Desperate college student trying to improve academic performance...

[rider21]

<p>I was never the "smart kid" in high school, but the kid who worked their butt off to perform at the level the other smart kids did. I had excellent time management skills and was so excited to go to college to learn and embrace new experiences. I had my heart set on going out of state, but in state (University of Washington) was the most affordable choice for me.</p>

<p>Don't get me wrong, UW is an amazing school, but I have never been more unsure of my academic capabilities in my life. I study 25 hours minimum every week, attend all lectures, do all homework (multiple times sometimes), go to tutoring, office hours... you name it. But yet, my chem 142 grade was a 1.9 (passing is at 1.7). My econ grade was 1.6. Art was a 3.5 (top 5 in the class but still a 3.5??), and english a 2.6 (was too distracted by chem).</p>

<p>For chemistry, my entire life revolved around living in the tutoring center. I am awful at science and math, so I understand why that grade is so low, and I concluded that hard sciences are much too challenging for me.
Now I took microecon as a pre req, but boy was that a mistake. I knew I disliked business, however I needed to take it. I did the homework problems 3x over. I made outlines. Took notes on the book 2x. Attended office hours weekly and all lectures, yet I still could not retain any information. This class has made me feel like a complete failure, and I have never felt so defeated in my entire life.</p>

<p>I have never imagined that my academic future would have ever taken such a downward spiral. I am so lost, mortified, and ashamed. I'm paying thousands of dollars to perform poorly at a prestigious university. No matter how much time I spend studying, I still do awful. This isn't just a "freshman year." This is a freshman year that I am afraid will hold me back from doing any competitive major, and even having the option of transferring (I hate the atmosphere, social aspects, lack of classroom engagement, and location of UW).</p>

<p>I know this was a lot, but I am too embarrassed to tell anyone but my advisors and parents of my poor performance. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not burnt out by school, I just don't know how to be successful, even though I already perform many successful study habits. The correlation between studying and grades is distant, leaving me feel that I am going to end up an academic failure.</p>

[TSip2000]

<p>I’ll preface this to say, I am a mom…so with that being out in the open…here is some help maybe. Your post hit a chord with me. I was in your same shoes when I was at college. On the chemistry and the economics… (I was an honor student in high school) but I could not understand a word that the professor talked about. On chemistry, the material went in one ear and out the other. He could have been speaking Greek for all I knew. I made an F. I was mortified. I retook the class, with another professor and it was great. He made perfect sense. I understood it all. I actually enjoyed it. To review professors back in the “old ages” when I went to college, they actually set up tables in the center of campus with a paper table cloth on them, and would write “CHEM 301” or what ever subject on each table. People would write “don’t take so and so, he is terrible…” or “be sure and take this teacher…wonderful, patient, etc…” “Lets you drop one bad grade” etc… (I didn’t know about that service) and when I read the reviews on my “F” professor and my “A” professor…all of the comments were true, and would have been SO helpful had I known that was available. I was picking classes as to when it was convenient (10 am chemistry instead of 8am chemistry). That was my problem. The tenured, jerk professor also wanted that 10:00 slot…and got it…the new, nice, helpful professor got the 8:00am slot. Lesson learned for me was, don’t pick a class based on time slot and convenience, pick your classes based on professor reviews. Anyway, now they have online services for reviewing professors. I truly think that success in a class depends on 1.: what you are already doing…tutoring, etc., but 2…picking the right prof that teaches the way you learn/process information. Hang in there. This semester will hurt, but try to use some service or advice from others on professors that teach the way you learn for subsequent semesters. Best of luck to you. Hang in there. My freshman GPA was like 2.2 when all said and done, and I graduated 3.7…took forever to pull up that freshman year but it is possible. My son and daughter are heading off to college now. I would want to know if they were struggling. I think your parents would too, but I don’t know them. Talk to some counselors at the school. Good luck and I wish you well. You will succeed, you are just experiencing a really rough spot. </p>