<p>I am about to go into my 2nd year at my university and all I can say is that my first year was incredibly stressfully and filled with depressing downturns. Here it goes:</p>
<p>1.) I did not pass any placement exams for the maths (was not paying attention in High School) and was unable to take any relevant courses for engineer so I held off math until next semester
2.) First semester I failed Chemistry with a c- and had to retake it.
3.) 2nd semester I got into Pre-calc and retaking chemistry with all my liberal arts
4.) Failed Pre-calc (c-) and passed Chemistry with a C
5.) if I continue engineering I would have to take calc2,physics,chem(2) and a class I have been waiting for EE 160 (C++/C for engineers which I love!) this schedule would be pushed back now that I failed precalc though...</p>
<p>I feel like I am just behind on my maths and I know thats incredibly important for engineering and was wondering If it's even a bother to continuing even though I am soo far behind in the game. I mean I can't even pass precalc! (not an excuse but finding any application to it made it horrid for me)</p>
<p>I like physics and the logic and equations of math but this precalc stuff has me on edge....I am doing bad in most of my science classes and was wondering if it is even worth it?</p>
<p>I would really like to graduate in 4.5years but if I keep getting pushed back like this it might take wayy longer..</p>
<p>Anyone have any insight on how I can evaluate myself on this: Stay or go? (if I switch majors it'd either be law,business because I am amazing at conceptualization...)</p>
<p>Keep going. if this is really what you want to do, keep at it. Just because you fail a pre req in college doesnt mean that you should just quit engineering if thats what you really want to do. something that you could consider is taking summer classes at a community college and having them transfer over to somewhat slice the time. If you can finish it, the rewards will be numerous. </p>
<p>Keep trying and studying hard. Look up math youtube videos (PatrickJMT) because those can be extremely helpful if you don’t know how to do something. PatrickJMT will pretty much make the calculus series easy for you too. Even if it takes you 6 years to graduate it’s still way better than graduating with an English degree in 3 years. The English person will still be seeking a good job while you get one right off the bat (assuming you’ve done internships and have a good GPA). You can still go into business with an engineering degree. Law school? You can still go to law school too, just take the prereque’s.</p>
<p>I don’t like to knock hard work, but engineering doesn’t sound like a good idea for you. Chem 2 is more math based than chem 1, physics requires much stronger math skills and precal is much easier than cal 1, cal2 and cal 3. Do you have other areas of interest? You mention you are looking forward to a programming class - have you considered a business degree with a computer emphasis (BIS etc)?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that some engineering areas have more competition than other engineering areas and a lower GPA may hurt a little in breaking into certain engineering areas. Another thing is that some engineering will be more about what can you learn and execute during your 8, 9 or 10 hour workday.</p>
<p>Something like computer science/software development is more of a “who hustles the best” outside of the workday than other engineering professions thus reducing the emphasis placed squarely on academics.</p>
<p>All and all, staying even 5 years is not bad in engineering. Engineering is one of the few majors where staying 5 years is not looked down upon unless it is some elite consulting firm which make up a very small percentage of jobs anyway.</p>
<p>i’m not quite sure why you want to pursue engineering if you can’t even handle precalc.
calc 1 ~ 4 and chem and physics are usually weeder classes, but they are not very difficult. Engineering classes get worse as you go on to take higher level ones. </p>
<p>Anyway you will have a tough time getting the engineering degree. That said, you should still go for it if you really love EE. Start taking initiatives on studying, etc.</p>
<p>Why are you failing your math classes in the first place? If its not because its too hard and you’re not paying enough attention or something similar, then you need to step it up, and continue if you really want to.</p>
<p>If you can’t handle the class, then you shouldn’t continue. You can’t retake every math class you get to in order to pass it, thats just not practical for an engineer. Perhaps you should try to become a technician. Its similar to an Engineer, but less math/science heavy.</p>
<p>To be honest, I really did not “do my best” and granted if I could repeat my back classes I would do them wayy different than this time. For some reason reading these posts made me think that It was the COURSE thats hard just my study habits. I really did understand everything from chem to pre-calc and nothing was out of my reach it was just the habits I used (I.E - I wont go class, I’ll learn it later) and all that haha well thanks guys I’ll straighten up my act one more time (took the placement for caclulus and got in for summer) So I will see how that goes and if the COURSE is hard then I will rethink it…</p>
<p>If your going to be in engineering which has some of the most demanding undergrad majors then your really going to have to work hard, especially if your not passing the prereq classes because it’s only going to get harder. I’d think about your reasons for majoring in engineering before deciding to stick with it or not. I think it takes someone who is either good at science/math or someone who really enjoys it. If you have a genuine interest in it then stick with it, if not I’d look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Just because Pre-Cal becomes before Calc 1 does not mean it is a lot easier. Conceptually it should be easier, but it’s often done in such a way at a college level that can make it a major pain. Another problem with pre-cal is students assume it will be extremely easy and stop going to class. I don’t care what math class you are in, stop going to class, and you won’t do well. The “concept” of pre-cal is very easy, its essentially just alot of advanced algebra thrown in with trig. Professors realize this, so they throw hard examples at you that are annoying. At my university the pre-cal final was departmental and hundreds of precal students took different versions of the same exam in the same room at the same time. It was just a load of unnecessarily difficult trig/algebra, the multi-class average on it was in the 60s/70s and as a result precal is one of the most failed classes at my university. </p>
<p>This spring I took calculus 1 and it was MUCH easier than my precal class. I didn’t put alot more work into it. Bassically I just went to every class and listened to what the teacher said, didn’t even take notes. I didn’t actually do any of the homework or study the material until the night before an exam and made a B+ instead of the B- i made in precal. Had I actually tried I could have made an A, but i’m just lazy when it comes to math classes. Also I made As in Chem 1, 2 and Physics for Engineers 1. It’s true chemistry 2 is more mathmatically driven than Chem 1 but its still very basic algebra. Physics 1 required a lot of math, but it was all fairly basic trig and algebra, nothing as difficult as what was thrown at us in Pre-cal.</p>
<p>What im trying to get at is dont give up just because you did poorly in some super low-division class. These are designed to be weeder classes. Just analyze why you did poorly and attempt to correct it.</p>
<p>Like Nate said analyze why you did poorly and correct it. If you gave 110% and still couldn’t make the grades I would suggest changing now but from what you said it seems you are doing terrible due to bad habits. Whether it’s a lack of motivation, guidance, or outside distractions you will continue to work below your potential until you fix the root of the problem.</p>
<p>Dude, those lower level classes sucked and just set a broad foundation. Get through them trying to understand as much as possible, it worked for me and i couldnt be happier</p>
<p>I slept my way through high school. Started college taking intermediate algebra. Followed it up with a C in trig, a C in pre-calc. Then a D in calc 1. I gave up and then bounced around non-math majors for two years without direction. Dropped a chem class or two somewhere in there too. After my 4th year of Community College I realized that my heart was in engineering and at 22 years old it was now or never to get back on the engineering track and if I didn’t do it I’d regret it for the rest of my life.</p>
<p>Started looking at my studies differently, perhaps started taking it more seriously as I matured, who knows. Met it head on, retook calc 1 and made it through calc 2, 3, etc plus all the physics and other engineering pre-reqs. Managed to pull my GPA up to 3.2 and now at 24 years old with 6 years of community college under my belt I’m starting UC Davis Civil Engineering in the fall.</p>
<p>Yeah, maybe I’m surrounded by 19-20 year old 4.0 students but I’d put myself up against them in just about anything. I’m proud of myself and I can’t wait to get to UC next fall and really start kicking ass.</p>