<p>Just finished freshmen chem (chem 121) and got D+.</p>
<p>Went to every class, had weekly tutor and B+ in labs.</p>
<p>This is insane.</p>
<p>This school is insane and out of control</p>
<p>They need to seriously fire these people.</p>
<p>Just for the record, I was a 28 ACT science 30 composite.</p>
<p>i’ve heard about this class and i’m pretty much terrified!!
do you have any suggestions for incoming freshman about doing well in it?</p>
<p>Don’t enroll in it randomly. check out the professor and TA. I had a really old professor who was horrible and there are better ones. If you are good at math/science you should be OK. I hate Chem and now have to repeat this course.</p>
<p>The Chemistry department is supposed to be under investigation for flunking out so many people. But they don’t care. They don’t even answer emails.</p>
<p>Maybe you can take it at community college over the summer. My son is good at science so he had no problems but I am sure he would recommend picking well-rated instructors if possible. Make sure you talk with the TA and instructor if there is something you don’t understand.</p>
<p>yeaah i can’t cause it’s a pre-med req and it looks really bad to do that :/</p>
<p>Check online at the campus bookstore to see what textbook is used for Chem 121, buy a copy, and start reading it over the summer if you are that worried. When my son took the class, I think they used Chemistry the Central Science. I think they covered a third of the book each quarter so it’s not like you need to read the whole book. There might even be some study guides available for that specific text if you look online. </p>
<p>If you have access to tutoring through campus sources, you might check to see if they have old exams to review. Obviously, they would not be current for your instructor but they might be helpful for review if you can get them. </p>
<p>For premed, it is better to take the class at community college than take a low grade in the class. If you take a class at community college, the letter grade shows on your transcript but it does not affect your GPA.</p>
<p>Here is an example of something that happened in my class. My professor had to go out of town. He asked another professor to make our quiz. The other professor put material on the quiz that hadn’t been covered. So everybody did poorly. Instead of dropping the quiz, they “compensated” by making the next quick slightly easier.</p>
<p>Basically they fit a normal distribution to the class so no matter what a certain percentage of people are going to fail.</p>
<p>My parents are really upset because we are paying out of state with no financial aid.</p>
<p>I was hoping to be pre-vet but I think that dream is over for me thanks to Ohio State.</p>
<p>The other frustrating thing is that none of my good grades from transfer work even count here. Yet, I am denied freshmen forgiveness because of the transfer work? That’s crazy.</p>
<p>I am beginning to hate this school.</p>
<p>Just talked to one of my previous students (in high school) who had a similar situation with calculus. Got a D the first go-round, took it again, did much better points-wise - and ended up failing the class because of the percentage distribution of grades. He was devastated, especially because he did much <em>better</em> the second time in the class and worked very hard. He had also taken it as freshman forgiveness - and now he has NO credit for the course and it looks terrible on his transcipt. He was also very interested in pre-vet and is basically giving up, even though, frankly, he would likely make an exceptional vet with his background and experience thus far, and his potential. A very bright young man. His previous high school does not have a strong math or science program, but he would do quite well with the right teaching instead of being expected to teach himself (which seems to be the route for math and chem at OSU). The tutoring he tried to get was poor because the tutors did not speak English well at all. He did okay in chemistry but still not the grades likely needed for vet school.</p>
<p>I recently read an article that discussed so well how colleges are losing students who have great potential if only they would be taught the subject to capture their interest and intellect instead of simply trying to weed out. Many students do not come from schools with strong math or science curriculum, but they could be quite skilled at the subjects if given a chance to learn instead of thrown under the bus from the get-go. I’m hearing more and more stories like this about OSU , as if the aggressive weeding out is the goal instead of teaching.</p>
<p>As for the student I mentioned, I tried to encourage him to talk to the professor or the department, but he was so discouraged that I don’t believe he ever did. So, your grade can get worse, even if you did better…doesn’t seem quite right.</p>
<p>Yeah, there is an administrator just for undergrad chemistry. I guess they have so many complaints they have to employ somebody to deal with them all. They were trying to talk me into trying again but I think it would be unwise.</p>
<p>I can spend my money elsewhere, with absolute grading systems and smaller classes. You can’t learn Chemistry or math in a room of 450 people.</p>
<p>Basically the professor has 16 seconds a week of consultation time for each student.</p>
