<p>Hi there, thanks in advance all of you who answer my question.
It is my first semester in college and a rigorous LAC; I spend hours on hours studying the course material, and I have not missed any classes at all. I also go to office hours every week. I'm trying insanely hard to get by and I have D's and C's... I only see it going downhill from here, as the classes are getting more difficult. </p>
<p>Any suggestions on what I should do? Are there any colleges/universities that are known for not being so rigorous? I've thought about maybe taking some time off from school and figuring out a more specific direction to go in, or just trying to transfer right away. I am not enjoying the social/general atmosphere of the college I currently attend either. At this point, part of me just wants to drop out and take a different route (if there is one).</p>
<p>You say you spend hours and hours studying, but how do you feel about the material afterward? Do you feel like you grasp it and then just fail to answer homework/test questions correctly?</p>
<p>Also, what kind of subject is it? If it’s math or science, you have to just do and redo problems over and over again until it’s second nature.</p>
<p>If it’s more of a memory-type subject, how are you studying? There are different ways we as humans learn, so try different things: flash cards, reading, reading out loud, writing and re-writing notes, etc.</p>
<p>And how did you do in high school? I find it hard to believe that if someone can do well in high school that they “aren’t smart enough” to do well in college. College is typically a matter of finding proper study habits (as suggested above) and putting the time in. I say typically because there ARE courses/professors out there that will make classes insanely difficult in order to “weed out” people from a program. My school (GW), for example, made it’s intro classes for international affairs and political science difficult because there were always hundreds of students that thought they wanted to major in those areas but didn’t want to put forth the effort required. You can figure out pretty easily if you’re just in a difficult class by the number of other students who are also getting similar grades. </p>
<p>Good luck, and I hope this helps!</p>