Very important decision - need advice badly!!

[RAMAIR57]

I have a family emergency that I must go home for. I will be missing the entire first week of third term, but I will bring the handouts with me to try to keep up to date and not fall behind (and the labs/visits can be made up, I already got ok'd for this). I didnt have any worries at all about this, but today the department told me that if I miss the frst week, I will be at a huge disadvantage in biostats, as the first week is the hardest part and I have to be in class to understand it. Now, I am extremely stressed out!! I have to go home for this period, so my only alternative is taking a leave of absence, which I absolutely do not want to do; at the same time, I dont want to get terrible grades or even fail this term!!!. Many of the upper termers told me that not being there wont hurt me at all, but the department really stressed that the stats part during that week is difficult. What do you guys think I should do; like I said, I really, really do not want to take a leave of absence for this (for many reasons), so can the people who have been thru this term shed some light on this for me? I have to make a decision very soon. Thanks everyone

[Andrew21]

Don't take the leave. I am sure that you will be fine, I have not seen a grade for less than a c in any of the term 3 classes. And if you decide after a month of school that you cant keep up or are too far behind, i am sure they will allow you to take the leave due to the circumstances. Good luck with everything

Andy

PS I had a family situation last term and was allowed to take a a leave with ony 3 or 4 weeks remaining in the term

[RAMAIR57]

Can anyone offer any advice on just how difficult the first week of biostats is, and if it is possible for me to learn it adequately at home?

[Polopiach]

If you have never attended a biostats class, then you may need to have some Biostat Introd books...but if you have ever attended any biosta class during the undergrad days, I believe you'll be fine. Just know that Biostat is just a mix of arithmatic (rudimentary) and a bit of epidemiology....that is how I can summarize it. I am not yet at Saba (will begin in Jan 2006) but this is what I can tell you about Biostat...having taken it both as undergrad and grad courses. Not a hard course though...it all depends on your attitude....basically the introducory class should lay some groundwork, but if you know about averages(means), std deviations, etc...you'll be okay! So just go home and come back to Saba after 1 week and continue...plus you have the hand-outs..why worry?

Just my 2 cents....!

Hope this allays your fears abit!

Polopiach

[vtrain]

If it's a death in the family, or something that's important to you - go home, or else youll regret it if you dont. My grandma died in first term while we were in NY and the school did not recommend going home b/c of VISA issues. I went home despite warnings and I'm sooo glad I did. As best you can, don't let school get in the way of life.

[algen]

Go home, and let someone tape all the classes for you for the first, or at least talk to someone who has a taperecorder, so you would have the lectures at least. And hopefully, a good friend will also sit down and explain anything that you do not understand.

[klasik]

Hey, listen, its all up to you of course, but I probably missed 80% of lectures in all the terms, and i believe that i missed biostat as well, so as far as doing it on your own, then it should not be a problem. However, i would suggest that you ask your friends to pay careful attention in class, just if the prof. points out something important. Just read that book that the school uses (high yield) and everything should be fine. The final decision is entirely up to you but it is absolutely doable.

hope that helps.

[Kevin]

Biostats isnt that bad. I didnt go to one lecture 3rd term. Just read the notes and the book when your at home. In my term a friend of mine missed the 1st two weeks and he was fine. He landed on Fri and our midterms were mon. He got the notes on the day he got back and still passed all the classes. You might not get A's but u def can get **.

[Tami]

The dept. is supposed to stress on attendance coz without everyone in class, well, who will they teach? And some days in 3rd term come dangerously close to having an empty classroom. Don't get me wrong, of course you'd learn with much less effort if you attended class than if you didn't since the biostats lecturers are good. The topic itself, though, is boring enough to tie votes with a root canal.

Miss the week, family is número UNO. Get a friend to tape lectures if you want, and you will be more than fine.

Good luck.

[AOk]

Ramair,
I am sorry about your family situation. Of course you must attend to it.

I don't think advice from students who skip and still succeed is the right type of advice for you. You come across as a conscientious student who worries about a lot of things. So if you skip and things go badly, you will probably have a hard time living with that. Besides, when would you listen to tapes when you have a half day of lectures to attend as soon as you get back?

We had a guy in our term who skipped 3rd term, went on to 5th and 6th terms in St. Vincent, then came back to Grenada to take the 3rd term classes. You would have to work out how that affects your personal calendar. Some of the MPH students do this as well.

I wish you well.

[helpfulgrad]

My two cents. Family is important and you should never lose sight of whats important in your life. There are many students who dont attend class and do fine. You seem like the kind of person who would try to keep up as much as you can and you're not just taking a week off for something trivial.
So take your week off and attend to your family emergency. But, remember to keep abreast of the reading. When you get back, try to get caught up quickly even if it means putting in extra extra hours. 3rd term is easier for some than others but it can hurt you. I know of people who failed 3rd term classes (one person in particular never went to class!) so be careful...

HG