Withdraw or stick it out

[mj1331]

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I am currently in the last gen Chem of the series. I received a 91% on the first exam and had a 90% in the class. The second exam I completely bombed and got a 20%( beyond failing).

We have done about 450 points of work and the overall point total is 850. Should I continue sticking it out or is it worth it to withdrawl? That 20% exam score killed my grade for now...it's now barely above a 70%

 

[kato3]

What grade are you in? How much time do you have before applying to PT schools? I was in a similar situation before, but go to your professor's office hours and see if you can get any extra points. Also, calculate what you need in order to get the grade you desire and make your judgment from there. These things happen, and I was pondering about withdrawing as well, but I stuck it out, managed to get a B in Gen. Chem II, and learned from it. I hope this helps out a bit.

 

[mn977]

Imo if you can't drop lowest test grade or somehow work something out with the professor, I would drop the course and retake during the summer before it's too late and you can't withdraw any longer. I always drop before anything can show up on transcripts. Chem II is simple enough that should be easy get an A-/A. Also cycle for applying for 2016/17 begins in July so you do have the time for it unless you have many other courses that you need to still take.

 

[epicpt89]

This happened to me this past Spring. I was doing ok I guess in one of my classes, but I ended up bombing one test. I knew that I wasnt going to apply for a few semesters anyway so I cut my losses short. Two reasons that may help you out

1)If you wait it out there is always a chance you wont do that great at the end of the day for the class and that would hurt your GPA even if you do it over (remember PTCAS averages out everything even if you retake some classes)

2) A W and an A work alot better in your sense than a D (or even C) and an A because that previous point that I mentioned before.

 

[apta_pharaoh]

Ask your teacher to retake because you had some "family problems". Explain how much you need a good grade. If the teacher won't budge then drop the course. I retook many classes and my respective undergrad GPA was high, however my ptcas GPA was lower. Take it in the summer. You'll know more than most already and get an easy A.

 

[mj1331]

I have a degree already in Communications so I don't have a class standing. I am finishing up and have about a year left. I talked to my teacher and were going to go over the test. She said she will take improvement on the final exam from this test and factor that into my final grade. I thought I had received around a 20% but she actually gave me a 40% (which is still terrible). If I do pretty good from here on out, I could get a 3.0, and If I do really good I could get a 3.3. I think I can get a 3.0, but even that's not the best. I think I'm going to stick it out because I don't have a history with struggling in chemistry. Its a tough decision; I really think this test was a fluke of what I am capable of on the exams going forward...just have to refocus.

 

[kato3]

If you believe you can get at least a 3.0, I think it's a wise choice to stick it out, both time-wise and financially. It happens to all of us at one point, and something that I learned early on is that grades are not all that matters. Do your best in this class, and use the time you would have used to retake it to gain more experience or do anything that will strengthen your application in the future. Good luck!

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

Imo if you can't drop lowest test grade or somehow work something out with the professor, I would drop the course and retake during the summer before it's too late and you can't withdraw any longer. I always drop before anything can show up on transcripts. Chem II is simple enough that should be easy get an A-/A. Also cycle for applying for 2016/17 begins in July so you do have the time for it unless you have many other courses that you need to still take.

I agree that withdrawing the class ASAP is probably the best option. I would disagree that Chem is an easy A, for me it was by far the most difficult prereq, aside from Physics. Only ~5% of my class got an A in Chem I, and I am holding off on taking Chem II until after my apps are sent out because I don't want it to bring down my pGPA.

How exactly did you bomb the last test so badly?

 

[mj1331]

Thanks Kato3 and everyone for the advice.

In response to Daniel: I think it had to do with a combination of not knowing every aspect, not enough practice, and studying the material in inefficient manner. I kind of panicked too. The lowest grade I had ever gotten previously on a chem test was a B-. But I know what you are saying, its one thing to fail a test, its another to completely bomb it.

 

[mn977]

I agree that withdrawing the class ASAP is probably the best option. I would disagree that Chem is an easy A, for me it was by far the most difficult prereq, aside from Physics. Only ~5% of my class got an A in Chem I, and I am holding off on taking Chem II until after my apps are sent out because I don't want it to bring down my pGPA.

How exactly did you bomb the last test so badly?

Chem II is not difficult in terms of the actual chemistry component of the course. It will be difficult if you aren't great at math, memorizing formulas, and deciphering word problems. I would say it's 75% math, particularly algebra with some logarithms thrown in there, though some professors don't give as many word problems as others. It's a significant part of it though and just takes a lot of practice to get down if math isn't a strong point.

 

[Daniel M. Pitta]

Chem II is not difficult in terms of the actual chemistry component of the course. It will be difficult if you aren't great at math, memorizing formulas, and deciphering word problems. I would say it's 75% math, particularly algebra with some logarithms thrown in there, though some professors don't give as many word problems as others. It's a significant part of it though and just takes a lot of practice to get down if math isn't a strong point.

Yea...I'm not great at math.

 

[mn977]

Yea...I'm not great at math.

If you survived through Physics I and Physics II level math (trig level), it's not bad at all. Brush up on logs and exponents and your Chem I material.