I'm scared I'll never get into med school now!

A reader writes:

"I have just gotten my 1st semester grades for my sophomore year and they are not good. I'm really scared, they are not good to the point where I have basically all c's. My first year of college I actually went to a different private institute and did well. My grade point average was about a  3.7 there, but then I decided to transfer to another school to pursue pre-med. Here we started on a clean slate. I didn't think that this school would be any different from my old school, but it was much more rigorous. It took me a while to get used to the change. Now I feel like its too late. I feel like I may not even have the chance to go any farther in pursuing my goal. I'm scared that I will never get into medical school now. What should i do?"

First off, don't freak out over one semester. It is NOT too late! When it comes to medical schools (or graduate or other professional schools), one term of bad grades isn't going to keep you from getting in by itself. 

At this point, it is very important that you consider how you can improve your grades rather than focus on the bumps in the road. A medical school is going to be looking for improvement the next semester or quarter, so that's what you should concentrate on.

Think about what you can do to have a better next semester and move forward. Examine your study habits, time management skills, and other time commitments. Practice a little trial and error to figure out what works for you. Also, check out these tips for dealing with and preventing academic difficulty. 

It is going to take hard work to put yourself in a better position for next semester, but ultimately that is what is going to help you be a successful applicant to medical school in the future. 

I'm wishing you a semester of academic achievement in the new year!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Take ownership of your grades, part II

Last semester I taught a class for first generation and low income college students on preparing for graduate school. Teaching this class also meant that I was grading students. I had a student (not-so-tactfully) disagree with some feedback I gave on an assignment.

But dealing with my student pales in comparison with an email one of my colleagues received. Check it out:

"Is there anyway you can possibly give me a high grade? I did try very hard in class but it was not able to translate my hard work onto the practicals.. I'm not asking for anything big, but to be raise to a C+ or a solid C please? I hope you have a great winter break as well. They will not accept me into Physical therapy school if I don't have a strong GPA. Please consider doing it out of the kindness of your heart."

EPIC. FAIL. Welcome to college, where you are expected to act like an adult and take ownership of your grades. This kind of behavior is totally out of line.

Professors and instructors do not give out grades, students earn them. As I've said before, you are responsible for your grades and what you did (or didn't do) to earn them. If you are in academic trouble or worried about how you're doing, work to prevent academic difficulty or deal with it appropriately.

As an instructor, I don't expect students to be happy with poor grades, but this email takes the cake... Please don't do this. EVER.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Will I get into a competitive major?

A reader writes:

"I go to a large state university and admissions into the business department is really competitive. The average cumulative GPA of admitted students is a 3.60 and the pre-req GPA of admitted students is a 3.71.

I tried pre-engineering my first quarter in college and I could not do it -- ended with a 2.60. Now, I took pre-business classes and ended up with a 3.79 winter quarter GPA bumping my GPA from 2.60 to a 3.23. My pre-req GPA is a 3.70. Will the business department take into account that I am a first generation college student that was still adjusting during his first quarter? Should I be worried about getting admitted given my GPA got destroyed by the chem and calc classes I took first quarter?"

First off, congratulations on raising you GPA from a 2.60 to a 3.23. I know that can take some hard work and perseverance, so you deserve some recognition on your academic achievement.

Now, back to your question. Generally speaking, when you are trying to change majors, a department will put more emphasis on your grades from the required prerequisites than your overall GPA. Departments also like to see improvement, which you have covered. But every department is different, so there is no guarantee either way.

Because you described the major as really competitive, your best source of information is going to be from the business department at your college. As a first generation college student, this is your opportunity to advocate for yourself. If you haven't already, go talk to a major advisor in the business department and get his or her perspective on your situation. Ask who the faculty advisor is and go talk to that person as well. Find out who ultimately makes the decision and go talk to that person.

Think of these meetings as your chance to tell your story, including that you are a first generation college student. Don't make excuses for your performance in chemistry and calculus, but do talk about how your adjustment to college was rocky and influenced your GPA.

