I’m a freshman at my first semester at Cornell. I’m at a low point now with the prelims I took.
I was taking a Calculus II class but the prelim grades I got was horrible like “bottom of my class” terrible. The grade prompted my decision to drop the class than do poorly in the class and possibly fail but I feel horrible and tense after doing so. From that my self- esteem took a big hit. Also I just took a chem prelim today and I feel I didn’t so hot in that too.
I worked really hard in those classes by doing all the work and textbook reviews but the material doesn’t stick. I don’t know who to talk to about this as I feel really ashamed if I had to talk about this with friends and family. I love the university but the classes are just a lot of work with little understanding.
I would really appreciate some words of encouragement, but more importantly I would like some advice like study tips or methods so I don’t have to go through this feeling of disappointment.
The people to talk to are your TA, any tutors offered by the department, and fellow students if you can find or form a study group. Hire a tutor if you can’t get enough help from those sources. Chem is a weeder pre-med class with a lot of students gunning for As. College, especially a school like Cornell, is tough.
My brother was really good at Chem, but he told me once that he read the chapters many times, parsing and trying to understand each sentence to get an A. Getting help to make sure you understand it, and repetition to make sure it sticks is what it takes. Go find help tomorrow.
First, cut yourself some slack and don’t be too hard on yourself. First year can be an adjustment in a lot of ways.
I’m not familiar specifically with Cornell, but look for some extra help. Talk to your professors, do you have TAs you can go to? An adivsor or a First Year Dean you can speak with?
I found this online: http://lsc.cornell.edu/
Drop by or make an appointment. The sooner the better before you feel more behind and overwhelmed.
There is no shame in asking for help! It is actually a strength. Don’t lose your confidence but tackle this sooner than later by using resources and asking for help.
You can do it!
The TAs for chem aren’t very good. It’s either they don’t what they are doing or that their explanations are just really complicated that I leave the office with more questions than answers. They explain the problems in a way that I can’t wrap my head around. Sometimes they don’t understand my question and they give me the same answer despite how many times I reworded my question.
Same with Calculus II when I took it. I couldn’t understand my TA when he taught the lesson. It just sounded really complex and I couldn’t go to any of the office hours because the time conflicted with my schedule.
But thanks you’re right. I’ll try to get help as soon as possible and find a method that works for me. Although I’m worried about the chem prelim. The prelim is 20% of my grade with another 20% being the 2nd prelim, 20% being labs, 10% being participation, and 30% being the final. Is it unrealistic to say that I’ll be able to recover from a bad score in the prelim to getting a decent grade by the end of the semester?
Are you in CALS? I just Googled, and there are tutoring services.
I’m in college of arts and science but I couldn’t bring myself to go to the tutoring services. My classes especially chem has a very rigorous course load. It takes me hours to work on the problem sets and working on lab reports, readings, etc. By the time I am done with my work for the day, I’m just exhausted to go to the tutoring.
I have a question. If I do less than stellar on my GPA by the semester, it’s not the end of the world is it? Will I be able to just dust myself and keep moving forward? The thought of a bad semester ruining future prospects just worries me. I’m sorry if I seem a bit too intense but I can be a bit neurotic at times. A bad start in anything troubles me a great deal when I think about the future.
Hang in there. Getting used to college work is a challenge. Try to find the energy to get to academic support services. Keep trying, sometimes academic work that is a struggle will begin to click and make sense. Try to stay in the passing range. One semester of less than stellar grades, won’t sink your future prospects, but remember, there are quite a few weeks to bring things up before the term ends.
You need to make going to the tutoring a priority. They may be able to help you figure out how to study more efficiently, too. My kid at a tough STEM school never would have made it through her core classes without the tutoring.
Exactly^^^^^^^
My dd survived her courses by seeing the tutors DAILY. She said she it helped that her AP chem teacher was very good and provided a strong base of information. That teacher also told them to go to daily tutoring sessions (the husband was a chem professor at the local UC).
Keep looking for a tutor that knows how to explain the subject.
Oftentimes, the GAs don’t know how to explain the topic.
Our dd was fortunate that her school provided free tutoring in large sections, such that she could pick and choose when and where she could attend.
this happened to me and happens to many, if not most. its a tough transition that first year. take advantage of tutoring and other support including mental health (good to talk stuff out), cut yourself a bit of slack. reduce distractions when you study (earplugs, find a cubby somewhere, etc), balance with some exercise. my first semester gpa was 1.666 and i graduated college 3.5, then graduated top of my class in law school. you got in because you’re bright and can work hard, and you’ll get through it.
If you have more chem classes in later semesters then you should go to tutoring. They will help you and once you understand and gain better study skills you will do better. If you just hope to squeak by, but have to take more chem, it will get harder and harder.
Agree with most ^^^. My first semester at Cornell I had a 1.8. Take a deep breath, and again, and again. FInd a TA or tutor that you like and can understand. (I had TA’s who I literally could not understand due to strong language issues - English was not their first language. Almost failing calculus until I got a clear english-speaking TA…met with her almost daily and by the end of semester I had a passing grade…not great, but passing!) I had a very high gpa in my graduate coursework, with perfect scores in calculus-based population dynamics…it does get better.
You are adjusting to a lot. Breathe. Keep working. Take advantage of the help that is available. You’ll be fine. Really.
Thanks guys! =) It helped me a lot. I think I’ll be able to get back up and raise my grade to something I like. You guys are right. I need to find a TA that works well with me and do great on the next prelim.
Although I might be considering taking intro to stats or calc II again (math 1120) next semester. Is it true that the fall semester of math 1120 at Cornell is a weed out class and the spring semester is an easier class by having a slower pace and professors that teach the class. The TA that taught my class was not easy for me to understand due to language issues and the way he demonstrated his work seemed very complicated than what I thought it would be.
Sometimes the tutors explain it better than the TAs. And have more time. You need to check them out.
Find a TA that can speak English or English is his/her native language. Lots of TAs are PhD candidates come from overseas, so English might not be their best language. I second going to the tutoring center. I used to be at the tutoring center doing math homework and If I ran into problem, I could ask for help easily.
Obviously you came in with credit for Calculus I through AP (or Dual Enrollment). Maybe you might want to start off with Calculus I, instead of Calculus II if through AP. Some Universities have accelerated Calculus Series, where you do Calculus I, II and III in two separate courses. You should also look into study groups with your peers.
nullzone: I am glad things are feeling much better for you. One thing, almost everyone works on p-sets with someone. That’s just how things work in college. If no one has reached out to you to join in on the problem sets, maybe you could reach out to someone and inquire as to whether they are in a group and could use one more.