Failing out off MIT my first semester... NEED ADVICE

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Hello. First off, thank you for reading this. </p>

<p>To make a long story short: I graduated high school in the Spring of 2009 (so I was supposed to be Class of 2013) from a very, very, very bad high school. No complaints to my Alma Mater, it's just to put things in perspective. The type of high school where half of the senior class is already a mom/dad before graduation and where the "top" students (myself included) take 15-18 APs throughout high school but don't pass any of them.</p>

<p>I immediately went to a small local, private university on Fall of 2009. I stayed there for 2 consecutive semesters: Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. That year, I took an all-math and science curriculum: Classical Mechanics, E/M, Calc 3, Complex Variables, Numerical Analysis, Chem 1, Chem 2, Bio, Neuro Research. I aced all of them. I learned A LOT. This school brought me miles, MILES from where I had left off in High School. </p>

<p>On Spring 2010, I am admitted to MIT. But for various reasons, cannot attend MIT until Spring 2011. So so far this is the timeline:</p>

<p>Spring 2009: graduate HS.
Spring 2010: Admitted to MIT
Spring 2011: Come to MIT. </p>

<p>Which means that there was a 10-month period of absolutely no school before coming to MIT (I was working to save money for my move and other things).</p>

<p>Anyway I came to MIT as a transfer (which means I am a sophomore.) However, upon coming to campus, failed both the Physics 1 and the Chem 1 placement exams. I realized- ok, I am going to be a freshman again, thats fine. But because I came in the Spring and not in the Fall, the usual "order" of course load was all messed up: I was in the middle of the semester. So not entirely sure of anything, I signed up for the following courseload: 8.011, 18.034, 3.091, 18.100B, and a Hass. </p>

<p>I soon run out of time so I drop 3.091 pretty early. I am left with 3 classes and a Hass. After weeks of trying and receiving Fs in every single assignment/quiz in 18.100B I drop that one too- after speaking several times with the Professor who assured me I simply did not have the right background for the class. </p>

<p>So then I am left with 8.011, 18.034, and a hass. </p>

<p>But then I fail every quiz in 18.034 as well. The HWs are fine- a solid, not great average of 80% in all the psets, but solid nonetheless. But all the exams, a solid 40%. I went to office hours with the professor, I went to office hours with the TA. I went to every single lecture and recitation. I practically copied the book verbatum into my notebook. I still failed. </p>

<p>I also failed 8.011. Again, a solid B average in the homeworks, a solid 40% average in the tests. </p>

<p>The hass is not a problem- it's Spanish and I am Native so I have an A there but it's nothing to be proud of. </p>

<p>So now I'm stuck in a very tough situation: I can not drop any more classes, I'm already at the minimum of 3 and I am failing 2 out of those 3. Because I don't count as a freshman (even though in my head, I think that's ENTIRELY what I should be seeing as how my previous college preparation simply did NOT add up to MIT standards also I didn't get any transfer credit whatsoever which is fine, I wouldn't have passed the classes anyway), I don't get pass/no credit. I get A/B/C/D/Fs. And right now, with only a month left of classes, I have 2 Fs and 1 A. </p>

<p>Obviously, if I stay, I kill my GPA for any future anything, also (not sure) but there's a chance I may lose financial aid without which I cannot attend MIT at all as I'm in a full ride. So I'm looking into withdrawing from MIT, but that option is pretty painful too- I wanted desperately to be here and it really sucks to leave my first semester knowing I failed everything and feeling above all, like I wasn't given a fair chance. </p>

<p>I'm still not sure what to do (this is where you guys come in!) but I would like to "start again" on the Fall. Fall 2011 or Fall 2012- whichever one admissions allows. As a freshman, from absolutely zero: Physics 1, Chem 1, Calc 1, Bio 1. As a transfer, now I only have 2.5 years of financial aid to cover a 4-year degree which is simply not doable. But w/e. I'll deal with financial aid when the time comes. </p>

