<p>Did he take such a heavy load in his first semester and did well?</p>
<p>I think that he needs to dial back the number of classes in the future. I can see why many engineering programs run over 4 years. His workload must have been insane! </p>
<p>I’m guessing that he spent his time on his other classes that may have required problem sets, etc. and ran out of time to study for his physics class. I’ll bet that taking the physics class in the summer without distractions would work out fine for him.</p>
<p>Mom- third time- what was his HS prep in calc and physics? I’m not suggesting that you need to helicopter… but it is not uncommon for a kid to overestimate the depth of his preparation and to learn quickly that he needs to take a step back.</p>
<p>My son entered college with two years of physics and learned by the end of week one that he was seriously out of his league. So he dropped down to a less intensive class and immediately signed up for a weekly review session with the TA and a weekly “let’s collaborate on sharing notes” with a bunch of other students.</p>
<p>If the advising at this college is weak, your S will need to be proactive in contacting professors of any course he signs up for next semester to find out what the expectations are. The professors want your S to stretch intellectually but not to flounder- they have no interest in having kids sign up who don’t have the necessary foundation to keep up.</p>
<p>My son’s college did not allow the use of AP credit for calc and physics. Too much at stake for engineers to bypass a strong foundation.</p>
<p>That’s why I suggest the walk. There is something about physically moving and talking that is so good for everyone. And son can share without seeing facial reactions</p>
<p>And when my daughters messed up I would say, we’ll you know what your “punishment” is right? take the dog for a nice long walk with me, and help me clean the cars. But they had to wash the outside. It made them feel less sad or bad, it was a wee payback to me for beiing so supportive, it was a welcome distraction from all the grade talk, and we had the chance to talk about stuff, or listen to music in the car, get a coffee or smoothies for the walk. Just seeing life moves on, that it’s not all about grades, and often those times were a chance to reconnect in a more adult fun way after all the drama.</p>
<p>He didn’t party too much, he worked his behind off and he thought he could handle it al. Lesson learned.</p>
<p>Tell him it’s okay, no shame, and is the time to be proactive.</p>
<p>In addition, mono can take a lot out of you. It makes you very fatigued and takes one to two months until you start to feel normal again.</p>
<p>I came down with it days before I was to start college and decided to start the following semester instead. It was the right decision for me at the time.</p>
<p>Blossom: S did take pre-calc /calculus and physics ap and did well in all. But as he said, and I quote: " High school was no comparison to what I just took…" We reside in a very rural school district and they have struggled with the quality of math teachers for years after retiring two longtime faculty that were college level teachers. </p>
<p>The best lesson he can learn from all of this is it’s ok to ask for help as your son son did and not wait until situations bowl you over. </p>
<p>As I’ve stated, he’s very independent and to a point, stubborn when it comes to asking for help. So as in any circumstance that results in less than a stellar outcome, we’ll look for what he can learn from this.</p>
<p>Reading back on the grades and seeing that he took 7 classes…how many credits was that total? What is considered a full credit load where he goes?</p>
<p>Where our S goes classes are usually 3 or 4 credits, so even with all 3 credit classes he would have to take 6 classes to be at a full load. Also, was physics the only lab sciences class or did he have others?</p>
<p>Maybe this poor kiddo just needs to throttle back a bit…even if that means that he needs to take a little more time to finish. It’s a journey not a race…</p>
<p>In my opinion:
7 classes is alot.
Since not all high schools are “equal” what kids experience in college has the potential to be a huge leap but most will “catch up”
2.5 or whatever is between a B and a C average which is not fabulous but not horrible.
The financial part of it sounds like it might be the problem. It seems a shame to pull a kid out of college after one year for having a B- average. Hopefully you can figure out the finances.</p>
<p>We have a neighbor who is a retired hs school math teacher, tutors and is an adjunct professor at a local college. He was my first thought once S decides what direction he’s going.</p>
<p>OP- I’ll bet there were kids in his physics class who had two years of college level math under their belts. Maybe a few who took Calc BC as juniors and then did a year of math at a local college as seniors. The Physics he took is very math based and is where the rubber meets the road.</p>
<p>You gotta give your son props for sticking with this. The long time posters here can all recall college kids posting in February, “I am working so hard. I hate this. I have no time for anything but studying. Should I transfer to an easier school? I’m dropping out. How do I tell my parents? I just made an appointment to see a counselor, I am so depressed.” etc.</p>
<p>Your S knuckled down and passed. It was way too much; he had mono; his courses were all very hard and intensive and yet he didn’t cry uncle. So he’s definitely got the right stuff. Now he can figure out a plan to move forward. </p>
<p>Getting a retired HS math teacher who tutors could be a fantastic plan if your son is up for it. Help him fill in the blanks, help him learn how to attack the material so it doesn’t overwhelm him. And if he enjoys the tutoring- a really good sign that it’s too early to give up on engineering!!!</p>
<p>One more thing - if he wants to stay the course, you might consider giving him permission to slow down. Seven classes may be the standard freshman program and all freshman take all the program classes if they hope to stay on track to graduate in 4 years (5 if it’s one of those straight to MA programs). Give him permission to take 5 years to graduate, if he thinks the lighter loan will make a difference. </p>
<p>I’m going to say that in the grand scheme of things one D on a college transcript s not the end of the world. Unless a better grade in that would restore the scholarship, I don’t think I’d even suggest retaking it.</p>
Seriously disagree here - sliding under the wire with a foundational course sets him up for serious problems with all the courses which build on it. Like building your house on quicksand.</p>
<p>Thank you. He is a driven, independent, and responsible young man and he did shoulder a tough semester without a single complaint to us and believe me, we asked. </p>
<p>He deserves an A+ for tenacity!</p>
<p>Tutoring and learning to search out help before getting in too deep will be a requirement if he returns to his present college. A positive for next year is he’s in a suite with 4 other CE classmates so his study group will be build-in.</p>
<p>The decisions to retake classes are for students to discuss with advisors and other people who know the program. Being a D in a class full of As is one thing. Being a D in class full of barely Cs may be quite another. Parents can’t know this. Even the student may not know this. So, I’m standing by the idea that this is an area where it’s time to back off. Ask him to speak to his advisor, but then drop it.</p>
<p>One thing that I tell my D–KNOW when the drop date is for your classes! And with his schedule, don’t be afraid to drop that physics class if it’s clear that you can’t get a C in it!</p>
<p>To advance from engineering-level “Physics 101”, your kid needs to comprehend and be able to implement a handful of ideas that ultimately relate to all of the material engineering disciplines. Some of the essential ideas are subtle and implied, but ultimately not actually difficult to use once the student knows what to look for, since much of the information in physics is encoded in an artificial presentation. </p>
<p>It will be useful to your student to collect all of his coursework and exams and have someone with functional knowledge of physics look at where the cognitive limitations are. After that, as it is with anything else, it’s a matter of practicing at taking on that certain mode of thought.</p>
<p>He should not let one D stop him, but he absolutely should “get back on the horse” and get an A the next time around, if engineering is really what he wants.</p>
Physics I is a course with which I am intimately familiar. The D is a problem, and retaking it would certainly be advisable. The typical student finds Physics II much more difficult than Physics I.</p>
<p>Walker, if you’re referring to me, I meant he could have been taking a one hour music or PE - but as Merry has clarified, he had a very heavy academic work load.</p>
<p>Merry, I wish you and your son the very best. Keep us posted as the situation develops.</p>