<p>Hi! I'm really worried I'm going to fail Organic Chemistry lab. I was doing about average until the first exam when my grades started to drop. I talked to my teacher and she said the avg was fairly high, and the std deviation was fairly small. She usually sets Avg at around a B or B-. I can't do anything about my grade now because everything is in, but I don't know what to do. I'm a freshman, and I'm going to do fine in my other classes (probably/hopefully), but I might want to be a chem major and I need at least a C- for this class to count. I know I could retake it, but it's my first college course and I'm terrified. It's too late to drop. What do I do?</p>
<p>Have you spoken to the professor recently? (As in, between the withdrawal deadline and now) What portions of your grade are left for the semester? Have you sought out academic support or outside tutoring? </p>
<p>Hopefully it will all work out, but O-chem is notorious as a tough class. There are plenty of successful chemists (my husband is one) who have struggled with this class and even taken it twice.</p>
<p>Nothing is left for the semester. I mean my TA/Prof still have to grad some labs and a test, but there’s nothing I can do now. I talked with my prof today and my grade was at the average through the first test. But after that exam is when everything went south… It’s not the material. It’s 100% my fault for doing the work way last minute. With Mock Trial competitions and the play I’ve been working on, I let orgo lab slip… I know what I did wrong.</p>
<p>It is amazing how many students come here after they have gotten sub 2.0 GPAs for two semesters or think they have failed a class…After one bad test you should be going to professor office hours, forming a study group, getting a tutor…something different than what you were doing.</p>
<p>Well if you can’t turn in anything else, there is nothing you can do except plan for what you need to do next semester. Meet with your advisor and talk about your next options. Plan to retake the lab next semester or in the summer, when your schedule isn’t as busy, if possible. </p>
<p>It sounds like you were possibly overbooked this semester. I would suggest maybe taking a break from one of your extra curricular activities and focus on your classes until you’re where you want to be, grade-wise. Chemistry is pretty demanding of time and commitment if you want to do well. </p>
<p>If mock trial and theater are more important to you than chemistry lab, then I would consider that a sign from your heart telling you what your real priorities are, pointing you in the direction away from chemistry as a major and toward a more suitable major. It isn’t that you can’t do chemistry, but rather that it is not enough of a passion to keep you on top of it. Find a major that you don’t need to struggle to enjoy and keep up with. And keep trying to get that grade up – ace whatever test is left, ask for extra credit work, go over the TA to the professor and ask, etc. </p>