Sorry to bother you guys! I am currently a junior. I am failing bio and this semester begun in January and ends in late April. We took twos tests going into the semester already but I failed both! A 62 on prokaryotes and bacteria and 63 on fungi chapters. I am extremely worried that I won’t even get a B in the class because tests are 50% of total grade! Are there any advices for me to do well on the tests? My teachers test is really hard because many of the questions are application questions not definitions and basic concepts. I really want to do well because I am planning to go for pre-med in a very good college. Had a C on AP Biology last semester. What should I do and what could I do right now? I feel lost and hopeless and my Biology teacher don’t think of me highly because I don’t do well on her tests and I am scared to ask her questions.
I feel lost. Working in the medical field has always been my dream. My dad is a doctor, and I love to follow him to the ER, the labs, (etc). I always have this resilient spirit: to not give up. I love to help people. I love volunteering. I love how the human body works. I just dislike how the AP Bio contents hold stuff about plants and other animals. I really dunno.
About my freshman and sophomore years: I got a high B and mid A in honors biology freshmen year. Also, I had straight As in honors Chemistry both semesters in sophomore year. A in Enviormental Science first semester and B in second.
I will be taking AP Chem my senior year.
The key questions I have is:
- Right now, how do I do better on the upcoming 6 tests remaining to at least get a B in the class? Study habits, schedule, tips?
- And if I did get a B this semester (so a C and a B in AP Bio, B and A in Honors Bio, As in Honors Chem), will my hopes of applying for a Bio major in a top 10 or 15 college are already out of the window?
- Is it possible if I can apply for one major in the application process and get accepted, and switch to Bio right after I get accepted to the college?
I don’t want to put a damper on you or crush your dreams or anything, but I think someone has to say it (the reason nobody replied)… a B in Bio (or really any class) without something else in your application to counter it would significantly decrease your chances of making it into a top 15 college (especially in premed). Your GPA may be weighing you down.
But I think the bigger issue here (the choice of college doesn’t actually mater that much) is that you seem to have trouble with biology and want to go into medicine. Biology is probably the biggest component of premed… if you’re having trouble (or more importantly, you don’t like it), medicine may not be for you. Most of medicine is applying concepts from biology (well, medical biology)… there’a almost no memorization.
Anyway, for your questions.
- Don't be a wimp, ask questions. Nobody cares if you ask questions but you. Also, you need to really understand the processes behind these things. Don't memorize terminology, look at diagrams. I'm really impressed by how your teacher is already focusing on the important part of biology.
- They aren't out of the window, but as far as GPA goes, it seems like yours will be weighing your application down. I would try to look around for more realistic options for college...even perfect students don't get into Ivies/Top 15 the majority of the time.
- Yes, it is possible, but it is somewhat unethical and the admissions office knows about this. Generally, if you're genuinely interested in bio, your application will have a lot of bio activities and stuff like that. If you write "Latin Studies" as your major and you have straight bio classes, they're going to realize what you're doing (and that would definitely detract). Also, most colleges don't really take your intended major into consideration for this reason (among others). I honestly wouldn't do that... but I have heard of students making it into top 15 colleges by using their hobby as an intended major ("keyboarding"). A few of them went into premed, half of them flunked out. I don't have much respect for them.
I bookmarked this thread when you first made it because I am have the same issue. I had a C in first semester in AP Bio. I am a sophomore and I have no experience with any bio classes. My teacher and counselor were telling me the colleges will look at it as a B and not a C. It is the only grade that is really effecting me right now. I am also taking AP Spanish, which I got an A in, so my weighted GPA turend out to be a 4.0. My unweighted is 3.6. Last year both my weighted and unweighted were 3.6. This year I think I am doing much better though because I am taking AP’s. I want to get into premed really bad too. My goal is to get into UCSD no matter what really. It is right next to my house and would be the least expensive college. I also wanted to apply to ba/md program. I don’t know if the program will accept me any longer though. I do however have a big year ahead of me, so that can turn the tables. @Stanccepted do you think my situation seems reasonable and in fact if I do much better this semester, schools will look at it otherwise. Do you think my chances into ba/md program if you know are done for this one class?
@sadiea5252 I would suggest making a new thread. I honestly have no experience or insight into admissions to premed or UCSD… all I know is premed is much more competitive (as a major, not as an intended major).
However, when you mentioned the BA/MD program… those programs are next to impossible to get into (especially at UCSD because of its med school). Programs like that at small private colleges not in the top 50 are still more selective than many Ivies.