<p>I am going to be a sophomore and finishing up my gen eds, hoping to transfer after next semester but since my grades were only in the 3.3 range for my first year, I can almost guarantee I will be put on the waitlist and NEED to get a 4.0 next semester. I haven’t taken chemistry since junior year of high school and that class was a joke, we only learned the bare basics. I know absolutely nothing about statistics.</p>
<p>Statistics is not hard. Just pay attention and you’ll do fine. You’ll probably be allowed to use a formula sheet on the tests and quizzes, which will make things really easy</p>
<p>For many subjects, including calculus, there are workbooks such as the “Chemistry Problem Solver”. These are incredible tools and I don’t know why schools don’t pass them out along with the textbook. In the chem ones you’ll find chapters that correspond to the topics covered in a chemistry textbook. The chapters have worked problems, hundreds of them. The way to use the book is to try the 1st problem with the answer covered, then check your answer. If you don’t get it right or are completely lost, then look at their detailed explanation of how to solve it. Repeat until you get the hang of that type of problem, then go on to the next. There are similar books for subjects such as math, physics, stats, econ, etc.</p>
<p>I’m not going to say it is magical or quick, but I will say it is effective. Time spent becomes time spent productively, and then if the student goes back and reviews the text after learning to solve the problems they often will say, like I did, “so that’s what this is about!”</p>
<p>You need to plan in advance to spend the time it takes to learn the material. For math and science classes you should budget 6-10 hours each week outside of class to read the book, do practice problems, do the homework, etc. Learning this material is more like learning to play tennis than learning something from History. It takes hours of practice for the patterns to become automatic in sports, same in math/science. You can read an example in your stats book, think “that is obvious. Makes sense!” and be unable to solve a similar problem when not seeing the steps. Practice solves this. </p>
<p>There are 2 links I’ll give you with study tips (you can find many more with a search). Read thru [On</a> Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/3zh9frh]On”>On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student - Cal Newport) and <a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/aok5qn[/url]”>http://■■■■■■■.com/aok5qn</a> Rehearsal is also important (its some of what you do with that 6-10 hours). Read thru the story at [Random</a> Observations: Teaching linear algebra](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/y9rgwml]Random”>Random Observations: Teaching linear algebra) and see how that prof forced students to rehearse material with great results; you can do that on your own if you wanted.</p>
<p>The chemistry in college starts from square one (where you were in high school). At my school, there were 250 people signed up for Chemistry I, and 25 of us were allowed to take a pre-test that allowed us to take Chemistry II. I was a part of that group.</p>
<p>Honestly, you might think your “chemistry class in high school” was bad, but it really wasn’t. I wouldn’t doubt you learned half a year’s worth of chemistry in that class. Especially the first semester, it’s just naming elements, learning parts of the periodic table, as well as energy and lewis structures. If you’re extra worried, just study a bit now so you can feel more relaxed when the school year comes.</p>