I am crushed today. I just learned that I’ve failed Physics I. With an F. I can I guess repeat it, but I’ve a bunch of W’s on my transcript as it is. I have A’s in Bio I (hon) and II, but I’m miserable at Math, even after a lot of remedial work, (and B’s in Pre Calc and ‘college’ Algebra). I am just too depressed right now, even to cry. I have a lot of life experience, I KNOW I would make an outstanding doctor. However, I have Discalculia and ADHD, and I am AFRAID of physics. My question is this… Even if I can somewhow manage to get an A on a repeat, and bring my GPA back to life, Even if I get A’s in Organic Chem, and do wonderfully on the Verbal, and Bio sections of the MCAT… Will anyone accept a 42 year old applicant to medical school with an undergrad degree in Art, and a 2.8 gpa, who until this class, had a 3.2 GPA in my science prereqs…
Can anyone come back from this?
Even though it’s all I ever wanted to do, I never tried to go to med school when I was in my twenties because of my struggle with the math/physics… Thing that really frustrates me is that I can get the conceptual questions, but the calculations cause me to freeze up. It’s not that I can’t do them, it’s that I am petrified… This is a struggle. The math I thought I could never improve at, and I did, so I know I can somehow… But is there even a point at this stage?
I have decent ‘experience’ and I will complete EMT-B class this summer – so I have a lot of positives, but grades aren’t going to be it… What does physics have to do with being a good doctor anyway? I’d crawl through a crocodile pit if it would help me get in (just kidding) – but I think that the medical school train may have just left the building without me…
signed,
Discouraged in DC
Leah
PS. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything dumb – I know what life is worth, but I’m VERY VERY unhappy. Giving up a dream once is hard. But pissing it away a second time because of fear is just ugly.
Quote:
– but I think that the medical school train may have just left the building without me…
I’m a hopeless romantic. I believe in destiny. Maybe the train has left the station. Maybe it hasn’t.
At the end of my first semester as a Grad Student on Assistantship, I earned the equivalent of a failing grade in one of my courses. When I received my grade report in the mail, I was surprised by the failing score (long story). I managed to keep myself together until after my sons were in bed. Then I sat on my couch and cried. I didn’t think I was sobbing loudly, but I must have been. My eldest, then age eight, rushed into the livingroom and asked, “Mommy, what’s wrong?!” I sobbed out the words, “I made a ‘C.’” My son gave a puzzled look; I could tell he was trying to understand.
I knew my son didn’t understand the implications of this grade on our income from the assistantship and on my, OUR, academic future hence professional future. He didn’t understand nor did I try to explain it to him. I didn’t try because at that moment I could only speak of it in terms of failure. But failing a class does not equate to failing a dream.
A failing grade is a blow to the heart, and in my opinion, heartaches deserve a good cry. At the same time, hearing myself tell my son that I was crying over a grade made me realize that that grade was a moment in time performance and it did not equate to everything else about me that should determine my success at life and career.
The remainder of my MA program was more difficult as a result of that grade, I did have to petition to keep my Assistantship, I knew the prof who submitted the grade was watching me closely, but I finished the program and ended up teaching at Duke (which was a gift from God, a door He opened).
So, have a very good cry, and if you feel that your destiny is in medicine, start again on climbing that even steeper hill.
anita
I have been doing some thinking and some looking at options.
I realize that (and a good thing it is, I suppose since I want to just run away from it all right now) if my future is in ANY health care profession, I will have to do it over so I can reconstruct the crushed GPA 3.2->2.74 and be admitted to even a middling nursing or PA program. I don’t want to be a nurse, nurse practitioner maybe… I really want to be a doctor. I am good as a team leader, not so much interested in being a follower. I like the nurse caring, but want/need to be doctor in terms of max knowledge/leverage for my patient.
I want to crawl into a hole right at the moment, but what I am not going to do is run away from all aspects of medicine as I did when I was young. I love working with people. I am facinated by the human body. I’m good at figuring things out… Even for my friends and family, I’m beginning to be a ‘go to’ person for info… I read medical research material for fun… I love it…
So medicine is for me… Even if it isn’t as a DO.
I don’t believe in destiny. I believe in choice (and capability), and this is the right one for me. Whether I am capable of getting into medical school is to be seen, but I am going to go forward and make a contribution in some capacity. I am still bummed though…
Thanks for the encouragement.
What are my qualifications?
