My Biggest Achievement as a College Freshman by Nora

My Biggest Achievement as a College Freshman by Nora - August 2023 Scholarship Essay

My biggest accomplishment so far happened during my freshman year of college last year. I had passed my hardest class which was chemistry. During the first semester, I took general chemistry, and it was one of the most harrowing experiences of my college career. It was enough that the content taught in that class was very complex, but the three milestone quizzes that we had every month was one of the biggest factors that determined whether students would pass the class or fail it. In order to pass them, we were required to get an 80% or better. If not, we could retake them up to two more times to get a better score. But if on the third attempt a student gets below 80%, then they have officially failed the milestone, which will take a major hit to their overall grade in the class, thus putting them at risk of failing chemistry. The milestones covered everything that we had learned prior to that point, and it required time and dedication to study for them to ensure that we knew the content. However, since I am not great at studying, reviewing my notes and knowing the information proved to be difficult for me. I resorted to just flipping through my notes and memorizing just a day before the actual quiz (AKA cramming).

For the first two milestones, I was lucky enough to get above 80%, but it was mostly due to a majority of the questions being easier, and for the second quiz, some of the content from the first were on it, so I simply remembered what the answers were. Unfortunately, I did not get an 80% on the third, meaning that I would have to retake it. A few days later, I took my second attempt, but I received a 69%. I went back to my dorm room and straight up burst into tears. I had to call my mom to comfort me, and she said that it was not the end of the world. Eventually, I was able to calm down, but after a while, I began to panic because I realized that if I retook it one final time and could not get my desired score, I ran the risk of failing the class, especially because the other assignments we did were difficult, and getting A’s on them were rare for me. Also, my grade in the class was already at a C-, so not doing well would definitely take a hit to it.

But despite that bleak outlook, I managed to rise up and prove my doubts to be incorrect. I was an underdog of my educational success. One day, I decided that the “failing” path was not the path that I would continue to go down. Right after I had failed my second attempt, I went home right away to review what I got wrong and looked through my notes the “right” way. I also went to pretty much all of my professor’s JustASK (office) hours. I was determined to pass that last chance that I had, and nothing would get in my way of accomplishing that goal. That class cost me hundreds or even thousands of dollars, so I wasn’t going to fail and throw that money down the drain. Even while I had other homework to do, and experiencing bouts of headaches and bodily discomforts, I pushed through because I knew that it would all be worth it once I passed. Fortunately, when I did take that last attempt, I had passed! I even got a much better score than I expected; 97%! I was so proud of myself, and at that moment I realized how wanting something so bad and doing everything I can to get it will pay off in the end. By the end of the semester, my grade was at a B which meant I had passed chemistry.

How this achievement will support my future goals of becoming a doctor is that it shows that no matter how close I am to failure, it is never too late to turn things around. If I am determined enough and put in 110% of effort into achieving what I want, then miracles can happen. For the rest of my undergraduate education, medical school, residency, and my career as a physician, I will encounter moments where I am on the brink of failure (and will actually experience failure as well), but as long as the world does not end, I will still have chances to turn things around. I just have to have the heart and willpower. What matters is that I don’t quit, and I will be set to accomplish all my future goals.