I Need Help Really Bad!!!!!

waitingforthedream · Oct 1, 2007

Don't get discouraged, chemistry is hard work. I found that if I read it, listened to lecture, and then wrote my notes in my own writing it stuck in my head much better. Alot of work, but it stuck it into my memory. Do they offer tutoring in your school? If they do, take advantage of it, it does help. If not talk to the professor and study, study, study. Do not quit, you might just need to study alittle bit harder. The nursing program is no easier, sometimes we read up to 14 chapters with having to understand it. It's tough and you have no life. But with hard work and dedication, you will have a very rewarding career. Don't let this get you down, keep your head up. Good luck in the future, you can do this!!!

albedo · Oct 1, 2007

Here is the problem. And if you think you can help me or encourage me....the karma will come back to you ten-fold.
1. Today is the first day of October and I failed my first Chemistry exam with a 49. My professor said that I scored below average and I should consider droping the course. I need this course so that I can get into a nursing program in the spring.
2. I have VERY POOR test taking skills. In front of an exam I go blank and I don't know what this is called, but it bothers me...considering the fact that I will be taking exams until I become a nurse. I have always had this problem. I think that it got much worst after I failed my G.E.D exam by 3 points on the math section.
3. I have 2 days to read 6 chapters and understand them.
4. I need at least a B-, in order for me to get into a nursing program. This is the only class that I am worried about because the professor is tough. :angryfireHe is already in chapter 6, while our lab professor is still in chapter 3.
5. He said that he would drop the lowest grade. This is the first exam which was only on one chapter.
6. Should I drop the course?
If you know of anyone who is in the New York City area, and is willing to make a little extra bread on the side, please let me know. This is in regards to Chemistry....nothing else.
I don't believe in God or anything...but please pray for me:uhoh3:

Forget about the number 49 and move on.
This one you need to help yourself... tell yourself you can do it! There is nothing to be scared about! Do you know where your teacher gets the test questions from? If you do, practice it alot... get yourself familiar with the format and the types of questions.
I am a very slow reader... I would suggest you to read the whole 6 chapters really fast (while not skipping anything) and highlight important sentences. This way even if you can't get to the great details, you will still have some idea what they are asking on tests.
But too bad, you've already chosen this class and professors. You gotta do what you gotta do! Talking bad your teacher won't change your situation.
Then at least pass the second test and drop the first one. And from this moment and on, study it one hour a day.
No you should not drop it unless you really really really can't handle it anymore. If you think the same thing is gonna happen next time you retake this course, do not drop it cuz you would just come back up here and ask about the same thing.

I think your problem is that, you have bad study habit. I have the impression that you like to squeeze everything together at the last minute. Chemistry requires understanding and everything's built on fundamental concepts. So it would really help if you clear up your reading little by little.

Good luck and DON'T GIVE UP!! :trout:

treeguy · Oct 1, 2007

you professor sounds like a real piece of work if he is telling you to drop the course because of one bad grade. don't drop the course until the last minute and until then try your hardest. read and re-read the text (not to say you aren't doing that already), join a study group with class mates and, most importantly, meet with a tutor. so you failed your first test... that is a real bummer but now it means that you have a little challange ahead of you... don't give up and waste you money before it is a reasonable time to throw in the towel.

here is a little story of encouragement. in my elementary algebra class, i miserably failed my first exam and got a c on the second. i didn't think there would be any way i could make up those two goofs but i bucked up, studied hard and made it out of the class with an a!!! you can do the same because this score won't even have to count if he will drop it.

fmrnicumom · Oct 1, 2007

I agree, don't give up. Don't drop until the absolute last possible second. You've put this much into the class already, so it's not worth it to quit. I also agree it's a good idea to meet with a tutor. You can contact your school to ask where you can get tutoring services. You can also ask if anyone else in the class would like to set up a study group that meets once a week or whatever you agree upon. Talk to the professor. Tell him you are serious about doing well in the class and want to know what you can do to improve your performance next time. Take a look at what you missed on the test - is there a trend in the type of questions you missed? There are many posts here on test taking skills. Daytonite has posted some great links on the subject. I've found that the best thing I can do is to make sure I do some studying every single day. I also take the material and break it down so I have small goals to meet each day. That helps make it a little less overwhelming.

