<p>In high school, I was in the top 10 highest GPA's at a fairly large public high school. I took my fair share of AP and honors courses and did very well in them. I never actually got below a B in high school. Needless to say, high school was a breeze. Unfortunately, my high school was severely deficient in math and science courses. Calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry and classes of that sort were not offered at my school. Instead I took a bunch of pointless art, business and marketing classes (I blame the idiotic NYC public high school system) </p>
<p>Fast forward to my first semester of college and I am stressed, lost, confused, and failing miserably. I entered college as an engineering major, not because I especially love math, but because it sounded like a cool challenge. I have no clue what I want to do with my life but I think I want to be a Psychology major since I like science but not too into hard sciences like Chem & Bio. Anyways, Freshman could only take four classes & I took:
Intro to Engineering (which I failed F)
General Chemistry ( C- )
Calculus 1 ( D- )
First Year Seminar Writing course ( A- )</p>
<p>So Not only was it my first time taking calculus and chemistry, but this was on a whole new fast-paced, college level. I go to Lafayette College, so courses are demanding. I could never get above a C on any given test for Chem or Calculus. While I demanding, I actually enjoyed Chemistry, but not my math/calc based calculus & engineering courses. Luckily I studied my butt off for the Chem final and brought my grade up a bit. But i obviously wasn't so lucky with Calculus. I think I failed because I honestly did not know HOW to study. I thought having perfect attendance to lectures (even 8am Chem), taking notes and reading the books would be enough to pass with flying colors. I started off fairly organized, but everything went downhill after I began getting bad test grades. I kept trying to change my study habits, but nothing seemed to work. I did try my best to study and party and keep a balance between grades and social life but it became too overwhelming and I caved in. In the end, my final GPA was a 1.5. I am so disappointed in myself. Now I'm on academic probation & must raise my overall GPA above a 2.0 to stay in college. Any advice or success stories on how to raise my GPA? I badly need study advice, and pointers on what to do to have a successful second semester. My goal is to have at least a 3.5 GPA second semester so that I can end up with an overall GPA of 2.5. Do you think this is a feasible goal? I am registered for Intro to Psychology, General Chem 2, Sociology, & Calc 2 (but I am thinking of either retaking Calc 1 or taking an easier art or humanities course instead)</p>
<p>Engineering is a tough program at any school. </p>
<p>Are you sure you “balanced” the studying and the partying? You are not in school to party but you do need to have some fun and socialize, but do keep it in moderation.</p>
<p>There are several learning styles and you definitely need to find out yours. Is there a study skills class that is offered by your school. Ask!! Also, it is better to study in groups. Find or form a study group for each of your classes.</p>
<p>Don’t take Calc 2!!! You didn’t do well enough in Calc 1. The material in Calc 2 builds on what you learned (or should have learned) in Calc 1. Taking Calc 2 at this point would be a disaster, for which your GPA will not recover. You need to focus on classes you will do well in to get your GPA up or you’re gone.</p>
<p>[Repeating</a> a Course](<a href=“http://catalog.lafayette.edu/4109.htm]Repeating”>http://catalog.lafayette.edu/4109.htm) indicates that there is no grade replacement for repeating a course (both grades are included in the GPA, unlike some colleges which allow the second grade to replace the original D or F in the GPA), and only F grades may be repeated except for Math 161 and 162 (calculus 1 and 2).</p>
<p>Taking calculus 2 after a D- in calculus 1 is a bad idea. If you really do want to switch to a social studies major (other than economics), a statistics course will likely be more useful than calculus 2, although if your high school math preparation was poor, even an introductory statistics course may be risky in terms of your GPA.</p>
<p>Agree with the others - do not take Calc 2 until you have repeated Calc 1 and mastered the material. Maybe a summer course if you do not want to repeat it at Lafayette. If you are stepping off the engineering track really step off. Take a class in a subject you loved and did well in in HS. </p>
<p>In terms of study skills - get help. This is not a unique transition problem and there is probably a support center on campus. Also, intro courses like psych and sociology can be large and have just a few high stakes tests. Maybe you should pick a smaller class with more frequent assessments so you can know where you are as the semester progresses.</p>
<p>If you want to change majors, now is the time. It doesn’t sound as if engineering is where your interests lie. Take classes this semester that you know you can do well in to get your gpa back up in order to avoid suspention.</p>
<p>The only way you should even attempt the Chem and Calc is if you have a outside tutor. And I wouldn’t recommend it even then. It is too important to chalk up some good grades this semester. Find four or five courses that you think you can do well in – the Psych, Sociology are good starters, maybe an English writing seminar (if you have that strong interest in technical stuff, maybe a tech writing course?), some other intro level courses in liberal arts. Hit the ground running, and do your best. It’s possible to turn this around – but be smart.</p>
<p>Colegiada- The transition to college is difficult even for the best of students. All is not lost. To add to the advice that you have already received I would suggest taking the time to thoroughly read the College catalog. It is your go-to resource for all academic things related to your college. Particularly pay close attention to the Revised Common Course of Study section which outlines the academic requirements for the class of 2016.</p>
<pre><code> Have you contacted you adviser in this matter? Perhaps your adviser can suggest courses that you can take that would satisfy your distribution requirements that are not as difficult to master as Calculus. I agree that you probably should not take Calculus 2 in the spring as you really need a firm foundation and a good understanding of Calc 1 to do well. Also, during this interim period, contact the ATTIC center on campus and arrange for help with your classes, study skills and time management once you return. These resources are there to help you succeed.
