<p>I just got into my college of choice, Michigan State Lyman Briggs College, and will be attending in the fall. Now that the initial joy of the acceptance has worn off I am becoming increasingly worried. I want to go to become a physician. All the members of my immediate and extended family are all really successful they are all doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. I have been exposed to all these professions and I believe at this point I want to be doctor. But with how competitive med school is I am becoming increasingly worried I won't be able to make. I dont have the grades like the rest of CC seems to but I believe if I actually did my homework I would. I am just worried how much harder is college material then high school material. Also I am nervous I am going to get caught up with the college atmosphere, I am just worried about getting overwhelmed. The only saving grace is I will only be about an hour away from my home. So any advice on how to handle these pre college worries.</p>
<p>congrats on going to msu, im going too, but for ag...</p>
<p>not all CCers are as fabulous as you think, and they are probably more stressed out than you throughout high school...first off, try "actually doing your homework" most if not all of the time...college is harder, but i figure that it's harder for everyone, so why stress before you have to write that first essay or take the first midterm..? If you're worried about getting caught up in the "college atmosphere" a.k.a. blowing off work to party, drink, do dumb stuff, and go to games, then get yourself some constructive time like Sundays and Mondays or Tuesdays (plus at least one more day) where you won't go out, but stay in and study (unless you have some organized activity to do) and get things done</p>
<p>thats what i think, anyway, try posting on the msu board on here if you havent already
you can talk to current msu students on facebook, look for the Accepted: blah blah 2013 group!</p>
<p>i hope this helps!</p>
<p>John - There are so many things that could be said, but I think that what it comes down to is if you have a passion for medicine, if it is your life's dream, then it will happen. Will it be easy, no. One of my favorite quotes is, "Whatever is good to know, is difficult to learn".</p>
<p>My H is a physician. It is all he wanted to be from an early age. He worked tirelessly toward that goal - college, graduate school (a brief detour) and then medical school. </p>
<p>Our older D started out majoring in biology (premed), but decided it wasn't for her and went about 180 degrees with her major. She was extremely successful in college, has worked a year and is getting ready to enter graduate school in the fall. My husband still laments that she would have been a wonderful doctor, but it wasn't her dream.</p>
<p>Now to our younger D. She is a double major in science/foreign language and taking the premed prereqs. She is at an extremely difficult private college and is working her tail off to do well. She studies 24/7 to excel. We say it is like she has her head stuck in a tunnel with the single minded goal of medical school at the end and she will do ANYTHING to make sure it happens. Sure other kids blow off studying to party, she's not interested. Other kids are tired and skip class - not D, she attends class THEN watches the on-line video of the class AGAIN! Along with her classes, she volunteers at a children's hospital, tutors inner city kids, does research, plays in the school's orchestra, shadows physicians when home, has a summer job in a medical practice, volunteers at our local health department, etc. etc. As my husband says, you have to have an absolute passion for medicine because the road to getting accepted IS difficult (not even talking about the difficulty of medical school itself).</p>
<p>Maybe turning all that worry energy into "determined to succeed" energy would be a good start. If you want to go to medical school, you WILL turn your homework in. If you want to go to medical school, you will find out way to ignore the distractions - study in the library, etc. Use home as a sanctuary - if things are wild on the weekends at school and you have a big test coming up, go home and study! If you are having difficulty with a class in college, ASK FOR HELP ASAP. Professors really like it when a student shows an interest in doing well and most are willing to go to great lengths to help. Going to medical school is a big grown-up dream. If you want it to happen, you grow up fast and do what it takes to make that dream come true.</p>
<p>Luckily for you, if it is just busywork you hate, there is sure to be less of it in college than in HS. You need to do your work, though, or you will not be successful. Have you ever been tested for inattentive type ADHD? That is sometimes why some kids can never manage to turn their homework in and if you have it, it will not go away once you arrive at college. Lastly, MSU will likely have many seminars for freshmen on how to study effectively, how to take notes, etc. Nearly every college offers help for freshmen (and upperclassmen) to teach them how to succeed at the college level. Three things: 1) Sit in front, 2) Go to Professor's office hours (find some reason to do so), and 3) Do not get too caught up in the social scene- homework first, then socializing second. Good luck.</p>
<p>In some schools, grades are inflated meaning that despite the fact that the student received a "4.0" or something like that in high school, they might struggle in college because they are not fully prepared. Just make sure to balance a social life and an academic life so you will get the most out of your college experience. </p>