<p>I am sorry that you have had such a lousy experience. OSU has had weed out classes in sciences, pre-anything, allied med, business, and engineering since the beginning of time, I should know, I went through it many years ago (accounting 201, finance 520…). The harsh reality is that there are many students who have a really tough time with those courses, but that is the way it is. The problem is that a lousy teacher is a lousy teacher regardless of the number of students in the class. In addition, at large research oriented universities like OSU, teaching skill is less important than publishing, research, and the ability to attract grant money. Unfortunately, OSU is not the only school to do this-just about any large state school has the same issue, along with many of the top private schools. That doesn’t make life any easier for you, but your situation is not unique.</p>
<p>It helps to get a better professor and go to office hours in the future. For math and science classes, office hours are so much better than class and pretty much just a group of students crammed into the professor’s office while the professor actually explains the material.</p>
<p>It’s sad being demoralized and having your career dream ruined in your freshmen year. I was a varsity athlete and the only freshmen picked for a research team in animal science. Now, thanks to Ohio State, its all over for me. Why even continue in this path if I can never even have a chance for vet school?</p>
<p>The ironic thing is that I’ve got free tuition to Wash U STL. I could go to the night program and finish a degree in physical athropology there in only 2 more years, since I had so much college work done already. Wash U’s physical anthro degree doesn’t require two semesters of calc, like OSU. </p>
<p>It seems like OSU has something to prove in comparison to the ivy league level schools.</p>
<p>I understand the disappointment of a bad grade, but a successful student will pick themselves up and move on. It is not impossible to get into a professional school with one bad grade. It can hurt but what hurts more is showing that you cannot deal with adversity in a productive way. </p>
<p>Plan not to get anymore bad grades. Learn from the experience. At all schools, you should choose your instructors carefully. Check their ratings and ask around. Also, you should know when to drop a class. Know your abilities so that after you attend a few classes, you can decide if you should drop the class. Monitor your progress closely so that you can see if you are heading for trouble and withdraw if needed. If you have to drop/withdraw, then make alternate plans such as taking the class later with another teacher or taking it in the summer at another college. </p>
<p>All schools, including professsional schools, have their share of difficult instructors and/or difficult material. It is wise to learn to deal with it.</p>
<p>My d’s high school did not have AP Chem, so she was behind the others who already knew it. They were giving like 10 A’s, and she was getting a “C” because of the bell curve. I don’t see the point-if you are doing A work you should get an A. So she had to drop it to keep her scholarship. Now she’s taking it again at our community college 12 hrs/week. There are 20 in her class instead of hundreds. But we weren’t planning on the extra $$or time.</p>
<p>Thanks RMGsmom but NCAA requires a minimum of 12 hours. Given that classes are mostly in blocks of 5 credits at OSU, it’s impossible to remain in NCAA compliance and drop a class, unless you start out with 20 hours. That load is too much for me, with 15 hours of practice time and travel to competitions.</p>
<p>@NEOHIO That’s exactly what my mom is saying, esp with my benefits elsewhere. But I do like it at OSU and I love fencing there.</p>
<p>You know, the first time I met the fencing coach he lectured me about studying hard, then volunteered that no fencer had ever made an A in Chemistry at OSU. </p>
<p>I didn’t believe him because fencers tend to be really smart people who come from private schools.</p>
<p>But now I see why.</p>
<p>caolila- </p>
<p>When he feels it serves his purpose, my son signs up for more classes than he intends to take because he anticipates dropping his least appealing class. For instance, he is signed up for 19 hours this fall but fully intends to drop one class. He is waiting to find out a few more details before he decides. Theoretically, he could go to his full schedule for a few classes and then decide, but it is likely he will drop before the term starts. Believe me, lots of kids at many schools do this- they essentially reserve the classes they might want and then drop the least desirable at the last minute. When my son hasn’t taken this approach, he has still been able to drop a class and pick up another at the last minute because other kids are making last minute changes that open up spots in classes that he can take. He has never worried that he could not find something to make up full time hours. </p>
<p>Regarding kids having AP credit, OSU does placement based on this credit and you are not allowed to take a class below your level. So, my son (who had AP credit) could not have taken Chem 121 even if he had tried. He was placed at Chem 123 and had to jump in mid-year. In anticipation, he studied independently to make sure he was good to go.</p>
<p>I would also recommend the strategy of signing up for one more class than you actually plan on taking. I am usually able to decide after the first week which class to drop, after reading the syllabus and attending a few classes. I would, however, wait to buy books until after you make your decision. Also, if it is too late to drop without receiving a W, I would take the W rather than fail. </p>
<p>Most people have to go through weed-out classes, and to some degree, I can see the purpose. The people who fail a hard science class and then switch majors to something they are better at are making better choices than the pre-med students who struggle through all of their hard classes, and then can’t get into med school.</p>
<p>Did you take chem 121 @ambiguity?</p>