Hello there! Would appreciate advice

Hello everyone,
I’m new to the forum but I love all the information. A little abou me…I am in my second year (first yr. fulltime) in a postbacc program. I am not a 4.0 student and I am attending the program to boost GPA and to fulfill my science requirements. So far I’m doing ok (A’s and B’s). Currently, I’m enrolled in 18 hours which has proved to be suicide. I’m in O-Chem, Genetics, Calc, Physics and Spanish. I just came off a great summer semester but now I’m drowning. I have C’s across the board and I really need to be getting A’s because of my previous GPA (I have a degree in CIS). Can anyone provide some much needed advice? I was thinking about changing my Genetics to an audit status and maybe retaking next semester.
One more thing. Like I stated I’m in a formal Postbacc program. I’m VERY turned off by the hypercompetitiveness - especially in O-Chem. Any advice on how I can get over this?

Well, you gotta try and keep from getting Cs this semester. However you can do that - do it. Drop a class if it’s not too late. Change to pass-fail for electives if you can. Do whatever you can to make sure that you can get good grades because you’re right to recognize that you’ve gotta make that your bottom line.
As for the “hypercompetitiveness” - turn a deaf ear. Lots of what people are saying is a bunch of hype. Whatever the “curve” in a class might be, whatever the goal, the bottom line is that you have to excel. You need to be in the top group, whatever that is. But don’t set your sights as a relative measure of how good you are compared to everyone else. Your goal is excellence and proficiency and thorough knowledge of the subject. Your only competition should be with your own high expectations. Ignore the rest of 'em, master your subjects, and keep on course to do very, very well.
Good luck, and welcome to OPM!
Mary

Hey DocCuz…
18 credit hours and almost all of them sciences?! It was a very brave step…and to me seems too big too!!! I’m with Mary on dropping a class, or even two…or at least switching to an audit status. I personally can’t imagining taking physics and O-Chem at the same time and master + get good grades in both (although I know people who did it)…
good luck with whatever you decide, and try to convince yourself that it’s better to spend one or two more semester doing prepreqs, rather than getting bad, (or not too good) grades…

Audit a class or two.
Embrace the hypercompetitiveness. It’s to be expected. Don’t listen to the “I’m not even studying and getting 95’s…” or other lies along those lines. You do what you need to do to learn the information and not just pass the class with an A. These are not the same things.
Case in point for myself I always heard and read that people who read out loud were “slow” learners. I never needed to read out loud because I grasped the concepts after reading and rereading and rereading and rereading the chapters to myself. I took a summer bio course and the professor suggested that instead of “studying” our notes we merely read them out loud when we got home every night. No “studying” just reading. I did it and am still doing it and it works great. By reading out loud it slows me down and increases my attention to what I’m reading.
Call me a slow learner but it only takes me once or twice to get the info now. Why state this? This past week a fellow student walked by my car as I was reviewing for the lab and heard me. She commented on how she impressed she was that I could be getting the grades I get, helping others out, and able to comprehend the material so well with a learning disability
She’s ubber competitive…actually I just think she’s a nasty sort because her grades and comprehension don’t demonstrate she has the foggiest idea what’s going on. I just smile and continue to do what I need to do to grasp the material.
Competition isn’t bad as long as you don’t lose focus of your sense of self, goal, and humanity. Don’t sabotage anyones chances but don’t throw your pearls before swing either.
I’m not sure I’ve made any sense in this post. I don’t drink coffee and I had 3 cups this morning and my teeth are chattering…I’m too riled up right now…

Thank you so much for that post. Youre very encouraging! I try not to pay attention to it all, but it gets hard sometimes. I’m an honest person and when people ask me about grades I just try to avoid the conversation by saying “Sorry, I dont like to discuss my grade.” That seems to work well. Thanks again for your post and the reading tip. I’m going to try it!