<p>I'm a freshman at Duke, and I'm taking:
Math 32L Intermediate Calculus
Writ 20 (required)
Phy 41 Intro Physics
Chem 151L Organic Chemistry</p>
<p>I have A's in all of my classes except Chem 151. I studied for the first test, but I got ~70/150 (avg was 90/150). I thought I just needed to study harder for the second exam, so I studied like crazy, but I ended up doing even worse. I have almost perfect scores in lab (25% of final grade). My options are:</p>
<p>1) Stick it out. There only a few more weeks left, and I'd hate to have to suffer through it again. I just got a study buddy, and I've been talking to my professor during office hours, so I feel I like I understand the material better. There is still 45% of the grade unaccounted for. </p>
<p>2) Drop it. The highest I can probably get is a C, although I'm not entirely sure. I'm not pre-med, but I do want to major in biology and go to graduate school for microbiology. I can only withdraw from one course at Duke. It shows up as WP or WF, so "they" will know roughly what I would have gotten anyway.</p>
<p>Either way, I have to decide ASAP (supposed to be in by Friday).</p>
<p>My advice? Keep the class. You can always take it again, and there's only a few weeks left in the semester (I'm probably in your class, btw). There's still the 3rd exam and the final, so don't lose hope! Try to study with others- there's often a group studying chem in Lilly when I go down there.</p>
<p>Consider [ul][<em>]studying with others[</em>]speaking with the prof and/or TA[<em>][</em>]speaking with your adviser[*]using your school's academic suppport services (whatever they call them)[/ul] There's a good chance that one or the other of these resources will have "been there/done that" and have specific suggestions as to how you can pull that grade up to your satisfaction.</p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, learn a valuable lesson about scheduling. Organic chemistry is one of the hardest college courses. You would ideally not like to take it at the same time as another lab science course.</p>
<p>Your schedule, for a first semester freshman, is brutal.</p>
<p>interesteddad - You have made a very good point. For my edification, and more importantly, for others who may read this, how would a student fall into this poor schedule? Building his/her schedule without consulting an advisor? Poor quality advising? Other?</p>
<p>You should talk to the prof. There is a possibility that the class will be curved at the end, and you will do much better than you think. Whatever you decide, keep your head up. Orgo is a hard class! Trust me, I just failed MY last exam, too!</p>
<p>Actually, we're required to have and consult an advisor. Mine thought I would do fine based on my APs (and all these classes are required). Unfortunately, chemistry was a bit harder for me than either of us suspected. Thanks for all the encouragement, especially since I just found out the deadline to withdraw was last Friday. I'll take the advice.</p>
<p>I don't know how it happened. The schedule is brutally lopsided with the Calc (which can often be a challenge in its own right), but Intro Physics (not easy), and the Organic Chem. But, Orgo. is not typically a freshman class, so there had to be some kind of advanced placement into that course. That's a notoriously difficult course for sophmores and juniors, even with college chem under their belts.</p>
<p>I talked to my D while she was kicking around course selections before her freshman year about the wisdom of mixing it up a little -- balance a lab science course with a course that is more reading oriented. Balance a lot of reading courses with a math problem set course. And, so on and so forth. I think it's particularly important first sememster freshman year to set yourself up for success. You don't have to carry the world on your shoulders first semester. Give yourself a chance to find out what types of courses are going to come easier and which ones are going to have you staggering around the ring taking punches.</p>
<p>Specifically, this probably happened because Ebola is a potential Chem or Egnineering major. The requirements for Chem often force you into multiple lab science courses at some point. That's actually why my daughter opted to dip her toe into the waters of a Physics major instead. The Chem prereqs were going to force her into a similarly lopsided freshman schedule -- leaving no room to explore other types of courses (like Social Sciences).</p>
<p>If you are taking Organic Chem in your freshman year, then you must have taken AP Chem. That must be why you have leaped to Organic instead of taking the freshman Inorganic Chem. I would have advised you to have taken Inorganic in your freshman year - in effect repeating the AP Chem material. My son hopes to take AP Chem in his junior year in high school next year and that is what I have advised him - to repeat the Inorganic in college. I am one of those people who believes that most AP courses should not be substituted for college courses. But maybe, you took Inorganic at a college while still in high school. With respect to this class, you do have a killer schedule, especially for a freshman. That is great that you are doing all As in your other classes - you should feel good about that. Talk to the prof - he might tell you whether you still have a reasonable chance of getting a B or better. Some profs are easier when grading the final exam. They also cut some slack for students who stick it out until the end. You can still recoup a lot of points - 45% of the grade. However, you don't want your other classes to be casualties because of this class. BTW, I teach college microbiology. Years ago, in my sophomore year in college, I had to repeat Organic Chem. Painful, but I survived. You will too. Take care.</p>
<p>BTW, I'm not sure that you are failing the course. If the average was 90/150 and you got a 70/150, it could well be that you are passing, even at this point. Talk to the professor.</p>
<p>Stay encouraged, Ebola. It seems like you have the right work ethic and attitude. Sorry I didn't read your post carefully enough at first to see that you've already taken some of the right steps. Keep on keeping on. I feel confident you'll succeed - one way or another.</p>
<p>Don't worry, there's still an exam and final right? </p>
<p>I wasn't doing so hot in Bio and Chem (average scores) but worked with my lab director (who used to TA the classes) and got one of the highest scores on my last exams. Working with people who know the prof's style works really well. </p>
<p>And do you know if you get midterm grades? My college sends out ones that say "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory." That might give you a better look at how you're doing, because sometimes exams are curved so you can't really get a good feel for how you're doing. </p>
<p>I completely agree with interesteddad, and emphasized with both my kids that they key to success in college is balancing their courses: ideally, have only one lab science at a time, only one heavy reading course, one heavy writing course, and if possible, one course that's a generally lighter load. Both my kids did/are doing pre-med curriculum, so this is especially important if med school is a possibility (where gpa is scrutinized, especially in the math and science courses). Also, having a balanced work load really allows the student to pursue ec's and a social life, which, to me, is also vitally important.</p>
<p>I think my dd overloaded. She has Inorg. Chem (+lab), physics (+lab) Intermed Calc, physics seminar and moral philosophy. She's not worried about her grades, but I'm afraid they are not as good as should be.</p>
<p>I don't think freshmen should expect the same grades as HS-- nor should the parents. S is taking intro to poli sci -- required, despite the fact that he took AP Govt in HS. He and his classmates, many of whom also took AP Govt and did very well, were amazed at the average grade of the first test. </p>
<p>To the OP, my physician H said that after his first organic chem midterm, he was 4 points away from a D and going to law school instead of med school. Yet he pulled through. Don't panic.</p>