BFA in Art -(photography). Love art, hate the business of photography. Started own business while still in school. I’m not an ‘original’ artist by nature…
A’s and B’s in my prereqs before this F…
16 years peer counselling (eating disorders)
(started small national network of ED support groups)
6 years as a caregiver/advocate to a relative with EMS
2 years volunteering in a 31 bed homeless shelter infirmary 87-89 (long after I had given up on going to medical school, but wanted to do something useful anyway)
I’ll be completing EMT-B class this July and August, and I’ve already been riding along on the local ambulance and liking it a lot. All the pesky orientation classes have been so cool… If only physics was like this. The human body is so cool…
Whenever I get the chance, I am into medical books, articles, research, websites, etc… It is my passion.
When I was 3 years old, my grand mother used me as a pediatric ‘patient’ in first aid classes. When I was in elementary school I read every science book for all the classes ahead of me within the first year. Biology and Art were my favorite classes in high school.
If I hadn’t been learning disabled, I probably would have graduated high school early. Instead I began to hear “you’ll never amount to anything”… “you’re a failure” as do many ADD’s.
Even with my degree, I secretly thought I was a failure until the Neuro-psych assessor told me that most people with my degree of impairment don’t complete high school. The odds have been against me before. Fortunately I’m persistent and I’m not stupid despite my F. The B in Pre Calculus and my math teacher’s confidence that I can learn math are very helpful encouragements… Just have to get past my fears.
That’s one more positive for me, btw: I have compassion and empathy for those who struggle, and I have persistence when the going turns on me.
For those who pray: Please keep me in your prayers. For any of you who have ADD/discalculia etc, please write and tell me how you survived it…
Thanks
Leah
Who hasn’t given up yet but is getting older… 
the gpa is low. could it be remedied with passing the course and shoring up all other grades and then kicking ASS on the MCAT? I think yes, but I have no expertise in this area as I am just returning. Do ALL THAT you can and until the last word on the last day comes (and then try again), don’t stop for this grade, don’t stop cause some fear’s gotten in your way between ‘never completing high school’ to ‘doctor’.
Your perspective and obvious ability to handle challenge is highly needed, the population is varied, and so should our doctors be. Its this “Whenever I get the chance, I am into medical books, articles, research, websites, etc… It is my passion.” that speaks to me loudly. Take psych help with fear issues, hypnosis and then study, anything, and then try again.
and again
and again
The pit in the stomach from dreams unfulfilled, of dreams let go because OUR grip was not strong enough, that’s the worst pain, you don’t want that! Worst case is you don’t get in straight away. From there you can find out more of the ‘why’ and shore up the application, you could decide to do the PA thing for a bit and then reapply, you could find a thousand things out, its just a different road. No wall stays up to continued pounding. So smash that math wall (I am starting in remedial too) and remember, in math we use pencils so we CAN make a mistake and try again - so the fact that you try again is EXACTLY the right thing - look at it like that!
Been there, done that - but I have to admit that my situation was a little different from yours. I managed to get my “F” in General Chemistry II 16 years ago as a first time college freshman (my Gen Chem I grade at the time was a C). That’s what I mean when I say that my distant GPA was a “steaming pile.” Although I hope that my 4.0 in recent academic work and my MCAT score will get me over the hump, I’m concentrating on DO schools.
I’m trying to think what I would do if I was in your situation - having failed a prereq I was currently taking. My strategy would probably be something like this:
Retake Physics at the easiest community college you can find just to get it “over with”. I wouldn’t even attempt to apply to domestic medical schools. I would restrict myself to applying to some of the Caribbean med schools and then move forward with my medical education. I do a lot of “statistical analysis” and “risk management” when I make decisions and those are the primary factors that would be behind my strategy.
Good luck to you!
Hi Leah. First I wanted to say that the life experiences you listed were incredible. You’re an inspiration!
Second, I want to preface the rest of my comments by saying that I’m not real familiar with your particular medical condition, so just take this for whatever it might be worth to you.
I think it’s great that you’re evaluating the options available to you that will allow you to share your love for the area of medicine. In my opinion, and I’m sure you’ve done this, the first thing you need to do is to assess how your medical condition affects your learning. It’s really important to know prior to beginning med school that you will be able to successfully complete all the academic rigors that will be presented to you in med school.
