Guest Cloudancing Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 I'm a 1st year student at U of T. I am definately planning to apply to med school in my 3 or 4th year. I thought about majoring in French since that is one of the things I am most passionate about ( I have other things I like but French is/was tops). But I am practically failing this french course! It's already the second semester and my money is gone.:eek I am looking at a possible D- to C- in this class. Then I thought about the fact that they probably will take off this horrible grade since I'm going to take 5 courses every year. I'm sure I can pass and leave with the D or the C if I work a little more. I guess I didn't think it would be so complicated.:\ Should I consider dropping it or just work harder? I'm doing poorly because I never do my homework, and I never participate in class ..it's my own fault . I have thought about this so much lately. I just need some one elses thoughts to clear my head of the clutter. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nursingstudentKyle Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 if i were you i would drop the course before it leaves a nasty scar on your transcript. if you're passionate about french then i would continue with that, because from my experiences so far, it is much easier to succeed if your doing something you love. but before you do anything else, or make any impulsive decisions, FIRST... do some self reflection. consider why exactly you are not motivated to do your homework and not participate in class, even though you know it's costing you marks. maybe you have interests elsewhere within the school that might be worth looking into. but if after you've become more self-aware about your academic career and have decided that you want to stick with it... then just dive right in again next semester and perform at your best. seriously though...try to understand your values, goals, and dreams...write them down if you need to, so that you can plot out your "plan to become your ideal-self"(a doctor?) in a way that will maximize on your strengths. try to be honest with yourself as to why you are doing what your doing, without being overly self-critical. just be honest. sorry to go off on that tangent there....to answer your question: yes i think you should drop the course if you can only attain a D- or C- even if you work hard. but i also feel that you should take it again, or move on to something new, don't let it be dark cloud that hangs over you, after all it's just one class! goodluck sir:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 You made a comment about "them" dropping this grade b/c you are taking five courses a term. I'm assuming you mean med admissions. Most schools generally consider 5 courses a semester standard, and some require it. Some schools do, however, only look at your last two academic years. I am concerned that the subject you are so passionate about is putting you in a position where you find yourself not doing your homework, and not participating. I think the nursing student gave you some good advice about self-reflection. I took a poetry class in my fourth year and was failing it...serisouly, "F" on my first paper. The prof was quite verbal in class about the fact that he hated science students taking his class, and I figure that was part of the problem. So, I marched off to my science counsellor and talked it over with her. I had actually gone past the deadline to withdraw without getting an automatic fail. As it turns out, the same thing had happened to her in her undergrad, and I brought back some residual feelings. She backdated my withdrawl to before the deadline for a tuition rebate. I didn't even get a "W," and I got all of my money back. This long-winded stroll down memory lane is to encourage you to look into your school's policy on withdrawl dates. As a first year student, you may not be aware that they have them. I got lucky, but it would be wise to check into the due dates to withdrawl without automatically failing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 If I were you I would work my butt off to get as good a grade as possible in the course and NOT drop it. Try your absolute best to improve by the end of the course, and to do well on the final exam (or whatever major evaluation you have near the end of the course). Talk to the prof (or TA, whoever is grading you) about the situation. Very often, profs (especially in smaller courses, or non-science courses) will raise grades at the end of the course if they see a big improvement. Personally, I have a couple of low grades from first year (a C- and a C+). I'm incredibly glad that I didn't drop them - because with the weighting scheme and huge improvements in my second year and beyond, my overall GPA for most schools is close to 4.0 now. If I had dropped those courses, it would be way lower. A couple bad grades is something that nearly everybody has on their transcripts. But having a non-full-courseload is something that can really come and hurt you later. It's the difference between something that's on a spectrum (a C- or D+ is much worse than a B, let's say) and something that's a binary decision (some schools will just say "We dont want you because you didn't carry a full courseload). That said, only YOU know what's right for you - read the opinions on this thread, get the facts, ask your upper-year friends who are applying to med school, and then decide for YOURSELF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cloudancing Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 Thank you for your answers everyone. I have decided to stay in the class. I really have to work hard now. I still want to major in it. I think. And I don't want to drop it and then find that I want it later. :rolleyes But thank you all for taking the time to read and respond. I really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 Good luck Cloudancing! I hope it works out for you, and also that you make use of whatever resources there are at your university to help you to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tirisa Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 Hey Cloudancing, I was just reading your messages and thought I'd add my two cents. I finished a major in French, with Spanish minor, and when I started my undergrad, I really had to struggle, primarily because my high school French left me very unprepared for understanding Moliere and writing essays about his work, particulary in a class of Francophones (I was at U of O). So, I took a year off, went and lived in France, came back and did great in school. Taking that year off was one of the best things I ever did, in terms of really perfecting my French and learning its inseparable culture, and in terms of growing up and preparing me for life. It also led to other experiences living in Spain, Holland, the US, etc. and now with my languages (and an MSc in Epi) I travel all over the place with work. So, definitely stick to what you want. And remember that good communication is of paramount importance when you're a doctor, so your language background will be incredibly useful for your future in medicine. Cheers, Tirisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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