Hi all, I just received my grades for the first two tests of my college career (I am a freshman at UMich-AA) and they were NOT what I expected them to be. For bio, I received a 75% and it would be hard to maintain an A unless I get a 95+ percent on the rest of the tests, which there are 3. For Orgo I chem, I cannot believe my eyes. I literally got 30/100. That’s 30 percent… I can only miss 50 more points until I drop to the B range, which I think will be super hard considering test averages are 60-70% generally. I did not expect that at all. I studied for both tests too. I feel so hopeless right now about getting into medical school. Trust me, I know how competitive it is and I don’t see myself doing anything else though. Any advice…?
Right now, don’t think about your plans so far out. Think about what you need to do to get through these classes as successfully as you can. Go to office hours and ask the professor for advice. Go to any academic support activities associated with these courses, work with the TA or classmates, use study resources (my daughter found Organic Chemistry for Dummies really helpful). Right now you have to figure out how to do undergrad before worrying about med school. You can do this, fight for it!
Are you taking premed organic chemistry as a freshman at the University of Michigan?
Why are you taking Ochem as a freshman?
I would have taken one course.
Can you withdraw from Oche and still be full time?
Talk to your advisor.
If not, get the book “Organic Chemistry as a Second Language.”
and look at these tips
If you’re going to try and become a doctor, grades, grades, grades. Don’t get anything less than an A in the courses they look at strongly.
Keep a high GPA.
Find a way to do better next semester when you take the class again.
Nvm
The OP probably got a high enough score on UM’s chemistry placement test or the AP chemistry exam.
Depending on the score, students may start in 210/211 (organic chemistry 1 + lab) or 130/125/126 (general chemistry + labs). Note that UM offers introductory general chemistry as a one semester course, so that pre-meds who start in 130/125/126 will take 210/211 in spring of frosh year.
https://lsa.umich.edu/advising/plan-your-path/pre-health/pre-health-academics/choosing-courses.html
http://www.umich.edu/~newtolsa/international/apcredit.html
https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/freshmen-applicants/ap-ib-credit#LSA
https://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/CrsMaint/Public/CB_PublicBulletin.aspx?crselevel=UG&subject=CHEM
Look at You Tube the Organic Chemistry Tutor.
I’m an organic chemist by profession. Organic chemistry requires a lot of deliberate practice since it has hierarchical rules and exceptions like a complex language. I hate that the subject has evokes such negative reactions from people, so I’ll give you my personal advice for how to study:
In college, I scheduled my organic chemistry classes right before a 1 hour break so that right after class, I would go straight to the library and study my notes immediately. Take every example shown in class and break it down. Re-draw every mechanism thinking with each arrow, “why this atom and not any other one”? Do it again and again until you are confident you know why that atom and not the other. If you’re not sure, then make a note. Since you’ve done this right after class, you’ll have your questions ready for the beginning of the next lecture. If your prof. asks “any questions” at the beginning of class, then you’re ready to ask your question. Or wait until the end of class or take your questions to office hours. Organic chemistry builds on previous principles, so your questions and understanding can’t wait until the end of the week. If you study immediately, you can get away with ~3h/week studying organic and just add more review time for exams. I went from 50% on my first midterm to getting an A in the class, then I loved it so much I made a career out of it.
Another thing that can hinder students doing well in the first few science classes in college is that unlike in high school, university classes and exams have layered complexity so that you’re not asking “what’s the right answer” but rather “what’s the best answer.” I went to a giant public university and was pretty bummed out by the first few months of freshman year because of all the pressure of grades. But I found that as long as I kept being curious about what I was learning, then I could enjoy every class, and by extension, do way better without feeling like studying was a burden. It doesn’t always come naturally, but think hard about why what you’re learning is interesting, or how it’s going to help you build the foundational knowledge to be a good doctor, or whatever you wind up becoming.
My son also placed into Org Chem (5 on AP) as a freshman, but was convinced by his advisers to take the first Chem. as a way to get his feet wet and start with a class which should be easy. Worked great as he graduated MCL in ChemE. Maybe you can still drop and rearrange. Good Luck
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I am still a bit upset with myself, but I am still going to keep trying. I am super motivated to do well on the next test. I can still lose 50 points throughout the semester and get an A-, which I think would be okay.
The drop deadline is over, so if I did drop, I would be given a W (official withdrawal) on my transcript. If I do drop, would that look bad? Also, I would still be a full time student. Currently taking 17 credits right now. OChem is 4 credits.
Even if a W has no effect on the recalculated GPA for applying to medical school, the W and taking a light course load may not look good if a medical school application reader looks closely enough during holistic review to notice. The general academic expectation for pre meds is to earn A grades in full course loads.
@WayOutWestMom , I think you have addressed this scenario before. How will the W be seen for med school applications? I think I remember you saying something g about it being school specific IIRC.
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for Ochem, is that your raw score or a curved score? Many science classes have pretty steep curves which are used at the end of the semester to normalize grade distributions.
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if that’s your adjusted score in Ochem, then take the W. Don’t wait to withdraw any later in the term. After the 9th week of class, UMich disallows withdrawals for anything other than a serious major, well documented non-academic reason.
One W is not fatal to med school ambitions**, especially when taken as a first semester freshman; a D or F in Ochem could very well be fatal. Neither is one lighter semester–so long as you are enrolled as a full time student.
**One exception–if UMich assigns a WF if you are failing a class at the time of your withdrawal. AMCAS and AACOMAS both treat a WF the same as a F grade when computing GPAs. In that’s your situation, finishing out the class even if you get a D may be the better option.
