I am a transfer student from a college in Illinois. To start off at my community college I prevailed academically pretty well in all my class. Two years was a great success I received all A’s and just two B’s in Psychology and Chemistry. At a community college the engineering classes I took were:
Calculus 1: A
Calculus 2: A
General Chemistry: B
Fast forward this year which was my first year at a university was a major wake up call for me:
General Physics I: B
Intro to Mechanical Engineering: A
Calculus 3: F ( I had a horrible professor for this class. First time I failed a class before in my life. I have a chance to retake this class however, and receive a grade replacement )
The following semester which was this semester:
Differential Equations: C
Statics: D
Material Science: C
Over the summer my plan is to take
Mechanics and Solids…
No matter what I want to be an engineer but at the same time once I graduate I want to be able to get a job. Right now my cumulative GPA is 2.20 and my major GPA is 2.50
Any advice on how to do well for the upcoming semesters? I know this semester is not that good at all but I tried my very best. I think I took too many hard classes together.
How did you do in high school calculus and physics?
Why did you continue with differential equations after failing calc 3? Those classes build on one another and what you did was a recipe for disaster!
Problem is that, at this point, all you are doing is demonstrating that you aren’t learning the skills necessary to be an engineer. You’ve got to stop beating your head against the wall. But you already know that as shown by asking the question. Figure out why you aren’t learning the material and go back and learn it. Will mean you probably will have to repeat some (or all!) your classes.
You really do have to learn the material to give an employer a reason to hire you.
At my school you don’t need Calculus 3 to take Differential Equations. I actually think just by doing that I will be more prepared to take Calculus 3 in the upcoming semester. They both go hand to hand with each other. To me Differential Equations was much easier than Calculus 3 however I am way better at integrating by parts. Because I have already taken Calculus 3 I know what to look or for. For instance double intergeals and drawing a whole lot. So no I did not set myself up for failure. People fail classes every now and then but that want make me give up. I am a champion I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goal even if it means repeating the class.
Never never took Calculus not Physics in high school.
All I asked for was advice to help me be more prepared for the upcoming semesters but instead you judge me…
Agree with HPuck, to be an engineer, you need the skills to do the work. Middling grades suggests an issue with the core understanding. That’s the problem. It’s tough to move ahead in courses, without a successful basis.
Also agree you should repeat some courses, maybe on your own time (eg, summer.) Not because the U does or doesn’t require some sequence, but to make up for the level of learning you missed. You want to finish your program ready to be a productive engineer. Not just manage to get the degree. Think about that .
The thing is I understand the material I just had horrible professors. I am going to repeat Calculus 3. This summer I am taking Mechanics of Solids as well. Next semester I am going to take Calculus 3. Also I find that my engineering classes is nothing like the sequence of Calculus so therefore repeating classes would be a waste of time and money. Especially if I excelled in them.
Huh? Nobody’s judging you, they’re saying (and rightfully so) that your grades suggest that you’re unprepared to continue taking higher level courses, at the moment. The only way to prepare is to go back and learn the material from the classes you’ve already taken. There is no way you should be taking Mechanics and Solids if you got a D in Statics and Cs in DiffEq/Materials, all three of which you’ll need to have a firm understanding of for a class on solid mechanics. I’m a little surprised your university allows signing up for solid mechanics without passing grades in Statics or Calc III, which are prerequisites.
You did well in Calc I/II and your basic sciences. This suggests that you have the basic skills you need to at least grasp the material in higher level courses. What happened with Calc III? Statics and the other courses? These seem like fairly normal courseloads for an engineering major, and you can’t blame an instructor, no matter how bad they may be, for an F (in college, ideally the instructor should help you learn all the material, but that won’t always be the case, and ultimately, it is your responsibility to learn the material using whatever resources you can get your hands on). The issue, especially if, as you say, you “tried your very best,” seems like one of not knowing how to study. You may be studying a lot, but you’re not getting much out of it. Everybody’s different, and everybody studies best in a different way. You need to figure out what works best for you. You need to do this before you continue taking engineering courses. What’s your usual study method?
