What's the best course of action with an upcoming exam?

[TalsKnight]

I have an exam in 5 days and honestly given that I've been dealing with a lot of personal stress and also since I need to work 8 hours a day every single day until then I have doubts about my ability to prepare well enough. The exam is worth 11% of my final grade. My professor offered to shift the weight of this exam to the next (which is in 1 month), so that exam will be worth 22% of my final grade. Exams are non cumulative. Slightly torn on what I should do here, any advice would be great. Thanks.

[Neurophiliac]

If you have doubts, then you have doubts.  Even if you pushed through, 5 days isn’t enough if you’re feeling iffy about it.  I suggest accepting your professor’s offer and using the month to prepare as much as you can for the next exam.  Given the extended time, you can also try to lower your work hours if possible.

[scrubbed0ut]

13 minutes ago, Neurophiliac said:

If you have doubts, then you have doubts.  Even if you pushed through, 5 days isn’t enough if you’re feeling iffy about it.  I suggest accepting your professor’s offer and using the month to prepare as much as you can for the next exam.  Given the extended time, you can also try to lower your work hours if possible.

I agree. If you don't feel ready for the upcoming exam, take your Prof's offer and study as much as you can for the next exam. Also, try to decrease your working hours as school always comes first

[faithrl]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:53 AM, TalsKnight said:

I have an exam in 5 days and honestly given that I've been dealing with a lot of personal stress and also since I need to work 8 hours a day every single day until then I have doubts about my ability to prepare well enough. The exam is worth 11% of my final grade. My professor offered to shift the weight of this exam to the next (which is in 1 month), so that exam will be worth 22% of my final grade. Exams are non cumulative. Slightly torn on what I should do here, any advice would be great. Thanks.

Why do you work 8 hours everyday? I've been working the minimum I need to pay all my bills, about 20-25 hours/week and that's already hard for me. 

[TalsKnight]

19 hours ago, faithrl said:

Why do you work 8 hours everyday? I've been working the minimum I need to pay all my bills, about 20-25 hours/week and that's already hard for me. 

 

Because I'll be homeless if I don't.

[frenchpress]

7 hours ago, TalsKnight said:

 

Because I'll be homeless if I don't.

That’s such a tough situation. It’s hard to prioritize school when you need to out so much effort into taking care of yourself first, and that is definitely the most important thing. It sounds like your prof was pretty understanding and supportive, so hopefully it works out whichever option you chose.

[faithrl]

8 hours ago, TalsKnight said:

 

Because I'll be homeless if I don't.

I think you should consider finding a cheaper place to live. It's totally manageable to work half your hours and not be homeless, I'm doing it. I would get a roommate, and really budget. 

[TalsKnight]

1 hour ago, frenchpress said:

That’s such a tough situation. It’s hard to prioritize school when you need to out so much effort into taking care of yourself first, and that is definitely the most important thing. It sounds like your prof was pretty understanding and supportive, so hopefully it works out whichever option you chose.

Thanks yeah he was, I explained to him about my family circumstances too and things and he was sympathetic to my situation but it's seriously taking a toll on me. I doubt I'll get into medical school in Canada because I can't dedicate all my time to academics like some other people who are in a better position. UBC med is where I'd like to go but I have a 81% average and it could drop since this semester has been bumpy. I don't even want to convert that average to an OMSAS GPA. Probably horrible.

 

12 minutes ago, faithrl said:

I think you should consider finding a cheaper place to live. It's totally manageable to work half your hours and not be homeless, I'm doing it. I would get a roommate, and really budget. 

 

I live in Vancouver the housing situation here is ridiculous and finding a new/cheaper place is literally impossible. As far as being a student goes I won't find better/cheaper housing than my current situation and that's a fact unless I am willing to move 2 hours away and then I'll have to commute 4 hours back and forth everyday for school/work which would not help at all.