<p>And consider yourself lucky because a lot of other students' biggest worry is paying for college during this recession. A lot of middle class families don't qualify for grants or much federal financial aid so students graduate with so much debt that they won't be able to pay it off until they are thirty or they just don't go to college even though they are fully qualified.</p>
<p>If MSU accepted you they believe you can do the work. So put aside those fears. I'll tell you what I told my son. Go to class...all the time....listen and participate in class. Do your homework, read your assignments. Use the writing center, the tutoring center...anything you need to be more successful. Get out, make friends and have fun but be cautious and work toward balance - school, friends, fun. Do what you enjoy and what comes easier to you. For instance, my son started down a science path and fell totally in "love" with an entirely difference discipline. His best friend went into college thinking science and is now heading straight down a path to become a CPA...fell in "love" with an accounting class.</p>
<p>College is just the next year in school. I distinctly remember being freaked out in 6th grade, having heard that junior high was so hard. It wasn't. It was just the next year of school.</p>
<p>But you do need to go to class and do your homework.</p>
<p>If you've become used to coasting through high school, I'd suggest you change that habit now. Blowing off your homework and studies is a surefire way to fail in college. There's less handholding and less overt accountability in college than there is (typically) in high school; you won't be held to account for, say, skipping class, but accountability comes in the form of end-of-semester grades. You'll be much better served by building a pattern of regular working/studying hours and starting large projects early, not at the last minute.</p>
<p>just for the record i dont blow off my work and coast through school. I just hate busy work. I usually do enough to understand the material. I usually end up with As and Bs Ive had around two Cs in highschool. This past senior year semester I actually did my homework ended up 4 As and 2 Bs. Would have been 5 if it wasnt for a sexist rhetoric teacher but thats another thing entirely lol. Anyway thanks for all your posts they give me hope.</p>
<p>My husband is a professor and gave some good advice to our daughter before freshman year: ALWAYS go to class, sit in the first 3 rows, go to office hours if you need help, do your homework, read the textbook, study for tests. That's it -- nothing surprising there, but you would be amazed at the number of students who don't do these basics. For some reason, just because attendance is not taken in many college classes, students are under the impression that going to class is not necessary. My husband says that he has NEVER had a student who skips do well in his class. If you are serious about medicine, you will have to avoid the party scene and focus on your GPA.</p>
<p>also ive heard a lot about grading on a curve. this really frightens me. from my understanding professors have a set number of As Bs Cs etc. that they give out. like the top 5% of the class will get an A etc</p>
<p>Grading systems can vary by college, department, and instructor. The class I teach is strictly percentage-based, with many opportunities for extra credit. Honestly, students have to "work" pretty hard to get a low grade in my class. OTOH, I've known some faculty who pride themselves on never giving As. You'll find out a lot about "unwritten" faculty grading policies from other students at your college.</p>
<p>Don't assume that curves are always bad, either. Some faculty either have difficulty knowing what's a reasonable amount of material to put in a final or perhaps just don't care. When I was an undergrad, in most classes I took that were graded on a curve... all of us were tremendously thankful for the curve.</p>
<p>Good job doing your homework in senior year; keep it up. About the "I just hate busy work" thing, you may be different, but most kids I've heard that from (self included) are indeed coasting toward a rude awakening. Much of life is, in fact, "busy work." Sheer intelligence will only get you so far; at some point, you have to just buckle down and do the assignments. Just being able to understand the material in high school isn't enough; a lot of it is building blocks for future coursework, and must be second nature to you when you're in those college classes. If you get used to "busy work" now, you will have a much easier life.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Remind yourself that no one knows the school better than it's staff and they have decided that you are a perfect match. They simply would not admit you if they felt you were not up to the task. Follow their lead and give yourself a vote of confidence. You've earned it!</p>
<p>I really like MissyPie's advice. Just think of it as the next year in school. The change is going to be significant (more so than going from middle school from elementary school or even going to high school from middle school). But trust your instincts and your ability, you got the grades, the scores and the acceptance letter. Study hard, work hard and let the rest come to you.</p>
<p>I love all the encouragement and great advice here.<br>
If you follow these suggestions, John, you should be in good shape.</p>
<p>oh, DS was worried about going to college, as he had NO IDEA what to expect. Could only tour in summer, and only got to sit in on classes in one school. He hated busywork in high school, didn't have that great of a gpa. He is doing much better in college, because the work makes sense.</p>
<p>Do you think you can get into the Honors College? Son has been told at a couple of his schools that there is a lot less busy work in the honors classes - for example, if the students in the regular core class have to write 10 little papers, the honors version might write 2 big papers. It might be worth asking about.</p>