You say you are just asking for advice but are just getting judged. Well, you provided no info but that you got bad grades lately and blame one of your professors for you not doing well. So, as I wrote previously and it WAS meant as advice:1) figure out why the the bad grades (and a bad professor is an excuse not a reason) and fix it. 2) repeat the classes where you got poor grades before you go on
And maybe you can’t compare comm college courses to this U’s expectations.
You’ve got to think this through clearly. And realistically. If you’re set on an engn future, it’s the quality of your work, not speed of jumping ahead in classes.
Consider this from a potential employer’s perspective, if you really want the career.
I guess everyone is right but I just think retaking a class will be a waste of time and money. I think this way because classes are not cheap at the school I go to. I am going to retake Calculus 3 next semester. Not just for a better grade but for a better understanding of Calculus. Maybe you are not judging me but many people do fail classes especially in engineering. I just think maybe if I didn’t take as many hard classes together like that I would have passed my Statics class with a better grade. I don’t have much time to study which is another factor that contributed to the grade I received. Why do you think it’s not a great idea to take Mechanics and Solids over the summer? I heard it’s much easier than Statics. This is good because I think it will help me be prepared for Dynamics. I will also sit in the Dynamics class over the summer.
Next semester:
Calculus 3
Computer Science
Dynamics
General Education class
I am going to take a lighter load this upcoming semester.
After all this being said my mother also wants me to retake Statics but I just think it will be a waste. If I do end up retaking it I will retake it at a junior college. But maybe next year if it is offered over the summer.
I think during my whole year at a university I have been having a hard time teaching myself how to study. Especially when I take a difficult load…
Or next semester should I take:
Calculus 3
Physics 2 electro and magnetism
Computer Science
General Education class
And sit in Dynamics class once again
Those people don’t graduate with engineering degrees unless they figure out what’s causing them to fail and fix it. The rest of your degree will require you to take several hard classes together and to have demands on your time.
Well I know my algebra skills were not really good since I started college. However, I tested into Calculus when I was at a junior college but instead I took College Algebra and Pre Calculus to work my way up to Calculus. Coming to a Univeristy my algebra skills were not as sharp as many of my peers but I go to tutoring every day and I hardly sleep when it comes to studying for my homework, tests or quizzes. My first time taking Statics was a major wake up call for me. I think it began with Trigonometry. I am not that good in solving Trigonometric problems and I believe I needed a solid background and understanding in the criteria. Next thing I knew I was balancing difficult classes together like Differential Equations and Material Science. All of which took a significant amount of my time. Many times I would break down crying because it took me whole day to understand my Statics class. I do want to do better believe me I do but when you are not given the right advice or directions on what to do it is not good. So I instantly went and talked to my academic advisor. She told me to take Calculus 3, Dynamics, Mechanical Engineering Design, Physics 2 and Computer Science. This does not look like a work load I can handle so I created maybe a realistic schedule for myself but I don’t know which one to go for.
She also told me to take those classes I previously mentioned to graduate on time which is 2019. But I am just looking to get my GPA back up and I think it may result in me retaking Statics but not right now maybe at a later date. A D is passing at my school. Many of my peers GPA is 2.2 or 2.1 so I think I am doing fairly good to have a 2.5 GPA plus I am going to retake Calculus 3 for a better grade which will in turn boost my GPA. I just wish I was given Bette advice in terms of what to take in the upcoming future of my engineering degree.
Maybe this summer should instead be spent relearning trig/precalc. Try Khan Academy?
Please recognize that, yes, some professors are not great teachers, but ultimately only you are truly responsible for your learning and education. You have to adapt, learn to learn I dependently when necessary, and take responsibility for your education. Until you do that you won’t get the most out of any class, even if the professor is great.
Your school might consider a “D” to be passing, but that seems to be an exception. At most schools, that’s not the case. More importantly, a D shows that you don’t really understand statics. Dynamics is going to much more difficult than statics.
Statics is dynamics-lite. If you don’t even have a good understanding of ΣF=0, what makes you think you’ll understand ΣF=ma? And solid mechanics considers principles of statics in considerably more depth–if you’re not comfortable with statics and with calculus/differential equations, solid mechanics is also going to be extremely difficult.
Your advisor has absolutely no clue what they’re talking about, btw, and I would recommend talking to someone else (and taking the advice that’s been presented in this thread).