[frenchpress]

23 minutes ago, TalsKnight said:

Thanks yeah he was, I explained to him about my family circumstances too and things and he was sympathetic to my situation but it's seriously taking a toll on me. I doubt I'll get into medical school in Canada because I can't dedicate all my time to academics like some other people who are in a better position. UBC med is where I'd like to go but I have a 81% average and it could drop since this semester has been bumpy. I don't even want to convert that average to an OMSAS GPA. Probably horrible.

 

 

I live in Vancouver the housing situation here is ridiculous and finding a new/cheaper place is literally impossible. As far as being a student goes I won't find better/cheaper housing than my current situation and that's a fact unless I am willing to move 2 hours away and then I'll have to commute 4 hours back and forth everyday for school/work which would not help at all.

I live in Vancouver too, I totally understand where you’re coming from. Finding something cheaper can literally mean moving into a closet, and even those spaces can have huge competition.

Are you currently taking a full course load? Any way you could decrease the number of courses next term? I get that will likely prolong the time you’re in school, but if your goal is to keep your GPA up for Med then it might be worth the trade off.

I know a lot of schools put emphasis on full course loads and being able to demonstrate that you can handle a lot of classes at once, but working basically full-time and going to school can demonstrate that as well. Many schools (including UBC) will take that sort of circumstance into account and allow you the opportunity to explain it. I had several part-time terms on my transcripts, but because my remaining time was accounted for with a lot of part-time work, it didn’t seem to be a barrier to admission to UBC.

[TalsKnight]

20 minutes ago, frenchpress said:

I live in Vancouver too, I totally understand where you’re coming from. Finding something cheaper can literally mean moving into a closet, and even those spaces can have huge competition.

Are you currently taking a full course load? Any way you could decrease the number of courses next term? I get that will likely prolong the time you’re in school, but if your goal is to keep your GPA up for Med then it might be worth the trade off.

I know a lot of schools put emphasis on full course loads and being able to demonstrate that you can handle a lot of classes at once, but working basically full-time and going to school can demonstrate that as well. Many schools (including UBC) will take that sort of circumstance into account and allow you the opportunity to explain it. I had several part-time terms on my transcripts, but because my remaining time was accounted for with a lot of part-time work, it didn’t seem to be a barrier to admission to UBC.

Tell me about it. A friend of mine lives in what is essentially a rodent infested box. The place I live in now is clean, quiet and relatively close to work/school, no way I'm going through the long uncertain process of trying to find a new place again. I'm not taking a full course load.  I'm taking 4 in each semester (24 credits) which is technically considered a full course load for U of C but not any schools in Ontario as far as I know. Congrats on getting in, it does give me hope that someone in a similar situation did but ultimately GPA is king and it's going to be an uphill battle I think. Most of my semesters have been either 3 or 4 courses. I think I only have one with 5.

[frenchpress]

1 hour ago, TalsKnight said:

 Tell me about it. A friend of mine lives in what is essentially a rodent infested box. The place I live in now is clean, quiet and relatively close to work/school, no way I'm going through the long uncertain process of trying to find a new place again. I'm not taking a full course load.  I'm taking 4 in each semester (24 credits) which is technically considered a full course load for U of C but not any schools in Ontario as far as I know. Congrats on getting in, it does give me hope that someone in a similar situation did but ultimately GPA is king and it's going to be an uphill battle I think. Most of my semesters have been either 3 or 4 courses. I think I only have one with 5.

It’s definitely tough, but it is doable I think given where you’re at now with your GPA - it’s a more uphill and a longer road than those with a killer GPA, and that doesn’t always seem fair, but the long road isn’t always a bad thing. All you can do is keep at it and take care of yourself. Good luck!

Edit: And yeah, don’t leave that apartment!

[TalsKnight]

3 minutes ago, frenchpress said:

It’s definitely tough, but it is doable I think given where you’re at now with your GPA - it’s a more uphill and a longer road than those with a killer GPA, and that doesn’t always seem fair, but the long road isn’t always a bad thing. All you can do is keep at it and take care of yourself. Good luck!

Edit: and yeah, don’t leave that apartment!

 

Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it.