<p>Im a sophomore chemical engineering major and I'm barely getting through my science classes. I tried other majors like psych and business and still barely got through those classes with a C. I dont know what to do anymore. I go to most of my classes even though they are useless, I barely even have a social life, I study hard everyday, attempt every homework, get tutors, see TA/Profs and go to reviews and I still only manage to get a C at best due to either overthinking the exams or just flaking altogether because of the pressure. Idk if I need to change my major, but idk what to do any more. If i transferred schools, the result will be the same. Dropping out isnt an option since I want a degree and I work so hard for it. Just today I took a test in Thermodynamics and nearly flaked out because every problem was twisted in some way and not like the homework at all. I had spent all week going to reviews and tutors and I still just suck. idk what to do anymore. not to feel so emo, but i just feel like a failure. its the same thing everyday since freshman year: failure after failure after failure and im just sick of it but idk what to do</p>
<p>College isn’t like high school; you can’t get straight As just by putting in a lot of work. Some people are just better at learning than others, and in college those people are the ones who get As.</p>
<p>Also, chemical engineering is close to the hardest major you could possibly pick. If you’re struggling in college in general, you need an easier major.</p>
<p>I think the key to doing well in college is study skills. A few people think intelligence is key, I think it helps, but studying skills>intelligence when it comes to getting the grade.</p>
<p>How are you allocating your time? When you study, do you study efficienctly? A lot of people study really inefficiently, or end up reading facebook instead of their textbook. I personally think that one hour of solid, efficient studying beats four hours of inefficient studying.</p>
<p>Office hours are good for helping you out on specific points, but if you don’t understand the subject in general, office hours aren’t cost effective.</p>
<p>For almost all of the science classes I have taken, lectures were key. Sometimes I even skipped reading the book. I went through the lectures, made sure I understood all the powerpoint slides, and went to office hours or consulted a study group if I didn’t understand a specific point.</p>
<p>Also, mind your pacing. If you study for 4 hours straight, chances are the last 2 hours you study will be a whole less ineffective than your first 2. I take breaks with games/movies if I have to study for a prolonged period of time.</p>
<p>^that’s good advice</p>
<p>
Maybe it’s just the stress that’s getting to you. Do you think you would be able to solve the exam problems if they were assigned as homework problems instead?</p>
<p>Yes I do feel like I could do alot better if it was assigned homework. i would be able to collect my thoughts and relax while doing them since I’m not under a time pressure (like having a 50 minute test)</p>
<p>@lollybo</p>
<p>I usually my prof’s office hours when I either cant get the math to work out or I have no idea as to how to apporach a problem or topic (which is usually the case)</p>
<p>All in all, I know it may seem like “Why are you in chemical engineering still if its hard?” Im not afraid to say that I dont really have a passion for this or any other college major, but Im just thinking in terms of being set for the future with the versatility that engineering has. but idk maybe ill just get a masters in it and get my bs in math or chem. but i mainly just need to get through classes right now and worry about those later</p>
<p>Accept that with your best efforts, a “C” is what you can achieve.
“C” is not fail, it is pass.
If you make Cs in all your CE classes you will graduate.
Yay!</p>
<p>@ Batllo</p>
<p>I would but its just someone told me that even though i have all of these extra classes that im doing well in (basically language/humanities), my major gpa would suck when i apply for a job, which apparently employers look at from what i heard, as opposed to overall gpa</p>
<p>Magneto- Baby steps dude.
The economy is bad and no one is hiring at this time.
But that is neither here nor there.
Gotta get you graduated with a degree in CE.
Then worry about getting employed.
You should do some research, tho.
Just suggesting.
You are still in the game.
Good Luck.</p>
<p>I know what you mean by when you say the hmwk is different than the test, I’ve been through that. You just gotta learn the material and apply it. You can’t just memorize how to do the problem you have to see the ins and outs of that problem, how does it work? </p>
<p>Other than that I would suggest studying couple of hrs take a break and get back to studying. Study with friends.</p>
<p>The problem mainly comes in when the test question will have several things to solve for and the question only gives you a little bit of information and in the homework there’s only one to solve for and most everything is given. I know i tend to miss alot of clues when it comes to college tests because of pressure which ultimately kill me, not necessarily that I dont know the information as i thought. but then still idk. i guess just under a 50 minute period im bound to be really nervous</p>
<p>Google “test anxiety.” Or consider talking to a counselor. It sounds like finding a better way to deal with the pressure of exams might make a big difference to you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is a problem. Any major is going to seem difficult if you have no passion for it; majoring in engineering when you have no self-interest or motivation beyond ‘a job’ and a grade is not wise.</p>
<p>Are you interested in any other majors? I don’t mean as job prospects or easy, I mean genuine interest. If not, do you have any interests outside of school? Perhaps writing, anything that captures your fancy?</p>
<p>Well Im interested in alot of academic areas like engineering, but i just find it so burdensome when it comes to certain classes that are pure hell for me. I like econ and accounting, but again here, i dont have any passion for it. </p>
<p>Im not really passionate about anything really. I like playing video games and reading comics and watching tv, nothing really specific that would tell too much about me</p>
<p>My friend’s dad is a Stanford graduate and his advice is to get up and walk around for 15 minutes after every hour of studying. Then get back to work.</p>
<p>Also, I remember my Psych professor told me that people are most alert from 8-9 am and 8-9 pm. He also said that memory retention is best if you sleep right after learning the material.</p>
<p>That being said, if you really dislike your major and like another one you should definitely study that. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life working a job that you loathe. Besides, this is America-- you’re not going to literally starve to death if you become a teacher instead of a doctor.</p>
<p>Have you gotten advice from the college counseling center? It can help with test anxiety as well as refining your studying habits.</p>
<p>Research also has indicated that people who study in groups in college usually do better than do people who don’t.</p>
<p>I have not yet. Its just so hard to get to it when there’s soo much work and classes to go to. but that will be my next course of action</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is engineering, period. I had a professor that told us right off the bat:</p>
<p>There’s not too much to just being able to memorize how to solve certain problem by applying the same steps or solving it the exact same way. Ideally, you understand the concepts to the extent that on a test the professor can present a problem in a new or different way that requires you to essentially ‘reach’ for the answer. The problem with this is that sometimes the professor can expect you to ‘reach’ too much, but usually that is covered by curving the exams. In general I don’t think I’ve ever had a quiz or exam where the average score was above the 60-70% range.</p>
<p>What you may need to be doing is fine-combing the text more or reading from other sources or texts rather than just doing hundreds of problems. Look online for videos, etc, just find another way to get the conceptual information to stick really well.</p>
<p>It WILL actually get easier once you’ve passed the ‘weeder’ classes and are in your upper-division ones.</p>
<p>If you’re in engineering, then you’re right on track.</p>
<p>Work smart, not hard.</p>