If you are confident that you can do this, and you are sure that being a doctor is the right decision for you, then I agree that your best bet would be a Caribbean school. Some of these schools only require one semester of physics. I don’t know the MCAT at all, so I’m not sure whether a review course would cover enough of the material you would miss in the second semester of physics to allow you to perform well on the MCAT. I also agree that you should consider a CC for the physics course. CC’s have some benefits that are sometimes overlooked, especially for students who might struggle in a particular area. And even if there is the stigma about taking courses at a CC, I think the potential positives will considerably outweight the negatives of this stigma.
The other really important thing to assess is what exactly is giving you the problem in physics. A B in pre-calc suggests that you shouldn’t have too many problems with the math side of physics. So is it gathering the information for the problem? Or relating the given information to the unknown? Or? Or? If you can figure that out, a good instructor will be able to help you formulate a system that will give you success.
I would also suggest, because of your fear of physics plus your history with it, that you try to find a professor who is known for being non-threatening, and that you speak with the professor before even beginning the class and share with her that you are willing to do whatever it takes to do well, but that you have these fears and that would appreciate any feedback the professor would be willing to give you at any time. Many professors will know the power of positive reinforcement, and it sounds like from your posts that that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
Good luck with whatever route you take. 
Larry
You only fail if you do not try. Because your stats sound A LOT like mine, let me add my opinion: If you are still an undergrad, try to take more classes to bring up your gpa. The schools want a min 2.8. Since you haven’t taken the MCAT yet, get into a prep program and study like crazy, thank the gods there is NO math other than simple equations, and kick butt. Those two things along with your other qualifications could get you into med school. Before taking the MCAT, in addition to the essential pre-reqs, take genetics and biochemistry if you think you can do well in them as well. They will be a major help on the MCAT. I was in your shoes, almost exactly. I didn’t get in a US school, but got accepted to an offshore school in the UK. I don’t believe in giving up something you want so badly. I wish you every success in your future. It can be done. I know: I failed college algebra 4 TIMES my first stint in college!! 
Kathy (who STILL despises math and physics)
Hi Leah,
You have reached the point of doing a complete inventory of what you have to overcome to make it into medical school. First of all, you have invested some time and money into pre-med course work. Are you willing to invest more time and money into more coursework or can you parlay what you have done into another career that might be fulfilling but less costly in terms of time and money than medicine?
What happens if you take more coursework, pay for a very expensive MCAT prep course and still do not reach medical school? As you have correctly outlined in your letter, after failure of a pre-req course, with your learning disability and with your present GPA still under 3.0, you are facing an uphill battle into medical school. Only you have to decide how much more you are willing to invest in terms of time and energy to achieve your goal.
CAN you achieve your goal? As long as you are alive, there is hope and as others who have overcome much lower GPAs and multiple failures are testement that getting into medical school after a low GPA is achieveable. Only you can do a gut check, reach down inside and figure out how much time and money you are willing to devote to this quest. It is your dream and you are the only one that can answer if you are going to continue to pursue it.
Good luck!
Natalie 
I, too, suffer from dyscalculia. I can understand completely how hard it is to go through a rigorous physics class with a mathematics disability. My prof was fresh out of NASA, and has only been “teaching” for a couple of years.
Everyone’s recommendation about what to do have been excellent. However, my advice to you is:
A. Get a private tutor.
B. Start a physics study group.
C. Study your ass off.
I couldn’t find a private tutor. However, since my physics prof sucked, several of in the class met immediately after our class ended and worked our homework problems. Collectively, we could always figure out the homework problems. As you know, people with dyscalculia can work a problem, get up, get a drink of water, and come back, look at the same math problem, and have no idea how to work it. You will find that the types of physics problems that you will have at the General Physics level (on the tests) will be worked like your homework. There are only so many problems that work out perfectly like they do in the homework/tests. All of our test and homework problems were cumulative. The answer to A had to be derived so that the answer to B could be derived (ours usually went down to the letter F).
All of this requires that you work your homework problems, six, seven, ten times apiece. I bought a Schuam’s physics workbook so that I could have additional problems to work. This book was recommended by my prof. Familiarity breeds confidence.
I did all of this, and I only managed to get a B in both of my physics courses. Luckily for me, my physics tests also had conceptual material that I had little problem understanding.
I would dissuade you from the advice you received about taking a physics course that is too easy because the physics on the MCAT isn’t easy. And I’ve found in my advanced years that the easy way out doesn’t get anyone anywhere.