Do explain that now that you've found business that your GPA has increased dramatically. Make sure you convey your interest in business and how your GPA for the business prerequisites is a much better indicator of your potential success as a business major than your overall GPA.

Another option is to consider waiting another quarter before changing your major, if you are not on a required time line to change your major. Assuming your grades in business classes will still be strong, waiting just another quarter can raise both your business prerequisite GPA and overall GPA. Simply waiting might improve your chances.

No matter what, in examining your application to transfer into the major, the business department will not take into account that you are a first generation college student unless you let them know about it. Good luck!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Take ownership of your grades

At this point, you probably have your fall semester or quarter grades. Some of you are proud of your academic performance, but some of you may not be happy with those grades. This is always the time I hear some students complain about how a professor gave them a grade...

While it is entirely possible that a professor hates you and gave you a bad grade, this is usually NOT the case. In fact, most of the time when you are surprised by a bad grade, it usually means you are doing something that professors hate.

If you are genuinely surprised by a bad grade, the best thing you can do is go to the professor's office hours and ask for feedback about your grade. Don't try to argue for a higher grade or make excuses because that will only make it worse...

Instead of blaming your professors for your bad grades, use it as a learning experience to help you prevent this in the future and improve your other grades.

What it boils down to is stop playing the blame game when it comes to your grades. They are your grades, which you earned. You are responsible for them and what you did (or didn't do) to earn them. Please be an adult and take ownership of your grades.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Poor first semester grades and medical school

A reader writes:

"I just got my first semester grades today and I am really worried. I didn't do so well, like almost on academic probation but barely not. I'm pre-med and scared that I'll never get into medical school now. What should I do?"

I'm sorry to hear that you first semester didn't go as well as you would have liked. Unfortunately, this is a situation that a lot of first generation and low income college students find themselves in at the end of their first semester or quarter. I found myself in a similar boat after my first quarter in college, too.

But, don't fret, it's not the end of the world.  For medical school (or graduate or another professional school), one term of bad grades does not spell doom. When you experience bumps in the road like this, what a medical school is looking for is improvement the next semester or quarter.

So, don't worry too much about one less-than-desirable semester of grades. Instead, set you sights on how you can improve for the coming semester. Do you need to change your study habits, work on time management, or re-evaluate your commitments? Also, check out these tips for dealing with and preventing academic difficulty.

Taking these steps can help you put yourself in a better position for next semester. I'm wishing you a semester of academic achievement in the new year!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

My personal story of overcoming academic difficulty

Because preventing and dealing with academic difficulty have been the some of the most popular post to date, I wanted to share my personal story about overcoming being in the academic crapper as a first generation and low income college student:

Photo credit: www.mirror.co.uk

After my first quarter at a large public Research I university, I was dangling by a string with a 1.23 GPA. I felt disappointed in myself for such an epic fail. I was ashamed of it and wanted to keep it from my family, whom had I thought had high expectations for me that I did not meet and would never love me again.

I thought I would be kicked out of college immediately. But, I wasn't. I got a letter (they still sent letters back then in 2002!) letting me know that I had one more quarter to get it together before being booted to the proverbial curve. The letter also told me to schedule a meeting with an advisor, so I did.

At that meeting with the advisor, he helped me develop a study plan and set up tutoring. He talked to me about asking for help as soon as I recognized that I could use some extra support. He thought I should talk to my family instead of hiding it from them. He also suggested that I talk to a counselor to deal with my feelings of shame and failure. 

I took his advice to heart. My family was actually very supportive. On top of that, talking to a counselor really helped me to realize some of it was my fault and I could change that. It also showed me that some of it was out of my control, but I could control how I dealt with it. I felt empowered after talking to my family and a counselor.

