Microbiology Help..

allnurses Guide · Oct 8, 2015

I am taking micro with a tough professor, and I regret not withdrawing now. I dropped down my hours at work to have less distractions, but I am still not doing well. My grade dropped from an A to a B after the first exam, and is now at a B- after our first practical. I spend hours organizing my notes, reading them over, reading them on work breaks, listening to youtube videos.... I don't even know if I can maintain a B+ with getting perfect scores on every remaining assignment.
Advice? Should I stick it out? Should I retake with a new professor next semester - will that have a negative impact on applying into a program? I chanced this guy based off of 95% negative reviews on ratemyprofessor, and I know not to do that again
I'm so stressed because I'm putting in so much effort; hours on my lab reports and at home quizzes, which I get 100's on, but the exam and practical killed me.
Any advice would be appreciated

Are you past the withdraw period? If so, then you are best to stick it out and try to get the best grade you can, then retake it if you need to for a better grade.

If you want to try and improve this semester, you need to isolate how you are struggling. It's easy to blame thew professor but it doesn't move you forward. You are invested now so use the time to try and better yourself. Are there other students in class doing well? Can you study with them?

oldsockventriloquist · Oct 8, 2015

It would be good to hear some of the topics on the practical and first exam. What are you also studying for the second exam (and/or next practical)? You might get better advice by being specific (i.e. studying taxonomy might involve a different strategy than studying fermentation).

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Oct 10, 2015

I went all out for Micro. You might not like what I'm about to say, but micro was a big deal for me. My husband (ex) wanted me to quit, I had recently dropped A&P, I just had to get an A in micro. I worked my orifice off. If you want to get an A in micro, these are my tips:

Read the text book chapters 4 times. Yup. 4X!

Go to the tutoring your school offers. Even if you think you understood the days content, just go to ask a question or 2.

Go to your professors office hours. This lets him/her know you are serious about your education. Also ask her for tips on how to succeed. Ask her/him to review your test wrong answers.

I used tons of home made flash cards. 1 stack for lab and another for lecture.

I recorded lecture and listened to it again.

Take notes during class and retype them or rewrite them later. I did this at McDonald's with my then 4 yr old in between school drop off and pick up for my older kids.

I put flash cards on the outside of our shower and reviewed them with my 4 yr old each morning. Yes, he could draw viruses and DNA helixes at age 4!

I made study guides.

I met another student once per week for 6-10 hrs to study hard at a local restaurant.

I used the time inbetween classes to study in the school library. Sometime alone, but often with other students. I led the study groups by reviewing the specific info our instructor wanted us to know.

I hope this helps!!!

I met with a