Freshman Orgo ? ------------

baktrax
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 02:25:54 +0000

It’s good that you have such good motivation, but it’s important to be very aware of your background and potential challenges that you may have. It’s easy to say now that you’ll graduate with an engineering degree and a 3.7+ GPA, but it’s easier said than done. I’m not saying don’t do it or it’s not possible, because of course, it is. But I’ve seen a lot of students who were top of their class in high school, who found college tremendously more difficult in terms of the amount of work, the type of reasoning expected, and/or the emphasis on tests and the independent learning that was expected. And your comments really strike a chord with me because I’ve heard them all before from friends and from students I’ve tutored or taught, and not very many succeed–at least, not to the level that you are (or they were) aiming for. I’ve just seen this situation play out a lot of times before, and in the majority of cases, it’s the students who take on more than they can handle who really struggle. One or two bad semesters could potentially tank the likelihood of you getting a 3.7+, and getting only B’s or better in your pre-med courses certainly isn’t going to help that. And, of course, be aware that you’re going to be competing with students who aced their pre-med courses, and because they didn’t have to spend as much time on their schoolwork, were able to have more enriching activities outside of the classroom to strengthen their application.

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I just want to caution you about rushing head first into things. Take it slow and make sure you have the academic foundation that you need to succeed before you press forward. That may mean taking advantage of all of the your school’s tutoring/office hours/help room availability. That might mean re-taking courses you have AP credit for, or even taking a lower level course (your school may offer a class below typical beginning level courses for college students–such as a course before general chemistry or calculus) to make sure you have a really solid foundation. That might mean taking a lighter course load, or spending more time on course work or in study groups or with a tutor. You know that your high school preparation may not have been as excellent as others, so be aware of that and proceed with caution. Don’t make things harder than they have to be.

You say that education is 50% motivation, but I’d argue that that other 50% is preparation. With a relatively weak high school background, you may find that you have more groundwork to cover in college. I’m not saying it’s impossible, and I’m not trying to discourage you. Just be cautious and realistic. Wanting to start organic chemistry your freshman year with a 3 on the AP Chem test suggests to me that you may not be as aware of potential challenges as you should be.