/sci/ - Science & Math

>tfw 2.5 GPA in my 3rd year

>tfw remembering my grades in first year

>>8622735
impressive turnaround dude, how'd you do it?

>>8622737
diligent attempts at homework
many office hours
working with others
lots of energy drinks
lots of sleepless nights
learning how to study for exams
some luck

>>8622718
I'm on my way to turning things around. I've been getting As and A+s in the last 2 years. But my overall average is still quite low, around a B, because I failed several courses in my first year. Now I have to retake those and then I'll have a respectable average to go further.

>>8622735
OP here, I got mostly Cs in important math courses with As and A+s in the courses I called about. So a C+ in Real Analysis but an A- in Computability theory, B- in Abstract Algebra, A in Set theory, C+ in some advance Geometry course and A- in Linear Algebra.

Now I'm getting As going back to school after being out for 4 years. Enrolled as a postbac to increase my GPA before I apply to PhD programs.

>>8622735
>>8622735
OP here, I got mostly Cs in important math courses with As and A+s in the courses I cared about. So a C+ in Real Analysis but an A- in Computability theory, B- in Abstract Algebra, but an A in Set theory, C+ in some Geometry course and A- in Linear Algebra.

Now I'm getting As going back to school after being out for 4 years. Enrolled as a postbac to increase my GPA before I apply to PhD programs.

I simply didn't try in courses like Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis way back when. I never read the book, nor did the homeworks. I just showed up for exams. Now I'm reading the textbooks, studying around the clock and suddenly I'm one of the top students in each of my courses.

upperclassmen who's now in my uni's Physics PhD program

>C student until junior year
>decided to do every problem in each textbook for all of his classes
>straight A's all the way to graduation
>takes PhD qualifier and passes on his first try, first time it's happened at my uni in like 10 years.

Wish I could say the same I kinda crashed and burned my senior year due to laziness setting in. Switched to Nuclear Engineering for my Master's and it's a lot easier to pull A's so far.

>>8622718

>Tfw literally flunked my whole first year semester, even bird courses, simply didn't do any work because I had a pathological aversion to responsibility

>Tfw 30 and finally finishing undergrad with decent grades.

>>8622718
I went through mental problems my first two years of uni. I had a 68% average at the end of sophomore year and it took me 3.5 years to do it because I kept dropping semesters.

My last 3 semesters have been around 95 averages.

It's really just a matter of taking it seriously for almost all people. Some will have to work harder than others but even average people will ace most things if doing well is at the top of your priority list.

>don't put any effort in first year
>do kinda ok
>halfway through second year, get splat'd by a drunk driver
>bascailyl fucks me over for a year
>nothing to do so I just read up on subjects I like for a whole year
>go back to university and end up getting straight A+'s in everything
w o a h

>>8622718
>Anyone else have similar turn around stories?

I did, but it was from highschool to undergrad. When I was in highschool I was a terrible student. I believe I was not stupid. just bad at being a student. I failed mathematics all the time. In every trimester I would be failing and in the final exam I would try to study hard to bail myself out with a mediocre grade of C- that allowed me to pass. This was my story for highschool mathematics. Sleep in class, get D's in everything and in the final exam get anxious about the idea of failing and get a C to barely pass. That and I would suck the professor's dick. Everytime there was an activity that would give extra points I would do it with no hesitation. Just so I could pass because my grades were that bad.

Another part of my highschool life was that while I was a bad student, I was learning programming and shitposting on /g/ on the daily. I was really passionate about that, for some reason. I would even read programming books at school on my phone, instead of paying attention to classes. Then by my senior year I finally started to drift from pure programming to learning linear algebra, calculus, geometry, etc. To be a better programmer. From that I got a linear algebra book that was very "heavy". It was the first time I saw a math book that would actually prove its statements. At first I just read the theorems and skimmed the proofs to understand but at some point I started challenging myself to prove the theorems on my own and comparing my arguments to an online answer key I found. I got really passionate about this and became really good at it. Then some other similar things happened and by the end of my highschool career I could not help but just enroll to a pure mathematics program. Obviously, the school is pretty low ranked because I am a retard with a low score but I am still happy. I have an overall 3.8 GPA for pure mathematics, which is pretty high compared to everyone else here.