Also, for me, I’ve come to accept that medical school is not intended for everyone. I may not be one of the few who actually gets admitted. After my MCAT results came, I was pretty disappointed. Although, I didn’t perform as well as many reported on here, I did manage to get the national average, but I bombed the physics section. I’ve already started making alternate plans. I hope to be admitted, but I also have to realize that not all wishes come true. This may be something to consider. If you want to work in the healthcare field, but refuse to work in that field if and only if you’re a doctor, you have to consider if you have true altruistic intentions or if this is an ego-driven dream, etc. Food for thought.
My two cents (Canadian)
Something else you may have as an option: I found, that as a first generation college student, I was eligible for the SOAR program at my college, which is a federally funded program where you must meet one of 3 criteria (1) first generation college student, (2) low income, or (3) disability. SOAR provided me with one on one tutoring for 6 hours a week with a real tutor (NOT just a super smart student who didn’t know diddly about tutoring). This really helped me from pre-algebra all the way through Trig (with Bs mind you, but I failed algebra 4 times the first time around in college!) If you qualify for this program and its at your school, DO apply. They can also tutor in other subjects, like the dreaded physics.
Kathy
As Nat eloquently pointed out, it is gut check time. Most nearly all of us here at OPM have had obstacles to overcome ranging from monumental to minor. No, I will not patronize you by saying, “you will be OK”. This will make your quest that much more challenging - I say more because it ain’t easy in the first place. Furthermore, I have to be bluntly honest, not everyone who wants to be a physician will gain the opportunity for a variety of reasons.
However, as I was one of the ones who had to overcome monumental GPA issues among others, I knew I could not avoid trying because I would have always wondered ‘what if?’. I was very fortunate in that I was able to get in - KCOM took a chance on someone who looked like [censored] on paper.
Now, my advice to you:
1. Take a moment to wallow in your disappointment - you deserve it & it is a normal part of coping.
2. Take several deep breaths & relax - a bad grade is NOT the end of the world nor your road into med school. As a person, your ‘net worth’ is far far more than a silly balance sheet of letter grades.
3. Take this time to do some serious, deep introspection - is this truly what you want? Do you want it badly enough to do the work & make the sacrifices you will have to make?
4. If your answers to #3 are unequivocally ‘YES’, time to drag yourself back up by your bootstrings & go back at it with vigor. As Ash points out, your disabilities will require some additional work, but the schools are legally obligated to provide assistance to you if you request it - REQUEST IT.
I apologize if my words appear harsh…they are not intended as such. I do intend, however, to paint you an honest picture of a very challenging path. It will be hard & you are to be commended for striving to walk it - most folks do not even dare to attempt. Take a few moments to read the Teddy Roosevelt quote on the OPM home page. My wife found it printed it off for me during my lowest of low points during the application process. A copy hangs above my desk wherever my desk may live.
I wish you the best of luck & success in what ever path you may choose.
Well Fellow OPMs:
I’m still alive and kicking, and here’s the update:
I’m not giving up. I don’t know if I will make it, but I do know that if I don’t even attempt to get in, I can’t.
The summer’s almost over, I’ve just completed my EMT-b class (I may have even come first in the class, but I don’t know for sure. What is sure is that I passed every exam with an A)
So, where to from here? I know I don’t have a fabulous GPA, but I do have a great deal to offer, so what i have to do is make sure someone offers me an interview. If I get that far, I know I will have a very good shot at getting in because I can talk about what I have to offer, and I DO have a lot to offer. Medicine is not about physics grades.
Even so gradewise I am going to focus on gettting A’s in my Organic chem. Two semesters of Org chem will def help my GPA if I get A’s. Getting an A in my physics when I repeat it this semester, and getting a really good MCAT will also help. I am usually really good at multiple choice exams, so if I’m even moderately well prepared and practiced, I have a chance to do very well.
If I can get a good MCAT score, and I have an ok GPA and good experience, do you think I can get an interview at an Osteopathic school? The way they figure GPAs in my school, the F is gone (from the calculations, not the transcript), which would bring my GPA back to the 3.3 range… And higher if I get A’s in Org and a couple other classes… The undergrad GPA is ~ 2.8, but that’s not something I can do anything about…
I will not give up before the dream is over. If I apply, and I’m not admitted, I’ll figure out what my next move is then.
