I know this is a common thread, but I feel like every situation is different and haven’t found any answers to my problem in other threads.
Hi there, 2nd semester freshman at a major research university
My tip is stop partying and focus only on studying. Have no social life. I know it sounds harsh but thats the truth: pretend like its a job, in that dont over-socialize and keep your head down in your work. Only time you should head out of your dorm is to class or the library. If you cant handle that then you are not ready for college
sorry, post got messed up during my first posting and I couldn’t edit it. Here’s the rest of it:
this semester I switched my major from engineering (something I didn’t like) to geology (something I really like). However, I still haven’t found motivation to go to class, do my homework, etc.
I knew this was going to be a problem right out the gate - I can count on one hand how many times I cracked a book in HS to actually study (usually read them because I was bored), and I still graduated top 25% with a 3.95 GPA. Thanks to that, I have no study skills and am failling my two hardest classes (Chem II and Cal I) this semester (I don’t have any other grades in but I’m pretty sure they’re all bad except history). I can narrow my reasoning down to a few “excuses” I tell myself:
- I understand the material in Chemistry, just can’t pass the tests (prof is on academic probation for failing too many students, LOL). Also, the fact that I feel like I know the material makes me not want to do the tedious homework because it’s only 15% of our grade (I know that’s a lot, but that’s just how my brain is justifying things)
- I never took Calculus before arriving, yet the engineering department made me start out in it
- My math teacher is a grad student who doesn’t know English and is pretty arrogant - I thought I could handle the language barrier, but she got pretty cocky after our first test and I couldn’t drop the class at that point
- I got by last semester with a 3.33 at the end of it thanks to some luck, emails, and a light load and I keep thinking I can do it again.
- I can’t go to office hours because I don’t know how to ask questions (always been a problem for me), so when I got I either don’t get what I need or make my instructors/tutors upset for wasting their time.
I even took a month-long study skills class last semester as a pre-emptive measure, and while it helped me study properly for finals week I’m back to my old habits again, this time striking a lot harder. I don’t think it’s my depression/anxiety, as I’m having a blast in college with everything except most of the school part.
Worst of all, I’m now thinking “oh, I just need a D to pass” when in HS I would’ve beat myself up over a B. Either way, I can’t get counseling because the center has a semester-long waitlist (my school fails a lot of students, mostly engineers haha). I thought my lack of motivation was due to being in the wrong major, and while I really want to do geology and even stay in school to get a Masters in it, it still doesn’t make me want to improve my grades in my classes.
Idk, maybe I think that I can magically pull my grades back up to a C at the end of the semester like I always do? I know I want to be here, I couldn’t see myself successfully in anywhere but school, but I’m struggling greatly in academics and don’t know what to do. Has anyone else been in this situation and found success?
@trailblazer11 Where did you go to college? That matters cause some places are very caustic about students and others care more. I think you need to go in and ask questions, even if it is uncomfortable. That is how you learn. Besides that just force yourself to be the old “you”
@ANormalSeniorGuy let’s just say the one thing I’ve been told countless times is that we’re a “research university” and half the time the professors are only teaching because the school funds their projects (same with the GTAs - they’re only teaching because the school is paying for their education. Sure, we have some great professors, but when it comes to learning we basically are teaching ourselves and I wasn’t ready for that.
@trailblazer11 ok, then transfer. If you think the issue is the university, then go to a more non-research university. I can almost guarantee you that its your habits that are the issue, as you are complaining that they are. To me there is no point in this thread, because all you are doing is complaining about something you recognize in yourself, and not changing it. You are labeling an occurrence as if it was separate from your actions, as if the university made you not ready and so you are blaming them for the issues you are having. It is fine to have issues, but you have to actively pursue fixing them, or else they are not issues and you are simply complain about something for attention. Once you have forced yourself to talk to professors and to study hard, then you can complain about the university. Im being harsh because my brother did the same thing, as he blamed the dorms, then is ECs, then his teachers, when the problem was himself.
@ANormalSeniorGuy I am not blaming the university for my actions - I’m just pointing out facts. I know I’m making excuses and trying to place blame or whatever, but I just have NO IDEA how to fix my sudden lack of motivation. I don’t know WHY it happened or WHAT I need to do to fix it, and I was asking if there was someone out there (a senior or something) who actually overcame something similar and how they did it. You aren’t answering that question at all.
