I took a placement exam to test if I belong in Chemistry 101 or Chemistry 100 (which is a review of high school topics) and I was placed in Chem 100 as I failed the exam. I have two questions. 1. When med schools see my transcript, are they going to see me as less of a candidate because of this?? As in, will I have to work ten times harder than a normal pre-med student because of this??
And 2. I am going to have to take Chemistry 102, which follows Chem101, in the summer in one month instead of the semester that I should have because I failed this test because if I don’t take it in the summer all my classes will have to be pushed back a whole year and I cannot accept that. So, as a person who is NOT good at chemistry AT ALL, would this be academic suicide? I’m scared I screwed up my chances and I don’t know what to do. Please answer honestly.
Thanks.
Counterquestion: why is a person “who is NOT good at chemistry AT ALL” pursuing a path that requires them to take at least two years of chemistry and get good grades in those classes?
Good luck though. Taking a class that’s not your strength in a shorter, faster version doesn’t sound like a great idea but it’s probably preferable to delaying graduation.
I am very passionate about medicine and helping people. I aspire to become a psychiatrist and I really couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I’m willing to take hard classes, but I messed up my placement exam…
It is definitely a risk. Get a tutor even for 100 is my advice. Why does it push all your classes back? Pre-med isn’t a major, it is a set of classes – have you picked a major with a lot of science? You don’t have to… and you would be a lot better off having a full semester for 102.
It pushes my classes back because all my classes have chemistry 102 as a pre-req and those classes are pre-reqs for other classes so my 2nd and 3rd year classes all depend on each other. I’m honestly just scared because I really wasn’t counting on this setback. Thanks for the advice though!
Well you need to focus on right now.
They do these placement tests for a reason. Some HS students are well prepared, others less.
It’s important to be in the appropriate level class so that you can be successful.
As long as you pass all the required classes and get a good GPA, I don’t think med schools would care which class you started with.
Thank you for answering, I’ll keep this in mind!
What is your major?
As long as you have good grades and finished the med school requirements med school will care less if you took Chem 100 or 300
Med schools won’t care. They’ll just think that either your high school Chem was weak or you needed a refresher.
<<< I aspire to become a psychiatrist <<<<
What do you think a psychiatrist does? What do you think happens when a patient is in a psychiatrist’s patient’s room?
Don’t panic. This isn’t a big deal.
If you truly have difficulty with chemistry, you may want to rethink the idea of taking Chem 102 during the summer. Summer classes are very intensive & time consuming (particularly if you will be taking the associated lab during the summer). You will have very little time to assimilate new concepts and no time to recover if you should run into any difficulties. You may want to have the material spread out over a longer period (a full 15 week semester instead vs 6 weeks in summer) so you have more time to master it.
At worst, taking Chem 102 in the fall will have you applying to med school at the end of senior year instead of junior year. NBD. About 1/3 to 1/2 of applicants do that anyway so they will have extra time to get their application in order.
As for becoming a psychiatrist… really, right now you have no clue what a psychiatrist actually does. It’s foolish & unrealistic to decide on a specialty before you even start college! (BTW, the typical med student changes his/her mind about their specialty an average of 3-4 times during med school, according AAMC surveys.)
I would not worry at all about your chemistry score. Whether you start at remedial or advanced, the chemistry knowledge needed for the MCAT and for becoming a psychiatrist is basic. I am more concerned about your anxiety. You have a long journey ahead of you fraught with uncertainty. Take your time and really learn the material. Don’t rush. Try to enjoy the journey or you may hate your destination.
“If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.”
― C.G. Jung