When I was 20 and my math got in the way of medical school the first time, I never even tried to apply. I will not make that mistake twice. They will have to tell me no. I have no illusions about it being easy, but I never wanted to go to Hopkins or anything like that, so hopefully it’s possible. My first choice schools are all D.O. programs – not because of grades, but because of what I want to be as a physician – the fact that some may look at more of the candidate than just grades may help, but I’m not counting on that. I will keep on working my butt off, and hope that I will be able to get/make a chance to prove my worth to them.
BTW: My undergrad school gave me a full scholarship to go to grad school there (art program) – even without fabulous grades… why? because they saw I had something to offer that they wanted to have. The work I did was such, and even though I didn’t want to further along the road away from my real interest (health and healing)-- I know that I do not come across ‘average’ to academic folks, despite having only so so grades. Most of my Art and Science grades are actually pretty good… It’s mostly the math that screwed up my averages…
My life has been far from linear, and my education is not textbook, but that’s an asset as far as I’m concerned.
Every time I’m able to help someone no one else can, I know I have something exceptional to offer.
I know that I have a steep climb, but I am not giving up until they turn the lights off, and shut the show down.
Yes, I may have to take a different route into the healing professions at some point, but I will become the healer I know I was born to be. Even as an artist, healing has been important to me – and it comes out in everything I do.
Until I get to medical school or something similar, I will have a chance to help preserve life and limb as a volunteer EMT – and I will have one more experience to offer to the admissions board as to why I should be considered… Please keep me in your prayers. Advice is welcome. Only one route to med school is not in consideration: ‘off shore’ US med schols. If I had to leave the US for med school, I’d go to the UWI in Jamaica if they’d have me. That’s where I always thought I’d go anyway, and it’s still sorta like home! And it wouldn’t be as expensive for me since I’m originally from Jamaica… But that’s not really something I really want to look at right now.
Anyway, that’s it…
Leah
Written back a few months ago:
Quote:
I am crushed today. I just learned that I’ve failed Physics I.
(edited)
I have decent ‘experience’ and I will complete EMT-B class this summer – so I have a lot of positives, but grades aren’t going to be it… What does physics have to do with being a good doctor anyway?
Please tell me more about SOAR…
I will check it out at my school. They keep pushing the tutoring center, where I encounter supercilious students half my age who can’t teach any better than our brand new physics PHD, but do know the subject inside out… I can’t stand the shaming of their contempt… This is frustrating enough.
19 year olds who don’t get my ‘dumb ignorance’ about ‘simple calculations’ are just hard to take. And they can’t help me either.
Anyway… I’m very interested in SOAR. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this happen. I have the brain, it just doesn’t learn the same way other people’s do.
Thanks
Leah
Quote:
Something else you may have as an option: I found, that as a first generation college student, I was eligible for the SOAR program at my college, which is a federally funded program where you must meet one of 3 criteria (1) first generation college student, (2) low income, or (3) disability. SOAR provided me with one on one tutoring for 6 hours a week with a real tutor (NOT just a super smart student who didn’t know diddly about tutoring). This really helped me from pre-algebra all the way through Trig (with Bs mind you, but I failed algebra 4 times the first time around in college!) If you qualify for this program and its at your school, DO apply. They can also tutor in other subjects, like the dreaded physics.
Kathy
Oh, btw:
I just wanted to say thanks to all who responded. I needed the gut check (painful) and the support (appreciated).
I don’t give up easily and that’s one of my best qualities… I do know when I am beaten, but I don’t think that’s just yet. I’ve overcome odds before, and I’m going to keep going at least through the end of this school year and applications.
I have done a lot of soul searching, a little crying, and I know I have what it takes to succeed in medical school, and to be a competent physician. I just have to get in.
I have a learning disability, but I also have a ‘genius’ IQ. Somehow I am going to have to use the second to manage the first… Fortunately I have done that before… I just have to believe in myself, but not become over confident.
I’m glad you guys are there.
Merci…
Leah
Leah,
I’m glad you’re feeling restored and redirected. Good luck.
Way back in your original post you asked, why physics? I hesitate to answer because I don’t want to inspire panic. On the one hand, as a medical student I don’t do any physics calculations (although sometimes one can be called on to think through the relationships of variables in a couple of them, particularly in cardiac medicine). On the other hand, the concepts of physics are really important to me–I’d say, actually more generally important to me than o.chem. I use physics all the time as a med student and it’s clear to me that I’ll continue to use physics concepts as a doctor. Think of:
flow of fluids and gasses (in lungs and blood vessels)
turbulence (in disrupted blood vessels; in the heart)
stress and shear (in blood vessels)
light going through air and then fluid (the eyes, and the flow cytometers used in immunology labs or clinical immunology)
wall stress (heart and cardiac remodeling)
and more…
not to mention X-ray particles going through bodies, sound (in ultrasound) going through different tissues, and protons changing their spin characteristics in MRI.