>>8622737
I had similar grades my first year of university
Since I wasn't 18 at the time I had to live in a dorm with a roommate. that constant social interaction fucked me up.

>2.8 GPA
>Aerospace engineering
>3 more semesters left

is the 'gpa doesnt matter in engineering' a meme or real life?

>finished highschool in bottom 10% of cohort
>about to start first year MD
Just study lmao

>>8622946
> aerospace
It probably is important if you want core jobs.

>>8622718
I went the opposite way.
Went from extremely good to extremely shit.

>70% average in high school
>need mid 80s-low 90s to get into good programs
>get into shit Psychology program as an 'alternative offer'
>fuck around for 3 years, eventually change major to philosophy
>after third year, spend the whole summer psyching myself up, telling myself that i'll do great and get really high grades, and be competitive for medical school
>very good friend commits suicide 3 weeks into semester
>brain fog for 8 months
>manage about a 3.56 gpa until I graduate
>enroll in 2nd undergraduate at a retard school in math and comp sci
>pic related

If I went to U of T, my work ethic last year probably only would've gotten me a 3.8/4.0 at most. But I went from being a C/D/B student in high school, to being a C/D/B student in university, to being an A-/B+ student in university, to being an A+/A/A-/B+ student in university.

I've actually felt myself getting better at school each year. Most of my better results have been the result of actually getting better at thinking as opposed to improving my test-taking skills

>>8622718
>Graduated with a 2.5 gpa in biology, convinced that I was retarded.
>Worked and did a little traveling over a 4 year period.
>Returned to school as a computer engineering post-bac
>3.8 gpa after 2 years of intense classes
>On track to attend grad school next year
feels good man

>>8622735
>Canadian law
Da fuk

i just fucked around and did drugs during school. i have a low self esteem and constantly creat goals to study a certain amount of time a week and fail.

i know it sounds stupid but after years of being a NEET and looking into my parents old textbooks i feel this feeling in my testacles, this feeling of purpose, like its my purpose to understand the universe.

>>8622735
What's with the leaf law course?

>>8622811
>tfw 24 doing undergrad feeling bad

Thanks for the motivation anon

>>8623055
>>8623078
fun elective to take with some homies

your country's law is certainly not the worst thing to be educated in

>>8623075
Why aren't you in school?

>>8623106
He might be one of those types that doesn't really see the point in it. He's okay with being an autodidact. Nothing wrong with that; Just a different perspective on what his purpose is in life.

>>8622739
mad respect to you anon. discipline is the lifeblood of productivity

this thread motivates me!

Failed Precalculus 3 times when I was 19. Three semesters in a row I took it and failed. Also got Cs in other, way easier classes.

Went back to school 3 years after I dropped out, at 23. Retook Precalc, got an A. Took Calculus 1, 2 and 3, got straight As. Got a B+ in Linear Algebra (first proof based course, didn't know how to study for it) and got straight As in Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry.

Currently a biochem major, thinking of switching to math after this quarter of Ochem and Differential Equations.

The main things I changed from being an F-C student to a A/highB student was:

>NEVER miss lecture, EVER
>Always take notes, then rewrite notes when I get home
>Do ALL assigned homework, including optional problem sets (especially for math/chemistry)
>Do extra and difficult problems to study for exams
>Go to Office Hours if can't figure something out immediately

And that's it. I'm a total brainlet, but I have a 3.6-3.8 gpa average or something. I get things slower than other people, so repeated exposure and LOTS of problem sets are how I learn.

>>8622802
I think the excuse for most people including me is we simply couldn't solve any of the problems. No idea where to start, and no progress even after multiple attempts. I even need to cheat for homework questions, how could I solve textbook problems?

can you get into a good uni post grad with something like this?

And how important is it to get into a top school for grad school? at what point does the school become so poor that the investment of time and energy is no longer worth it?

I didn't take my academics too seriously early on but I'm now realizing I might enjoy studying math, physics or CS professionally

Sure. Started undergrad without much direction towards a major, ended up migrating to biology as a sophomore. Started with Bs and Cs in my core classes (Gen Chem, Intro Bio I), even had a D in a chem class and a genetics class. Must have had a 2.5 or 2.6 my sophomore year.

