<p>This is so frustrating. Practically all my classes are in large lecture halls where attendance isn't mandatory, so I skip probably half of them. I always come up with some excuse to miss them. I try to circumvent this by studying my ass off one to two weeks prior to the exams. Well I studied for my Psych. exam for probably 15-20 hours total and I get a freakin 65 on the test. It seems no matter how much I study for my classes I can never get better than a 70 on a test. I feel almost helpless.</p>
<p>This is why you go to class. Cramming, especially for something like psych, hurts in the long run, especially if the final is cumulative.</p>
<p>For me, personally, I have to hear something to really understand it. Hearing someone else explain it really helps it to sink in. Maybe you are having the same problem.</p>
<p>This is why you GO TO CLASS. And 65 is not failing. I don’t get why you would just skip class all the time if you are doing poorly. Get your butt up and go!</p>
<p>How is it frustrating, you stated the reason you’re failing in the second sentence. Stop skipping class son. It may not be mandatory like it was in high school, but it is mandatory if you want to actual do well for most people.</p>
<p>Bad grades should motivate you to go to class. There are no excuses worth failing over.</p>
<p>Seriously go to class. I’ll bet that some of the stuff on the exam was covered in the lecture, not in the readings alone. Unless you missed class on the first day or when the professor explained the structure of the exam, he would’ve mentioned to study your lecture notes too.</p>
<p>Find a seat in front of the professor, then you’ll be much less likely to skip only because he’ll notice you. People hate skipping classes once the professors know who they are.</p>
<p>if you are in class you are hearing the info with one part of your brain, If you are taking notes in class you are using a different part of your brain and if you are reading you are using a third part of your brain. The more parts of your brain you use, the more likely you are to absorb the material. You are cheating yourself by not going to class b/c you are denying your brain acess to the auditory part of the information. </p>
<p>Stop being silly and go to class. Your parents are probably paying for you to attend class. If they wanted you to do independent study they’d have bought you a bunch of textbooks not a college education.</p>
<p>Why go to college if you’re just going to self-study?</p>
<p>
I bet it is… I mean I hate when I skip half my classes and then do poorly. </p>
<p>
And you’re asking us why you’re doing poorly? This isn’t high school… nobody’s going to hold you’re hand and give you a strawberry smelly sticker if you have good attendance. It’s up to you to have some self discipline and go to class!</p>
<p>
Um, OK then don’t come up with an excuse and just go to class… how about that?</p>
<p>
So basically you slack off and don’t discipline yourself to do the work when you should, then you cram at the last minute and then you do bad. So I’ll say it again… you’re asking us why you’re doing poorly? </p>
<p>
College is hard. You’re not going to get 100 on every test, even if you study 24/7. This is difficult for many people to get used to. However, if you actually went to class and studied on a more reasonable consistent schedule I imagine you’d do much much better.</p>
<p>
Don’t… but it does sound like you need to get your act together. If you slack off and don’t go to class then you can’t be surprised when you get poor grades… it’s not that complicated. </p>
<p>Try this:</p>
<p>1) Go to class.</p>
<p>2) Review your notes from class, the one you went to and didn’t skip, each night to make sure the new content sinks in (perhaps do this with friends or a study group)</p>
<p>3) Set a reasonable schedule for completing assignments so you don’t just rush at the last second and do a poor job</p>
<p>4) Do all of the above and preparing for exams should simply be about reviewing the work from 1, 2 and 3 and not some mass cramming session thinking it will make up for previously slacking off… because it won’t.</p>
<p>You must have seen all this criticism coming when you made that post OP.</p>
<p>Everything that everyone has said here is right. You know what you have to do. Now do it.</p>
<p>then why don’t you go to class? even if attendance is not mandatory, make it mandatory to you then. going to class is just a mandatory thing to me. why are you paying all that money just to study on your own? even if i haven’t read the reading, i still go to class just because the teacher might say something important about the exam. and some professors like to base their test questions more on what was discussed in class. so taking class notes help most.</p>
<p>Yes, das8929, think of it this way. You don’t have to go to class. Your classmates don’t have to go to class. I’m sure many don’t. Do you think you’re merely 50th percentile, or do you think you’re better than that?</p>
<p>So, student, you are on academic probation, why do you think that is and how can we help?</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t bother myself going to classes, they bore me to sleep</p>
<p>Okie dokie…go to class</p>
<p>What do you do a college then if you couldnt be bothered to go to the classes?</p>
<p>and if you think profs give exams based soley on the books, you need to really rethink your ideas about school</p>
<p>hahaha das!!!</p>
<p>I AM THE EXACT SAME WAY!!! i am in a similar predicament. i always have an excuse for it…and i have a D.</p>
<p>You guys are right.. I’m going to start going to class now. I really needed something to kick me in the ass… perhaps my recent test scores have. My new plan is to go to class and pay attention and take notes.</p>
<p>For me, bad grades would be a big enough motivating factor. If it’s that hard to go to class, try rewarding/punishing yourself. If you don’t go, no going out or anything of the sort. If you do go every single class, buy yourself something new. </p>
<p>College is the time when you have to learn to take care of yourself and prepare for the future. Think of it as your job. You wouldn’t skip work, would you?</p>
<p>Good thought, das. It’s not just about going to class, it’s about being an active learner in class. Some friends of mine go to class and don’t take notes, or even worse, just sleep…might as well stay home if you’re not going to put in the effort to learn.</p>
<p>And I like your motivational idea, OKgirl, but the motivation should come from within, not from external rewards.</p>
<p>Ah, you admit it that you’re an active learner in class. That is the probably with large lecture classes- there’s NO engagement with the professor or other students on the topic. I was there one time too with 70 students- skipped a few and frequently came in 15-30 minutes late (usually slipped in since he did powerpoints). Though I managed to pull off a B (thank god), I decided that it was so ridiculous that I never, ever took a lecture class of larger than 35 students after that. At that point- the professor does notice you and ask you questions. I took more classes that had under 25 students and I was quite active that class time generally flew. So when you register for the fall, make that a priority. Even if it sounds super-cool but there’s going to be 100 people, don’t do it. Otherwise, you’ll fall in this old trap of skipping.</p>
<p>Hrm, it’s still possible to be an active learner in large classes (for instance, my 600+ person organic chemistry class). To me, active learning doesn’t only entail professor-student interactions. It can be something as little as rationalizing what the professor is saying as you take notes. Or even building models/doing extra problems when you get home (if your econ teacher diagrams how a positive change in tastes affects long-term market equilibrium, try a similar problem with a tax/subsidy/negative taste/etc). Obviously, anything you can do to help the material sink in better will help you.</p>