</code></pre>
<p>Yes, a 3.5 second semester seems an unrealistic goal, especially if you stay in chem and calc. Those are cumulative, building on the material that came before. With a low C in chem, you probably do know the material well enough to progress. With a D- in Calc 1, you should not go on to calc 2. Find another class.</p>
<p>Get tutoring! There must be help at Lafayette. Talk to your hall adviser, etc. etc. you can do it if you get in easier classes and study consistently. Taking notes does not count as studying. Make sure you understand the concepts along the way.</p>
<p>Colegiada, all is not lost. You have already begun to analyze what went wrong & why. That is a good start.</p>
<p>I would recommend two things:
get thee to thy academic advisor & discuss your situation. Send your advisor an email now so that you can schedule an appointment when you return from winter break.
Lafayette has an academic tutoring & training center ([ATTIC</a> Lafayette College](<a href=“http://attic.lafayette.edu/]ATTIC”>http://attic.lafayette.edu/)) which you should also visit upon your return. They will help you with study skills & skill remediation. Their goal is to help you succeed in college, so there is no shame in reaching out to the center after a rocky beginning.</p>
<p>Best wishes for your second semester. The new year brings an opportunity to turn things around.</p>
<p>My advice is to think about switching majors. Take classes this semester that really interest you and use that opportunity to try and find the subject matter that lights you up and that you want to study more in depth.</p>
<p>I did one year in Engineering and realized it wasn’t for me (more a function of personality than grades tho) then did an exploratory semester, letting myself take classes that sounded interesting and fun. It really helped me see what was out there.</p>
<p>And from the first day of the semester, get yourself to the tutoring or writing center. You need to learn how to organize your notes and how to study. Realize this and take every scrap of available help.</p>
<p>I agree with the advice to avoid math and hard science classes for this next semester and focus on ones that require strong writing and reading skills. That will give you the best opportunity to achieve higher grades. A 3.5 is a loft goal, but a 3.2 is realistic for the next semester if you choose courses wisely. I have found that LACs are remarkably personal and understanding of individual situations. Talk with your adviser at length about the situation and get as much information about your specific academic options as you can. If you earn above a 3.0 next semester and communicate clearly with your academic adviser about your goals and what you are doing to achieve them during the semester, at year end you might be able to petition to stay in the school even though you are below the stated cutoff. As a freshman at Lafayette you have plenty of time still to decide on a major.</p>
<p>I finished my first semester of college with a 1.5 and there was no option to repeat a course and replace the grade. I had one semester to get that up, and I worked my butt off and did it (much to my parents surprise)… what that meant is, I changed majors to something that “fit” me better, I cut out partying almost COMPLETELY for that entire second semester, I did not take 8 a.m. classes that were far too easy to sleep through, I learned to go to my professors when I needed direction and, did I mention… I worked my BUTT off. But, it paid off and I never had another semester like that first one again and graduated. You CAN do it, but you have to want to do it and you have to make some drastic changes and find a better balance. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>I would find another adviser as well. Anyone that would put you into those engineering courses with no background work in high school really needs some mentoring help themselves. I would also consider switching majors. You are in for a tough road. These were the “easy” classes for that major…</p>
<p>This also further illustrates my point that having a good GPA in high school really means nothing because every high school is different. Curious–what were your SAT/ACT scores?</p>
<p>I think that right now you should forget about what you want to major in and focus on taking some general education classes where you have a good chance to succeed. You did well in your English class so maybe you should focus on classes where reading and writing is more important than working problems. You don’t need to worry about a major, just getting your GPA up and regaining a sense of confidence in yourself.</p>
<p>I would take a look at the general education requirements for your school and take 4 or 5 classes that you are interested in, you think you can be succesful in, and that will count towards any degree you ultimately choose. Once you get your GPA back where it needs to be and you regain confidence that you can be successful in college then you should worry about a major. Just make sure that the classes you take are general requirements.</p>
