I think I'm going to end up with a B in chem, how to get over the guilt?

oceanblue52 · May 22, 2016

I wish I could give you a big hug. Stop beating yourself up about not getting perfect grades! Some Chemistry concepts are hard. There is a saying in nursing school that "B's get degrees." There are plenty of people in my nursing program that are not A students that are AMAZING soon to be graduate nurses. It's good that you are trying to catch up with tutors, but please don't worry so much about getting a B. It is hard to get straight A's in every class. As long as you keep working hard and are conscientious about safe patient care, you will do just fine.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · May 22, 2016

Are you wanting people to tell you it will be ok? Only you can decide if you are "to dumb to be a nurse". Always reasons out there to not do things. And quitting is always an option. Or you can grow from this and use it as incentive to keep working and complete the task at hand. I would be more concerned with your acceptance to quit simply when things don't go the way you like. It is easy to do things when everything is going perfect. The true test is can you rise up and keep moving forward even when things are not going the way you want.

In nursing panic and "freaking out" are not going to serve you well. When things appear to be going downhill assess and change what needs changed instead of quitting. However if you want to quit that is obviously your right.

RaggedyAm · May 22, 2016

Are you wanting people to tell you it will be ok? Only you can decide if you are "to dumb to be a nurse". Always reasons out there to not do things. And quitting is always an option. Or you can grow from this and use it as incentive to keep working and complete the task at hand. I would be more concerned with your acceptance to quit simply when things don't go the way you like. It is easy to do things when everything is going perfect. The true test is can you rise up and keep moving forward even when things are not going the way you want.
In nursing panic and "freaking out" are not going to serve you well. When things appear to be going downhill assess and change what needs changed instead of quitting. However if you want to quit that is obviously your right.

I was mostly asking if a B is going to screw me over. I was *mostly* asking if that B in the GPA is going to be so terrifying to a nursing school that they're like "uh, no get out of here"

I see SO many people on this site that are like "Omg I got a 3.8 and no school wants me!"

It's not about wanting to quit, if I was quitting I would stop going to class, yeah? I wouldn't post a thread, right? :)

I'm asking that if I CAN'T pull off an A in this class, does my inability to easily grasp basic chemistry translate directly into nursing somehow? Or to nursing school? Does nursing school pull a ton from intro to chem? Is a B in the easiest chem class sort of a warning sign? And uh, no...I'm afraid it's NOT me who decides if I'm "too dumb to be a nurse"...that'll be my GPA/Test scores, right? Or do I just get to tell the folks at the front desk "DON'T WORRY, I don't have to take a test, I have decided I am not too dumb to be a nurse, so I can go to nursing school!"

I was hoping to see someone say something like "Yes, if you can only get a B in chem 110, the next chem you take is going to be REALLY hard" or "No, a B in an intro to chem class is going to be okay, it's not factored, just save your notes!" or something.

SO now that I've explained the intentions of my thread, thanks for your reply. I hope I answered your questions.

RaggedyAm · May 22, 2016

That's really sweet, thank you. I hadn't heard "B's get degrees" haha, that is cute. It's nice to hear that B students exist in nursing school, I'm just so worried because chemistry seems so important, yknow? But nursing school is just a huge unknown for me, I have no clue what to expect or which prerequisites I should be stressing over, yknow? Haha

I wish I could give you a big hug. Stop beating yourself up about not getting perfect grades! Some Chemistry concepts are hard. There is a saying in nursing school that "B's get degrees." There are plenty of people in my nursing program that are not A students that are AMAZING soon to be graduate nurses. It's good that you are trying to catch up with tutors, but please don't worry so much about getting a B. It is hard to get straight A's in every class. As long as you keep working hard and are conscientious about safe patient care, you will do just fine.

SFnursetobe12 · May 22, 2016

Try not to stress out! Yes you should be striving for that A, but are there nursing students that have B's in prereqs, yes. Are there nursing students that have never taken a college level chem class, yes. Just learn from your mistakes, fix study habits or learn to control your test anxiety, whatever will help you do better in your future classes. Good luck!! And just keep moving forward!

RaggedyAm · May 22, 2016

Thanks for your reply! That makes me feel better, every nursing student I have spoken to is like "If you can't get a 4.0 in all your prereqs, you wont be able to handle nursing school" so it's honestly refreshing to get your reply. I think it does have something to do with that crazy test anxiety, I need to look up some ways to control it. My professor also does this thing where he loudly writes the amount of time remaining for the test on the board every like 2 minutes or so, which is distracting and makes me want to die a little bit :banghead:

Try not to stress out! Yes you should be striving for that A, but are there nursing students that have B's in prereqs, yes. Are there nursing students that have never taken a college level chem class, yes. Just learn from your mistakes, fix study habits or learn to control your test anxiety, whatever will help you do better in your future classes. Good luck!! And just keep moving forward!

verene, MSN · May 22, 2016

Seriously breathe. One B will not destroy your chances of getting into nursing school. A 3.5 is still a competitive GPA for many programs, and from the sounds of it you still have many classes to bring your GPA up with. Nor does one B mean you are stupid. It means the class challenged you and you got a B. Chemistry has always been a weak spot for me - in high school I was ecstatic to just pass - I worked incredibly hard to score a whopping 62% in the class. I college I managed a solid B score (84%? I think?). With this score I was accepted into a highly competitive ABSN program.

Rather than focusing on the grade you receive on the exam or in the course, focus on how well you understand the material. It is the understanding and ability to apply that will matter in the future, not the exact percentage you received on an exam. Ironically focusing on understanding rather than score frequently has the side effect of boosting your scores anyway because lower anxiety usually results in better recall of information.

RaggedyAm · May 23, 2016

Thank you :) I do have a lot of prereqs left so hopefully I can score high in those. I'm just so surprised at this B and for some reason I feel super guilty about it, which is a weird feeling.

That's a good point. Sometimes I forget that this stuff isn't just for a grade, I'm supposed to understand the concepts, which I do for the most part. I'll try to treat the exam like homework, which I am pretty comfortable with, thanks.

Seriously breathe. One B will not destroy your chances of getting into nursing school. A 3.5 is still a competitive GPA for many programs, and from the sounds of it you still have many classes to bring your GPA up with. Nor does one B mean you are stupid. It means the class challenged you and you got a B. Chemistry has always been a weak spot for me - in high school I was ecstatic to just pass - I worked incredibly hard to score a whopping 62% in the class. I college I managed a solid B score (84%? I think?). With this score I was accepted into a highly competitive ABSN program.
Rather than focusing on the grade you receive on the exam or in the course, focus on how well you understand the material. It is the understanding and ability to apply that will matter in the future, not the exact percentage you received on an exam. Ironically focusing on understanding rather than score frequently has the side effect of boosting your scores anyway because lower anxiety usually results in better recall of information.

RJCalhoun · May 23, 2016

Dude,

You need to seriously lay off with the Mr. Bad attitude, with this person. he's needs encouragement, he doesn't need, for someone, to tear him down.

dorkypanda · May 24, 2016

You are still fine. Just make sure to continue working hard and focusing on your upcoming prereqs. As long as you do good on other prereqs too that shouldn't be a problem. Look forward to new courses and the key is to apply your knowledge.