<p>So this is my first semester. I registered for Introduction to Engineering, Chemistry 151, English composition and Precalculus just as a refreshment to make it easier to get an A in Calculus. Things were going pretty well, until I took my chemistry exam. I was supposed to study for it at least two days. However, I got really sick for a whole week, and studied for 10 straight hours + about 700mg of caffeine, so I wasn't tired at all. I understood everything, but I felt that I still needed to practice more. I took the exam, and at the end, I guessed about 7/40 questions due to the timing of the exam. Anyway, I feel that I messed up, and the exam is exactly 25% of the whole grade. </p>
<p>Is it fine to mess up once? I knew why I messed up, and I want to fix the problem. But ever since I messed up in that exam, I've been disappointed by myself, depressed and feeling guilty, EXTREMELY GUILTY!</p>
<p>I'm not looking to know what is my problem. I just want to know if that exam wouldn't make it hard for me to complete on pursuing my engineering degree. </p>
<p>I know I sound like I'm very overthinking. I just can't stop overthinking when It comes to school work. </p>
<p>“Overthinking” doesn’t help. Studying does. So, unless you are going to drop the course, forget about the exam and start studying EVERYDAY. Good luck. </p>
<p>You should feel guilty. I mean seriously, who are you to guess on some questions!</p>
<p>BUT on a serious note. Look man, you are coming into something that you have not experienced before. I remember my first semester, during the second week I bombed a quiz, it totally caught me off guard. I had everything on a pedestal and it just threw me off and I more than likely was freaking out just like you are. That is just not productive, and doesn’t help anything. You have to realize that this is going to take a while. Curves happen. Now, I know that if I “mess up” I just have to focus on the next thing coming. The cards just fall where they fall. Because the time I spend freaking out is time I am not putting toward other things that I actually can change. </p>
<p>Case in point, last semester my Stochastics final was out of this world. I think I knew probably 40% of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave us the PhD test instead of the MS test by accident. And…I still got an A in the class. Let it go and just try your best.</p>
<p>If you are going to be frustrated and upset every time you “mess up” on an exam or quiz, Engineering will be a very frustrating major for you. </p>
<p>I just had a test today, we studied for 5 hours with a group and this dumbass professor decided to make the test very long. I barely finished the last question and it was worth 35 points. The amount of BS you will deal with in Engineering will be out of this world.</p>
<p>By the time you get to your third semester, you will learn to not give a crap. I don’t mean not give a crap about your test and assignments but you will soon realize that some of this stuff is unreasonable, sometimes absolutely stupid and made that way on purpose, definitely not worth stressing over. Just move on and keep going.</p>
<p>Don’t “study” the week before the test. Do all your studying as the topics pop up. Do your problem sets and then some more questions in the textbook. Actually, do all the questions (What I like to do is do the odd numbered questions first which usually have answers in the back of the textbook then, some time before the test, do the even numbered questions for topical review.). The week before the test, the only thing you ought to be doing is tying up loose ends. If you are unsure of anything, seek to understand it immediately or as soon as possible so if some unfortunate event such as illness were to occur, you won’t fall behind significantly due to missing study days.</p>
<p>Basically, seek to actually learn the material and not just cram it into your head before a test. Especially in an engineering and the applied sciences where upper level courses build on concepts from lower level courses, actually understanding the concepts is crucial for when you eventually need to apply them.</p>