Pulled an A in OChem. Then pulled another A in an upper-level molecular bio class. Ended up adding a degree in chem, got a 3.6 or 3.7 science GPA as a senior. Joined a lab for my senior thesis, enjoyed research. Still, my mentor didn't really want all that much to do with me (wouldn't write me a letter).

On the rec of a grad student (still love the guy), got a tech job. Rolled that into another tech job, at a higher-profile lab. Did a productive year of work. Had graduated with a 3.0 - 3.1, so could apply to PhD programs.

Got great letters from good people I worked for as a lab tech (two National Academy members), had nice research experience, solid statement of purpose. Got in to my top program, one of the top-10 programs in the country. Now in my third-year here, passed quals last spring.

>>8623315
Inspirational stuff.

>>8623234
Fucking amazing, man. Congrats

>>8622718

A weak mind such as yourself should listen to my story and take notes

Couple weeks into calculus 1 now, doing well, already past the chain rule and beyond. Quotient rule was a joke. Product rule remains my specialty.

I ask my professor his thoughts on quantum mechanics and partial derivatives. He's impressed i know about the subject. We converse after class for some time, sharing mathematical insights; i can keep up. He tells me of great things ahead like series and laplacians. I tell him i already read about series on wikipedia. He is yet again impressed at my enthusiasm. What a joy it is to have your professor visibly brighten when he learns of your talents.

And now I sit here wondering what it must be like to be a brainlet, unable to engage your professor as an intellectual peer.

All of the deep conversations you people must miss out on because you aren't able to overcome the intellectual IQ barrier that stands in the way of your academic success... it's so sad.

My professor and I know each other on first name basis now, but i call him Dr. out of respect.

And yet here you brainlets sit, probably havent even made eye contact with yours out of fear that they will gauge your brainlet IQ levels.

A true shame, but just know it is because i was born special that i am special. I can't help being a genius, nor can my professor.

Two of a kind is two flocks in a bush.

>>8622735
>>8623002
>>8623030
>>8623234
>>8623315
A lot of inspirational and impressive stories.
But as usual, everyone knows the answer is do the work.
But the problem is transitioning from knowing you need to do the work to actually doing the work.
It's obviously not easy, or else everyone would get straight-A from the start.

My geography teacher made B's and C's his undergraduate years, but somehow got accepted to into UC-Boulder and made all A's for his Masters and then did amazing as a Doctorate student doing Geology.

I'm kinda the same way, did awful my first few semesters but something just clicked in my head over summer and now I'm good at math all of a sudden, hopefully going to go into mechanical or civil engineering.

>>8623365

copy/pasta

Also for those who think they're too old to enter
I entered a uni when I was 28. Had to work 40 hours a week to be able to afford rent and then on top of that, had to spend the rest of my free time doing math practice. I sort of enjoyed doing math so it wasn't that big of a deal. No time for social life though.
Now I'm 32 with an undergrad in applied math and working as a statistician for a consulting firm.

Never too old brehs. JUST DO IT.

>>8622735
>tfw lazy but smart meme is true

>>8622718
>post bac
>top university

Fallait faire prepa tocard

>>8622718
>Anyone here go from a bad student to an excellent student?
No. Although I did go from failing 4 classes consistently to getting two As consistently. I still need to manage to take more classes at once while not failing everything.

>>8622735
Sup fellow Queens student, knew it just from the transcript format.

I've given up on my life at this point, I'm in my third year of chemical engineering with a GPA of 2.46 out of 4.3. Even kids with a 4.0 GPA in my classes can't find work. I had a 3.0 and 3.2 in my last two full semesters and a 3.92 in my summer semester. I'm pulling up my socks but I fear it's a little too late for it to matter anymore.

I wanted to do some volunteer (read: free) research for my professors this summer but none of them would even respond to my emails. What do /sci/?

>>8623571
> What do /sci/?
Apply for jobs you idiot.

>>8623595
>implying I haven't already

Over my three years I've applied to close to around sixty jobs, give or take ten. I have never even received a "thanks for apply, you aren't being considered" email.

