1. What Every PreHealth Student Needs First Year: How do you know you want this profession. Why medicine (vet med/dentistry, etc.)? How will you use your summer to test your ideas? Sophomore spring: Continued coversation of topic above, plus “Who is your prehealth advisor? Have you met with her/him?” Junior year: How much writing have you done toward your PIR documents?

2. The reality for students with a C in chemistry 111A Looked at two years enrollment of prospective bio majors who earned a C in chem 111, and what happened the following spring. 5 took bio but not chem, against departmental advice. They were not particularly successful, but calculating an average grade might be misleading since the sample size is so small. 18 took chemistry, but not biology in that spring, and of those only one withdrew from chemistry. Their average grade in chem 112 was 2.13 Most of the grades were C; D and B were almost equally likely, no one failed. Of the 62 who took both 112 and bio 2960 in the spring,: – In chemistry, 4 withdrew and one student failed the course. The average chemistry grade was 1.90. C was still the most common grade, but there were more D grades than B grades. No student earned a B+ or better in chemistry. – In biology, 14 students withdrew and three failed the course. The average biology grade was 1.6. C- was the most common grade. One student earned a B+. No A grades were awarded in this group.

3. TAKE-HOME POINT Proceeding in both bio and chem concurrently after a C or lower in chem 111 is a terrible idea The bio dept recommends chem only; bio later. There are costs and downsides to this approach; your advisee may not be willing to opt for only chem. Bio only is probably a better option than both courses, at least in terms of minimizing damage to the transcript and staying off probation.

4. Identify Source of Difficulty Note, competencies include “engages in reflective practice for improvement; solicits and responds appropriately to feedback” The most common issues for younger students include – Motivation: why am I doing this? – Maturity: this isn’t very fun – Lack of Foundation/Tools: needs to work smarter, not harder

5. Maturity/Motivation issues Wait on science courses. Focus on clinical and service experiences Return to science courses when sure of their necessity Foundation/Preparation issues Cornerstone and Disability Resources Resilience and Adaptability Competency: Demonstrates tolerance of stressful or changing environments or situations and adapts effectively to them; is persistent, even under difficult situations; recovers from setbacks

6. Best Strategy for Motivation/Maturity Problems Shadow and volunteer, take a break from science. Re-enter premed coursework when you’re really certain about your goals and mature enough to prioritize them all 15 weeks of the semester. Eventually you need to show that you love and are successful at science.

7. Gap Year – not for slackers Some students are in a hurry to apply at end of junior year, even with a sci gpa below 3.4 (which could be a B student, not a C student) Helping students understand the advantages of a gap year in terms of mastery of competencies can also help them be more comfortable spreading out their coursework.

8. Your Questions General Counsel reminds us to be mindful of student confidentiality and not use names in group settings like this. I am always happy to look up a student in SIS and consult individually by phone or in person if you have questions about a student who is failing to thrive.