peanut Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 2 weeks before school starts So first year @ UofT was brutal I ended up with 2.33 cGPA (my marks range from 60s to 80s) I still don't know how and why I have gotten these terrible grades!! I spent my life @ the library (but i enjoyed doing it so , lol) like many other students and went to extra help sessions--i even had private tutors I thought I tried my best, and studied like no other! but i won't give up here I'm taking history courses and french courses this year along with my lifesci courses, I hope this will help ...will it? lol I guess i just need a reassurance that I still have a chance, lol--after all i am only in my second year now any advices? it is possible to pull my gpa up to 3.5-4.0ish right??? does this happen to a lot of people in their first year? because most of the people i know with cGPA below 2.5 admit that they didn't try, and here i am with 2.33 when i triedd so hard! but i'm sure there are many other people in the same boat as me--i guess being surrounded by 3.5+ people just depresses me more, lol I'm just a bit disappointed that's all, hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Considering that the entering averages for a lot of university are in the mid 80s and the class averages drop to the mid 60s, I can assure you that you are not the first one this has happened to. I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to go back an evaluate your study techniques. There are a lot of people willing to exhaust large quantities of time studying but many times the efficiency is so low that it is simply a waste. Go to an academic counselling service and see if you can pick up tips on how to study efficiently based on your learning style (i.e. visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.). Remember the quality of your studying will always supersede the quantity of your studying. Don't worry, you still have a great chance at pursuing medicine (provided your marks improve). A lot of schools will look at your best 2 years, most recent 2 years or even drop your lowest courses. In other words, you're allowed to screw up. Do you have a great chance of getting your marks up? I honestly don't know and that's something you'll have to figure out. I wish you the best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I don't think a cGPA of 4.0 is possible. You'd need to take more than just 3 years of getting straight 4.0's so it'd average out. I always hated the GPA system. I'd prefer if everything was just in percents. Anyways, at this point, you're still good for certain schools (Queen's, Western, Dalhousie, Sask, Ottawa, Calgary.. I think?). Enter in a realistic GPA you think you can get this year and for the next 2 years after that. Then you'll get your predicted cGPA. But honestly, it really is hard to climb out from the cGPA hole. You could also consider starting a new degree entirely and that might help you with schools like NOSM and McGill which only consider your current/most recent degree. What worries me the most though is you're sounding a lot like a younger me... you're not going into this with a game plan at all. That laissez-faire attitude will kill your future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC_Ma Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 2 weeks before school starts So first year @ UofT was brutal I ended up with 2.33 cGPA (my marks range from 60s to 80s) I still don't know how and why I have gotten these terrible grades!! I spent my life @ the library (but i enjoyed doing it so , lol) like many other students and went to extra help sessions--i even had private tutors I thought I tried my best, and studied like no other! but i won't give up here I'm taking history courses and french courses this year along with my lifesci courses, I hope this will help ...will it? lol I guess i just need a reassurance that I still have a chance, lol--after all i am only in my second year now any advices? it is possible to pull my gpa up to 3.5-4.0ish right??? does this happen to a lot of people in their first year? because most of the people i know with cGPA below 2.5 admit that they didn't try, and here i am with 2.33 when i triedd so hard! but i'm sure there are many other people in the same boat as me--i guess being surrounded by 3.5+ people just depresses me more, lol I'm just a bit disappointed that's all, hahaha Well your case is interesting, before I diagnose anything, I need some extra info from you. 1. By saying studied hard how hard exactly did you study? I am asking this because a lot of people that I met say they study hard but when I meet up with them and study with them I find out their studying hard is no where close to studying hard. ex. I had a friend he says he studys 4 hours per day but actually I counted once and it was like 2 hours max and he was on his facebook, msn, game u name it. So tell me how many hours/day outside of classes and are those hours concentrated hours or u were multi-tasking with facebook at the same time? 2. If you truly studied hard then it is mostly likely your study method, don't hope it will magically work this term, you gotta change it. 3. Last possibility is intelligence Theory (I 100% disagree with it) but some people including a professor I know totally believes this intelligence crap, that if some people are born to do certain things and some just not born to study in school and no matter how hard they try they still won't do good. (Kinda sad that this is what a prof/teacher believes) I def don't believe this so lets work on #1 and #2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC_Ma Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 lol that multi-tasking kinda works for me... as it is a break for me from studying or sometimes i leave what i am studying and go on msn and then come back and see if i still remember what i had studied. Then good for you, but if OP did this a lot then it could be a cause of their bad GPA provided that he/she actually studied hard. ps: I sometimes go on msn too but it does affect me negatively Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well your case is interesting, before I diagnose anything, I need some extra info from you. 1. By saying studied hard how hard exactly did you study? I am asking this because a lot of people that I met say they study hard but when I meet up with them and study with them I find out their studying hard is no where close to studying hard. ex. I had a friend he says he studys 4 hours per day but actually I counted once and it was like 2 hours max and he was on his facebook, msn, game u name it. So tell me how many hours/day outside of classes and are those hours concentrated hours or u were multi-tasking with facebook at the same time? 2. If you truly studied hard then it is mostly likely your study method, don't hope it will magically work this term, you gotta change it. 3. Last possibility is intelligence Theory (I 100% disagree with it) but some people including a professor I know totally believes this intelligence crap, that if some people are born to do certain things and some just not born to study in school and no matter how hard they try they still won't do good. (Kinda sad that this is what a prof/teacher believes) I def don't believe this so lets work on #1 and #2 Thanks Well, I was really determined to get good grades, etc. and thought hard work ALWAYS paid off I didn't have facebook, I lived in residence--I don't exactly know how many hours I studied a day, but i just went to the library after dinner etc. I think friday nights, i didn't do much because i was exhausted but anyways, thanks for your advice I think i will try talking to the counsellor again, the last time i talked to her she asked me "do you do your homework? do you study? do you go to lectures?" RAYVEN: so what other tactics should i be looking for? