

Ended first semester freshman year with a W, a D+ and a B. Definitely was an adjustment from highschool. Made for a great start to an upward trend I suppose.

 

[thisismyacct]

I'm going to be a junior next year and I'd say freshman year was the hardest.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

I went to a prestigious specialized high school in New York City. I took Calculus 3, Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics, and other higher level science courses. My transition to undergrad was too smooth and I was a straight A student until Junior year...

Mind you I always took 3 science courses every semester and I double majored in Biochemistry and Philosophy. Preparing for the DAT for a whole year on top of the higher level science courses, volunteering with the American Red Cross, shadowing whenever I could (4 city blocks away from my undergrad), and working as a private science and math tutor simultaneously brought my GPA down to a 3.6-ish at the end of Junior year. Thankfully, I managed to bring my GPA up in senior year.

 

[asdf99]

I chose an easy major that got easier each year (course wise)

So academically, first year was probably the hardest but still doable. Emotionally/motivation wise fourth year was the hardest because I was burntout plus had to prepare/travel for interviews and such. Furthermore, getting rejected further decreased my motivation levels since the rejections came right before finals kek.

 

[Michael_Scott]

3rd year - tougher upper level science courses, application coming up, DAT/MCAT etc coming up, continue shadowing/work/research/volunteering. Makes it one hectic year.

 

[Medin2017]

Had a semester where I was taking A&P, Biochem, and histology as well as a writing course and like 2 blowoff classes. Was pretty tough considering the big 3 at most dental schools for d1 1st semester are anatomy, biochem, and histo. Obviously my undergrad classes won't be as voluminous as d school, but the histology prof said med students who took his class told him it wasn't much harder in med school.

 

[TrevorwestDDS]

For me, it was definitely freshman year. The jump from high school to university was rough. Even though the classes freshman year weren't as difficult as the ones I would take later on, I didn't know how to study. Fingers crossed that the jump from university to D1 is a little more smooth.

 

[wengerout]

First year for sure. First 18 months really.


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[Likkriue]

The very last year cause the classes were the hardest.

 

[Polkadotfan]

Last semester...because I knew I was in and my motivation was shot.

Otherwise? My first years, years ago. I wasn't prepared for it and a lot of issues popped up. The rest of my UG was pretty consistent in difficulty. I think I learned more about how I learned though and was able to adapt.

 

[Merisa15]

Definitely my junior year, especially my last semester. I was taking four upper-level science courses (cell biology, organic chemistry 2, medical botany, and genetics) while working in a laboratory 20 hours a week, shadowing, going to dental-related events, volunteering, and preparing to apply and take the DAT in the summer. If you're looking to go straight into dental school, I think it's your junior year. If you plan on taking a gap year, it's your senior year that's most stressful. Depends on your courseload (I would assume that it gets harder for everyone as you progress) and when you want to go to d-school.

 

[SmileItsLife]

Definitely my junior year, especially my last semester. I was taking four upper-level science courses (cell biology, organic chemistry 2, medical botany, and genetics) while working in a laboratory 20 hours a week, shadowing, going to dental-related events, volunteering, and preparing to apply and take the DAT in the summer. If you're looking to go straight into dental school, I think it's your junior year. If you plan on taking a gap year, it's your senior year that's most stressful. Depends on your courseload (I would assume that it gets harder for everyone as you progress) and when you want to go to d-school.

Your schedule sounds crazy.... btw, what is medical botany?

 

[SmileItsLife]

For me, I am in my second year so far, and I would say this past semester was the most difficult for me. I had to take 17 credits this semester to catch up a little bit... and that has taken a lot from me.

I think that merisa15 is right about it getting harder as you go on to an extent. No doubt the classes in major get harder, but you also don't have to waste time on classes that you don't naturally grasp right away (looking at you chemistry) or humanities where it feels like you are wasting your time doing so much busy work when you rather study.

 

[Merisa15]

In that class, we learned about the use of plants, its role in the development of civilizations, its use for medicine, etc! Good class! 🙂

 

[Stanelz]

My senior year. Woke up at 6AM and went to bed at 1-2AM everyday.

Was taking 16 hours of all upper level bio, held three separate leadership positions in a student organization. Was mentoring multiple students, band practice, shadowing, volunteering, studying for the MCAT (was premed at the time). 0 free time. I had to multi task and eat because literally every minute counted.

Weekends had church on saturday and sunday and was the worship leader (music director) so it wasnt any easier to "catch up" on the weekends.

When I graduated I had so much more time I didnt know what to do with myself so I learned to play 3 more instruments, invest in the stock market, grow in public speaking, work on cars, and work full time... all in one year.

 

[I-hate-alginate]

I am a junior and I find this year to be the hardest. Not because of the classes, but after I took my DAT, I feel like I lost all the motivation for undergrad.

 

[itsJazz]

Definitely this past year (2nd). I didn't have a good foundation for organic chemistry because my 2nd baby chem professor was a horrible teacher, so struggled a lot in turn in orgo. Lost 4 loved ones, 2 in the fall, 2 in the spring. Took 18 hours this spring, but had to drop out of genetics and orgo 2 since i was such a mess. Still ended up doing horribly in the rest of my classes. Retaking biochem this summer. Lots of stress financially since my scholarships are on the line thanks to my low grades. Lost a lot of motivation to pursue dentistry because of my performance this school year, but still going to keep at it.

 

[SmileItsLife]

Definitely this past year (2nd). I didn't have a good foundation for organic chemistry because my 2nd baby chem professor was a horrible teacher, so struggled a lot in turn in orgo. Lost 4 loved ones, 2 in the fall, 2 in the spring. Took 18 hours this spring, but had to drop out of genetics and orgo 2 since i was such a mess. Still ended up doing horribly in the rest of my classes. Retaking biochem this summer. Lots of stress financially since my scholarships are on the line thanks to my low grades. Lost a lot of motivation to pursue dentistry because of my performance this school year, but still going to keep at it.

Losing one person is rough, but four....? That sounds like hell.
I'm sure you'll be able to pull through, though. If you can get a scholarship in the first place, you are academically smart enough. You just need to take the summer to rebuild yourself. I really hope things get better for you.

 

[blcopp]

Whatever semester gen chem 2 was.

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[Universitygeek]

Whatever semester gen chem 2 was.

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I thought organic chem was supposed to be the weeder course, not gen chem. Of course I haven't taken orgo yet. Just finished gen chem.

 

[blcopp]

I thought organic chem was supposed to be the weeder course, not gen chem. Of course I haven't taken orgo yet. Just finished gen chem.

I thought so too, but ultimately I thought gen chem 2 was the most difficult. Organic wasn't really that bad to be honest but I had an amazing professor.

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