I completed the pre-req for the class I’m in, but everyone else in the class seems to have a lot more background than me and a lot of the words they and the prof use to explain things are words I haven’t heard of yet. It makes it hard to follow. I’m a freshman, and everyone else is either an upperclassman or a grad student, which I wasn’t expecting cuz the pre-req is just one intro class. Have any of you been in a situation like this?
First i would ask, is this the right class for you?
So if you took Econ 101, but now are taking Econ 351, maybe you should take some 200 courses before you take a upper level course.
Go immediately to the next professors office hours and explain your situation. Maybe this isn’t the class for you RIGHT NOW. Maybe you have to do supplemental reading which your Prof can direct you to. Maybe you need a tutor.
Address this RIGHT NOW during the drop/add period.
Agree with above – I’m taking a 400-level class outside of my major for which the only prereq is freshman chem. The professor mentioned on the first day of classes that he might have to add more prereqs because freshmen might try to take the course. They’d be technically “qualified,” but it’s a junior/senior course in that major, so they would be getting ahead of themselves and might not do well.
Agree with both of the above. I’ve taken classes that ended up being all grad students despite only having a single undergrad course as a prereq. Talk to the instructor; s/he will give guidance as to whether the class is best for you.
Update: i dropped the class