You can do it! We'll cheer you on along the way.

Tiffany

lwilson22 · Oct 1, 2007

I do believe in God, and I will pray for you;)

TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN · Oct 1, 2007

If you are worried about hurting your GPA/changes of getting into NS by continuing on and possibly failing, there is another alternative to dropping that you might want to consider. Is it too late to change to Audit? That way, you will have one pass through the course, get to see all the material and read the text. If you are anything like me with the hard sciences, I do better on the second run through at seeing new concepts, and this may save your grade without completely abandoning the course. You've paid for it, you should get something out of it!

goldenngrrl · Oct 2, 2007

I don't have much advice, but I wanted to let you know that you're not the only one so don't feel like you're alone!

I failed my first Biochem test last week with a whopping 55 (the class average was a 68)...so clearly I was below average. I considered dropping the class but I am not able to do that because that window of opportunity has passed. I also realized that I was overreacting because one poor test grade does not determine the grade I will receive in class.

What I'm trying to do now, thanks to the encouragement of many people here, is study a ton more than I would normally think necessary, and make sure that I do not cram material the day before the test. My new procedure is go to Biochem lecture, then go straight to the library to go over the material we discussed. My next test isn't until October 25th, but hopefully my work will pay off then.

Also, after some time passes, if you really are in danger of failing the class, is there a way you could withdraw from the class instead of dropping it? At my school we have until the end of October to decide if we want to drop a course or not, and if we decide to, we get a "W" on our transcript instead of a grade or complete erasure of the course.

I am jealous that your professor drops the lowest grade! My Biochem professor doesn't, and she also doesn't curve tests (or quizzes) at all :angryfire

MAmom81 · Oct 2, 2007

Here is the problem. And if you think you can help me or encourage me....the karma will come back to you ten-fold.
1. Today is the first day of October and I failed my first Chemistry exam with a 49. My professor said that I scored below average and I should consider droping the course. I need this course so that I can get into a nursing program in the spring.
2. I have VERY POOR test taking skills. In front of an exam I go blank and I don't know what this is called, but it bothers me...considering the fact that I will be taking exams until I become a nurse. I have always had this problem. I think that it got much worst after I failed my G.E.D exam by 3 points on the math section.
3. I have 2 days to read 6 chapters and understand them.
4. I need at least a B-, in order for me to get into a nursing program. This is the only class that I am worried about because the professor is tough. :angryfireHe is already in chapter 6, while our lab professor is still in chapter 3.
5. He said that he would drop the lowest grade. This is the first exam which was only on one chapter.
6. Should I drop the course?
If you know of anyone who is in the New York City area, and is willing to make a little extra bread on the side, please let me know. This is in regards to Chemistry....nothing else.
I don't believe in God or anything...but please pray for me:uhoh3:

Don't give up I know exactly how you feel, When I have to take a test I freeze up. When the test is put in front of me my mind goes blank, I am not a good test taker and math is my worst subject!!! If I take notes and study I can do pretty good on a test, so my advice to you is study, take it one day at a time and remember you can do this:wink2::wink2:Even though I am not good at test and math I will not let that get in the way of my dream of becoming a Nurse, study, take notes, and get a tutor and I am sure that you will pass and don't let a professor tell you to drop the class because of one test, what kind of professor would tell you that a bad one. I hope that everything works out for you keep us posted ok:nurse::nurse:Nurses Rock!!!

