Recovering from a bad term?

College Life
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<p>So basically, I've been really depressed this term and it's kind of been screwing over my grades. As in, I haven't turned in several problem sets because I start working on them and then I start thinking about other stuff and suddenly I'm looking for stuff I can hang myself with. (And the ones I do turn in are usually incomplete.) Luckily, I am a freshman on pass/fail, and barring future mental issues I might actually pass all the classes I haven't already dropped! But unfortunately</p>

<p>(1) I haven't actually learned anything this term. It became kind of obvious when I took my quiz on special relativity last night and couldn't actually answer the questions on it. This will probably pose a problem when we actually have to use these so-called "basis vectors" in real life or future classes. I don't want to have cripplingly weak fundamentals for the rest of college.</p>

<p>(2) For this and related reasons, most of my friends and acquaintances [justifiably] think I'm crazy and/or really, really immature.</p>

<p>So plan (a) -- "operation antisocial study-nazi" -- was to go to the library for five hours every night and catch up on the stuff I was supposed to have learned first half of this term. But I have no delusions that this will actually work. And it doesn't really help problem (2). So I need a plan (b). Help?</p>

<p>(The good news is I'm feeling better this week, so I'm not completely useless anymore. As in I've stopped ditching class and started actually starting my assignments at a reasonable time.)</p>

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<p>I tried the antisocial study nazi thing, but it never works. I like to force myself to do the reading and/or work. i.e. I don’t get to sleep until I finish that econ reading. Excuse me while I go read the first 5 chapters of my econ book.</p>

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<p>Go to office hours. A lot.</p>

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<p>its reaally contextual. </p>

<p>And really dependent on physiological factors.</p>

<p>(granted I still don’t know the best way for me to study). I actually have tried “operation antisocial study-nazi” many times but find that my efficiency during such operations is dirt poor (unless I’m in the right mode of thinking or something). If it isn’t theoretical math or physics, “operation antisocial study-nazi” actually works pretty well. But otherwise it tends to make me stare at the textbook. hm. this is where stimulants like green tea come in. I should try that tonight or something..</p>

<p>…I should ask those questions too, but I’ve mostly lost faith in what other people have to say with respect to this. two years ago i lost so much faith in other people i got desperate for adderall… but failed (maybe for good since adderall is only useful once per week unless you want to get tolerant).</p>

<p>but green tea works wonders on me. maybe i should drink it more and then once I get energy through green tea, try a variety of study strategies and then finally muster the activation energy to find a study strategy so novel that I’ll actually stick to it even when I’m not on green tea (though it’s possible I might never get tolerant to its effects, in which case it would be awesome). i’m naturally so lazy that it isn’t even funny but there are ways to “trick” my body into becoming unlazy so that I could actually do things besides think.</p>

<p>(sorry fizix I’m not being helpful here [I can’t be helpful anyways since my methods are so inefficient :p] but your thread provides an interesting backdrop for me to think about this)</p>

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<p>Your situation sounds awfully a lot like mine. The only reason I haven’t dropped out is that I know that will only make things worse. </p>

<p>Operation study nazi doesn’t work if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s fine if you’re studying for an exam, but if you’re trying to learn something you need guidance. So office hours. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t allow me to go to office hours, and my exam is on Thursday…</p>

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<p>You can try and get help from other students. Some schools have official places you can get free tutoring in a subject from people who major in it (sounds like you go to Caltech, and I don’t think they have anything like that). Otherwise, you can just ask other people in your class to try and explain things to you.</p>

<p>You can also try and find supplementary materials to help you better understand things. It sounds like you’re struggling with linear algebra, so you could find something like a Schaum’s outline book to help you get a better understanding.</p>

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<p>There are various reasons for having a rough time in college. Some of them will pass with time, and others need active remediation. Figure out what’s keeping you from doing your work and resolve those issues. Locking yourself in the library forever and ever isn’t effective unless you’re doing work in those five hours. Once you get started on fixing your personal issues, then address the academic issues.</p>

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<p>Well, I think I know what’s wrong. Problem is, I still care about him. =/ [1]</p>

