<p>Yes, I think this is part of the issue as well. Thanks for sharing it.</p>
<p>DD is a GT engineering freshman. She is currently carrying an A in her CS class and expects to keep it, but she (and her senior GT engineering sister) say that class is a real time consumer!</p>
<p>My son went to Emory–not GT–but the president of Emory said something at matriculation that stuck with me, and applies here, as well as at many other rigorous schools.</p>
<p>He first asked all of the frosh who had been in the top 10% of their high school classes to raise their hands–and almost everyone in the auditorium did. He congratulated all of them on their achievement, and then said, “However, I want you to realize, in fact I guarantee it, that 90% of you will not be graduating in the top 10% from college–and that is ok”.</p>
<p>As amandakayak said above, all the kids are used to being high achievers–and the fact that they are now one small fish in a sea of high achievers can be daunting. Being an average fish in such a rich sea is not a terrible thing. And as students adjust to their new academic environment, their performance often improves.</p>
<p>“One of the biggest problems freshman engineering students have is realizing the outside class work it takes to stay on top grade wise.” - So true.</p>
<p>Engineering is HARD. And the homework is relentless. Most students struggle to adjust, so freshman GPA is usually much lower than hs grades. That’s OK and expected.</p>
<p>thanks Coloradomom. Yes, he spends hours on homework everyday. The homework is graded and he does very well. It’s the tests that he hasn’t mastered yet. He did attend his first physics tutoring session yesterday and found it helpful. I know there are a lot of brilliant kids in engineering at GT, but, as a mom of 4 (3 in college), I know that not everyone has to be at the top!</p>
<p>Ah, it’s a resourceful student that takes advantage of tutoring sessions. It takes some adjustment for the bright kids that are accustomed to be the hs “go to” guy for homework help to accept help. Good for him! </p>
<p>Freshman engineering classes (especially physics) are notorious for have verrrry low averages. In fact, the occasional high scorer may be resented a bit if it brings up the “curve”.</p>
<p>I think dropping to fewer classes is a good thing to do. One of my kids took an extra course freshman year first term, and pooh-poohed my objections. It was an “easy” course by reputation and something he really liked. Fine except he had another such course and then three brain busters. All was well until everything became due at the same time and that extra course was one more thing he had to deal with. It’s often the easy, fun thing that can tip the scales as it does take time, effort and brain space that may well be needed for the tougher things. Until a student has a good grasp on how things are at college and some experinece in juggling things, overloading is not a good idea. When it works, it’s great, but when it doesn’t it can be a disaster.</p>
<p>My son ended up dropping that computer class (his was Matlab) last year, just to stay afloat in his OTHER classes. He came in with no AP credits, had to start with pre calc, his math SAT was nowhere near 800, and he was closer to the bottom of his class than the top. And he is not at GT. But he is a LITTLE less discouraged this year. He is feeling good about most things, but still struggles with what he now calls “his test taking problem”. He’s been to the tutor this year, and says the TUTOR couldn’t do some of the problems. I will try to find a link to MY “mother of a freshman engineering student” saga.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1263136-parents-engineering-freshman.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1263136-parents-engineering-freshman.html</a></p>
<p>OP, He will be fine in the health class as long as he goes to class and does the work. They just don’t want to be perceived as an “easy A”. I also pretty sure they have the opportunity to do a extra group project. If he does that, it will greatly increase his chances for an A in the class :)! CS is a huge time suck and he should keep considering the possibility of dropping but the department is well-run and fair. Tech attracts kids who already have amazing CS skills. My IB daughter has never had any CS before and managed 2 A’s in 2 CS classes, so those IB time management skills really help. She spent a lot of time with the free tutors and TA’s for those classes though. She did learn to start early on the homework, leave it alone when she got stuck and come back fresh with a different approach. Be encouraged by the other thread on the most expensive colleges where they quote the “Smart Money” article that GT is number one in Payback!</p>
