<p>I am currently a student at UC Berkeley and I have seriously screwed up my first semester. I am struggling to pass my Intro to Chem class and will probably get B's in my two other classes. Is there any hope still? Advice?</p>
<p>Why are you struggling?</p>
<p>It’s important to know WHY. If the material is too difficult, then you may need to rethink your goals. Your strengths may be elsewhere. Every “smart person” isn’t able to become a doctor…contrary to what many young people seem to think. </p>
<p>If the problem is that you let yourself get behind, haven’t studied, then you may just need to improve your study skills and organization skills.</p>
<p>Ditto what mom2 said about figuring out the “why”----</p>
<p>What did you do to get help with material you were having difficulty with?</p>
<p>Do you attend recitation regularly? Go to office hours? Seek tutoring? Work with fellow students in a study group? Complete the homework?</p>
<p>While it’s probably too late to salvage your chem grade this semester, knowing where to get help will help you do better in whatever classes you take in the future.</p>
<p>Another area to consider is if you have adequate foundational skills in reading (sounds stupid, but reading and then retaining information that you’ve read is a skill), active listening & meaningful note-taking, or personal organization/time management.</p>
<p>Often students who have breezed thru high school never develop all of those skills because they never needed to. </p>
<p>If you need improvement in one of those areas, you can check with the counseling office. Many schools offer skill development seminars.</p>
<p>Seek help. Good tutor / prof will know why are you struggling. They will identify your weakness and wil coorect it and it will help you. The key is to find a good one and communicate clearly about your struggles. Keep in mind for the future. You are paying for ALL services at college, your prof’s office hours, SI’s wages…etc. Use them all, otherwise you are not getting all that you pay for. Funny, UC Berkeley is the most represented UG at D’s Med. School.</p>