so OP did you change your major then if your science courses were the ones causing the problem?
Congratulations! Hard work and perseverance.
I remember my son talking about the difference between HS and college after his 1st set of mid-terms. He pulled C’s and D’s on that set. I reminded him his professors and TA’s were probably lonely because nobody came to visit them; they had time, office hours and wanted to help struggling freshman. He heeded my advice, met regularly with them, as well as friends and participated in the tutoring that is available. As he finishes his 1st set of finals, he’s confident of all B’s or A’s in his classes. He had to learn how to take college tests; professors asked questions from the reading material that was never discussed in the classroom, and he was responsible to know the material in the books. Going to class, listening and doing the HS studying wasn’t enough. He had to go deeper in his studies. It also helped dropping Linear Algebra, which he doesn’t need until next year. Dropping one course gave him an extra 15 hours a week to put into his other four classes place Honor’s requirements, and gave him additional time to have a social life. For Japanese, he meets at least two hours several times a week with a friend from Japan and talks only in Japanese. That’s going the extra step that wasn’t needed in High School, but to learn Japanese and go from a “D” to a “B” required extra help. And his friend was more than willing to help.
Hopefully, the next kid struggling with the transition from High School will be inspired by your story.
It’s been a year, and I’m back again! Over the past four years I’ve always felt like my mistakes from that first semester always weighed me down. Even with my grades improving I felt unsuccessful. I would always find my way back to this thread every year and remind myself that I have improved even though it felt like I hadn’t. I still felt like a failure every step I took and I wish I could have found someone I could relate to on my struggles. I don’t want future college students to feel like they are failures, like I did, regardless of how much you improved. Those mistakes are not something that will follow you for the rest of your life. I have a job and I know that first semester of mistakes no longer matters. If you’re in similar situation and feel like you can’t relate, just know that it’s not about me or anyone before me that has ended up in these situations. It’s about knowing who you are and what you are going to do to make your situation better and what you want to do. If you hate what you are doing, or have horrible time management then chances are it’s reflecting in your grades. Don’t ever believe you aren’t smart enough to puruse something you want to do. I remember making this thread and solving my problems, and then one day getting an email about it being a featured thread. I opened my email and clicked on the link having no idea it was my story. I just wanted to know how someone else had dealt with their problems. It was a very surreal moment, but I know that there were probably other people that actually needed the advice coming from this thread and I really hope it helped. This will probably be my last time visiting this thread and I am really thankful that CC existed for me to get some help.
Congratulations. What a great story!
You are so so nice to come back here again and try to encourage others in the same boat as you were back then. And congratulations not only for your successes but for your perseverance and character.