I am currently going to school to become a mechanical engineer. I’ve never taken calculus before but I am in calc 1 and pretty much failing. I’ve gotten tutors I’ve studied all night I just don’t know what else to do. It seems slike I’m just going to get worse and worse at this. Should I still be an engineer?
It’s too early to know for sure. Tell us more about your struggles? Some students don’t have a strong enough base math foundation. Others have trouble with the concepts.
You should definitely talk to your instructor to figure out where you stand and get them to gauge whether or not you have a chance at recovering. In this situation, typically instructors tell you that your choices are to stay in the class if you think you can step it up, or drop the course. If you have one more exam before your final drop deadline, take that exam before you make the decision. Otherwise, you will be taking a risk by staying in the course. If you are deciding whether or not dropping is a good idea, it is better to take a W than an E.
It is important to note that an instructor will never tell a student to drop their course, however. The decision always rests with the student. In college, if you are questioning whether or not you have a chance at passing a course, it is your responsibility to approach the instructor. Some instructors may tell the class “if you got below X% on the exam, you should make an appointment to speak to me”, but they will not babysit. Just because the instructor doesn’t initiate a conversation with you regarding your grade doesn’t necessarily mean that you are passing the course. If you think you are at risk of failing, you should ask your instructor for a recommendation regarding whether or not dropping the course is in your best interest, but remember that ultimately it is up to you.
Not succeeding the first attempt does not necessarily mean your chances of getting through the engineering program are over. However, you do need to figure out what you can do better. This applies to future classes. Having a record of frequent withdrawals will not reflect positively on you to grad/professional schools or employers.
If you cannot do calculus then you cannot be an engineer. But I wouldn’t say that struggling in Calc 1, even with tutor help, means that you cannot do calculus. Often it just means that you have other issues (stress, anxiety, depression) or that your mathematical foundations are lacking (algebra, trigonometry, geometry). It’s best to figure out what the cause of your issues is because if you don’t learn calculus well, then it’s just going to be a downward spiral all the way to the end of the major since academic performance is very cumulative.
I know some people who simply could not do calculus, even with a solid foundation, with a stable life, and multiple attempts. Safe to say that they were not meant to be engineers.