madamebovary

I think take a breather and realize that many premeds across the country are facing the similar situation and experience. But also realize you still got a final that is worth more than your midterms and find an efficient strategy to make sure you will do better on that.

Batllo

ZFanatic-Way to grasp the whole "big picture" concept of college. So sick of the premeds on CC who whine about every single quiz that is not an A. You got the right attitude and perspective needed to go the distance. Good Luck.

VandyFootball

@madmebovary: Not true, my friends at state schools are getting 95+ on all of their pre-med classes, and they haven't even opened their textbooks this semester. (My friends aren't smart, made a 1700 on their sats and get high every other day). They go to state schools ranked in the 40s.

@Batllo: If you are so sick of "the pre-meds on cc who whine" then you don't have to post on my thread. I am sick you coming on my thread to be a ******bag.

ZFanatic

"ZFanatic-Way to grasp the whole "big picture" concept of college. So sick of the premeds on CC who whine about every single quiz that is not an A. You got the right attitude and perspective needed to go the distance. Good Luck."

"@Batllo: If you are so sick of "the pre-meds on cc who whine" then you don't have to post on my thread. I am sick you coming on my thread to be a ******bag."

I'm not sure if his comment was directed towards you, but I also hate those types of kids.

I do not, however, think you qualify as one of them at all. Your thread is not a "Have I killed my med school chances already with B's" thread, it's more of a "What can I do to improve my current situation" thread.

GoldShadow

What does that have to do with being a "state school"?

I'm at a state school and my experience has not been quite the same as your friends'. The majority of pre-meds face the same issues, regardless of where they go to school. You will find experiences that run the gamut at every type of institution. Organic chemistry is organic chemistry

VandyFootball

^ I agree OChem is a tough subject anywhere, but my friends aren't in OChem (since they are freshman), they are just taking Bio and Gen Chem right now (these aren't honors Bio and Chem classes either, I am sure the honors Bio and Chem classes at most state schools are just, as if not more difficult than some of my classes). In OChem I am sure they will find it just as difficult as my OChem class.

madamebovary

for one, i didnt even know you can get into a top 40 school w/ 1700 on SATs ,but its not like your SAT necessarily determines how well you will do in college.

Second, That has to be an achievement to get 95s on their test by not opening their book and getting high every other day. (*however, i think this may be a bit exaggerated, or the class avg gotta be really low, or they have some super awesome studying skills)

Techy233

"ranked in the 40s"

*roll my eyes.

Look, you chose to go to Vanderbilt. If your friends pull off effortless A's at UIUC or UNC - Chapel Hill, there is something going on there. Many people that go on to medical school went to top UG colleges. Many of them manage straight A's, and solid MCAT scores. Stop wasting time, and work more efficiently!

VandyFootball

My friends go to Penn State (Ranked 47).

They don't study, just show up to class and take some notes. They don't read the material, or work any practice problems. They don't start studying for a test 5 days in advance(like the pre-meds at Vandy), they cram 3-4 hours before the test. As a result, its frustrating to see when their A is considered better than my (B+/A-)..***

shades_children

You don't get A's for effort. You get A's for results. It may seem unfair, but you're best off being proactive and positive about your own situation then lamenting the injustice of it all.

And because I couldn't resist... if you think this is unfair, just wait 'til you see how third year medical students are graded. That's the real definition of frustration.

bluedevilmike

More to the point, I promise there are plenty of premeds at Vandy who (like my classmates at Duke) didn't study 5 days before a test and still manage to do fine.

Techy233

UIUC is also ranked in the 40s, and a great school. My boyfriend grows to Penn State - I know exactly what you're talking about. However, if you really are so superior, you should get an awesome MCAT score to overcome some GPA deficiencies. However, as close to 4.0 as possible is the general rule, UG institution notwithstanding.

VandyFootball

I see what you guys are saying about studying too much, I guess its because of the scedule I took this semester (loaded up on 2 science class and a writing intensive humanities class, along with a pre-business class that is graded with a DEFLATED curve. Oh well, next semester, I will try to be better at managing my time, I picked easier classes(or at least classes upperclassmen have told me are easy) to help balence out the 2 sciences I am taking as well.


Is taking physics over summer school going to destroy me on the Mcats? I was planning on taking physics at UPenn over the summer after freshman year, so that next year, I wouldn't be screwed by taking OChem and Physics together. I then plan on taking the Mcats before my Junior Year towards the end of the summer. Junior Year I will work on my medical school apps, and have them ready to be submitted by the summer before Senior Year. (Med Schools have rolling apps)

AliAngel

ur lucky to me if u only had to study 5 days before an exam. i went to BU and studied a minimum of 10 days, max of a month for an exam (the month studying was for biochemistry for the med school that i took as a UG) and i struggled for every grade that i got which still didn't look good compared to other pre-meds. i can tell u that for me, i said in my program interviews that even though my gpa wasn't stellar, i worked myself t the bone for every grade that i received and am extremely proud of my work ethic. and i can tell u that now, in med school, i am absolutely killing the exams here in my first semester. it is expected that people don't graduate from every school with a 4.0, and this is a well-known thing at BU at least. most important thing is to get the study habits now, because there is no such thing as procrastination in med school (for the important classes). if u fall behind, especially in head and neck in gross anatomy, you're done lol. so i say start studying less material earlier in advance (i.e. go home from lecture and review the material once over even if u don't have an exam for another 2 weeks) and see how you do.

sean256

@madmebovary: Not true, my friends at state schools are getting 95+ on all of their pre-med classes, and they haven't even opened their textbooks this semester. (My friends aren't smart, made a 1700 on their sats and get high every other day). They go to state schools ranked in the 40s.

I attend SUNY Geneseo which is supposedly New York's honors college and the place where everyone is a bio major looking to get into med school. So not all state schools are a joke. Just my rant about the class difficulty at state schools.

I currently have Bs across the board (Bio 1, Chem 1, Calc 1) except for some worthless lit class I have an A.

I continue to test out different study habits and will not consider myself out of the running to get into med school until after my second semester grades are final.

Yes, I am in a bad position, but I don't consider myself out of the running. My pre-med advisor doesn't sugar coat anything. He told me I definitely could be doing a lot better but should wait until after my second semester to make any big decisions. He told my friend who has a B in everything but a C in Bio that he should start to re-evaluate his career goals.

Try new study techniques and don't worry about not making the "grade" until after your second semester. If you do better, then spend the summer observing an orgo class at your local community college. Observing a class costs a little money but you do not receive a grade. Yes, it will be a joke compared to a 4 year institution's orgo class, but you will be at least familiar with its topics.

I have heard time and time again that orgo is the most important class a med school adcom looks at. Good luck.