<p>I am finishing this quarter with a C in General Chemistry, C in Calculus, and B in my freshman seminar.
I feel like an idiot because I AM trying so so so hard. I'm not used to this pressure and how hard all these classes are. I came from a public school where it took no effort to get an A but am competing with kids who know sooo much more then me who went to prep schools and are used to this stress and workload.</p>
<p>My fall quarter grades make me feel like an absolute failure.
I worked so hard to get into Northwestern..but I am wishing now that I went to a lower school because my ultimate goal is medical school.
Doing great at Northwestern looks better then doing great at a state school..but doing mediocre at Northwestern looks worse then doing great at a state school.</p>
<p>I'm so discouraged. I consistently pull B's or C's in all of my tests (relative to the curve) and have gotten maybe one A- on a paper. I'm just not used to this...but I am working SO HARD. And there are so many people here who don't even care and don't work nearly as hard as I do but they get better grades then me..there are so many insanely smart people here.</p>
<p>I'm premed..is there still hope? I just want to get into SOME medical school. It doesn't have to be a top medical school at all, a state medical school would be wonderful too. ANY medical school is hard to get into.</p>
<p>Do you think once I get used to this, I'll perform better?
I'm just so stressed out and miserable and discouraged because I am trying SO much without ANY motivation because I never get rewarded for my hard work thus far at Northwestern.</p>
<p>Science/Math courses at Northwestern are reputed to be REALLY hard so I bet you’re not alone. When I talked to a science professor before, he mentioned that students frequently come to his office crying because they get low grades despite working really hard. I have about 10 friends who dropped out of pre-med because of the rigor. They decided to pursue optometry, dental school, financial consulting, and PhD programs instead. Still viable choices. I also have friends who did not take sciences in college but went onto post-bacc programs straight after. Others decided to major in a non-science discipline and took only the required pre-med core classes (med schools seem to like this a lot actually), usually one a quarter. They are now at top med schools.</p>
<p>I was not a science major so perhaps somebody else on here could speak to your issue and whether or not you should stay the course of being pre-med. This is a really common dilemma for pre-meds though. In general, people who did not go to a rigorous HS are usually taken aback by the rigor of getting a B in a math/sci course and an A in the humanities/social sciences (for the latter, a B or B+ is attainable but A- and A are harder to come by).</p>
<p>There’s no question that you are now in classes with people who, on the average, present a much higher caliber of sheer brain power than you saw in your high school, on avarage. I was very impressed at how many absolutely brilliant kids are at NU.
I have two thoughts:
First, your first quarter is not going to make you or break you. You need to stick with this for a while and see what happens.<br>
Second, if, a year from now, you still feel like you’re struggling in the premed courses, then you might have to question whether you should be premed. I can tell you that at every top school, a very high percentage of students who start as “premeds” don’t finish that way, and it’s not because they’re not bright (you have to be pretty darn smart to get into NU and these other schools). It’s just that premed (and medical school) is harder than most people realize, and not every bright kid is cut out for it.
DO NOT MAKE THAT DECISION NOW! It’s premature. If you think you want to be a doctor, play this out for a while.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Something like 2/3rds of all nu students who enroll planning to be pre-med end up dropping it before graduation, and I believe most of that happens through first year attrition. It’s a curve- someone WILL be at the bottom, regardless of how much you work or how smart you are. Try not to take it too personally as a reflection of your worth- as others have said, you moved up a division and they keep score in this league.</p>
<p>The fact that you got admitted into NU speaks of your credentials/abilities. It is natural for anyone to feel little down, when the expected results are not achieved.
Your questions (I’m premed…is there still hope? Do you think once I get used to this, I’ll perform better?) are valid but do not doubt your abilities (YOU ARE NU)…
You can take the premed/med school admission as a challenge and go for it OR You can explore and find your “real” interest (Nu provides you with so many options - if premed is your real interest you will find a way).
College education is not all about grades…it should help you to find your interests and make good choices to be happy (i am deliberately omitting the word Successful)</p>
<p>One thing our family enjoyed was the letter from NU (I think it was in the welcome packet) telling us that every incoming NU freshman is accustomed to getting straight As, but that half of them will be C-average students at Northwestern. </p>
<p>It’s smart for them to prepare families to adjust their expectations, but I’d think that even being “average” at NU places you firmly in the educational 1%. ;-)</p>
<p>^
Actually, the median GPA at NU is ~ B+, pretty standard for schools of its ilk.</p>
<p>But the grading/curve in intro classes in the sciences, engineering, math and econ (in particular) is much rougher than higher level courses. This is not unique to NU - pretty much the same curve found at Duke, Cornell, Chicago, Columbia, etc. While thinking about where the grass might be greener, realize that while at most state flagships your fellow students may be less academically elite, median grades are pretty much universally lower.</p>
<p>Don’t know if your chem and calc HS background is weaker than kids surrounding you - may be part of the problem.</p>
<p>Take a bit of comfort in knowing these C’s count for 33.3% percent of a year’s grade, not 50% thanks to the trimester system. It’s too early to throw in the towel, but by the end of next term if things are not improving you should sit down with a pre-med advisor and have a heart to heart.</p>