<p>Hello everyone--
I received a desperate text from my HS Sr. that he is flunking his college calculus class. He is in a panic, and so was I when I discovered this site! He has been accepted (based on mid-year transcript) to Ohio State engineering program, and we don't know what impact this may have on that whole plan.</p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated--glad I found you since this is my first kid to graduate!</p>
<p>Is he flunking his AP Calc class or is he taking it at a local college? Is it Calc I or another calc class.</p>
<p>If he still can, he should drop the class he has now. I think that colleges that have accepted you don’t really care much about your grades but they do want you to pass them. </p>
<p>If he can, have him drop the class he has now if it’s at a college and esp if it’s over Calc I. He can take it again in college, he just needs to be aware that he has to get a tutor and work really hard. He could take it over the summer. OSU doesn’t start until the middle/end of Sept so plenty of time. If it’s AP Calc, he needs to get with his teacher, figure out how to pass.</p>
<p>If it’s dual-enrollment, withdraw immediately if it isn’t too late. It is pretty late in the semester to try to recover - this sort of thing doesn’t happen out of nowhere, there’s usually a test or a few quizzes with results by the first third of the semester so that students could gauge where they are.</p>
<p>If it is too late to withdraw, you need to do an assessment as to whether the course can be salvaged. You might want to do this if you have some time to decide on withdrawal.</p>
<p>Is he using the word “flunking” in the literal sense or just to be dramatic?
Can the class grade be switched to pass/no pass (assuming he will pass)?</p>
<p>Because colleges often curve hard classes, an otherwise low grade (60%) could end up being a B. Have him ask his professor to give him a quick and dirty read about a letter grade.</p>
<p>OP - First, take a deep breath. Sure, it would be more comforting if the boy was getting an ‘A’ in the course. But the important thing is that he learn this mathematical tool. Calculus can appear “difficult” if taught too early … or if taught in a way that the student doesn’t “get.” Your S got into the Ohio State Engineering program, and he had the confidence and ambition to tackle (college) Calculus while still in HS. Kudos. If he were my S I’d suggest dropping the course … but that’s just me. The important thing is to convey to him that he’s better off for having tried.</p>
<p>Welcome and sorry you had to find us in a panic situation.</p>
<p>As others have said, take a deep breath and give us a little more info.
He may just fear flunking and be able to (1) drop (2) convert to Pass/No Pass (3) achieve a passing grade due to curve (4) achieve a passing grade by talking to prof about how he can bring his grade up.</p>
<p>We will figure it out.</p>
<p>Hello ScorpioRising and another Welcome to CC.</p>
<p>Just a note that I moved your thread to the Parent Forum. This is where all things college-related are discussed - from the parent perspective.</p>
<p>The Parent Cafe is the forum for other topics - everything from TV shows to travel advice to you-name-it. Some of us like to talk to each other about anything and everything :).</p>
<p>Has he talked to the professor or TA to see his true situation or to get help? Has he taken advantage of any tutoring programs at the college?</p>
<p>My son, a senior in high school, was in a similar position about a month ago: at risk of getting an F in AP Calc. In his case the situation would have been grave indeed, since there was no possibility of getting out of the class and into a lower level - and that meant his very graduation was at risk. </p>
<p>We dealt with it by getting intense tutoring. Son spent spring break, and several weeks after, on 3-hour, one-on-one tutoring sessions several times a week. It was something the school orgainzed, but if your school can’t, they MAY have a list of good, tried-out tutors you could hire yourself. In my son’s case this was a life saver. Son caught up, and in the past few quizzes has done very well. “I feel good about calc now,” he told me the other day. Music to this momma’s ears.</p>
<p>Better to find some way of passing the class now. There is no way around Calculus for engineering majors. If he takes it in the Fall at Ohio State in parallel with science, computer programming, and electives it will be even tougher.</p>
<p>Of course it depends on what “flunking” means exactly, and what the specific reasons are. Some kids had it (too) easy in high school, which makes the college transition harder. For instance, maybe he was used to 3 hours per week studying for math, and now it takes a lot more, and he was caught by surprise. If that’s the case, he should stick it out with catch-up tutoring. But some kids are not suited for engineering, will never “get” college-level calculus, and if that’s the case he should think about something else. Better to find out sooner than later.</p>
<p>OK, thanks everyone (and you, Andale, I am still finding my way around here). I am contacting the school guidance counselors to see what the options are. He has struggled with the class the whole time, being happy with a C+ (unusual for him with math). The teacher doesn’t connect with him at all. </p>
<p>I do know he got a 20% on the last test, which I saw him study several hours for over the weekend. The final is in May. It is Calculus I, I believe through the University of Findlay.</p>
<p>He should drop the class and take a W - hopefully, it is not to late for that…</p>
<p>ok I just looked it up and March 28 was the last day to withdraw. So that is not an option. He is going to need to talk to his professor ASAP. He needs to figure out if there is some way to salvage this course and what he needs to do. He needs to email him today and try to get a meeting with him tomorrow.</p>
<p>It looks like Findlay’s final exams are May 2-5. He needs to get this figured out now!</p>
<p>20% on a test may sound awful but it has to be seen in light of how the rest of the class did. If the mean score on the test for the whole class was 15% he did pretty good. I do not know about Findlay but these kinds of numbers in classes at MIT are not unusual.</p>
<p>My son gets emails from the tutoring from parents and students asking for private tutoring. The parents usually have high-school or middle-school students while the student are college students that aren’t doing well in their courses. Scholarships may be at stake so some students are willing to pay quite a lot for private, intensive tutoring. This usually happens between the first and second third of the semester. It’s often difficult to recover after that point.</p>
<p>My son has never taken these jobs but he tutors students in difficulty where he knows that they don’t have sufficient background to succeed. The student that has the background but has trouble with concepts here and there can often be salvaged. Those with significant deficiencies are iffy. Spending a lot of money on private tutoring can work but $25/hour x 3 hours/day x 3 days a week for six or seven weeks is expensive.</p>
<p>Part of the planning on trying to salvage a class is to figure out the reason for the problems. I’ve told my son that you don’t want to tutor someone that has significant problems - the parents pay a lot of money only for non-success; it’s a bad feeling for the tutor.</p>
<p>One of the things about math, especially calc is you have to do problems, and more problems. Not just the assigned ones, but get a solutions manual to your S’s book and have him do all the problems he can when studying for class. You can’t just “read” and review, you have to put pencil to the paper and do the problmes. You can find a solutions manual by googling “solutions manual” and the books ISBN number. If you can’t find one for that book, get another calc 1 book solutions manual or study guide. Pay for expidited shipping, media mail is too slow. Sounds like he may be in a class equivalent to AP Calc AB, you might be able to find a good study book for the AP class at the library or bookstore, it will have lots of problems in it. Last find a tutor who knows this material.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I called the guidance counselor yesterday, and she pulled him out of class and is arranging for a different math teacher to tutor him. I am getting my hands on some books too. Thank all of you for your guidance–I am sure I will be back frequently as this is my maiden voyage as a parent!</p>