So, this is to say that the physics itself will be very helpful to you. My intent in saying this is to help you feel as if there is actually some point to studying physics hard and even repeatedly. I regularly wish I understood more of it.
Good luck–
joe
Joe:
I agree. I think Physics as a subject is cool, interesting and relevant. I think Physics as it is taught as an U.G college class is miserable.
I think it’s telling that you yourself wish you understood more of it… And look at where you’ve managed to get admitted to med school. There’s something wrong with the class if you didn’t feel you learned enough because I know you’re a smart guy!
I don’t think I learned anything new in my physics class. The professor was always amazed that even though I had trouble with the math, I could explain the concepts and ideas and that I clearly relished the fact.
20 + years ago I did O level physics in high school (in the Caribbean) and learned way more about the way the world works in that class than I think I’ll ever learn in the college classes here. I had a tough time with the calculations, but I loved the subject. We had to memorize all the laws & answer lots of conceptual questions that showed we understood how things worked in order to pass ‘O’ level Physics.
I doubt most of the people with ‘normal’ math skills who passed the college class know more physics than me. They were, however, much better at expressing what they knew mathematically.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe math skills are vital and I have worked hard at improving mine.
The way the college physics class is taught is useless to anything I’ll ever do. Physics concepts I’ve been using for years, and I know I’ll continue to use them. I have no quarrel with physics – just a ‘college physics’ that teaches nothing, instead is just an extra, labyrinthine math class – and the text books suck so much I went out and bought a copy of my 20 year old British Physics book off the web. I can teach myself anything if I have a good text book.
The teacher I had is a bright young astrophysicist with no actual talent for teaching. With neither a good book nor a good teacher I was in trouble. I am re-taking the class at a different campus, and welcome any suggestions of books that actually EXPLAIN the way to do the calculations well.
(she explains defensively): The reason I ended up with an F instead of a W is that I only failed the final 
I had an A- in the lab, and was passing the tests, but the final killed me b/c it was all calcs, and no concepts and Ms Dyscalculia was in the house… Sounds like excuses, I know… Sigh.
I will get much more help this time, don’t worry.
Leah
PS: as an EMT, I’m sure that Physics will help me a lot when I’m trying to analyze the Mechanism of Injury of a patient at an accident site. 
What’s the name of your 20 yr old British physics book and where do we find it on the web??
I’ll be heading into a very basic physics class at a cc before I take it at my 4 yr. school and I need all the help I can get.
I wish you all the best. Thank you for your posts. As Winston Churchill famously stated “Never, Never, Never Give Up”.
Vita
It is called “Ordinary Level Physics” and it’s written by AF Abbott. The publisher is Heinemann educational books
ISBN 0 435 67010 7 The 4th edition came out in 1984.
Try Amazon.com or Amazon.uk
The O’ level physics exam is taken at the end of two years of study, and consists of a practical, multiple choice and long answer exams (at least it did when I took it). The book covers the works.
It is an awesome book. It is well written, informative, and just interesting to read. If you read each chapter, and do all the problems at the end of each chapter (not that hard, they are pretty straight-forward, and not that many), you’ll be way ahead of the class. It may not help as much with the ‘math class physics’ but it will really help you with the concepts, which should help you with the MCAT and more than anything with really understanding physics… Not to mention liking it. Be aware: it doesn’t have lots of bright color illustrations, or extraneous stuff – it is the physics, and just the physics… But it’s not boring or hard to read.
It is out of print, so I had to look around and buy it second hand off of Amazon. I found it in several places on UK book sites also, but ended up getting it from a guy here in Northern Virginia (just across the river from DC).
I paid about $20 for it plus shipping, and had it in about 5 days. I just wish I’d reviewed it before I took last semester’s class.
Good luck!
Leah
Another great British book is “Biology: A Functional Approach” by Michael Roberts – this has been revised and updated and I’m using it to review for the MCAT (as well as practicing) Because of it in part, I received A’s in Honors Biology the first semester back in prereqs after 20+ years away from any science classes. Tons of info in a compact, easy to understand package.