NEED SOME ADVICE ASAP...

I am a current college freshman and this is my first semester. I am a Mechanical Engineering major and have struggled so far. My grades are on track to be:

A in English
A- in Intro to Engineering
D- in Calc 1
D in Gen. Chem
D in Computer Science

I have attended every single class this semester, completed all homework, projects, studied for tests, went to tutoring and extra help, and I am still not succeeding.

I met with my advisor and she said this is common for many college freshman and that I will have plenty of time to bring my GPA up. However, if I land under the 2.0 mark I will be on academic probation. This will limit my credits for next semester setting me off track and even if I get a 3.0 next semester I will still have a GPA around 2.5 which is not good.

I need some advice on what to do.

First, congratulations on your high grades in English and Intro to Engineering. Kuddos for going to all classes, tutoring sessions, etc. You have chosen a tough major and I do think lots of new students find it very challenging.

How did you do in your high school math/science classes? Do you generally enjoy them? Were they honors and/or AP classes? Did you take calculus in high school or is this your first exposure to it? What led you to want to major in engineering?

Did your advisor work with you at all to pinpoint where your difficulty lies (time management, or difficulty grasping new concepts and skills?) Or did she simply try to give reassurance that you’re in an adjustment period. While her words may be true, I also think you need and deserve some help coming up with a new strategy to try.

I know, lots of questions…but the answers may lead you to solve this problem! Give us more to go on, in order to help you. I’m not an engineer, but many people on this forum are, or are parents of engineering students. @MaineLonghorn ?

You’ll want to retake Calc. A good foundation is needed.
Maybe you could take 4 classes in spring, two for credit recovery like calc and cs, and take chem over the summer.
A five year plan may be a good path for you. It’s tough. Good luck. Don’t feel bad, it happens. It’s a challenge, you will develop more resilience and coping skills from these difficulties.

Maybe Mechanical Engineering isn’t the major for you.

I see a lot of kids going the Engineering path who I doubt will ever make it in that course work. Not all high school math & science classes truly prepare kids for the rigors of college math and science for Engineering majors.

Were your math SAT scores high? Was your high school math/science a rigorous program? First, I think you should seriously evaluate those questions. If you still feel this is the major for you, then the previous poster’s advice may help.

What is your school’s policy on moving to the next course? At my D’s school, students need a C if it’s a course required for your major. LOTS of students have to repeat courses. You wouldn’t be alone in retaking.

If you are going to all the help sessions, office hours, tutoring, etc… do you know why you are doing poorly? Are you not understanding concepts or running out of time on exams? How do you do on practice tests? I think it would be helpful for you to really pinpoint the issue for yourself so you don’t just repeat the same problems next semester.

Good luck to you!

Is five courses the normal expectation at your college? Typically, four courses per semester is standard. If you can, lighten your course load.

@Lindagaf unless the school is on a quarter schedule, engineers take 5 courses/semester to stay on track to graduate in four years. Course sequencing is very prescribed.

That said, if taking five is too much, is going to cause classes to be retaken and potentially delay graduation anyway, it may be smart to back off.

At semester schools where 120 credits is needed to graduate, 5 3-credit courses per semester is the norm to graduate on time. Engineers commonly need 16-18 per semester.

Private schools often have different requirements where 4 courses per semester is not uncommon.

My experience, with students majoring in any discipline in engineering, is that they had a strong preparation in their high school with math and science courses. When they get to college, the Calc and the science courses are their strength.
Did you do you get that kind of preparation in high school?

Did you pick mechanical engineering for any particular reason? You will be taking more math, physics and science courses for the remainder of your major.
It appears that you may be stronger in the humanities. Was that the case in high school?
With engineering, as with any stem majors you have to know the basics (backwards and forwards) in math and science in order to continue in the coursework and be successful.

My advice to you would be to go to the tutors daily. They will prepare you for the next day’s lecture and review any concepts where you may lack strength.

Some tutors are better than others at explaining and breaking down concepts. The reason for you to go daily to the tutors is you need to find a tutor that can relate those concepts to you in a manner in which you can understand them and grasp them.

They will tell you what the professors expect and where the lecture may lead. They will also give you supplemental information that the rest of the class may or may not have.

The reason I know this is my eldest is a strong math, physics, and science person. She is an electrical engineer/computer software engineer (she has a dual degree). Math has always come easily for her, but she wanted to keep those grades strong, so she went to the tutors daily. She got to the point where she was told that she knew more than the tutors. All of the professors knew her well (plus she was the only female student at her level!) The tutoring center asked her to tutor electrical engineering majors. Presently, in her career, she is the youngest lead manager and she provides instruction manuals, that she created, for new engineering hires. She uses analogies to teach difficult concepts.
Good luck!

My SAT math was around a 620 and I took AP calc my senior year. I also took other honors classes such as chem and physics and did well. However I did not feel prepared for college at all once I got there. This spring semester I am taking a breadth elective two Mechanical Engineering courses and calc 2. I plan on taking physics over the summer to help my gpa this semester.

What do you think the issue is?

Health, mental health,issues?
Relationship issues?
Too much sports/partying/Clubs/videogames?
Working too many hours?
Feeling like what happens if you try your best but still don’t do well?
Too much freedom/executive function issues?
Not prepared?
Spending too much time on one course and not the others?

I think next semester you should not overload on STEM…take the minimum STEM courses (e.g., Calc 2, Physics or whatever is on your curriculum) and put off any Mech E courses until later.

Check out these tips: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html

You have to be doing a zillion practice problems!

How did your first semester GPA end up?

Word of caution about taking a course over the summer - some students report that the condensed time makes the pace of the class even harder. Talk to people at your school that have done it and get some feedback.

So first off 3 Ds is a major problem with your sequence. These are also all basic classes. But it depends on how much you want it. If you go to reddit, there are many engineers that had to retake physics, Calc etc a few times but are engineers now.

I think a 5 year plan is best and maybe with some co-op thrown in. Engineering students as stated regularly take 16-18 credits each semester. You need to drag yourself to learning services. Like today! It’s not a matter of studying more… It’s about what to and how to study and time management. If your truly going to office hours etc and still not getting it then there’s a disconnect. Sorry to bring this up but anything like ADHD or Executive functioning issues?

Talk not only with your advisors and learning services but also with your professors that you spent time in office hours with. Maybe they can help point you in where your not getting the material.

My sons at Michigan for engineering and the new head at the open house put up his first year report card per se. There was a few ds, an f etc. He evidently got it together.

Get Cal Newtons book but here is a summary https://fourminutebooks.com/how-to-become-a-straight%E2%80%91a-student-summary/

Many engineering students have used this book. It will help you study smarter not more.

Also my son took physics 2 and like Calc 3 over one summer. Some pitfalls… Extremely fast for the summer course. If your not a top student, I would not do this. Also in Chicago his classmates were other engineering students not the local population per se. They were all taking classes to get ahead… So kids from Michigan, Georgia Tech, Berkeley, etc. It was a tough class and not a great curve. He thought it would be much easier taking it at a community College… Not really at all…

Also in engineering kids retake classes. Just a fact of life. I told my son if it ever happens just do what you gotta do. So far so good…

I also assume your Chem came with a lab session?

So… How are you doing in classes this semester? This would be telling to see how to manage your future.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/349426.The_Memory_Book

I used this book in medical school. It’s a classic and just bought it again. There are some fun things that you can do but it helps with linking your memories and studies together. It’s not a parlor trick but knowing all the states in alphabetical order and backwards is fun. You can use the ideas with any concept. Just the very basic concepts will help you remember things for tests that you would never imagined.

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