Failed General Chem...

[guest935762]

Ugh I was wondering why I had such a horrible feeling all day today. It took my professor over a week to put up finals grades and lo and behold I got a D. 68%. Two' percent away from a C.

The part that brings me to tears is the fact that the general chem course I took was an intersession class. A normally 16 week course compacted into 4 :/. Thanks @ my counselor for suggesting it to me -_- Essentially took chem for a whole month for nothing.

I can retake it and just do better(a C probably wouldnt have looked better anyways) since the part that really tipped my grade was missing a huge extra-credits worth of points the one day I got too sick to even get out of bed. Nice timing to get sick right.

Anyways not to be too hung up over it, I learned a lot about what I can handle and how useless I am on little to no sleep in terms of study habits and 4 week crazyness.

Its a 4 unit course and as far as my pre reqs go, I have physio and stats in the spring, micro in the summer and supposed to apply for nursing in the fall. My plate is full, no clue where to fit a retake of chem anywhere there. Any suggestions?

I guess the blessing was not getting a C since my school doesn't allow retakes for that. Crazy hard class.

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

First off blaming your counselor for your decision is immature and petty. If YOU sign up for something YOU are expected to complete it. Was your counselor supposed to know how hard you were willing to work? Then you say you were "sick". Look around your classroom..vast majority of people have struggles and challenges going on in their lives..yet they complete the task successfully. You want to learn something from this? Stop BLAMING teachers, counselors, illness, and life in general for your screw ups. IF you become a nurse you will work with doctors you may not like...co workers you may not like..you are still expected to complete the task at an A level..not C. And excuses in a hospital mean absolutely NOTHING. You give a med...you are responsible. Even if the pharmacy messes up the calculation....it is on you. Nothing more lame than adults who blame others for their screw ups.

[guest935762]

Wow chill. I certainly never said I blamed my teachers. Blaming the counselor would be asinine but in my experiences I have been told to get various counselors opinions on educational goals because they tend to suggest courses rather haphazardly.

Where in my post did I "blame" life in general or teachers or what ever you're on about? What even. I am asking for suggestions on where a retake of the chem class can fit in a already busy on pre reqs schedule till Fall semester.

Get off your high horse and quit trying to shove your self righteous perspective down peoples throats where it doesn't belong.

All I care about at the moment is rectifying that bad grade.

[BeachsideRN, ASN]

Fwiw my first bachelors was in Chem and I ended up with a d in my very first Chem course. Chem is hard. It's a lot to learn in a small period of time. Figure out where you went wrong. Retake it. And move on.

[BeachsideRN, ASN]

And gen Chem in 4 weeks is just nuts! I can't even believe it's offered that way!!!

[Kchaffin, ASN, RN]

I'm totally in your shoes...I failed Chem 100 last spring, retaking it this spring along with Stats and Anatomy...Chem in 4 weeks would be insane. Just saying!

[LV3677]

Wow chill. I certainly never said I blamed my teachers. Blaming the counselor would be asinine but in my experiences I have been told to get various counselors opinions on educational goals because they tend to suggest courses rather haphazardly.

Where in my post did I "blame" life in general or teachers or what ever you're on about? What even. I am asking for suggestions on where a retake of the chem class can fit in a already busy on pre reqs schedule till Fall semester.

Get off your high horse and quit trying to shove your self righteous perspective down peoples throats where it doesn't belong.

All I care about at the moment is rectifying that bad grade.

Windsurfer pointed out that it was your responsibility to complete the class and to remember that you are accountable for your actions. Bluntness is not rudeness- it's just straightforward.

We don't know your school or scheduling, so I'm not sure how helpful we can be with suggestions. I suppose the only thing I can recommend is taking a summer course in chem, but it would be a similar style to your 4 week class. Again, you're responsible for your learning, so you'll have to be aggressive with ensuring that you comprehend the material with such a short time span.

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

I'm totally in your shoes...I failed Chem 100 last spring, retaking it this spring along with Stats and Anatomy...Chem in 4 weeks would be insane. Just saying!

I have the same schedule right now! Good luck to you :)

[Tammy2016]

Wow chill. I certainly never said I blamed my teachers. Blaming the counselor would be asinine but in my experiences I have been told to get various counselors opinions on educational goals because they tend to suggest courses rather haphazardly.

Where in my post did I "blame" life in general or teachers or what ever you're on about? What even. I am asking for suggestions on where a retake of the chem class can fit in a already busy on pre reqs schedule till Fall semester.

Get off your high horse and quit trying to shove your self righteous perspective down peoples throats where it doesn't belong.

All I care about at the moment is rectifying that bad grade.

We are all human and when things go wrong we want someone to blame. I read this post several times, but I don't feel as though you were directly blaming someone. All you said was I don't know why my counselor suggested that class sooo yeah..

You were out your mind for taking general chemistry in 4 weeks though

[chemshark, BSN, LVN, RN]

Bwahaha, windsurfer8 was a little harsh in response to your post. I can just imagine him giving out meds in the unit: "Take this enema or you'll die!" LOL but he had a point. Anyway, Gen Chem is hard; It's a lot to take in because it involves multiple theories that are difficult to swallow for someone who has had no prior experience. It entails everything from molecular structures, basic nomenclature, stoichiometry, electrolytes, and a basic introduction to atomic orbitals. I failed my gen chem class too because I was too hung up on someone and I was working full time as an LVN. But my thought process was different because I realized that I was the one that had to change, not those external circumstances.

But you know what? I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, said goodbye to that person who didn't love me back, and started making a tight schedule. I made sure my friends knew I was serious about my school and eventually earned my degree in biochemistry at a top University of California school (I was thinking about going to med school at the time). I ended up choosing to be a nurse practitioner instead and got into an entry level Master's degree program and then moving on to be a CRNA. All this wouldn't have happened if I blamed outside sources as my reason for failing. I didn't fail because I was heartbroken or too poor to pay for school. I failed because I didn't take responsibility for my shortcomings.

One more thing: there are too many students for counselors and they are overwhelmed. Most counselors know nothing about you. They will just tell you what to take because you asked for a chem class. They didn't know you would be too fragile to handle an intense class and neither did you. But now you know understand your limits and I hope you will learn from it. Exercise your critical thinking skills to think for yourself.

WHAT TO DO NOW:

Retaking classes can be psychologically defeating. I hope you saved your notes and either take the same teacher or find an easier one. I also started making friends and we would write notes for each other if one of us got sick. We would even assign each other questions to ask our professor during office hours and then pool the answers together so the professor wouldn't have to keep explaining the same things over and over. I'd study with them but afterwards I would study alone as well. I also planned my leisure time so I don't feel so overwhelmed.

Finally, research shows that lessons are learned when you study for something in intervals. Then you take a break and restudy again and test yourself. Pretend like you're actually taking the test under time constraints and without the book in front of you. Do this with similar problems that have slight deviances from your homework and you'll be prepared for a chemistry test. It can only be done when you take the time to practice and not cram. This is what enabled me to succeed in general, organic, inorganic, quantum, and bio chemistry classes through the years. It should work for nursing school, too.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[NurseEmmy]

I think I am a fairly intelligent person, and I struggled badly with Chem. I did mine online for 16 weeks. I ended up with a C. A chem class in 4 weeks is insane! The shortest class my school offers is 6 weeks, and I think that's absurd unless it's a summer class. Take it again, and hopefully you'll do better since it'll be the 2nd time you're taking it.