Ahhh!!!

[SPAM]

i am like serisouly so stressed out. college is soo hard. im seriously rethinking a biology major. i have so much work, i do homework like 24 hours a day. im in calculus and chemistry and psychology and a survey. im soo busy. i had no idea it was going to be this hard. the worst is calc im not doing good at all. and i like cant get help cause there is no weekend help and i have a test monday which i will likely fail. not from lack of trying tho, i studied for the 2 quizzes already like a long time. i still failed them.
is anyone a medical technologist? i was looking at the medical technoloy major and am interested in it.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

good luck!! are you a freshman? i found my first year was the hardest, just because i really didnt konw what to expect..im a junior now
my best friend is a science major and she said its hard, but she loves it! hope it getse better

 

[Disney_1derland]

No help here, but just wanted to send you some and encouragement. It's a huge stress the first semester because everything is such an adjustment, it will calm down, really! I say get through the first year and then change if you still feel like you need or want to. Hang in there!

 

[EthansMom]

Spam,

Relax, breathe deep. Is there anyone around your dorm you could ask for help? It sounds like you just aren't getting some basic concept(s). I'd ask around to see if anyone could help explain it to you.

Your professor and TA should have Office Hours. Don't be afraid to stop by during Office Hours and admit that you just aren't getting it. In fact, don't be afraid to be at the profs Office Hours a couple times a week. Also, if you can get together with one or two other people for study sessions and to go over tough homework problems, it will help.

Calculus is a weed-out class in college -- intended to distinguish the scientists/engineers from the rest of humanity. It is not meant to be easy and you will find a lot of students will drop the class in the first month or so.

Have you had all of the classes you really need to understand Calc or would you be better off taking PreCalc first? It may be possible to drop down into PreCalc and then take Calc next semester, after you've had more preparation/refresher and after you've gotten accustomed to the rigors of college. I APed out of Calc, but opted to only skip the first semester of Calc at college instead of the first two semesters so that my first semester was all refresher.

Good Luck!

 

[Pam]

It sounds as though you have a bunch of tough courses for the 1st semester. Can you have a meeting with your TA and see about changing your schedule to lighten your load?

This is my DD's 2nd year in college and she said that the 1st year was a real adjustment from HS. It seemed that all she did was study, study, study.

Well -- she still does.... but she doesn't appear to be under the stress that she was last year.

 

[diznygirl]

What Ethan'sMom said. There may be an add/drop deadline - you should look that into in case you want to drop to pre-calc.

Meanwhile, a while back, I was having my hand stitched up my a Dr who complimented me on not being squeamish. I told him I thought about going into medicine, but I had failed biology. He asked why I let that stop me. So, I guess the lesson here is that some of these classes aren't as important as they seem!!


Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yep...always know the drop dates...I dropped Chemistry twice and BioChem once. With the 1st BioChem class, the "ringer" was in there...you know the one, the curve setter who always got above 100% so most of the class failed.
It got to be if she was in there there was a mass exodus from the class.

 

[boo's mom]

I majored in Biology/pre-vet. You talk about a course load! It got to be too much for me to handle, plus the stress at home so needless to say, I'm no longer taking biology and am now thinking of a new major as I take a one year break from college to save up some money so I can go back. My grandparents made too much for me to get financial aid but we cannot afford to put me through college right now. I'm going to J. Sarge Community college in the fall 2006 instead of going back to Virgina Commonwealth University. Hang in there. I decided that Biology wasn't the major for me when I started losing interest in going to bio classes and started getting stressed out whenever I so much as even looked at a text book. wish I could offer more help

 

[iggbees]

i was a biochem major in college and i totally understand how you feel about being stressed out. i contemplated switching my major about a bajillion times, before i decided that being a biochem major was probably a good thing to do. if you really like the field, stick with it. it will pay off in the end. don't worry too much about gpa. most people once you get out of school don't care about it, unless you are going to grad school, but there are other things that will help you get in there.

freshman year is hard, especially in the sciences, people who aren't in it really don't understand just how many labs you have and how much work you have to do.

i had lab 2-3 times a week later on in college (both chemistry and biology courses). i always envied those art history kids who could just go back to their room after class (which was usually from like 11 am until maybe 2 or 3 pm) and just hang out. heck, i was one of them for a while because my minor was art history.

i suggest taking a non science course next semester. it really helps take the pressure out and allows you to be creative. i was in both art history and i took some studio art courses. i loved them.

good luck! form study groups. it's soooooo important!