By sticking to my study plan, going to tutoring, talking to my family, and continuing to talk to a counselor, the next quarter I worked my way up to a 2.7. I made it my goal to prevent being in academic difficulty and stuck to it.

I think about this experience every time I talk to a student about academic difficulty. I can say it was following these steps and these tips that helped me prevent my grades from taking a nose dive for another quarter. It wasn't always easy, but I did it.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

4 tips for dealing with academic difficulty

We've talked about preventing academic difficulty, but the ugly truth is that as first generation and low income college students are more likely to find themselves in the academic crapper at one time or another. So what do you do if you find yourself in academic difficulty?

1. Be reflective. Think long and hard about why you think you're not meeting your academic goals and plan to address those reasons. Are you procrastinating? Is your study plan not working so well? Are your relationships interfering with school? Whatever is going on in your life, if you can manage it, take control of it. If you can't control the issue, seek out resources to help you rise to the challenge. (Side note: Wow, almost gratuitous back links... almost...)

2. Talk to your professors. Ask for their help and advice. Professors tend to appreciate students that care enough about their education to seek out help. You can also try asking them to make reasonable accommodations, such as extending the deadline of an assignment or offering extra credit. But be prepared to not to have any accommodations made for you. Either way, thank your professors for hearing you out.

3. Talk to someone. Do NOT try to handle it all on your own, you don't have to and you shouldn't for your own well being. Instead, go and talk to a trusted friend, an advisor, a peer advisor, or even a professional counselor. Talking about it will help you deal with it.

4. Deal with your feelings. In addition to talking about it, make sure to address how you are feeling about your situation. You might be scared of disappointing yourself and others, you might feel ashamed, you might feel like a failure. No matter how you are feeling, you have to be aware of it and make a plan to deal with it.

In addition to taking steps to prevent further trouble, taking these 4 steps can help you work your way out of academic difficulty if you find yourself there.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

6 ways to prevent academic difficulty

Like procrastination, just the thought of being in academic difficulty (my nice way of saying "being at risk of failing out of college") brings up feelings of inadequacy, anxiousness, and guilt for most first generation and low income college students.To ward off these feelings, the best thing you can do is be proactive to prevent being in academic difficulty.

Here are 6 ways you can prevent academic difficulty:

Talk to an on-campus advisor. It's time to realize that this is going to be one of my broken record rants. You absolutely have to talk to someone on your campus for the campus-specific information you need to prevent academic difficulty.

Go to office hours. This is going to be another of my broken record rants. Talking to your professor about the class material and assignments is one of the easiest ways to prevent academic difficulty. It gives you have the opportunity to ask questions and get intimate with the material. Don't waste this chance.

Ask for help as soon as possible. I know it can be tough for first generation and low income college students to ask for help, but you have to do it to prevent academic difficulty. I hate asking for help, but if I can suck it up and ask, you can too! And because you've been taking your butt to office hours regularly, it should be easier to ask your professor for their advice to get additional support.

Set up a study plan. Don't just study when you feel like it, actually plan ahead when, where, and what you are going to do study. But, if your study plan is not working for your, think about your study habits and plan and consider changing them if needed. You might also want to plan for extra study time on the things you are struggling most with. And remember, trial and error is ok.

Form study groups. Consider this an extension of your study plan. At the start of the semester or quarter, ask your professor if you can make an announcement in front of class and pitch your study group. Or pass around a sheet of paper as a sign up list. Take it to Facebook or use your class email listserv to get a group started. Chances are you are not the only one wanting to study together.

Get a tutor, if available. This is yet another extension of your study plan. If your campus offers free or cheap tutoring, always try to sign up before you think you'll need it. If they don't offer tutoring for the class that you need, check with the department for tutoring options. (I wouldn't recommend paying for tutoring unless you absolutely can afford it and can't get it any other way.)

There is no magic pill you can take to prevent academic difficulty, but these 6 steps are not insane. In fact they can help you have a great day--then week, quarter or semester, and year--of academic achievement.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.