Discouraged about micro

Yes. Stupid Krebbs cycle lol. I had a 3.9 until micro, but I did recover from bombing the first test and manage to retain a 3.6 GPA.

Hey, I will be taking micro in the nearest future, so I cannot say how it will turn out. However, I have taken other classes and did rather well and sometimes not so well during the course of my academic career. Since it is just the beginning of the fall semester, you have no reason to give up. I am sure you will have a few more exams to take, homework, class participation, quizzes, extra credit to help you make up and hopefully get a decent grade. Look at it holistically, like a big picture. I do not know what the minimum grade is for the program you would like to apply, but as long as you do get a good enough grade to get you in, good luck! I know we all would like to have all As, but sometimes it does not happen. And if it does, it is in no way an indication that you are not good enough.

There are a lot of factors that make up your grade and you should consult your syllabus. Also, I'm not sure what you consider a decent grade but I think you could possibly turn this around if you learn from this test. I usually do pretty bad on first exams especially if I have never taken that professor before.

I am currently taking Microbiology and AP II this semester and have found that my instructors expect us to understand and apply the concepts versus simply memorizing them. If you were given your exam back to keep, then I would go over it to see if you truly knew the material. I would also go over any questions that were marked correct and you had to guess on. I usually circle questions that I was unsure of while taking the test, so I can review those later. If your professor doesn't (like mine), go to office hours and ask to see your exam and go over it with them then. Also, this first exam is a very good indicator of how the rest of your exams will look like. Determine the level of detail your professor tests on for future reference. For example, I have found that my science professors use 35-50% of multiple choice questions and 85-90% of short answer and true/false questions to measure our level of understanding and application.

Also look at your study process. Last semester in AP I, I didn't do as well as I hoped because I never changed the way I studied, I just added more hours. I was good at the anatomy portion (memorization), it was the physiology concepts (application) that caught me up. This semester, I have revamped some of my study habits for the better and I actually spend less time studying for all my classes.

My suggestion on the tutoring is to try it from now until the next exam to see if you feel like it is beneficial to you. I have social anxiety so I have avoided tutoring for most of my academic career. However, this semester I have found that while I despise one-on-one tutoring, I quite enjoy (school official) group peer tutoring for Micro. I think that it helps me because I go in prepared for the tutoring session. I don't show up and expect the peer group leader to teach me everything I need to know. I have a list of two or three things that I just can not for the life of me grasp. I am also able to hear what others are seeking help on and realize that I didn't know that concept as well as I thought. Good Luck.

Thx for all the comments!!! Great news tho... I contacted my professor and asked where I went wrong on the test... turns out, she put my grade in wrong on Blackboard I really got a 57.5/70 (82%) I was depressed and crying for nothing... aaaaaand she didn't even apologize.. I didn' feel a sense of relief after she told me.. I was just upset she didn't say I'm sorry.....!

Well that is good news. I think a lot of professors would not apologize. That just my opinion...don't take it personal.