<p>Didn't get it back yet, but I already know it's the case.</p>
<p>I'm so mad at myself. I thought I studied enough. My transition to college has been nothing short of horrible. I'm not even taking a lot of credits. I'm not even taking difficult classes. I've made no real friends--didn't even have any in high-school. I don't even know <em>why</em> I'm here or what I want to do, and by the looks of my grades, I won't be doing much. I don't have any job or internships going on. </p>
<p>And of course, it doesn't end here. I have more midterms and assignments due next week which will surely be failed. It just keeps piling on.</p>
<p>And the worst part? I was my high-school's valedictorian. I did this in addition to being a state-qualified athlete. I self-studied APs and scored in the 98th percentile on my standardized tests. There was an HS class where I literally scored 100% on <em>every</em> assignment. College is supposed to be harder, but is it meant to be so hard that I can't even get an A!?</p>
<p>No job. No friends. No real academic prowess. </p>
<p>This happens to everyone it is called time to wake up. To be really straight up HS was a cake walk and it was a game. College is a whole different ball game you can’t just cram for exams here you will just fail, you have to put in work and from there you will find success.</p>
<p>Everyone has failures and mistakes learn from this and be a better person. For the classes, if you would just spend 30 - 45 min daily to go over homework problems that you did it will stay fresh in your mind so when they announce the exam all you have to do is skim your homework and you will remember again.</p>
<p>If you cram, when the professor announces midterms you might have done the homework but since you did not review it on a daily basis you have to go back and relearn the material. Some midterms have 6-7 chapters of material imagine having to relearn all of that within a week when you have other classes. It becomes a hassle.</p>
<p>Realize that if you fail your classes you just wasted your time, 5 months worth!</p>
<p>I think what’s happening is you’re taking a few slip ups and blowing it massively out of proportion. I know how you feel because I’ve been getting poor grades too and it’s a really low feeling because your self-esteem is shot, but you’re going way too far.</p>
<p>Things will be alright. You need to take things slowly and not let a few mistakes lead you to think that everything will be bad. To be honest, people aren’t going to have sympathy really. No one cares about what you did in high school because high school is nowhere near college in terms of course depth, difficulty, etc. There are so many ways to pull off an A in a high school course but that’s not the case in college. You have to put your head down and work. If you work hard but the results don’t show up, it’s not a call for you to sulk and think everything’s wrong with your life. You need to change your approach. Talk to students who are doing well. Talk to the professor and develop a studying strategy that will help you do well. Study concepts aggressively, not passively by just doing assigned problems. Sometimes, you need to push yourself to the limit to really get the results that you want, so try to do the absolute maximum you can do so that when you walk into the room to take the exam, you can say that you didn’t leave any pages unturned.</p>
<p>But yeah, develop a positive attitude and keep things in perspective. It seems you’re a freshman - if you are, you have the rest of this semester and 3.5 more years. You have plenty of time to turn things around and pass with flying colors. Keep your head up! :)</p>
<p>Also, if you’re going to resign yourself to thinking that your midterms and assignments next week will be failed, then you’re in trouble. Move beyond this and buckle down for whatever is up next, you have no other option anyway.</p>
<p>A lot of college profs grade toughest early on. I recommend some quality office time with the prof and/or TAs and get a handle on what it takes to turn things around. In the immortal words of Bluto Blutarski: “Was it over when the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor”? NO! It ain’t over till we say it’s over!"</p>
<p>So, get the lead out mister, it’s time to kick some academic buttocks…</p>
<p>Every school has an academic skills center to help you learn how to study/work at the college level (hint: NOT the same as worked in high school).</p>
<p>Have you gone to office hours? Especially if you are not doing well in a course.</p>
<p>A true story: my oldest son --also a top high school student with scores to match–got a C- on his first college midterm. His professor had written him a note on his bluebook asking him to come see her. Which he did pronto. </p>
<p>She reviewed his exam with him–and also reviewed an exam which had received an A grade, so that he could “see” the difference. The professor could see that my son had studied and understood the material, but the way in which he wrote the exam was not up to the expected standard. After this session with the professor, he had a clear idea of what was expected–and applied what he learned to all of his other exams and assignments. He then understood how to study more effectively, how to present his arguments in papers and essay exams, etc.</p>
<p>Set up appointments with each of your professors immediately. Don’t go to the appointment expecting them to change your grade–they won’t, they will resent the request, and you will not learn anything useful. But DO ask them to review your work, and ask them to discuss where it fell short and what a better approach would have looked like. Discuss what your approach and techniques for studying have been, and ask for advice on what might work better.</p>
<p>Remember that the professors want you to learn what they are teaching. Also remember that you are not the first student that has floundered making the transition to the college level, and that professors have seen it all before–so they are a great source of advice.</p>
<p>You know you can do the work – you just need a little help in finding out how. Don’t be discouraged, just get help in how to work smarter instead of just harder.</p>
<p>What year are you? If you’re either a freshman or sophomore you still have plenty of time to improve your grades, get an internship/job, and make friends. It’s not so much about how long you study, but whether or not you’re studying effectively. Midterms usually all happen around the same time, so you really need to make the best use of your time. This is probably the most important skill you learn in college. </p>
<p>There’s nothing you can do at this point about your score. What you need to do is learn from it. thankyou4flying is right in that you shouldn’t compound this problem by letting this distract you from getting ready for the midterms and assignments next week. Get started on those right now! If you do, you’ll be much happier with the eventual results.</p>