<p>Celebrian, I'm glad you're going to give it more time. I encourage you to meet with the new teacher privately early on so he or she can get a little heads up on your situation.</p>
<p>Hey Celebrian, don't laugh and don't be offended okay? But I was just in Barnes & Noble looking for birthday gifts for my husband and while I was there I saw a book called "Calculus for Dummies" and--again, really, no offense!--I thought of you and flipped through it, but since I haven't done more than the Four Basic Functions on a calculator in 35 years, it was all Greek to me. So I came home and looked it up on Amazon and it has 21 reviews and 5 stars. Barnes & Noble had it on sale 30% off...if there's a B&N near you, you could grab a cappucino and look through it to see if it's worth buying. </p>
<p>I ended up buying "Heartburn and Reflux for Dummies." I swear I am not making this up. Even more ridiculously, this will be a "personal" gift that my husband will appreciate! :)</p>
<p>Hey Celebrian, I agree with 1down. Also, trigonometry is really the arithmetic of calculus - if you can't do the trig once you set up the calc problem, you won't be able to solve the problem. So grab the Trigonometry for Dummies book while you're shopping and keep it on hand. You might also consider a video on Trig if you're rusty - there are some funny ones available out there which might help you grease the wheels in just a couple hours' time.</p>
<p>celebrian: you sound like a bright kid who has never had to "learn how to learn." If you have never struggled in math before it isn't surprising that you are panicking. I wouldn't change my plans at all because of this setback, and I would view it as a temporary setback, not as a failure. It sounds like you are doing "all or nothing" thinking: saying you aren't good at anything and have no strengths, when in fact you're well above average to be on a college track and in calculus in high school at all. </p>
<p>If your parents can get you a tutor I'd recommend it. See if you can limp out of this year with a "C" and then next year in college go back, take algebra again and then launch yourself at calculus after you've had additional grounding in algebra.</p>
<p>I'm not a math person, and I had the exact same experience you are having, only I was in 8th grade and the math that stopped me cold was algebra. I let it poison my attitude toward math and only took one year (minimum required at the time) in high school. When I got to college I had to start all over again in a pre-college algebra class and guess what--I did OK. Not great, but well enough I got through calculus (it was required for my major). I have never ever once thought about or used anything I learned in that class...LOL. </p>
<p>If you have not ever failed anything the first time is going to be really hard...but you can do it. Focus on doing the work and understanding the concepts; get a tutor if you possibly can, and quit worrying about outcomes.</p>
<p>Good post Mombot!</p>
<p>Celebrian,</p>
<p>Regarding changing your major cuz of calculus.....DON'T DO IT. Hang in there and give it more time. Get the help you need. Persevere.</p>
<p>My experience....I never understood chemistry in high school and received, what I perceived, was a bad grade. In college, I wanted to major in Occupational Therapy, but a prerequisite was a basic college level chemistry class. Because of my experience in high school, I talked myself out of majoring in OT, and selected another field.</p>
<p>Looking back, I wish that had not been so easily deterred. I agree with Mombot and the others, failing a subject for the first time can be crushing....but don't change your life goals because of it.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Hi celebrian25,
Just wondering how everything's going with Calc. I knew how you were feeling about 9 weeks ago when I got a bad grade on my first Stats test (managed to pull at up into a mid-A going into the midterm; wish me luck!). I hear you've decided no on studying Pharmacy. Was it on account of Calc? Good luck and take care!</p>
<p>PS. I don't want to cause you to worry, but have you talked to your acceptances about having that D on your mid-year? Just wondering. Sorry if this sounds mean (not my intent by any measure!)</p>
<p>Well I was accepted to Case, but they had my midyear report...so yeah. I decided to stick with it, and it's not going much better. I've more like postponed pharmacy. I may want to study it after my bachelor's, but it has nothing to do with math! I just want more time to decide what I'm doing with the remainder of my life.</p>
<p>Dear Celebrian,
College is for exploring. If I had become what I started, I would be a secretary now-but a great one I hope.
LA</p>
<p>DON'T DROP!
I had an extremely rough time with Calculus (the first time I actually had to study!). However, I stuck it out - I actually spent time after school basically re-learning stuff we did in class 1-on-1 for a week or so after one particulary horrendous topic surfaced but besides that week of Calculus hell the rest of the year slowly got better</p>
<p>Where did you end up going to college? I’m in a similar situation as well–failed Calc with a 68, and can only pass if I make a 74 on the final, that is, if they curve it.</p>
<p>Am I completely screwed? My GPA weighted is a 3.82, but with failing Calculus, it’s now a 3.7. I really want to get into UT Austin.</p>
<p>Thread is 8 years old. . .</p>
<p>Please use old threads for reference only. I am closing this thread.</p>