I’ve heard many cases of kids like me doing well in high school and sucking at college, but nothing about what happened to them or how they overcame it - what got them back on track? Failing a semester? Taking time off? Counseling? I need help because everything I’ve tried to do so far has failed.
I love my school and all the people in it, and I know there are a TON of opportunities for me down the road since it IS a research school, but those won’t happen unless I do well in my pre-requisite classes that I am currently failing.
@trailblazer11 All I can tell you is what my brother described to me as he went through a similar issue but because our parents didnt lay off and he didnt know how to deal with freedoms. What he said was he eventually grew-up. He stopped even considering excuses and blamed himself entirely for everything that went wrong, and he did well his junior and now senior year. The key, he said, was to just focus on being a better you and chase an ideal version of yourself.
What are the consequences? Think about that. If you do poorly, you will be booted out. Students post requests for help with appeals letters on CC all the time. It will be extremely difficult to transfer to any kind of respectable college if you are academically dismissed. Why would they take a chance on you?
What are your future career prospects without a degree? I guess you can join the military, or rise through the ranks as a fast food worker or in retail, or as a laborer. Even police academies want applicants with degrees these days. What about any student loans you have?
I suggest you withdraw and go to community college part time. Get a job, spend a year or two working, taking a few classes, maybe travel a little. Do well at CC and transfer beck to a four year when you are a little more mature. It’s possibly early enough in the semester that you can get your money back.
OP is suffering from what a number of seemingly bright students do: struggle with the transition from high school to college. These students are intelligent but were not particularly challenged, did the bare minimum and got above average results in high school. Then they arrive at “big boy/big girl school” - aka college - and are completely unprepared for the pace, expectations, and stakes. Much of it boils down to study habits, as OP admits. Those that didn’t have to break a sweat in high school never needed to develop the skills and discipline to digest and demonstrate the knowledge they were supposed to be learning.
I have heard more than one parent, dismissing some less than great grades or poor study habits with regard to their child, say, “Oh, it’s OK. It’s only middle school.” As parents, H and I thought that was an extremely short-sighted view. The study habits learned in middle school transfer over to high school, and then to college. It’s the rare student who can just “turn it on” when it really counts. Most flounder because they were never forced to learn how to study to begin with. While not every class was super challenging, my D did have to grind in some of them to get the grades she wanted. Her efforts - reading, doing all of the homework/assignments/projects, writing and re-writing notes, working practice problems, making and using flashcards - paid off then and continue to do so in her freshman year of college.
OP is in the endless loop of getting a bad grade, feeling discouraged, not being motivated to study, so gets another bad grade, etc., etc., etc. Coupled with a seemingly less than optimal college support system, the despair is understable.
You as a person don’t seem to be motivated by good grades, or you would be kicking it into high gear to achieve them. Probably a carryover from high school: if you don’t have to work hard to get an A, it doesn’t mean as much as if you busted your hump to get or maintain it. Change is difficult. I could go on and on about finding study groups, making short term goals for yourself so you can check them off and feel like you are making progress, point you to @bopper 's excellent list of things to do achieve academic success, etc. But, at the end of the day, you must think about the end result - grades matter if you want to move on past undergraduate. That option will not be open to you (or limited to less than optimal choices) if your grades are subpar.
Maybe @Lindagaf is right and you need to take some time off - and by time off, I mean working full time, going anywhere that will employ you. Seeing what your job prospects are like without a higher education might relight a fire in you. Then re-engage via a community college and see if you are ready before committing to a 4-year again. You may be one of those people for whom higher education just isn’t a good fit.
So to do well, consider the following:
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GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
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Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
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If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
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Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
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Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
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Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
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If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
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Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
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If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
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For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
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How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
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At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
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If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
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At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
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Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
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If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
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If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
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Sometimes it is not the right time for college. Sometimes you have health, mental health, family or work issues to work out first.
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If you have trouble talking to professors, you may have social anxiety issues. Go to your college’s counseling center and talk to them about that. If you can’t do that, have a friend walk you over. Also you can practice talking to a friend about what you would say to a professor.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.