- do whatever you can to salvage an A in Bio. Tutoring, Office hours, Peer groups. Extra review sessions. Changing your study habits. Consider hiring a private tutor if necessary.
@WayOutWestMom in OChem at UMich, to get in the A range (A-,A+,A) you need at least 80% of the total points (480/600). For B range, it’s 60% of total points, and for C range, it’s 45% of total points. Currently with my one test out of four, I still have the chance of getting an A-, given that I only lose 50 points throughout the entire semester. If I end up losing more than that, I will land in the B range. I would not want to land in the B range, but would that be better than a W? My question now is, is a B-/B+/B fatal for medical school?
Any other thoughts from anyone would be extremely nice. I have never been in this situation before. In high school, I was a straight A student, and I definitely understand that college is different. I also feel like my mental health is not doing so well right now because of where I currently stand in the class. I have not been eating and just don’t want to talk to anyone at the moment…
Well, you probably want a 3.7 or higher overall and science GPA in college to have a realistic chance of getting into any medical school (and then you also need high MCAT score, pre-med extracurriculars, and the subjective factors…). In AMCAS grade conversion, A- = 3.7, so any lower grade is bad, although a B+ (= 3.3) is certainly not as bad as a C (= 2.0), for example.
@Velencia PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE seek help immediately from the counseling center–[Mental Health Services at UHS](https://uhs.umich.edu/mentalhealthsvc). Your mental health is important. Without it you cannot be your best or be a successful student. Asking for help is not a sign of failure. It’s sign of maturity and being a responsible adult.
College is very different than high school and many students have a difficult time adjusting. It’s is especially hard if you’ve always been a top student at your high school and now are suddenly a small fish in a big pond that filled with sharks. (BTDT myself. It’s hard and it can be a real blow to your self-esteem and personal identity.)
But you are far from alone–[Cream of the crop to middle of the pack: The freshman year wake-up call](https://admissions.umich.edu/explore-visit/blog/cream-crop-middle-pack-freshman-year-wake-call)
If Ochem is stressing you out that seriously, perhaps it would be best to step away, re-group and come back to later when you are in better place emotionally & mentally.
OTOH, you need to know that a B, even a B-, in Ochem will not keep you out of medical school. For matter neither will a C or even a F. (There’s MD/PhD recent grad on these boards who got a C in Ochem–didn’t keep him out of med school. D1 failed an elective bio class–didn’t keep her out of med school.) So if you can ease up a bit on that worry, it may help your frame of mind. Perfectionism is trait that will not serve you well over the long-run.
One W will not affect your ability to get a med school acceptance. (Now a pattern of withdrawals is an entirely different story…)
A B will only impact you in as much as it impacts your sGPA. Assuming you are a science major, then you will have plenty of other science classes over the next 3.5 years to dilute the effect of that B.
There are no right or wrong answers to this.
No one can tell what to do or what’s best for you. Only you can decide that.
But, if you do decide to continue with Ochem–get help. Office hours, tutoring (free at the Science Learning Center), using additional resources (Ochem as a Second Language and the Khan Academy YouTube lectures), a peer-study group–all of these will make learning the material easier.
One thing to keep in mind: Most premed students would be very happy to get a B or even B- in Organic Chemistry. While a B average overall is not going to get you into medical school, you very definitely can have a few B’s in among your A’s. If you can pull off a bare B- in Organic Chemistry that will be doing very well. Others might know better than I, but I would expect that there are probably a few medical school students right now whose only C in undergrad was in Organic Chemistry.
If you have 12 units without Organic Chemistry, and if you are coming in with any AP credits, I would wonder about dropping it, take the W, and retake it after you have become more accustomed to the pace of a premed university program.
Okay, there is a good mix of opinions and I want to thank everyone for saying something. Also, thank you @WayOutWestMom for the two detailed responses. I think, for now, I am going to keep trying. I already emailed my professor on what advice he has and if I can come visit him in office hours next week. I am gonna start going to the SLC (Science Learning Center) and participate more in discussion/lecture. I also signed up for an appointment with my counselor and see what she has to say about the matter. Getting an A- in OChem is going to be difficult, but not impossible. Resilience is key to being a doctor so I am going to give it my best. If anything, I’ll take the B (hopefully) and make up for it in the next years. We got a scanned copy of our exams today, and it shows that I did know the concepts, but made many stupid mistakes (they don’t give partial credit-if you get one part of the problem wrong, it’s all wrong)!
@Velencia Few points, though @WayOutWestMom and others have already given sound suggestions.
- Calm down and take a fresh look. It is not end of career. Unless you regroup, it is going to hurt you more than help you. You decide whether to withdraw or continue but remember it is not going to stop you in getting admission for MD.If there is a will there is a way.
- Though GPA and MCAT scores are very important, please note, MD admission is a total package and not just these 2 criteria alone. (Though these 2 are talked extensively since it is quantitative and easy to compare).
- If you look from a different perspective, our system is so forgiving and welcoming. Admission is not just based on GPA and MCAT scores. It is not that you need to join after UG. Gap year, non-traditional, what an individual has done beyond studying.
- Few examples from the current cycle SDN threads. A. One person GPA 3.4 and MCAT 524. But non-Canadian international. In general folks would have told, forget it, though he did his UG in US. He has 10 interviews and that too from Yale, Hopkins, Columbia, Icahn etc. B. Another CA resident, 3.2 and 525 and has many interviews. C. 3.92 and 520 but few interviews.
Not ignoring the extra ordinary MCAT scores but still to high light it is the total package.
So cheer up, you can still get admission for MD. But can not ignore GPA but that is not the end of story. GL.