<p>“Weed out” classes are a very real fact in many STEM programs, particularly in engineering. I think they are a disservice to both the student and and the country’s economy. Yes, people have to perform to standards, but weed out classes are analogous to an academic stress test, read: institutional hazing. I think we lose too many STEM people that way. And our country is in desperate need of STEM talent. </p>
<p>The thinking goes: *The fewer members that are allowed into my club, the better for me. *</p>
<p>" All was well until everything became due at the same time and that extra course was one more thing he had to deal with." - Ah, I know that scenario well from my kid that switched out of engineering (not so gracefully - long story). </p>
<p>Engineering parents - go on the college website and check on Freshman course drop dates… just in case it needs to be contemplated. Typically for freshman it is purposely set late - some as late as November.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, things are going a little better for my son but I would love to find a private tutor for him for the last five weeks of the first semester. Calculus and physics basically. I found some tutoring services on the web: Atlanta Tutors, Tech Tutors (hasn’t responded after 10 days) and Synaptic Knowledge. All offer undergraduate college level tutoring. Does anyone know of a Georgia Tech student, grad student or recent grad who would be interested? Mom di Quattro</p>
<p>He should check with the school - I am sure they have an academic resource center. They might even have free tutoring.</p>
<p>You might want to ask on the GT thread here. My son did not pick GT, but we did an overnight there, and I think they have many forms of support if the students are interested/willing to use them. Another suggestion is to call the math or physics dept and ask them for recommendations. Good luck.</p>
<p>momd - It’s great to hear that things are going a little better! </p>
<p>I have seen loca/CO university studentsadvertise on Craigslist for tutor services. I did a quick google search and see some for GT. But getting a campus recommendation would be even better if you can find a way to do it.</p>
<p>Not all engineering schools are weed out schools. There are some programs that focus on learning, collaboration, innovation, project focus vs book learning. If you are interested in reading about these approach, click on <a href=“https://www.olin.edu/about_olin/presidents_office/RKM_speeches.aspx[/url]”>https://www.olin.edu/about_olin/presidents_office/RKM_speeches.aspx</a></p>
<p>If I remember our tour at GT, I believe they have extensive tutoring facilities and advisors. Seek out upper class students to find out the best route to take and the best teachers. As others have said, lower your grade expectations. If pass/fail is is an option for some classes, select it. Drop a class,retake a class. Better to have a solid foundation than rush to finish. Your employer is going to ask you if you can do the work, not what you got on you health test. </p>
<p>Enjoy Thanksgiving with your family. And breathe.</p>
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<p>I’ve had a discrete math class where one Professor teaching the class could not understand another Professor’s solution to a pesky homework problem 
(I copied the solution from a friend in that class)</p>
<p>While we had similar 50 point average in college math/physics tests in Elbonia I’m still not convinced that this reflected badly on the students. It did, on the professor, for sure. We had some pretty lousy profs (the smart ones came to the US :)) Not the students. If I’m the dean of the math or phys department and keep seeing the class has a 50 average semester after semester, and only a handful make a decent grade at the end, at some point the light bulb will go on and I’ll ask myself whether the adcoms over at admissions are admitting the bottom of the barrel or that the profs aren’t teaching.</p>
<p>Tutoring helps, what I found worked also was small study groups.</p>
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I’m not sure I agree, but then, I’m not sure I disagree either.</p>
<p>That’s the whole point - we’re reasonably intelligent here, if it takes 3-4 hours a day studying and tutoring to pass a single class by someone with decent test scores, GPA, and the like, then I do not think I’m ready to blame the student 100%. </p>
<p>Some kids will be better than others, granted, but the end result would be that the prof should be teaching everyone. That’s what they pay tuition for, this ain’t Public High School #34 in Bornyasherk. </p>
<p>It is especially disheartening in classes like math and physics/chemistry because the good students have a foundation already so the prof has a good idea of what the class can do. Either he/she is going too fast, the TA is not TA’ing, the book is lousy, or my perennial favorite since high school, there’s a huge gap between what is taught / assigned as homeworks and what is asked in tests.</p>