I don't think you understand how fucking shitty the job market in chemical engineering in Canada is right now. With a GPA like mine as well, nobody even takes the five minutes to respond to me.

>>8623571
>I wanted to do some volunteer (read: free) research for my professors this summer but none of them would even respond to my emails.

I was planning on doing the same thing but now I'm scared.

>Graduating with a 3.05
>Last few semester GPAs have been 3.4+
I'm banking on a good GRE and maybe taking a Grad level class or 2 to get into a good Masters Program in a Biotech program. In the next 10 years Biomedical engineering and the Biotech fields are going to be booming and I want to get in on that.

>>8623597
There is no magical fixes. Keep applying and hope you're lucky.

>>8623613
>Biomedical engineering and the Biotech fields are going to be booming
No, it won't.

>>8623616
You haven't been paying attention then. There are many technologies being perfected in those fields which soon will be cheap enough for mass sale. We're still a few years off but give it a bit more time and Biotech will be a major industry.

>>8623618
My sides. I hope it works out for you.

>>8623625
Look if you want to embarrass yourself here by falling for various memes that's perfectly fine.

>>8623627
I don't get it.

>failed half my exams for the first two undergrad years
>slightly turned things around by year 3, getting 7's and 8's
>final semester - finally took care of all my failed courses
>got a cum laude degree

I don't know if this is a country of fuckwits or just my classmates.

>>8623614
Yeah, although I'm not very much interested in pursuing a career in traditional industrial chemical engineering.

I want to do research in control systems and transport phenomena, something a little beyond a typical chemical engineers job but still applicable to corporate work. I'm in the biomedical stream for chemical engineering but biomed is a meme so I'm not going to fall for that.

>>8623613
I hope you have fun being stuck in academia hell for the rest of your life. Consider doing an M.D and Ph. D if you actually want to make money with that and work in clinical research.

>>8623372

I'm >>8623234

This was part of my problem, but my 3 years out of school I worked manual labor and those jobs kicked my ass. I knew I didn't want to do that ever again, so that helped my focus a bit when I went back to school.

But it was still tough. I didn't really want to study. I started small, before I took hard classes. First, I resolved to never, ever miss lecture, and to take notes during lecture.

Then I made myself read the book and my notes for 15 minutes a day, in each subject. It was short enough to not really feel like work.

The third thing I promised was that I would ALWAYS do the homework. All of it. It was hard at first, I didn't realize math and intro chemistry could take such a long time. I pulled 5-6 all nighters my fist quarter back at school. I still would procrastinate but I refused to let myself miss easy points. I also didn't cheat, I actually did it.

I didn't know how to study, so the day before exams I just looked at notes and did some problems. I passed my first quarter of precalc, human anatomy and intro chemistry with As (I wanted to be a nurse, initially)

Next quarter I took calculus 1, gen Chem 1 and gen bio 1. I did all the same stuff, but I was slowly getting better at it, and I would accidentally work for longer than I set time aside for it. I started studying a few days in advance for exams instead of the night before. But calc 1 and gen Chem 1 was where I really developed my work ethic.

We were assigned maybe 20 problems a week in calculus and 30-40 problems a week in gen Chem. I did them all. I pulled 1-2 all nighters to do it at first and felt like such shit after that I started doing them the day ornday after it was assigned so I had the whole week.

It was really a slow progression. I can handle large work loads now (I can do 50 Ochem problems + reading in 2-3 days, same with math)

Perhaps most important: I have NO social media. It cost me a D on a math final once, and I deleted all of it. I read books now.

>>8623767

Sorry mistyped. Wasn't a D on a math final, was a midterm. I got an A on the final (after deleting social media) and the policy at the time was, if your final had a higher score than the other midterms, then you got the final grade

>>8623726
>I hope you have fun being stuck in academia hell for the rest of your life. Consider doing an M.D and Ph. D if you actually want to make money with that and work in clinical research.
I really don't think you're in the position to give advice considering you're a shit student with bleak future.

>>8623767
>>8623776
Hi, thx for sharing. Inspirational stuff. I really appreciate it.
>I have NO social media
Isn't 4ch a social media?

