Adult Student.....Did Anyone Else Have A Nervous Breakdown Daily?

[Sparkles]

Hey guys......

 

So after being out of school 10 years and hearing professors saying....."You learned this in Chem 30/Bio 30/Grade 12, etc.........remember?", I'm wondering if there are any "older" students feeling worn. My first semester has been an assortment of grades.....92, 83, 75, 70, and 65 at this point!!! I now feel that next semester I can master anything now that I'm over the "culture" shock. But am I being too much of a worrywart of never getting into any med school? Yes.....right now I am the girl asking "Do I look fat?" and wanting you to say "OF COURSE NOT!!!!!":p

 

But quite honestly.....has anybody been in this position with low grades, and do you honestly think I can make a "Sparkling" comeback! (yes......I am just that witty! )

[Jochi1543]

I got my degree in May, but I took Calculus as an AP course in HS, so over 5 years ago.....every time some professor claims I'm supposed to remember an integral of some polynomial by heart because "calculus is a prerequisite for this class," I want to get behind the wheel of a semi and run him over...and over...

[UBCGuy]

Don't worry about it. To be frank, all things considered, those are great first semester grades. I know it is not was you were looking for but the first semester is definately the hardest. Pretty much everyone goes through it and you just have to keep your chin up and move on. That being said it is far from over! I am not sure which university you attend but at UBC finals range from 40-70% of our overall grade and so there is definately an opportunity to pull them up with continued hard work.

Good luck!, and just know that most of us here have been through it.

UBCGuy

[Kenola]

Yes, I've heard that phrase many times. I was 31 or 32 when I went to university. I think I heard that everything class.

Stick it out. Things will get better.

 

I know I had to get my wife to talk me down off a ledge a few times. Worst experience...finding out my stats midterm was a 53%. Good god, I just barely passed!

 

However, may profs have ways of helping you boost your average. In this particular class, the prof only took the best 2 out of 3 midterms, and then final exm mark in the class. After that intial scare, I ended up with a 94% in that class.

 

Key points : undergraduate stuff, especially if you've taken the pre reqs YEARS ago can be daunting. I have found that the intial learning curve can be quite steep, but dilligence, and the fact that towards the end of the class is where a lot of the really new stuff comes out that has little to do with the prereqs....then everyone is one the same playing field.

 

BTW, this sort of feeling DOES NOT going away with med school. I have found that we'll be reviewing the pathways from biochem during a certain class, with the prof saying that you should have just taken this, and 90% of the class cannot remember where the glyolytic pathway and the pentose phosphate pathway join up, or what the first few reactions were.

 

Take care, study to the best of your abilities, and don't loose hope (OR FOCUS!)

 

Kenola

[Sparkles]

Thanks everybody. I just needed to know I'm not alone. I had a major breakdown....tears and all. My poor roomate got the brunt of it. But I feel better and I'm not going to give up. (not that i ever really considered that.... )

[muchdutch]

Don't feel bad at all sparkles. Tears are part of my life - weekly if not daily!

[AMmd]

Hehe, dont feel bad, it happens even to the "younger" students. once the semester is over, its usually erase mode

[Talon01]

I've found that people in our class who have more experience/knowledge in a certain block tend to excel at the beginning. However, after 4 weeks in or so individuals who knew nothing about the subject are basically on the same level as those with previous experience.

[bioboy2007]

Yes, I've heard that phrase many times. I was 31 or 32 when I went to university. I think I heard that everything class.

Stick it out. Things will get better.

 

I know I had to get my wife to talk me down off a ledge a few times. Worst experience...finding out my stats midterm was a 53%. Good god, I just barely passed!

 

However, may profs have ways of helping you boost your average. In this particular class, the prof only took the best 2 out of 3 midterms, and then final exm mark in the class. After that intial scare, I ended up with a 94% in that class.

 

Key points : undergraduate stuff, especially if you've taken the pre reqs YEARS ago can be daunting. I have found that the intial learning curve can be quite steep, but dilligence, and the fact that towards the end of the class is where a lot of the really new stuff comes out that has little to do with the prereqs....then everyone is one the same playing field.

 

BTW, this sort of feeling DOES NOT going away with med school. I have found that we'll be reviewing the pathways from biochem during a certain class, with the prof saying that you should have just taken this, and 90% of the class cannot remember where the glyolytic pathway and the pentose phosphate pathway join up, or what the first few reactions were.

 

Take care, study to the best of your abilities, and don't loose hope (OR FOCUS!)

 

Kenola

 

Great advice. Thanks, Kenola.