<p>As far as math/science classes go it is clear that you do not have the background to move to the next level in Calculus or Chemistry. If you decide to retake these classes you need to make sure that you see the professor during office hours, study DAILY and most importantly WORK THE PROBLEMS. It is not enough to attend the lectures and read the book. You have to work every single problem you can. If the book has the answers to the odd problems you need to work every single odd problem in the book and then work them again. Chemistry and Calculus are not subjects you can just read to master. You have to DO the problems.</p>
<p>Anyway it isn’t the end of the world. Lots of students start slow. You can regroup.</p>
<p>Hmmm, I think we need more information here. </p>
<p>You could have screwed up because you
dont have the aptitude
dont have the right study skills for college
you screwed around a lot</p>
<p>I think it is too early to hit the silk and bail out of your intended major. </p>
<p>Calc 1 is not <em>that</em> hard of a class so you could use it to assess what your problem was. You should have got to pre-calc in high school- was that not the case? Did you not have the right base of knowledge to understand what was going on?</p>
<p>Or were you caught flatfooted by the study skills required by calculus? A lot of kids can get by in high school just by doing the assignments handed out in class and turning in a neat paper on time. You may never have needed to work the optional problems by yourself. Or use a Problem Solvers door stop and force yourself to do outside work that no one assigned you to do. Or take your mid term to office hours and work through what you are doing wrong. If you were a top 10 in high school you probably never had to worry about finding a study group. </p>
<p>Its far too early to quit. You should take two tech courses (repeat Calc 1) and two outside ones for next semester and work on developing college level study skills.</p>
<p>Math and hard science courses tend to accelerate work and difficulty through the semester and from course to course. This may give you the breathless feeling in that you can never catch up if you get behind because the pace at which material and work comes accelerates.</p>
<p>I’d suggest spending some time with a tutor that can assess your math skills so that they could give you good advice on how to resolve your math problems. There may have been deficiencies in various areas (algebra, trig, geometry, etc.) that are contributing to your problems in calculus and it may be better to go over any weak areas or spend time doing problem-solving work before attempting math and science courses at the college level again.</p>
<p>In my son’s physics courses his first year, about 70% of the class didn’t make it (they got an F or withdrew) and the majority of those kids were probably in the top 20% of their high-school classes. As stevema wrote, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything - it’s just how the student is relative to their high-school peers which doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ready for college courses.</p>
<p>I think that you’d be better off with a different major unless you want to put in the time and effort to bring your math and science capabilities up - but that’s something that takes time.</p>
<p>Argbargy makes an excellent point. One thing that may help determine where your issues may lie is whether you took a placement test for math. Many schools give placement tests for Math and other subjects to make sure you are appropriately placed based on your aptitude. Did you take one prior to the start of the semester? It would seem that if you were placed in Calc I based on the results of a placement test, the school evaluated your aptitude to be sufficient for Calc I, and you may want to focus on your study skills.</p>
<p>Use the resources at your school! Seek a new advisor if this one proved unhelpful. Go to the learning skills center. Check in with a dean. Many schools that put kids on probation require - sensibly - a written plan with frequent check-ins. This is not punishment; it is help. You shouldn’t be planning your second semester on your own but with input from the school so that you find success. You will. You have already started by reaching out here and by looking closely at what went wrong. Good luck!</p>
<p>My DS had a similar situation to you his freshman year. He was good at math and at our high school, which is not a strong math and science school. He was an Applied Math major at first. He was miserable in Calculus and Chemistry and after two quarters had a 2.0. He is not a party guy, so that was not the issue. Some things we learned. If your school has some sort of “rate-your-professor” type website, read it. The teachers he took first quarter had HORRIBLE reviews and he discounted them, but everything they said ended up to be true. Anyway eventually he decided he hated math, but LOVED History. He is now a junior, has been on the Dean’s list twice and has raised his GPA to a respectable 3.3. Maybe engineering is not your passion, take a variety of classes to find your passion and your grades might improve.</p>