I think I'm going to fail Calc 1 in college and I'm not sure what to do

Student Lounge College Life
1

I’m struggling in calculus 1 and I even have a private tutor, go to additional tutoring sessions, and get help from other students in the class yet I still do poorly on the tests and quizzes. I’ve been trying really hard but lately I’ve been losing motivation and have just been sad that I can’t understand the material. I’m enrolled in 13 credits worth of classes so if I were to withdraw it would put me at being a part time student. I already have 2 W’s on my transcript and I feel like a third would make my transcript look even worse. I’ve already registered to retake it in the summer but is there anything I can do now that could help me? Should I just get a third W?

2

Can you talk to your academic advisor? Talk to financial aid about the ramifications of withdrawing.

3

My advice in general:

  1. Make sure you read the chapters /do the homework.

  2. Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester. 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?”

  3. 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. Ask if they can watch you do a problem and see how your approach is wrong or right.

  4. Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.

  5. 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.

  6. Go to the math center for math problems (if they have them)

  7. If things still are not going well, get a tutor.

  8. 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.

Being part time is a big deal…you need to talk to your advisor.

Are you failing? Can you get at least a C?
What is your planned major?

4

Try looking at Khan Academy or Paul’s Online Math Notes. Or other YouTube videos on each section.

Practice practice practice. The more problems you do the more steps will stick in your hand.

Also maybe get solutions manual to your book. Or look at website calcchat (offers step by step solutions to odd answers in certain math books)