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC_Ma Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 ThanksWell, I was really determined to get good grades, etc. and thought hard work ALWAYS paid off I didn't have facebook, I lived in residence--I don't exactly know how many hours I studied a day, but i just went to the library after dinner etc. I think friday nights, i didn't do much because i was exhausted but anyways, thanks for your advice I think i will try talking to the counsellor again, the last time i talked to her she asked me "do you do your homework? do you study? do you go to lectures?" RAYVEN: so what other tactics should i be looking for? Thanks! So I will assume that you really studied as hard as you claimed. Btw my first year wasnt great thats because I didn't study at all however I busted my ass off for the next 2 years to get very close to 4.0 GPA so I totally believe hard work pays off. My method of studying is totally disagreed by many people, what I do is I study a number of hours every single day. When I say # of hours I mean I count the hours that I actually concentrate and study hard, about 3 hours per day max then I can usually get all 90+ 4.0 for the courses I took with 1 or 2 exceptions in the high 80s per year. Again this is only my method, my other friends use w/e they think work for them. Another question to think about is whether or not u are spending tons of time studying from the textbook? I found that most of the time I don't even need the textbook just lectures+notes will do but you gotta understand the material not just memorize them. One other method I can offer is to record lectures and review the lectures + notes that would help in some courses where the prof tests u on nitty gritty details only from his lectures and no where to be found in textbooks. Pm me if you need any other help, I ll be glad to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks everyone I think i just had a depression tsunami over me a couple of min ago I'm getting ready to go to the airport (to Toronto, CAN) now! I am going to start my second year as a fresh new start and be optimistic! Thanks thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev01 Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 here is the best advice you will ever get... get out of uoft Thanks everyoneI think i just had a depression tsunami over me a couple of min ago I'm getting ready to go to the airport (to Toronto, CAN) now! I am going to start my second year as a fresh new start and be optimistic! Thanks thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musume Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Well your case is interesting, before I diagnose anything, I need some extra info from you. 1. By saying studied hard how hard exactly did you study? I am asking this because a lot of people that I met say they study hard but when I meet up with them and study with them I find out their studying hard is no where close to studying hard. ex. I had a friend he says he studys 4 hours per day but actually I counted once and it was like 2 hours max and he was on his facebook, msn, game u name it. So tell me how many hours/day outside of classes and are those hours concentrated hours or u were multi-tasking with facebook at the same time? 2. If you truly studied hard then it is mostly likely your study method, don't hope it will magically work this term, you gotta change it. 3. Last possibility is intelligence Theory (I 100% disagree with it) but some people including a professor I know totally believes this intelligence crap, that if some people are born to do certain things and some just not born to study in school and no matter how hard they try they still won't do good. (Kinda sad that this is what a prof/teacher believes) I def don't believe this so lets work on #1 and #2 You're kidding yourself if you don't believe that people have varying degrees of intelligence. The kid that was in remedial grade 11 math in high school won't be able to ace calculus no matter how much he/she studies. With that said, pre req courses for med school are basically memorization and not really any critical thinking so with hard work most people can achieve good grades in those courses. Maybe you should consider changing your major OP? You don't need to be a science major to make it to med school and I found that taking classes that you actually enjoy will have a significant effect on your grades. Also, for your science courses the most important thing to be successful for me was doing past midterms/finals. Do every single midterm/final question you can find, circle the questions you don't understand, ask for help from peers/professors and you should definitely be pulling in better grades than the ones you got in first year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill29 Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 You're kidding yourself if you don't believe that people have varying degrees of intelligence. The kid that was in remedial grade 11 math in high school won't be able to ace calculus no matter how much he/she studies. With that said, pre req courses for med school are basically memorization and not really any critical thinking so with hard work most people can achieve good grades in those courses. Maybe you should consider changing your major OP? You don't need to be a science major to make it to med school and I found that taking classes that you actually enjoy will have a significant effect on your grades. Also, for your science courses the most important thing to be successful for me was doing past midterms/finals. Do every single midterm/final question you can find, circle the questions you don't understand, ask for help from peers/professors and you should definitely be pulling in better grades than the ones you got in first year. Hi; a bit dated, but I saw this and had to reply. I was that kid in remedial grade 11 math. I took it twice and still only managed to come out with 51%. I went back and took math courses as an adult. My mark in calculus for my first year at St. Mary's was 98%. It does happen. Hope things worked out for you. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dowatugottado Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 Hi; a bit dated, but I saw this and had to reply. I was that kid in remedial grade 11 math. I took it twice and still only managed to come out with 51%. I went back and took math courses as an adult. My mark in calculus for my first year at St. Mary's was 98%. It does happen. Hope things worked out for you. Jill Was this course catered towards life sci students by any chance? Skeptical hippo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill29 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Was this course catered towards life sci students by any chance? Skeptical hippo ^Hater^ Sorry you aren't capable of getting 98% in a calculus course. Jealousy is a sin. Go eat a cupcake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nem90 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 ^Hater^ Sorry you aren't capable of getting 98% in a calculus course. Jealousy is a sin. Go eat a cupcake. What the hell? Why revive such an old thread? Here I am trying to read a 4 year old thread.... Lesson learned, always look at the date of the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill29 Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 What the hell? Why revive such an old thread? Here I am trying to read a 4 year old thread.... Lesson learned, always look at the date of the thread. Clearly, I didn't see it until now.... I don't live breath and eat on the internet - Sorry to disturb you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.