To some UGA students, the fall withdrawal deadline is a solution to an overly tough class schedule and also an opportunity to rescue their GPA. But to many of UGA’s nearly 1,500 pre-med students, the withdrawal deadline this past Thursday was the day they gave up on their long-time dreams of becoming doctors or working in the medical profession.

The pressure proved too great for sophomore Megan Triplett, who dropped her biological sciences major after taking and re-taking chemistry and biology classes for three semesters. Triplett blames the large class sizes and unhelpful faculty for the low grades she witnessed in her Chemistry courses. She says it’s difficult to devote 30 to 40 hours to tutoring and test preparation only to receive a low grade each time.

The pre-medical studies program at UGA is composed of students with predominantly biology and chemistry majors. These majors require students take classes in General Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, and Organic Chemistry in combination with a lab section.

Triplett admits, “I was depressed for a while, seeing all my hard work and then nothing actually coming to fruition.”

After the withdrawal deadline Thursday Triplett decided to ditch her science major and take her chances in Public Relations and Music Business.

Though she agrees that receiving constant low grades in chemistry classes is discouraging, junior pre-med student Sidra Shakil is sticking with the program. She says she was disappointed to see so many of her classmates drop their major on the withdrawal deadline. However, she thinks the difficult science curriculum at UGA is fair and has to be tough in order to adequately prepare students for medical school.

Freshman Brandon Nguyen agrees that a tough pre-med curriculum is necessary. Nyguyen is a first year biochemistry major who isn’t afraid of the “horror stories” he hears from his classmates in upper-level chemistry. Nguyen says he’s not giving up his dream of becoming a pharmacist no matter how hard his classes might become.

Nguyen was surprised to see so many classmates give up their majors this early on in their college careers.

“At least one-third of my class dropped from the start of the semester. Most dropped after the first test and the the rest dropped on the withdrawal deadline last week,” Nyguyen noted.

Students like Nyguyen are hoping they make it through these “weed-out courses” so they can see achieve their medical dreams.