OChem literally killing me

College Confidential Community
1

I have As in all my class except Ochem, which is C!

I am fully aware that Ochem is really difficult, and in this particular semester, I was constantly told by my older friends who already took Ochem that the instructor who would be teaching Ochem this spring is really bad that half of the class retakes it. I knew it would be difficult, but I though “Hey how bad could it be? Maybe I just need extra work”.
Whelp, I was VERY wrong.
My first test was a fail, and the next tests were C, and I just took my last unit exam. Except for my 1st exam, I stayed up all night before 2~3 days before the exam, AND made sure I had good sleep. I do all book works and homework, practices old homework and quizzes/tests available from our school in internet(although different professors). I scavenge every single resources I try to get, and STILL did bad in my exams. I made sure I UNDERSTOOD the concepts and whatnot, but it hasn’t worked.

Do you think there is something not right about how I study? She does NOT do any curve for god-knows-what reason, and it is making me really nervous. It will make my GPA not good(3.6 if I get C in this, and I think C in Ochem is really bad when applying for med school), and I couldnt drop it due to several reasons:

  1. I registered for classes REALLY late for personal reasons and other classes I want to take were full. So I could get 5 classes only, which adds up minimum 12 credits
  2. I would lose my scholarship if I had dropped ANY class, since part time students don’t get scholarship.

I am so nervous, and it makes me feel even worse that my efforts aren’t making things better. How should I deal with this?
Should I just work even harder than now or should I try something new to my studying style?

2

@Paul2752 I just saw this post today. You need to go to your Dean and explain the situation. Some programs will give you one semester to bring your course load and grades up to keep your scholarship. But you won’t know your options until you talk to folks. It sounds as though you’ve working hard to try to make this work. But all nighters aren’t likely to help. Hang in there, and good luck.

3

I don’t know much about Med school, I’m sure others have done worse. I feel the same way over my grades. If your studying style is works best for you, you shouldn’t change it.

I suggest talking it out with your advisor. If a class is full, they can open a spot for you. Also, they will listen to every concern you have. I have been freaking out over my grades too, just keep working at it.

4

@Arlmom2 how do you think I should explain it tk the Dean so that it doenst sound like pathetic excuses?

5

@paul2752 I’d just be honest with him or her. Talk about what you’ve tried, ask what your options are. I don’t think there’s a magic answer, but most people I know went into teaching - and university administration, for that matter - because they want to help students.

At the same time, though, you should be thinking about what you can do differently next semester. It sounds as though this semester’s problems might have begun with whatever caused you to register late for classes this term. If it was a genuine emergency, that’s when you could have reached out for help. One lesson to carry forward - the earlier you ask for help, the better your prospects are likely to be.

Good luck!