<p>I'm currently taking summer school in college and am going to start my second year soon.. but I hate it. </p>
<p>Classes are so hard and every day, I come home, so relieved to be done with one more day and dreading the next. I feel like I'm taking a different class than everyone else because they seem to know things I don't know. My friends and classmates are so far ahead of me. I do all the reading, do all the homework, and try to study it but I am still fighting just for a passing grade.</p>
<p>I'm trying to find a study group or a tutor but no one has replied to me and tutoring in the summer is very rare. My friends who are taking the same class don't understand why I'm struggling so much. An assignment that takes me 3+hours takes my friends 30 minutes to maximum one hour to complete. I try asking them for help but they are so far ahead that they don't really explain the simple concepts well.. it seems like second nature/so simple to them. Last semester I went to office hours almost every day and that is the only reason I got the few Bs I did (and that's with a giant curve otherwise I think I failed).</p>
<p>Socially, I'm okay. I have friends except I'm so stressed about grades and passing my classes that I constantly feel sick to my stomach and can't have fun with my friends. So usually I opt to stay home and study. But at home, I basically just panic in my room and get even more stressed. Then I procrastinate by reading or watching tv because when I start trying to study I realize the extend of things I don't know and can't figure out even if I tried. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it just me? Should I switch to an easier major or easier college? But it seems like it's too late since it's almost 2nd year.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post. I'm just really freaking out and I need to figure out how to change up my life so I don't feel like I'm dying every day.</p>
<p>Computer Science. I’ve never done any cs before this which is probably why I’m struggling. I just picked this major because it seems interesting. I like the idea of it and am willing to learn more but it’s so fast paced at my school that I am always playing catch up and scrambling to understand concepts that I need more time to process. I don’t know, I just feel like I have a really slow learning curve which means I’m failing quizzes and ultimately, tests.</p>
<p>Are there any office hours for the professor or a TA that you could go to?</p>
<p>Also, CS moves pretty quickly over the summer, I definitely wouldn’t take it as a sign that you’re no good at it. If it’s in intro class, chances are other students have taken AP Computer Science or had some experience before. If you’re new at it, naturally it’ll take a bit more work to pick it up. The best thing you can do is keep working at it, get used to writing programs, start a pet project, etc. You need to learn by doing.</p>
<p>Make use of all academic support available to see if your study skills are adequate. Often, there is a gap between HS and college if your HS courses didn’t have similar rigor. </p>
<p>Disregard how easy it seems for other people. Focus on learning what works best for you. For specific concepts, keep going to tutorials even if you are the only one there. </p>
<p>You should see a school psychologist/ counselor for help with stress. I think your stress level will go down anyway if you figure out how to manage our studies.</p>
<p>There are no office hours over the summer! Which is the worst. I’m going to try to go to other lab sections after mine to ask the next TA questions… I was going to do this last week but my labs are usually 3 hours long everyday and I usually stay for 4hrs+ just to finish the lab so usually I just want to get out of there asap because I get so exhausted.</p>
<p>Some people just get it right away because they took AP CS/good at thinking like that. It’s the 2nd class so we’re expected to know a lot of things already… I guess the best thing for me right now is to suck it up just keep going and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Everyday should not be hard in college! Make sure that you’re not bogging yourself down trying to achieve some sort of self imposed daily perfection. Prioritize your time according to the importance of the assignment. If it’s not that important, go on and save your time and energy for the important stuff.</p>
<p>Some people are very good with CS, almost like second nature to them, but for some people it is very hard. It doesn’t mean you are not smart, it may just mean that you have no aptitude for it and that’s why it is taking you 3+ hours when it only takes your friends half an hour. I think you may want to consider another major. I don’t think it is worth it for you struggle with CS when you could do better picking another major. It is very demoralizing when you have to try so hard. And trust me, there are a lot of smart people who can’t program.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it is possible to switch at this point and still graduate in four years. I already picked CS classes for next semester and I don’t really know what to switch to… I guess in high school I’ve always been better at classes like English but I didn’t really want to major in just purely English or something like that so I picked CS. </p>
<p>Just trying to make the best of it right now.</p>
<p>You are only starting your second year, I can’t imagine that it is too late for you to switch already. Can’t you talk to your advisor to see if you could change your courses? Did you pick CS because you thought it would be a guarantee to get a job after graduation? You could major in English and take some accounting, finance, real estate investment…I don’t know what you are interested in. Ability to write well is an asset no matter what you do in the future.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to start a thread on the parents forum to get some input.</p>
<p>I think you should switch majors. There are two kinds of people: those who “get” CS and those who never will. The number of people who don’t get CS at first but after lots of effort will get it…well, it’s a very small number.</p>
<p>I agree with the other guy who said it doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means your brain isn’t wired for CS. Physics is the same way, every engineering/math/CS major I meet tells me they have a hard time with physics, and these aren’t stupid people, they can do the math involved no problem.</p>
<p>So find another major. Maybe try another engineering if you feel you are solid on math.</p>
<p>Maybe switch to Management Info Systems so that your CS classes will count (hopefully). That’s what people in my school did when they switched out of CS.</p>
<p>Try talking to your adviser about switching majors. They might be able to give you suggestions on something that you are better suited for or something that you could switch to and still graduate on time.</p>
<p>Perhaps, you could ask your professors if they know of a student who has done well in your courses who would be willing to tutor you. You might be struggling because there are some fundamentals that you might be missing, and a good tutor might be able to help you identify those. CS might also just be something that takes a little longer for you to learn. There’s nothing wrong with that, and try not to get discouraged. It can take time to work out the best way to learn the material, but if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, then it can be worthwhile. If it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere and it’s not a subject you’re particularly enthralled by, I would recommend switching majors. It sort of seems like you just picked computer science, which is very different than English or other classes you might have excelled in.</p>
<p>Also, I would highly recommend that you try to stop comparing yourself to your friends. Different people have different skill sets or aptitudes. Other students might have a more thorough background in CS, which is why they are able to catch on to the material faster. They might be underestimating how much time they spend on the assignments or how difficult the class is. Regardless, it really doesn’t matter how quickly they do an assignment or how fast they seem to understand the material. What matters is doing everything you can (using extra resources, asking for help, etc) to succeed. It may be that computer science is not the right fit for you, but it may also be that computer science is just difficult (especially over the summer!).</p>
<p>Absolutely stop comparing yourself to others. What I tell students: “Assuming you are working hard, always focus your effort on being the most prepared not the smartest.” You will never outsmart most of your classmates but you have to be better prepared. If you have a passion for computer science, take introductory classes at a local CC while you focus on the general requirements of your school. At least you might get the basics of computer science before moving to a tougher course. If you change majors, the same thing apply. Be better prepared!</p>
<p>Maybe you need to reduce the credit hours that you are taking. Maybe you are overloading yourself. Also are you enjoying all the other things, colleges offer? Go out and party/hangout with your friends once in a while. You seem to be overdoing the whole academia part of college. College is about balance and your scale is tipped to one side.</p>