Feeling extremely discouraged right now with class..... (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

I think I'm about to get my first C ever in college. :frowning:
The class is analytical chemistry, and it's the first ever to whip my ass left and right. All the tests leave very little room for error. You gotta think fast and think right. As you'll note the time, it's about 3:30 am. I'm taking a break right now from studying. Acid/Base titrations, polyprotic acids, complexometric titrations with EDTA..... MY HEAD'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!!!! I can't even do something as simple as mass balance equations right now!!!
Besides this test, I've got a lab report due this coming Friday, this coming Monday, a project this coming Thursday, and the MCAT to boot on April 20th.
I'd like some advice on how to handle stress. Or at least some encouraging words.

 

[David-S]

Man, I feel your pain...
What i do when i get swamped like that, i just try and keep on trucking, make sure you get as much sleep as you can steal, and just remember that you'll be done soon. (Of course, I've been saying I'll be done soon since sophomore year, and i'm heading to grad school in the fall, but you get my drift )

 

[Patrick Sun]

I got 2 C's in one quarter in college, but I ascribe that to being sick for 60% of the one quarter and being a zombie for most of the class lectures. It's not the end-all-be-all if you do your best and get a lower grade. The real lesson is the learn the material being presented. Once you get out of college, you'll be laughing at the stress you put yourself under for grades.

 

[Michael R Price]

Oh, crap! I'm taking analytical chemistry next year. Wish me luck :frowning:

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Just got back from taking my test. Chalk up another F for me. I swear, if I were to graph my results with test taking, it would be that the time I put into studying has an inverse relationship with the amount of understanding I obtain. The more I study, the worse I'm doing!!! WTF!? Oh well, if I get a B in one class and an A in another, I'll have a nice balanced B for the semester.

 

[Matt Stryker]

"My advice to you is to start drinking heavily..."

Just remember the big picture. A C is not that bad, especially if you gave it your all. At Georgia Tech, I had friends that took electromagnetics so many times, they had names for each one (emag, remag, threemag). They all graduated. Just keep going and keep your notes.

 

[MikeAlletto]

Nothing wrong with a C. Thats defined as average. I got plenty of C's. (and one or 2 D's, but lets not talk about those). Just learn as much as you can and not worry about the grades.

 

[Scott L]

Hell I've had F's galore, but I shouldn't fail out again. Chicks dig smart guys.

 

[Ron-P]

Or at least some encouraging words.

Naked women laying around by your pool drinking beer asking you what movie you what to watch in your HT.
Peace Out~

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Encouraging words? Let's see...I flunked my Physics II final and made a 'C' in the course and it made no difference whatsoever in my career choices and place in life today.
Unless you are going to be an analytical chemist when you get out of school, I wouldn't sweat it.
As for stress relief? No comment.
- Steve

 

[Jay H]

"Buck up little camper...we'll beat that slope together"
Better off Dead
I hate chemistry too, I don't ever want to see a mole, don't care what a mole is, and have no desire to memorize zillions of different carbon bonds in my sleep!!
Does that make you feel better? I flunked Chemistry once in college, which is why I'm now in computers!
Jay

 

[John Spencer]

Boy do I remember chemistry! We had a professor for organic chemistry that was using the textbook and tests from a grad school-level course. It was amazingly hard. Foue clases a week, in addition to a twice-a-week three-hour lab. By the time the semster was over, I walked out of the class with a B and absolutely no idea of how to do anything in a practical setting. Don't know if it was me or the teaching, but I changed majors soon after. After that i've had real respect for anyone with a high degree of skill in chemistry.

 

[Robb W]

All you need to remember is C's get degrees!

 

[Ron-P]

Got me a BS in Engineering thanks to C's. Of course I always considered it EnginBeering
Peace Out~

 

[Jason Handy]

Dome,

I have a degree in chemistry (graduate 1997). Actually it is in biochemistry, but I am only 2 or 3 classes shy of the real thing. The best advice I can give you is to find a tutor! Chemistry teachers are notoriously bad and the best thing to do is find someone who learns like you do and try to attack it together.

My toughest class is college was Organic Chem II. It was nothing but memorization of chemical pathways...condensation, esterization, dehydrogenation, etc. I had a hell of a time pulling through but my saving grace was my study partner. He did 2 things: always had a different perspective on a problem and motivated me to show up and study.

I hope this helps. I feel lots of sympathy for you, man.

Jason

 

[John Thomas]

Analytical Chemistry. Oif.

I had a recurring dream/nightmare that involved entering the lecture room of my Analytical Chem class continually. Next class: Analytical Chem. Next: A.Chem...Aie!

Anyhow, for some encouragement, I suppose I could offer you the fact that I lived through Polymer Chem being taught by the man who created Teflon. Yes, that's right. Dr. Kleinfelter was imposing, to say the least.

 

[Yoshi Sugawara]

Hey Dome, I know how you feel too.
I remember I got my first C in college (and my second and third) in organic chemistry. I knew things weren't going to be well when I got a 24 out of 100 on my first midterm. My o-chem class (at UCLA) was so damn crowded I could barely stick my neck out into the aisles from the backroom to take notes from the lecture! I always came in a little late to class because my class before it was all the way across campus (10 minutes walking distance). I ended up skipping out on most of the classes, yet still somehow managed to get a C+.
Just do the very best you can, because that's all you can do. If you gave it your best and get a C, so be it then. Try to have a "I don't give a f*** attitude" Some years down the road (even if you're applying to med school or whatever) no one's really going to care if you got a C in analytical chemistry, right?
Anyways, that's my (potentially flawed) take on it

 

[CRyan]

Why a Chemistry major if you are going into medicine?

C. Ryan

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Why a Chemistry major if you are going into medicine?

That's the thing. I'm a Bio major. But see in order to graduate, I had to take what's called an upper level elective in biology, and Analytical Chemistry qualified. It was either that or Histology (one of the the two hardest classes offered in Undergrad at the University of Kentucky. The other being Physical Chemistry offered by the Chemistry department). So much for the lesser of two evils. :rolleyes
No joke, my mind blanked as soon as the test started. After I got back from the test (around elevenish), I couldn't sleep. All the coffee I had the night before decided to hit me all at once. I toss and turned in bed all afternoon, and my legs decide to cramp up on me. This is turning out to be a splendid day. :frowning: I also have a lab report due tommorow I haven't even started. Oh well, the only thing I have to look foward to is Keeneland (horse track) opens tommorow.
I think I'll take my beer and women then.

 

[Ken Situ]

Go all out playing sports very hard for two or three hours, even with the best beer and the most beautiful women right next to you in your bed, you wouldn't lift your finger to touch either of them.

Wait til you take some course in electromagnetic waves and theory, and shits like random noise theories, you will realize "C" is actually not too bad. But to tell you the truth, I got A+'s for both courses, and I didn't know anything about either then, or now.

It really doesn't matter what you get. Whenever you feel stressed out, just go play some sport very hard to push yourself just over the limit. Take a hot bath and a long sleep after that, and you will be fresh as ever.