<p>I tried locking myself in the library this weekend. It worked for a day, but kind of failed the second day. But at least I got my math set done before the night before it was due, and I got a lot of reading done, which is better than I’ve been able to do all term. So it was worth it. (And hopefully it’ll keep being worth it if I can drag myself to the library every day.)</p>

<p>I might go to office hours, but usually I’m better at learning stuff through textbooks, so I think I’ll try those first and then go to office hours if I have any questions.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, guys :)</p>

<p>[1] That sounded really emo, didn’t it.</p>

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<p>My motivation comes from the fact that I need a 4.0 to even be in the running to get into NYU Law School. NOT to guarantee admission, but to BE A SERIOUS CANDIDATE for admission. I keep reminding myself of that every time I put down my book.</p>

<p>Maybe you can blackmail yourself in a similar manner…?</p>

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<p>Sometimes fear. Last quarter I basically locked myself away and studied for a whole day because I was in danger of failing. Basically I had to cram half a quarters info into a day because of procrastination. It was a horrible experience, I worked non-stop with 1hr of sleep in a 24 hr period. But it turned out ok. Just think how much you would regret failing(future goals?). And then use that as an incentive to study.</p>

<p><a href=“1”>quote</a> I haven’t actually learned anything this term. It became kind of obvious when I took my quiz on special relativity last night and couldn’t actually answer the questions on it. This will probably pose a problem when we actually have to use these so-called “basis vectors” in real life or future classes. I don’t want to have cripplingly weak fundamentals for the rest of college.

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<p>Just try catching up during break. Plus, some of the stuff can always be re-learned( or in your case, learned). For, example, when I took Diff eq. I completely forgot how to integrate by parts and didn’t even know how to do partial fractions. But it wasn’t that bad because they utilized these methods in the example problems. Plus is never hard to pick up basic procedures. Alot of them are just formulas anyways. Whats important is the style of thinking that you you were supposed to gain. For example, plane geometry is needed for mechanics. But that doesn’t mean you need to know the formulas in geometry. You just need the spacial visualization. I don’t think “basis vectors” uses any new fundamental ways of thinking. Its just another formula to be memorized. Vector spaces and spanning is probably more important in the conceptual sense.</p>

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<p>I don’t know how to salvage what’s left of your semester, but here’s some broad advice. </p>

<p>I think some time management may be the best course of action. You didn’t mention your study habits, but most people think they study much more than they do. Even then, it isn’t about the amount of time you spend studying, it’s the quality. Flipping through a book with music and the TV on isn’t studying, try as you may to convince yourself otherwise. Go to the library for a solid couple hours a day. You’ll get more done than you can ever imagine. </p>

<p>College is basically a job. Treat it like one. Assuming you don’t have night classes, you should be keeping yourself busy 9-5. Overtime isn’t out of the question either! Do what works for your situation, but pick a plan like this and stick to it. Keep yourself busy throughout the week so the weekend will be fun. </p>

<p>And if you really can’t handle the introductory classes, it might be time to consider that college isn’t for you. Some freshman courses are meant to weed out those who aren’t serious about their major, but even those aren’t too bad. It only gets harder from there. Not to be a jerk, but figure it out before you waste anymore money!</p>

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<p>If you are contemplating hanging yourself, please get some mental help NOW! Call your counseling department. After handling the more important suicidal thoughts, they should be able to point you in the right direction for getting your grades turned around. But, really, get some help NOW!</p>

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<p>I spent like the past 6 hours studying for econ. I can’t think. I’m gonna go take a long 2 hour break.</p>

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Let me guess, impending exam.</p>

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<p>My situation is ridiculously similar to yours. I actually ended up just today (6 weeks into the term) withdrawing from my most difficult class and I’m just trying to keep going each day. The main reason for my depression is falling in love and experiencing rejection.</p>

<p>Try to finish out the term on a better note. Talk to an advisor about your options. Don’t overload yourself too much in order to catch up, because it may be more than you can handle and cause you to regress. Good luck :)</p>

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<p>Of course. Wednesday morning. I got another 6 hours of studying econ to do.</p>

<p>In the meanwhile, however, I think I’ll do french.</p>

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<p>The book thing makes sense, but it still might be worth going to office hours. </p>

