The following blog post was written by Rose Lieberman, a CCAS studying biology and political science.
Science in college is not easy.
I was not one of those people who made a graceful glide through my first year. At this point three years ago, I was in trouble (or at least, so I thought). Two weeks past midterms, and it was, oh crap. There’s no way I’m going to make that 3.4 GPA I need (seriously guys, this can actually be quite difficult to do, and no one really tells you that). Now, deep down, I knew that I didn’t need that GPA until I graduated. But, I was convinced this spelled the end of my time in the UHP.
Now, full disclosure, I’m a Biology major and a Political Science minor. So I’ll be speaking mostly about the scientific field. As a senior, I still look back at my freshman and sophomore years and think, wow, those really were the hardest years (I mean, I’m talking low 3’s for my GPA!). I discovered that juggling my first college chemistry courses, my first honors classes, and the whole new world of political science was not an easy task. At some points, it seemed impossible.
For science majors specifically, I can say with confidence that the first two years are the toughest. These are the years when, in just 16 weeks, you’re asked to become experts in extremely complex subjects that you may not have seen before and honestly, may not use after that semester. It didn’t seem fair at the time, and frankly, I still don’t think organic chemistry classes are fair. But I’ll stop being salty. What I’m trying to say is, don’t worry if you’re first foray into college science does not go the way you wanted or planned. It’s not easy, but you’re not in it alone.