Failed Calculus

Hi, I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m sure this has been seen before, but I’ve hit a rock bottom. I’ve never failed a course, and obviously that was as a student in high school. But now, as a first year college student, I failed my Calculus 1 class… I don’t know what to do, I feel so stupid and as though I don’t belong in this program I’m in for Pharmacy. What do I do? How do I study? What do I do in order to study more effectively? Please advise me.

Did you go to professor office hours for help?

Did you go to your college tutorial center and get help?

Did you do something to deal with your grades during the term or hope for a miracle passing grade?

I believe this is a required course for you, right? Please go and talk to your academic advisor about how to proceed. You will likely need to repeat this course if you want to continue this major.

So…next time…get help right at the start of the course…get a tutor. There is nothing wrong with doing so!

First take a deep breath. Yes the is not good but not a game ender. Your questions are good one but only you can answer them. How much did you study? How hard did you work at this class.

Some classes require a LOT of work to do well. This varies from student to student but for me, my most difficult class consumed my junior fall. I literally spend 20+ hours a week on a single class.

If this is your one road block, hunker down and take the class again. If all classes prove to be this difficult , there are not enough hours in a week.

Yes. If you still feel like the same major retake the class at your existing college or this summer online or near where you will be And transfer the credits if your college allows. Did you go to any study groups or use any available study resources? What was the last math class you took in high school? Did you do Ok on the mid-term or were you lost right from the beginning?

What my nephew did was retake Calc I in the spring semester and to stay on sequence for his major (engineering) he took calc 2 at a university near his home in the summer.

I think he went to office hours and had some tutoring when he retook it, and for the summer course stayed on track from the beginning.

My daughter had not had calc in high school, so she spent a LOT of time on it. She was an athlete so had required study tables, in the library, for 8 hours a week. I think she spent at least 6 of those hours on calc. She had a tablet with Khan academy on it, her laptop with the book and class notes, her calculator, etc, all set up in the library each night at her OWN table. She had a friend who was a soccer player who missed class almost every Wed., so she’d take the notes and go over the lecture with him. That REALLY helped as she’d find stuff she really didn’t understand and they’d work it out.

So, take calc 1 again. Find a study partner/group. Schedule a lot of time for it. Hire a tutor if you can afford it. Go to the study sessions or office hours. If there is more than one lecture available, and you have time, go to the class again even if it is on the same day. Overkill? Yes, but you need to attack it.

How did you study last semester? What did you do that didn’t work?

Meet with your advisor. Ask him or her how failing and repeating a course impacts your application for pharmacy programs. Use this information, along with the advice you’ve received about successfully repeating a course, before you make decisions about your ability to succeed in as a pre-pharm student, it may truly just be a blip. If not, many, many students change directions and land in something more fulfilling.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html

How did you do in Trigonometry, Algebra, and pre-calculus in high school?

It is not unusual for students to need to adjust their study habits significantly when they get to university. You need to learn what to do when you run into a hard course. We all hit this at some point.

I know a number of people who have been very successful in life. Pretty much none of us took the quickest or most straightforward route to get there. We all have setbacks somewhere along the way. You can and will learn how to get past this. For now, meet with your advisor. I expect that you will need to retake calculus. You are probably going to want to have a tutor or seek out help from the professor or somehow get extra help the next time that you take it.

See if you can retake it, but also consider switching majors. The math will only get more challenging.

Some schools will permit you to retake the course, and have the new grade applied to your GPA. Check to see what your does.

Calc is a whole different animal from other math courses. Deep breaths; it can be a lot easier the second time around.

And check RatemyProf or other sites-- be sure that you’re getting a good teacher who explains it well, even if it’s at the cost of a good class time.

My D only had Calculus 1 and Statistics as math pharmacy prerequisites.

Take it again with supporting place from day I. There must be a math resource center on campus. Do your how there, with assistance from their tutors.

Pharmacy requires some math, but not too much. If you have a good foundation in algebra, you can do this if you make it a first priority and get help fromday 1.

Yes, many undergraduate institutions do this, BUT when applying for some professional schools, all grades will be submitted to a clearing house of sorts (in this case the AACP), and the grade will not disappear. Now, it may not matter, but be aware that just because a grade doesn’t count for undergrad, it still might for grad school admissions.

First semester freshman year is a big adjustment. Just retake it and make it a priority. Many schools have grade forgiveness for a class (or two). Talk with your advisor. This is nothing they haven’t seen before.

I did too! I retook the class and went on to get a bachelors and masters in engineering.

Retake, attend all classes, sit nearer the front, ask for help.

Yes, thank you all! I’m going to be retaking the course, but I’m hopefully going to retake it in the summer with a different professor who has preferable teaching methods. I did take Honors Calculus as a high school senior and achieved an A, however I realized that the gap between high school Calculus and college Calculus is far and wide. Additionally, to my understanding, I only take Calculus 1 as it is a university requirement and not a program requirement. Hopefully it all works out as I implement all your advices thus far.

Breathe! Calculus is a weed out course at many colleges. The advice you’ve been given is good. Also, make sure you are keeping up each class. If you don’t get something, get help right away. You’ve got this…good luck!

Don’t worry too much! Calculus is extremely difficult and tons and tons of people struggle in that class, myself included. I think that the best thing to do is retake the class and reevaluate your situation and figure out what you can do for the next semester you take the course. My friend took calc three times before getting a good grade and my other friend failed calculus 1 and 2 but he’s applying to PT school now. Good luck!