<p>I don't know what to do. Every advice would be much appreciated. </p>

<p>P.S. Also, if I do drop out off MIT for a while, I don't want to come back home. Home is in a very bad stressful situation right now, FULL to the rim with problems. My younger and only brother is currently dealing with drugs, theft, and God knows what other crimes. We are worried that he might have been raped in a fight in school and might be homosexual. He said something terrible happened to him but doesn't want to tell us what. My dad is illegal and that implies tons of stress by itself. Also, we are very poor so there's that. I just don't want to come home. I LOVE ADORE my family all of them, but I don't think it would do me any good to go back there right now. </p>

<p>P.S.S. Also I am medically depressed and was recently put on medication. </p>

<p>Thank you so much guys.</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention that I study practically every night, and though I don’t do p. sets with other people (other students know I’m failing so they understandably don’t want to work with me), I do discuss the problems with said students and everything seems “fine” until the exam results come back. Also, whenever I take a quiz, I always feel this time was it, that I did great. And then am always surprised when I get it back and it’s another F and don’t know where I went wrong. </p>

<p>My depression also fails to register as I am EXTREMELY BUBBLY and happy when I am around people but as soon as I get to my room it’s a tragedy again and cry myself to sleep. I also hate my dorm as no one talks to anyone; it’s like living in a hotel. </p>

<p>I am sorry I sound so much of a whiner, I really do want to stay in MIT. I am extremely THANKFUL that I was given this incredible opportunity. It’s just everything seems to be going wrong right now.</p>

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<p>Hang in there :slight_smile: - you’ve been an awesome source of inspiration. I sent a PM as well.</p>

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<p>You need to go talk with someone in student services about taking a medical leave of absence.</p>

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<p>I can’t believe this story. Do you have an academic advisor? You seem to have gotten the quality of advice I would expect from a big impersonal state school.</p>

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<p>I’m glad you see it this way. You may very well be capable of the work at MIT, but no one can master academics until they have the tools to do so. You sound very determined, I’m glad you aren’t so discouraged that you want to leave.</p>

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<p>This sounds like an excellent plan. Begin again in the Fall and get the fundamentals. Is this possible? Will MIT go along with this?</p>

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<p>bostonmom2 is absolutely right in that the best thing you can do right now is go talk to S^3/Medical.</p>

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<p>Your choice of classes is the problem. I don’t know what the extra “1” in 8.011 means, but 18.034 and 18.100B are supposed to be super-tough classes. Those classes are probably dominating your time and making it tough even to do the more reasonable 3.091 class.</p>

<p>If you don’t have pass/no record, then you should drop any class you are failing. There is no point in failing anything. You are better off taking 1 class than failing 3.</p>

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<p>This is the best plan. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t freak out. 18.034 and 18.100B require a significant amount of mathematical talent and mathematical maturity (experience) in writing proofs, far more than is required in obtaining a MIT degree in a more typical track. </p>

<p>So there is still hope for you if you take a more typical courseload.</p>

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<p>This is another problem, though I can understand why you don’t have control over it.</p>

<p>BTW, assuming your depression is not a persistent problem, I would suggest either taking 1 college class during the summer at a good place (Harvard, Tufts) to get some grounding in one of the GIRs. You might be better off going home and enjoying yourself though until fall, considering your state right now.</p>

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<p>You need to talk to S3 right now. You can also come talk to me if you like. Just give me a heads up.</p>

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Yes.</p>

<p>It’s also absolutely crucial to realize that nobody gets through MIT alone. It’s a must for you to take advantage of the resources around you, from S3 and Medical to the tutoring resources available from the departments to TA and professor office hours to study groups with your fellow students. I get that you feel like other students don’t want to work with you, but I know my group of friends wouldn’t have (didn’t, actually) kicked anybody out because we somehow knew that person wasn’t doing well. </p>

<p>There are so many resources at MIT, both programmatic and personal. But you have to take advantage of them.</p>

<p>(Collegealum – 8.011 is the spring version of 8.01. Designed for students with “previous experience” with 8.01, as the course description gently points out.)</p>

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<p>Just a sanity check - are you absolutely sure you’re failing 8.011 and 18.034? Depending on what the standard deviation on tests is, it’s possible that you’re still passing.</p>

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<p>^ I was wondering the same thing.</p>