<p>As a student, I assumed that grades were a fairly scientific affair. You know: you answer 85% correct on an exam and you get some pre-determined grade for it. As a graduate student and later as a teacher, I began to realize just how imprecise grades are… Unless he/she is a completely heartless automaton, it’s worth making some kind of human contact with your prof or TA. I’m not saying that he/she will or should give you an unfair advantage, but when it comes time to drawing the line between one grade and another on an exam that turned out harder than intended, it may make a difference. This is especially true when you’re clearly putting in the effort, asking good questions, and working towards a laudable goal (like mastering the fundamentals for later coursework).</p>

<p>Oh, and talk to someone – anyone – if you’re feeling like hurting yourself. It’s not worth it, no matter what.</p>

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<p>Depression is real and should be dealt with. Please go to the medical center and discuss these issues with a physician. You might be very surpised at the amount of help you can get.</p>

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<p>“Go to office hours. A lot.”</p>

<p>I definitely agree with that comment. The conclusion is office hours are very good.</p>

<p>Another thing I’d look into is how are you managing your time? Are you focused on your assignments or school work when you do them? My best advice when it comes to time management is to see where your time is going, find out how much time you need for your schoolwork every day. In most faculties, 2 hours a day is more than enough. It was at least in engineering. Then, create a very strict routine to just study and nothing else for those 2 hours.</p>

<p>2 hours may not seem like a lot right now but trust me, when you study two hours a day..it really adds up. I know my cousin who went to med school did the same. She got A’s easily by just studying 2 hours everyday. So, it’s not a hard thing to do. You just need to make it a habit and be very rigid..</p>

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<p>I’d suggest figuring out what you need help on and <em>then</em> going to office hours. Someone showing up and not even knowing what to ask can annoy instructors. If you’ve got the money, you might want to go to office hours, tell the professor or TA the truth about the semester, say that you’re determined to do better, and ask for help connecting with someone who understands the material and would be willing to tutor you. Or, since you learn better from the book, go to office hours, tell the truth about the semester, say that you’re determined to do better, and ask whether the professor or TA can suggest any books, articles, websites, and so on that you could use to help you figure out sections of the book that you’re struggling with.</p>

<p>If you want to be on the professor’s radar (so that, for example, the teaching staff know that you are taking responsibility to improve your performance and so that they might be more receptive to taking improvement into account when they figure out your final grade) but you don’t even know what to ask, then go in (not right before or right after an exam, because that’s when everybody goes), tell the truth about the semester, tell them you’re resolving to do better but that you feel lost, and ask whether they have any suggestions. The key there is to make it clear that the person who will be doing the work is you and not them.</p>

<p>Next, as far as time, the formula I’ve always been told is that at the lower-division level you’re expected to put in twice as much time outside of class as you put in in class. So if you’re in a 3-credit class that meets for 3 hours a week, the professor is probably expecting about 6 hours of outside-of-class study time from you each week. (A full-time class load is about the same amount of work as a full-time job.) Some classes – writing-intensive classes, some classes that don’t satisfy distribution requirements (and are therefore only attractive to students who actually care about the topic), anything that doesn’t come naturally to you – take more and for most students some classes take less. So you could try making a schedule that has you sitting down and working <em>hard</em> for an appropriate amount of time a week (and if you resolve to go back and master the stuff you’ve already missed – and I have a lot of respect for you if that’s what you’re doing – that might be a bit more than twice as much), but also having guilt-free time away from the books. It will be easier to stick with, and you’ll learn better too.</p>

<p>And if it all still seems too overwhelming, prioritize. Focus on the things that are teaching you skills you’re going to need. Writing is important. If you’re in a science program, math is important. If you’re in the humanities, classes where you engage with texts are important. If you know what you’re majoring in, the courses in that discipline are important. If you’re going to need it in 5 years, you’ve got 5 years to go back and learn it properly, but if you’re going to need it in 5 months it’s a lot more urgent. If you’re really absolutely going to fail at something you need to pass, go talk to someone about withdrawal and incompletes. If you can show the instructor that you really are working hard to overcome the problems and that you don’t need your hand held while you do it, he or she may be willing to give you a few months longer to finish.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>