Stressed/Depressed as First Semester Freshman?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Ohio State University
1

Hello everyone, as of right now I am a freshman at Ohio State.
I am currently in exploration, although I am looking to majoring in Computer and Information Science.
College, so far, has had its ups and downs; it was really difficult at first, it got easier for a little while, and now it is really difficult again.
I’m really stressed about my grades, but this is due to two classes that I am taking right now.

The first is Math 1151; right now I am getting a B- in the class (I received a C+ on the first midterm; and this is a grade without a massive quiz that I just took which could either help my grade or demolish my grade). I really do study and prepare for these things, and although the concepts are now easier to understand (either the classes are easier now or I am better adjusted), it still is challenging and since I have had NO prior Calculus experience, I feel I really have to study and work hard more than the average individual just to receive a decent grade. And the class feels really brutal at points as well as unfair; the midterm was so much more difficult compared to the homework/quizzes we had, which I was struggling at in the first place.

The second is Microeconomics, or Econ 2001.01. I have this professor named Hijame Miyazaki, and although the subject matter he is teaching is interesting, I am struggling in the class. This professor is the kind of professor, from what I’ve heard, ramps up the difficulty of the second half of the semester and continues to increases it to the point that the class average is around the 40-50% area; he then curves your grade based on how you are in relation to the class average. Right now, the class average is a C+, and I’m receiving (based on calculations I’ve made) a B- as well in the class. I did really well on the first quiz, I received a B- on the second quiz, I received an A on the midterm, but I just took another quiz which I totally failed; I received a 53% on the quiz (I did slack off on studying it for a little bit; it was a brutal test, though, as the class average was a 60% on the quiz, while they usually are A’s). I’m concerned about future quizzes.

In regards to the second class, I feel that the class will only become harder; and the class is extremely difficult to study for, as the teacher teaches the class way more differently than the typical microeconomics teacher, and it is almost impossible to study with the materials and notes that he provides (his notes are nothing but graphs with almost no words, and the book almost has nothing to do with his class), and I feel that my grade will only drop downwards.

I did the calculations, and right now I’m receiving roughly a 3.28 GPA, which is OK, as my intended major requires a 3.2 GPA (and who knows? Maybe I won’t pursue that major). However, I have this constant worry/concern of absolute failure in college; My grades can grow higher, or they can descend greatly, and that concerns me greatly. The worry of failure, especially with these two classes, is concerning. I mean, if one of my “A” grades drops in my other classes, I’m basically screwed; and that is very stressful to me.

So, can anybody give me any advice about this predicament? Do you honestly think that I will be OK with my situation? How do I deal with this stress and concern? Is this type of stress for this semester of college typical (first semester of freshman year)?

Thanks,
-Matt

2

Checkout younkinsuccess.osu.edu The Younkin Center in the Office of Student life provides support services, including counseling and consultation services. Also, they have daily programs and workshops which you can attend. Also, consider talking with your academic advisor or a peer mentor about your situation and what they suggest. Taking both calculus and microeconomics first semester, particularly when you did not take these courses in high school, can be brutal. However, from what you say it does not appear that you are doing too badly in both of these courses, so i’d recommend you bear down and stay with them. However, if your grades descend greatly you may want to consider dropping one. You would get a W, which is not too bad if you would otherwise be getting a C or lower. But there is a deadline for withdrawing, so find out when that deadline is.

3

I just saw this article on the www.thelantern.com about an app for stressed out students. http://thelantern.com/2015/10/ohio-state-app-aims-to-alleviate-student-stress/ Also, going to office hours has helped both of my college kids feel more prepared for tests, quizzes, and homework. When you are confident about the material, you will reduce your stress. You have plenty of time left in the semester to pull up your grades. Good Luck!

4

The link above says that there is free math tutoring Sunday to Thursday 7-9 pm. That should be very helpful.
Exams may be a lot harder than the homeworks. You should master the homeworks and do extra problems to prepare for an exam. You can see if your prof post old exams to get an idea of what you need to know. You can also often find exams (from a similar class at other schools) with solutions online to practice hard problems.

5

Have you been to see your professors in office hours? Are you pursuing tutoring outside of class? Have you been to EVERY SINGLE class? Do you sit up front and ask questions? How much time are you spending on your classes outside of class? If you’re spending anything less than 40 hours a week studying, then that’s probably not enough.

Just doing those things will probably improve your grade. I can’t believe the number of students that don’t do these things and then still expect to get a good grade in a class.

6

@MarcusOSU does that 40 hours a week include in class time because that’s nearly 6 hours every day?

7

A full course load should be like a full-time job. For every credit hour in which you enroll, you should spend about 2-3 hours studying outside of class per week. So, for a 15-hour course load, you could typically spend 30-45 hours a week outside of class studying. This is standard across the board. If you’re not spending that kind of time on your school work, then you can’t be surprised if you’re not succeeding.