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<p>You should also ask MIT to provide you with a tutor right away. They will do that for any class you believe you may be failing and there is no cost for the service. It is typically a grad student and he may be able to help you bridge the disconnect between your good results on psets and poor results on tests.</p>

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<p>You’ve gotten great advice for salvaging what you can for this term.</p>

<p>I agree with you that you weren’t given a fair chance. I wonder how much thought your advisor actually gave you. It is the rare student that can take 18.100B their first term. Also, if you didn’t get any transfer credit and didn’t pass the ASE’s for physics and chem, that means you still need to get credit for the those institute requirements, as well as 18.01, 18.02, etc. Jumping over those courses right into 18.034 and 18.100 makes no sense. Also, taking five classes was ill advised. </p>

<p>I think it would only be right for MIT to give you an extra semester of financial aid and let you start from the beginning. Also, someone ought to apologize to you.</p>

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<p>MetdethGNR, I agree more or less with geomom. Did you consult with anyone about the courses that you were signing up for? That is essential for you to do in the future. </p>

<p>I think that most MIT advisers would be able to read between the lines in the course description of 18.100B. It is the “main introductory rigorous analysis course.” 18.100A is an easier version. 18.100C includes sections that focus on communications as well as the mathematical material. When geomom says “it is the rare student that can take 18.100B their first term,” I think that is an understatement! Those rare students are in the general category of the members of the International Math Olympiad teams for their countries, and a few others who are extraordinarily well prepared. Many of them will be winners in the Putnam mathematics competition. They are not simply students who are strong in math.</p>

<p>In essence, the students in 18.011 have already taken this course once before, with the designation 18.01. It might be a way to catch up, but it would help you to recognize that most of the other students have seen this specific material before.</p>

<p>18.034 is the honors differential equations course. A student needs to find his/her level at MIT before deciding on honors, in my opinion. Most of the MIT courses would be honors courses or honors+ at a lot of other universities. </p>

<p>The problem here is not your overall preparation for MIT, but your course selection. If an MIT academic adviser let you sign up for this course load, I think that the person made a very serious error. If you decided on it yourself, without consulting an adviser, then I think that you made an error, but that MIT should have procedures in place that don’t allow students to fall into this kind of problem.</p>

<p>I do agree with other posters, you may not be failing the courses you think you are failing.</p>

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<p>And with reference to Pea’s post #5, speaking on behalf of the big impersonal state schools, we advise students better than this!</p>

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<p>I emailed MIT’s Office of Undergraduate Advising a link to this thread. I remember MetdethGNR from when he was a high-school applicant; this isn’t a case of some anonymous poster making up a story. I hope office personnel will follow up, and if there were really any problems or mistakes on their end – make it right.</p>

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<p>Hello everybody and thank you so much for your concern and advice. </p>

<p>But before anything, I’ll like to state that I never made any criticisms of any of MIT’s administrators and/or advisors. I am not blaming anyone for my situation: I think in my case, several things just piled up on top of one another and it all led to my current state. There’s no one to blame and actually, everyone at MIT has been very willing to help me in any way- the professors are very reachable (however this does not mean understandable) and administration is always just an e-mail away. </p>

<p>I followed the general advice and went to talk to S^3. The way it stands right now, if by the end of the semester, I have not yet made enough improvement as to seem like I could pass the class after the final, I will withdraw. Unfortunately, the withdrawal policy would force me to be away from the Institvte for at least one semester. There are many complications with this that I don’t want to get into right now, but overall, suffice it to say it’s not a very desirable situation. If I manage to miraculously pull up my grades by then, then I get to stay and next semester start from scratch.</p>

<p>I also went to MIT Mental and am receiving treatment from them. Though I am passing through a medical depression right now, it is not as bad as it could be. I mean to say that yes, I am depressed enough that any tiny failure is enough to send me to my room crying for the rest of the day but that I’m not about to jump off the Green Building or cause any harm to myself or anything of the sort. The depression is there but it’s mild. There’re goods days and there’re bad days. </p>

<p>I really do thank all the concern and advice (I’ve been on CC for years.) Hopefully by the end of the semester, I’ll have good news to give.</p>

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<p>Hang in there, we’re rooting for you!</p>