<p>Ok,
So I had a 3.5ish in HS, with no honors or APs. I went to a community college for one year, a CC that just started in 2005 and hasn't fully even worked all the kinks out yet. Now..somehow..I've been accepted to transfer to Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Of course I was excited...but now I'm worried. I'm not sure I'm going to be up to par! I can study hard but, I'll be a sophomore with a CC background! I'm really worried I'm going to get consistent C's and B's. </p>
<p>So..how hard is Vanderbilt honestly? Should I reconsider even going? I am willing to work my butt off...but like I said, I don't have the best education background!</p>
<p>Go. If you don't, you'll regret it for your whole life. As long as, like you say, you're willing to work your butt off, you'll be fine. Congratulations.</p>
<p>It is good you have an extra year of maturity. A lot of freshman--and I'm not talking just about Vanderbilt here--sacrifice grades when they get too caught up in the parties and the socializing. Try to have a good time (easy at Vanderbilt), while keeping in mind just what your priorities are.</p>
<p>And, take advantage of the tutoring and other help opportunities on campus. </p>
<p>I think you should not change your mind. You seem to know what you need to do, so you will be fine.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, makes me feel a little better, but I keep reading about how hard it is. Thankfully, some of my "weed out" classes will be over with (Calc 1 and 2, Chem 1 and 2, Biology 1 and 2) but I'll still have to do organic chem.</p>
<p>I'll be a sophomore. Molecular Biology major - Pre-med.</p>
<p>I'm sure things will go well if you hang on to the determined attitude. Obviously the admissions folks saw something in your application that made them believe that you could be successful at Vanderbilt. One thing to think about, though - if at all possible, try to find one easy class to balance out the hard organic class and to make the transition a little easier on you. I always believe it is better to do a few things well insted of many things in a mediocre fashion, so don't plan your hardest/heaviest load for next fall.
Congratulations on your acceptance and good luck!</p>
<p>Organic is not hard for everybody. I liked organic when I took it (decades ago, I'm a parent). Then, just for fun, I took two semesters of advanced organic. I found it interesting. Now, physical chemistry--P-chem--is another story; I guess there are people who find that easy enough, but I wasn't one of them.</p>
<p>Don't let people scare you. You might find it really appeals to you, and you have a talent for it.</p>
<p>Now, having said that, I will say that it is generally highly competitive because so many of the students are pre-med, so even if you like it, and find it not so hard, you will have to work to get a good grade.</p>
<p>interview a few docs and lawyers in your acquaintance..and engineers and you will be hard put to find someone who never made a C.
You will have to fight for your grades at Vandy and for the key courses, you may have to sacrifice your full social life, attend every single small tutorial group and ask for help or even pay for some private sessions. The point is, they think you can do it. And you can do it. </p>
<p>The kids who make all As are different. This is the way it is at highly selective schools. You are going to meet the people who A. are hugely gifted at another level or B. You are going to meet people who are shrewd about study habits and know how to get the job done.</p>
<p>The category A kids...profs and students know who they are. I hope those people are operating on my brain if I need surgery and I hope they find their proper places in society. That doesn't mean you don't also belong if you make a C here and there. My son at Duke is among savants and all shrewd students and he has learned to cope with it and be happy among them and to admire and appreciate his friends and their talents. He did drop one course his freshman year which was an expensive mistake..did great in it the next semester..and he learned to study better and got healthier and more disciplined. You already have shown your moxey. Try to get each class right the first time. Admire the gifted and don't spend time envying those who had fantastic high schools. Learn from them instead and watch their habits. You can compensate.</p>
<p>You will graduate with a highly respected degree and a score of fantastic friends and there is always a place out there for another sharp person like yourself. Dig in. Be proud of yourself. Let your anxiety work for you and motivate you. Don't make the freshman mistakes. Tolerate a little loneliness as normal as you transfer in and feel your way socially. Join a group or two. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt chose you out of a pool of excellent students. Enjoy your three more years! You earned it.</p>
<p>First of all, congrats to getting accepted into Vandy as a transfer student.</p>
<p>To answer your question on the difficulty of Organic Chemistry. I hear many people say it was hard. Maybe it is hard. I took it and coasted through it without getting lower than an A- on a test. However, the class is boring...extremely boring. You can't really ask why things happen. You just sort of...memorize what happens. I happen to memorize things extremely quick, but most people seemed to be studying their butts off. In my class, i think the average was about a C+? Many drop out, but if you're willing to put time in it, i'm sure you'll do fine. Here's the key: FIND PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN IT BEFORE WITH YOUR PROFESSOR! It gives you a great idea about how the exam is going to look. Although my professor already retired, I had 6 years worth of tests to study from before I took the exams. How do you find these people? ummm, well, i found my help randomly when i played poker with some guys (during my random one month poker addiction time period) and one of the guys happened to collect them all over the years. But i'm sure you'll be able to find students that have taken it and then they'll have friends that have taken the class with a different professor, and so on.</p>
<p>So just using all the resources you can get your hands on is key. </p>
<p>Other than that, if you decide to attend and have any questions about certain professors, I'm sure i have plenty of data on them bc we all had discussions at the end of every semester to decide which professor to take the class with. </p>
<p>Anyways, congrats again and feel free to ask for help and i'll be more than happy to give it to you.</p>
<p>My D is in her 2nd semester of Orgo and will hopefully pass... Her problem isn't the concepts. She doesn't do as well with rote memorization. My guess is a lot of people that do well with Orgo may struggle in P Chem. I suspect she will do better there because her strengths are math and physics. </p>
<p>To try to ease your concerns my D was almost dead 50th percentile when she was accepted. Your average Vandy student. She spent a lot of time stressing over the fact that they made a mistake and she wasn't as smart as everyone else there. She was watching HOD majors make collages and business majors take LA classes and get A's. It wasn't until she got into her sophomore year and Orgo that she realized that a lot of kids down there struggle with some of the harder classes and they are all smart kids. They have admissions down to a science. If they accepted you then you belong there. Don't beat yourself up worrying about it. There will be kids that make it look easy. You will just have to work a little harder. The biggest and best lesson I think she has learned down there is that it is ok to ask for help.</p>