 

[phillybeth]

Courseload is just the beginning. Life is hard!
Are those the recommended classes for a Freshman Bio major to take though? It seems very science heavy believe it or not. You should only have 1 science if you are doing calc.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

good luck! form study groups. it's soooooo important!

Amen! Geesh we passed around old tests like crazy! Studying till morning. Drinking coffee and eating Pizza. I am ruined from pizza from college days.
I would deliver food to DH (then BF) in the computer room, back in the dark ages when they had to do "programming" on those horrible computer dinosaurs.

Ahhhh...as much as you hate the workload, the stress, the poorness...I would do it all over again, but smarter!

Sorry you are having a rough time. You will look back fondly on college, trust me.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I had calculus in high school, then had to take it again in college. I did a lot worse in college. Dropping a course is not failure, but admitting that maybe you need a little more time. I took one class and dropped it when I almost failed it. I took it the next semester and got a B.

 

[Pop Daddy]

hang in there

 

[swilphil]

I hope it all works out for you. Don't change your major just because you don't like the required classes. Wait until you take some bio classes to decide. If anything, maybe you can drop calc and then take pre-calc. Definitely join a study group, find a tutor, or talk to your advisor/TA about where to get help. College is a big adjustment. It won't necessarily get easier, but you will get used to the work load and figure out how to succeed.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

My son just finished his major in bio last Jan. He completed it a semester early AND he transferred from U Mass Amherst to U Mass Boston so he had to make up classes because they do not transfer even though they are in the same college system!! He switched his major too. This is a kid who did not kil himself in school (although this stuff comes easily to him) and he made it through. If he can do it you can do it! Trust me. He was a kid who never brought home a book in h.s.

 

[gallaj0]

First off, relax. Getting stressed out just makes it worse. Do your best this weekend; take the test, and let it roll.

Speak to your prof afterwards, see if you can get something regular set up; just showing the effort can mean a lot, too.

I ended up taking Differential Equations twice; I dropped it the first time, then took the fail the second; I just couldn't for the life of me get my head around it.

It turned out not to affect my overall grade at the end of school; and I was an engineering major.

 

[SPAM]

Courseload is just the beginning. Life is hard!
Are those the recommended classes for a Freshman Bio major to take though? It seems very science heavy believe it or not. You should only have 1 science if you are doing calc.

yep, that is the recommended courseload. next quarter is calc2, the next chem, and bio.

 

[icebrat001]

i am like serisouly so stressed out. college is soo hard. im seriously rethinking a biology major. i have so much work, i do homework like 24 hours a day. im in calculus and chemistry and psychology and a survey. im soo busy. i had no idea it was going to be this hard. the worst is calc im not doing good at all. and i like cant get help cause there is no weekend help and i have a test monday which i will likely fail. not from lack of trying tho, i studied for the 2 quizzes already like a long time. i still failed them.
is anyone a medical technologist? i was looking at the medical technoloy major and am interested in it.

Are you going into medicine? If so, I am sorry to tell you this but it doesn't get any easier. You still have another semester of gen chem left, and then organic chem and that is 5 times as bad as gen chem, you still have your general bio, cell bio, genetic bio, molec. bio, then you'll need to take a statistics course and your physics and then you'll still have to do the MCAT, and volunteer hours in a medically related field. You know even if medicine is your calling, you do not have to major in biology, you can major in what you are interested in, which is better, just make sure you fit in your core sciencies. Have you spoken to a premed advisor? check out studentdoctor.com and use the boards.

On the other hand, if you are not going into medicine, what are your reasons for majoring in biology?

If you have any questions PM me and I'll be happy to help ya out!

 

[CinderellaIam]

Hang in there, freshman year is tough but it gets better.

 

[Sparx]