Hello,
I am a freshman at the University of Maine, Orono and am undecided. I aspire to study Wildlife Ecology and Conservation for next spring semester, but in order to do so I must first pass first semester with a 2.5 GPA (Or better) and pass my Calculus and Biology class with a C, or better. However, as of right now, I have a C+ in Bio and an A in Calc (Although I predict it will drop significantly as I feel I did poorly on my first exam). My other two classes, which are not mandatory for my field (I merely found them interesting and wanted to earn more credits), I am failing in. Both classes have 4 exams, following a final. There is no HW, projects, etc. Just exams. Thus, if you screw up, you’re screwed in general. And currently that is my case as I did poorly on both the first exams, earning a 52 and 58. Thus, I am failing both of those courses as of right now… What makes it more of a challenge is that the exams are all multiple choice, which believe it or not I am horrid at. I’m old fashioned and prefer hand-written answers as opposed to multiple choices that essentially are designed to “trick” you. My one other class I have an A+ in, but it is worth only 1.00. In total, as of right now, I am failing this semester and worry I will continue to do so (If that is even possible). What do I do? Any suggestions? If I don’t make it into my major, I will be placed far behind all the other undergraduates, and I can not afford that (literally). My parents are incredibly poor, and College is expensive, in spite of my scholarships. Failing one semester after another at such a price is not worth it… Do I continue? Or do I go to a community college to find a blue collar job that has a livable salary? I am just so lost and stressed…
Thank you
Now that you know what the tests are like, can you see how you could have studied differently? Do you attend every class? Were there things that you didn’t understand before you took the test? Hopefully you can do better on your next class exams to get better than a 52 and a 58.
Attend class, read the texts and study.
I would certainly try to do as well as you can at least through the end of your first semester before giving up.
For the classes where you did not do well on the first test, think of the first test as a wake up call for you to put in some extra work. You should see the professors during their office hours and go through the tests and see where you went wrong. You might need to find a tutor for these two subjects.
With multiple choice exams, you can try to figure out what the answer is, then see which choice corresponds to that. Thus, if you can solve the problem you should be able to pick the right answer. However, a little one on one help from the professor or from a tutor should be able to help you get the hang of how to approach a multiple choice exam.
I think that you can do it. If you are running at A in two of your classes then you are at least starting out well in some classes. If it doesn’t work out then you can keep in mind that the majority of Americans never earn a Bachelors degree and there are a lot of other options. However, as of right now I think that you should do your best to catch up in the two subjects where you need a bit of help and see where it takes you. Good luck!
Yes, I attend ALL classes. I never skipped a day in high school, nor will I in College.
It is useful to know the format of the exams, as I feel I will have a better advantage in preparing for the next exams. Hopefully I will do better, as before I did not study as well as I thought I did.
@HannaGlin Freshman year can be a huge adjustment. Now you know what to expect. You need to refocus and prepare better. Go to office hours, help center or get together with kids from class to study. You need to try every option to be successful. Be proactive. College is so different than HS. It takes more work to achieve success. Keep going to class like you are and I’m sure it will all click. Keep on top of everything from day one.