>>8622718
In high school I was the biggest shithead ever, got only the BARE MINIMUM to pass on everything, and bullied the teachers. Now I'm in university and my average grade is 8.5/10, which usually puts me around the top 10%.

>>8623837
Yes, because the shit students are obviously the ones that are not researching every possible opportunity for themselves.

Just because the grades aren't there doesn't mean I know fuck all about the industry.

>>8623954
>knows everything about the industry
>still can't get a job
I don't know, man. Learn some humility. You didn't do well and now you're giving career advice.

>>8623964
It's not my words, it's my professors. My biomedical engineering prof told us to only pursue this if you are passionate, not for the money.

But hey, this is the internet and maybe I'm just lying to you. Do what you want anon, but if you want to make money don't fall for the biomed meme.

>>8622979

well you probably have a less stressful life now?

Do you guys recommend taking a small break? For example I've been in school since high school and I feel so burnt out at times. I still have another couple years for my Masters but sometimes it just gets really depressing. Also it sucks this year because I'm in a new lab but have no freedom to so any lab work unlike my last position which allowed me alot of time to experiment.

Also do you guys do your own experiments at home?

>>8623969
>It's not my words, it's my professors.
To be exact, profs from a shit-tier university.

>My biomedical engineering prof told us to only pursue this if you are passionate, not for the money.
Hilarious. Talking about passion even though you didn't work hard during your degree.

>Do what you want anon, but if you want to make money don't fall for the biomed meme.
Again, have some shame. You are a shit student from shit-tier university. Not really your place to give career advice especially when you couldn't even find a job.

>>8623984
My wife and I experiment quite a bit.

>>8623984
I recommend you to get an internship.

>>8623988
Alright man, I'm wrong. What should I be doing to improve my situation then? You sound like you know what you are doing with your life.

Am I doomed because I had a shitty first year? I'm seriously asking for advice, not being a sarcastic troll.

>>8623996
I don't know. I just shitpost.

It's kinda obvious but apply for more jobs. Perhaps in US. I wish you luck.

>>8622718
i wasn't necessarily a bad student, i just couldn't handle 18 credits + work. most of my semesters were spent playing academic triage.

i got into a mediocre masters program, but i'm doing it as slow as my FA will allow me to and i'm doing great.

in retrospect i shouldn't have tried to slam so many credits in undergrad. poor time management maybe.

>>8622718
Not from "bad" to "excellent", but from "mediocre, only working for exams and getting 13/20" to "motivated guy who really wants a good post-graduating school".

I never failed a single course, but only ever got D or E and never went back to it. And now I read textbooks on my free time and people think I'm weird.

>>8623970
In a way.Stopped giving a fuck and even though my life went to utter shit, I'm stress free.

>>8623678

>> got a cum laude degree

Literally how.

>>8623365
Copypasta loses its power if you overuse it, you know

>>8622718
no joke, when I was in highschool, I was getting C's in a bunch of classes, but then, I went out and smoked weed with a bunch of my friends. For whatever reason, I got my shit straightened out and I graduated with honors. I went to a university, did research, got into a fucking MD medical school, and now I am applying for residency.

Not saying it was the weed, but I think it's important to take life less seriously some times. Take time for yourself. Be a real human. Life is just too short.

>>8622718

I have more stories than I can count.

I think growing up poor put a lot of extra roadblocks in life, but I would like to think the extra challenges have made me stronger.

Anyway for 2-3 years was in situation(s) that no one in /sci/ would want to be in; all of you would call me a loser. Then in 1.5 years, I graduated from a no. one ranked school.

>>8622718

I was awful, but then I got medicated for ADHD, now I get mostly (european) A's.

I have a good work ethic before getting medicated, but I really struggled. Doing a PhD now so worked out for me in the end.

>>8624135
>no. one ranked school.
Wait, we got a Harvard guy here. Or is it Princeton?
/sci/'s wicked smaht.