Music in My Heart · Oct 2, 2007

Here is the problem. And if you think you can help me or encourage me....the karma will come back to you ten-fold.
1. Today is the first day of October and I failed my first Chemistry exam with a 49. My professor said that I scored below average and I should consider droping the course. I need this course so that I can get into a nursing program in the spring.
2. I have VERY POOR test taking skills. In front of an exam I go blank and I don't know what this is called, but it bothers me...considering the fact that I will be taking exams until I become a nurse. I have always had this problem. I think that it got much worst after I failed my G.E.D exam by 3 points on the math section.
3. I have 2 days to read 6 chapters and understand them.
4. I need at least a B-, in order for me to get into a nursing program. This is the only class that I am worried about because the professor is tough. :angryfireHe is already in chapter 6, while our lab professor is still in chapter 3.
5. He said that he would drop the lowest grade. This is the first exam which was only on one chapter.
6. Should I drop the course?
If you know of anyone who is in the New York City area, and is willing to make a little extra bread on the side, please let me know. This is in regards to Chemistry....nothing else.
I don't believe in God or anything...but please pray for me:uhoh3:

Well, I'm going to approach this from a different angle. Were I in your shoes, I'd consider dropping the class.

The primary question that I'd ask myself is whether I really studied or not. You say that this test was only on one chapter. Presuming that this was the introductory chapter that covers the basics of units, atomic structure, and general terms, it was certainly the easiest of the tests that you're going to take. If you studied and still did poorly on this introductory material, you might consider whether you're ready for this class. If you didn't really study then you need to decide whether you're ready to make the necessary changes.

I'd seriously consider dropping the class and then embarking on a self-study program in preparation for taking the class next semester.

amber32123 · Oct 2, 2007

I would suggest definately meeting with a tutor. The tutors were the only reason that I got through Chemistry my first year. Also, if your school has some sort of learning support center, you should check into taking your test in a different room and getting more time on it. At my school, if you have problems with test taking, you can make arrangements to take the test in a room by yourself and sometimes you can even get more time on it. Don't give up! Keep telling yourself that you can do it. I know that it is hard to bounce back after that but I failed my first test in both Chemistry and Biology and ended up getting a B in both classes! It is possible, but it takes a lot of work. Good luck!!

catzy5 · Oct 2, 2007

you professor sounds like a real piece of work if he is telling you to drop the course because of one bad grade. don't drop the course until the last minute and until then try your hardest. read and re-read the text (not to say you aren't doing that already), join a study group with class mates and, most importantly, meet with a tutor. so you failed your first test... that is a real bummer but now it means that you have a little challange ahead of you... don't give up and waste you money before it is a reasonable time to throw in the towel.
here is a little story of encouragement. in my elementary algebra class, i miserably failed my first exam and got a c on the second. i didn't think there would be any way i could make up those two goofs but i bucked up, studied hard and made it out of the class with an a!!! you can do the same because this score won't even have to count if he will drop it.

oh yes the exact samething happened to me, our first test in algebra, i was all cocky i got an a in beginning algebra so i thought hey this is just the next step. i failed i have never failed lol. then the next test i got c i couldn't believe it, i cried all the way home thinking how am i going to do this? well i found out this teacher likes to weed people out of his class, he boasted at the beginning of the class that he starts with 40 and usually only has a handful of students left by the end of the semester. i thought boy only have 4 tests i did miserable on the first two what will save me? i started really buckeling down practice practice!! then one day he didn't want to lecture he was sick of writing problems on the board and asked for a volunteer, we all looked at him like he was insane, so finally i said, "i'll do it for 10 points extra credit" lol. he said ok but 5. it turned into a thing where he would do this every class, the trick was you had to get the problem right, it was actually fun, i learned more class mates did too and i went up for every problem i could. most of my classs mates even said i should have been the teacher i taught it better lol. anyway, if you work hard and practice those insane chemistry problems it will click. also don't stress about being behind in the lab we never followed our text, would have helped to be in synch but we weren't.