<p>I'm in an engineering school that I didn't intend on going to, and I am a pre-med. I took AP Calculus AB in high school so I thought taking Cal I this semester would be a breeze. (I had a 90+ avg in calc in high school) It has turned into a complete nightmare. I can't understand what my professor is saying- I've tried, and he has a thick accent thats hard to differentiate and he talks really quickly. I don't know if I'm in too deep to switch, if it'll be very difficult to switch (horrible bureaucracy at the school, I have to go all over the place to get anything done) and I really don't want a W. Its to the point that I don't know what to do. I just took a test this friday, and basically, the only way I can make an A is if I make all 100s on the next three tests, two quizzes, and the final, and if I want a B I'll have to make like all 90s. He doesn't curve, and I'm not sure about extra credit. I have a 69 right now. You can definitely tell I'm stressed out about this, because I really want to transfer out for Fall 2010. This is my only trouble class, I'm fairly confident I can eek out As in my other classes. What can I do? Has anyone been in this situation before- is it possible to do extra credit work? whats the way to approach this? I've never felt like such a failure, for a better way to phrase it, in a long time.</p>
<p>nope, don’t withdraw you can pass the class. I don’t care if you want to transfer you need to stick it out. You can easily get a C in this class and still a B is still plausible. Hang in there! </p>
<p>Edit: The best way to approach this is going to your professor in his office hours. Tell him your story and ask him what you can do to improve your grade and if is willing to help you out understand the material better in his office hour. Professors are their to help you.</p>
<p>Also this happened to me in one of my Calc classes. My professor did not curve but when a lot of people dropped the class he told us that he was going to drop one test</p>
<p>Are there students in your class willing to do a study group? What have you explored outside of the classroom? Does your school have a learning center with free tutoring? Could you afford a private tutor, or even an online one? Can you go to your school or public library, or even a bookstore, and look at a supplemental text like Calculus for Dummies to see if it could be useful? Often it’s just the nomenclature of the book or a specific instructor that results in you not grasping a concept, so finding something in layman’s terms can be very useful. Is it the calculus concepts you’re struggling with, or is it recalling the necessary trig and pre-cal topics that’s throwing a wrench in it?</p>
<p>I agree that you need to talk to your professor, maybe he has resources to suggest to you that will really help you get on top of this.</p>
<p>Getting a B is better than getting a W. Just stick it out and talk to the professor or the TAs if you find them more understandable.</p>
<p>1 W on your transcript will not kill you. If you take a W, you won’t have to stress about this class anymore and just go to rate my professors and pick a better teacher if you re-take the class. Otherwise, there is 7 weeks left until the semester is over and you could just study hardcore and learn on your own and maybe get a C or a B.</p>
<p>“thats hard to ‘DIFFERENTIATE’”</p>
<p>I just thought it was funny…</p>
<p>puns are the best form of comedy…</p>
<p>An update:
I did horrible on that test, and on another quiz- there’s one quiz and two tests left. I actually went to his office, he’s okay, its just tough when you don’t understand what your teacher wants or says. It just seemed that he made it implicitly clear that he doesn’t curve. Basically, there’s still no way for me to make an B. I’ve picked a better teacher next semester supposedly for Calculus II, but its very scary when you’re not sure you’ll even get to Calculus II and the damage this will do to my GPA and my permanent record. What a bummer. :(</p>
<p>A W supposedly doesn’t kill you, so I would just drop the class. If you can get a B, keep going. If you can’t, take the W. IMO, it goes A->B->W->C->.</p>
<p>Are you really trying your very hardest? Calc is not exactly the hardest class on earth. I teach myself by reading the book. The W may not affect your GPA, but it is going to make colleges confused why you couldn’t handle a class that I am pretty sure is a prerequisite for your major. If you know you can study you butt off to get a B, that might be the best plan.</p>
<p>When a prof is incomprehensible, a tutor can make a big difference.</p>
<p>I was in the EXACT SAME situation. including the needing to get 100s and 90s part. i chose to withdraw because in the long run your gpa will be much more important than having a w</p>