>>8624135
What did you major in? Going from institutions to graduating in a top school is impressive

>>8622718
>lazy but smart in high school
>took all the AP/Honors courses but only did bare minimum to get C/Bs
>slept in class, didn't put any effort on HW or study, etc
>didn't get accepted to major university
>went to community college
>got straight As
>transferred to best college in the state
>got straight As

In hindsight, I would have just tried to test out of high school as soon as possible but still done the community college -> transfer route since it saved me a lot of money.

>>8624166
It's not like undergrad matters at all

>>8624169
Of course it matters.

>>8624169
True, and I'm not the networking or frat type, so it wouldn't do me any good to have gone all 4 years.

>>8624175
nice freshman opinion

>>8624183
Meh, I see you went to shit school and in the process of denial.

Does anyone here have any experience with doing a 5th year or post-bac research/work and then applying to grad school?

I'm afraid my GPA isn't going to be up to par for grad school by the end of my third year, as we have to apply pretty early in our fourth years.

>>8624209
Better get a job and nurture some discipline. I went that way, didn't do so hot in my bachelor, went for a master in Europe, didn't do so hot again. Obviously. People don't change that easily. Lazy people stay lazy.

>>8624215
How did you manage to score a masters in Europe?

>>8624231
GPA was exactly 3. I went to not so great school in Germany. But being in Europe/Germany, it still has pretty standard. Only problem is they admit everyone. Pajeets are the laziest, most incompetent people I've met.
With that in mind, just get a job.

>>8623095

Sounds like a waste of time

don't be so low test

>>8624277

>>8622735
How was pharmacology like as a math student?

>>8624307
I guess the material doesn't have to be boring but as an online summer course where all you had to do was memorize things, it was boring. I don't actually remember anything from it (I was also high that whole summer)

>>8623365
I don't care what the other fags think, this is a good pasta and you posted it effectively

9/10 made me chuckle

Props to everyone in this thread who managed to turn their shit around. Some of you seem to be alright and it gives me hope that /sci/ might not just be procrastinating undergrads.

My story is similar, scraped the bottom of the barrel during undergrad, as I was unwilling to invest the time that was needed. Ironically a normie brainlet friend introduced me to just spending all my time in the library and that led to me actually focusing. Grad school is now going great for me.

right now I am in high school with and I did so bad I failed a whole year and if I passed some classes I barely passed them. This year I snapped from my lack of attention and I am doing pretty good but I still have a lot to recover from

>>8622735
Wait, so did you fail all your classes in fall 2011?

>>8624560
they're full year classes so the grade only shows up in the second semester listings

>>8624563
>Never got a D
Then you were never in any danger.

>>8622718
>tfw genius but not in college

What a waste of time

Truly, my IQ is high.

>>8623841

Yes, I suppose so. But I'm on 4chan far less than I am on Facebook or IG if I have access to those sites. It's also much easier to say "okay enough 4chan today" and put it down since I only browse /sci/ and /gif/ to jerk off

>>8622946
Nigga at least get a 3.0

And do some internships pronto

>>8622731
Don't worry, I'm there too. 2.6 cumulative. Literally failed or got a D in every class in fall semester last year. Got all A's though last semester, and doing well and getting started in research this semester. Turn it around man.

>>8624596
>getting started in research

How did you do it? My profs don't even read an email unless it has a CV attached, and I don't have any work or experience because of a <3.0 GPA.

>>8624578
Learn German. Do distance degree from Hagen.

>>8623311
bump

>>8623372
>>8623326

Thank you, I appreciate that.

I would hope any undergrad or recent grad or whoever reading this gets a few things out of my post:

1) a sub-par GPA in intro classes in undergrad will not prevent you from going into science
2) an undergrad mentor who doesn't think you're good enough to go into science will not derail your research career; you don't need that letter
3) if you want to do it, be persistent; keep at it until someone stops you, then take a different route

>>8625497
I appreciate this

I'm an undergrad chem student, I fell for the web development meme and now I'm going back to school for chemistry. I love organic chemistry so far, I watch lectures while I eat lunch and I bought Molecular Genetics in Bacteria 4th Edition just this past weekend because I find the topic of genetics very, very interesting

However I work full time managing a meme development shop, and I can only take so many classes per semester. Do you have any advice for becoming more of a student and less of a wageslave? I'm in my second year of getting my associates and it feels like it is taking forever.