I Hate Molecular Biology

[Alpha]

So it's finals week. It's 10:23 and I'm tucking in for a long night of studying signal transduction and cellular matrices. This course really is way harder than it ought to be...my grades are consistently higher than the other kids in my class, and I'm still praying for a solid B. It seems like there are a few kids who are complete geniuses and the rest of us are screwed. I study my ass off in this class but it never seems to be enough. The professors in the bio department insist that they're single-handedly combating grade inflation, which is completely absurd. In all my years at this school I've never had a class with averages this low (in the mid 70's), where the professors have refused to curve at all. What really sucks is that this isn't even my major...I'm just a poly sci major who wants to be a doctor. Why should that be so hard? I heard from a friend who is an upper level bio major that of 120 kids in his freshman year who started out as intended pre-med bio majors, only 30 were left after this class. It's extremely unfair, really. Seems like I'm just catching all this collateral damage from their weed-out program. To make matters worse, GPA is probably the single most important consideration for med school admission...this will surely help. I probably should be spending my time right now going over motor proteins and receptor tyrosine kinases, but I need a moment to *****.

God knows I gave up on pursuing the starving artist route a long time ago...photography is simply a creative outlet of mine. I want to be an OB-Gyn, and I certainly won't be taking any photos there!

I just hate the fact that I can sit here and bust my balls over multiple sleepless nights and still not be confident in my grades. And anyone who wants to jump in on that note with a "well, maybe you're just an idiot" can go right ahead, because I'm starting to believe it myself.

In fact, until now, I hadn't let on to anyone except through PM that I was as young as I am. I catch so much flak from time to time that I didn't want everyone to write me off as some hot-headed kid, because I'm really not. I'm not sure who everyone here thought I actually was, but I was going for grumpy and bitter, but knowledgeable middle-aged man.

The apparent futility of my studying is just very unnerving. I don't think that a C has actually been average since the 50's. Oh well, back to studying it is. Any responses on any topic are welcome here. I'm not just digging for sympathy.

 

[TBaraki]

As a fellow student, as well as one with a heavy mol. biol. focus, I understand where you're coming from.

As a word of encouragement, several friends of the family work or are associated with the local school of medicine's admission's board and insist that GPA is considered but the interview process receives the most weight. You certainly need high grades, but students with less than the generally accepted minimum GPA are admitted every year.

Even with that in mind, one near average grade won't hurt too badly in the grand scheme of things. I'm not sure of the application process where you are but surely a single average grade won't make or break an admission?

 

[Alpha]

My problem is that I started out really well as a freshman, but then my grades hit a steep and fast decline by the end of my sophomore year. So I took a year off, had a pre-med epiphany, and came back to school and hit the ground running. My grades are most certainly back up now, but my cumulative GPA is most definitely going to be sub-par for med school, and there really isn't anything that I can do about it.

I know that when med schools look at my application, they will see a guy who went downhill, took some time to get it together, decided to go to med school, and came back to undergrad determined to get there. I've got my research and clinical background very well covered, I'm sure that my MCAT scores will be very good, and I'll interview like a rock star. But making it past the first cut, where GPA and MCAT are weighted most highly is going to be a serious obstacle, even with stellar letters of recommendation.

 

[bnz506]

Damn good luck dude. I want to get into med school too... Im only a sophomore but so far science courses and math courses have been a breeze. My huge worry is that I can pass each exam easily but I forget everything from the prior exams with each coming exam which isnt a problem because exams arent cumulative but Im worried I wont remember S*** when the time comes to take the MCATs.

 

[Alpha]

Fortunately, my school has a good rep for pre-med students, and we've got a year-long MCAT review. I dunno what school you go to, but mine is hard as hell. Like I said, we've got a couple geniuses around...one kid who literally scores 100 or above on every science exam, and another who got a full scholarship from Mayo for med school. I didn't even know that was possible!

 

[Alpha]

It is now 1:00 am and I still hate it.

 

[Alpha]

2:00 am and I'm loving it!

I really wish the sun would come back out.

 

[Alpha]

3:00 am and adenylate cyclase is starting to sound a lot like tyrosine kinase.

 

[Alex_B]

wow, what a rant!

you got my symphaties, and good luck with it. It's been quite a while though that I had the pleasure of enjoying some university frustration ...

 

[LaFoto]

My son's actually quite good at this.
He had to write an essay on it for school (he's still in what you would call High School) and recited it to me so I should be his judge as to whether it could be understood by anyone or not. Who? Me? How would I know? I did not understand a WORD of it! :shock: But he loves it. And he seems to also understand all of it. I don't know how, but ...
It's five in the morning for you now... are you still around? And is the sun coming back at last?

 

[Alpha]

Interestingly enough, I went back to my apartment around 4:30 to take a nap, and lay in bed sleepless for a while. Then all of a sudden, I was struck with a completely brilliant idea for an upcoming photo shoot. So I'm in good spirits now, albeit back to studying.

 

[BoblyBill]

I was glad that at the school that I went to for mechanical engineering that we had a class that would filter out the ones that "just needed it", "thought they wanted to be an engineer", and the ones that actually did. Let start off by saying that I didn't say that to make you feel like you are not worthy of the class or anything but to let you know that there is a good reason for it. I think it's important in certain studies that you KNOW your stuff. In mechanical engineering, it's very important that you know your stuff because if you don't and you design a bridge that gives way people on top of it, you are liable for their deaths. I think that the medical realm is the same way. I'm glad to see that you have a determination for this class, because that shows that you won't just "sluff" off when you are not sure about something. It shows that you are a hard worker that wants to succeed. My dynamics class was that class for me. I know almost every class that this teacher taught had a fail or drop rate over 95%. But those that did pass it (which it was usually there second time) KNEW the material taught.

 

[Alpha]

This is apples and oranges. I'm not trying to be a biologist, I am trying to go med school, where I will learn the vast majority of what I need in order to be a doctor. This is not a weed-out course for pre-med students. It's a weed-out course for bio majors. And you're putting too much confidence in a program that you don't seem to know much about specifically. Along those lines, you'd probably insist as well that my requisite physics classes are equally important, when they actually have little to no practical application in the world of medicine.

 

[BoblyBill]

I'm sorry Max, but that's not what I was talking about at all, but I'm not going to take this any farther either.

 

[The_Traveler]

In fact, until now, I hadn't let on to anyone except through PM that I was as young as I am. I catch so much flak from time to time that I didn't want everyone to write me off as some hot-headed kid, because I'm really not. I'm not sure who everyone here thought I actually was, but I was going for grumpy and bitter, but knowledgeable middle-aged man.

Actually I am surprised to find out that you were trying to pass yourself off as a knowledgeable middle-aged man.