I am having such a hard time with this stuff. I am in Calculus 2 and everything looks like gibberish. To me it’s like math people just make stuff up and pretend it’s true. I know that’s not the case but I don’t know if I can do this. I really don’t get it. I watch videos, try to read my book. But with math you can do things so many different ways that non of it helps me! Omg I’m so bummed! I want to be an environmental engineer btw.
My son is in Calc 2 and is a pretty good calc student (knock on wood). Still, it’s tough. We have heard that Calc 2 is the toughest one in the sequence of 3 classes.
Would it help you to get a private tutor? Sometimes they can help you practice problems in a way that makes sense to you.
Yes that would help but it’s not really an option because I can’t afford it. I don’t live with my parents so you know how that goes.
Do you have a tutoring center at your school?
Stay on top of this and get creative with your options. Can you find a PhD student who will tutor you on the “cheap”? Can you offer to mow their grass or walk their dog or do light cleaning in trade? It is a relatively small investment which can pay big dividends if you find the right person.
I’m glad you’re thinking about this very early in the semester. That’s a good sign. Hang in there and I will pray a creative solution comes through for you!
Another idea - find someone who teaches upper level courses in your desired major and ask their opinion about the importance of Calc 2? Is it vital to the field? Can you squeak through and still be OK since your career will focus on other skill sets? These are answers I would want to have before I give up the major.
Have you checked out patrickJMT or Khan Academy?
Yes, I have. It can be difficult though because they each work out the problem in a different way. It’s like hit or miss if I can understand it.
You say it seems like gibberish. Have you taken the time to work through proofs? Did you do any of that in lower maths? Knowing how an answer is derived is important, especially when using shorter methods. I’m not of the “just memorize” philosophy. Understanding math is key but it can take time up front.
Some of them, but not too much because I took calc1 in 8 weeks. We barely had time to master the material. I think I know why I’m so confused… my professor is doing the differential equations chapter first which is really confusing if you aren’t taking differential equations. He’s the only professor that does that. Hopefully when I’m done with this chapter I won’t be so lost anymore
@SouthFloridaMom9
Yes we have a math center here on campus, but a lot of the tutors that helped me the best have left 
but hopefully since the semester is still fresh we will get more tutors. I’d like to do extra work (not really) but I have to work to pay bills & stay alive lol and I’m also doing an internship at Environmental Resource Management down here, which will be taking up a lot of my time.
I think I psych myself out because math in particular can be a real pain in the (oh). An attribute to my fear of math might be from my not so solid background in college algebra now that I think of it, because a lot of calculus is really just algebra, so if u can’t do the algebra right then u can mess up the whole problem.
I hope the next year won’t be the death me lol
Thanks
You can do it! There are a surprising number of people on the engineering students subreddit who claim to have failed Calc 2 multiple times and still graduated and gotten a job.
Not advisable, of course. But it’s only one hurdle, and even if it trips you up the first time, keep your eye on the rest of the race. 
@bodangles 
bodaglessssss. U have like one of the best screen names and I’m kinda jealous bc as u can see I had a hard time coming up with one… that I liked… and wasn’t taken or prohibited.
&& thank you thank you for that because I was considering that I might just be crazy to think I was going to be an engineer but I see now I’m more crazy if I give up now!
Honestly I’ve done research on a lot of different fields related to the environment and environmental engineering seems to fit my life goals the best. I don’t really want to do anything else until retirement. And even after I’m retired I’m sure I’ll have projects going on which involve the community.
ahhlifegoals
If you are struggling, the number one thing you should do is to talk to your instructor early. Believe me, most people may try to avoid doing so because they fear being judged as dumb or whatever. However, the proper solution is to seek help early. Your instructor’s job is to help those who really put in the effort succeed, but the responsibility for seeking help when you need it is yours. Leaving the situation as is or waiting until the end of the term to seek help becomes a recipe for disaster.
Calc 2 is statistically failed more than calc 3 not because it is harder than calc 3, but because people who really cannot do math may take calc 2 due to their major requiring it (e.g., biology) and then stop after it. Once you get to calc 3, you will not really be able to find anybody who really cannot do math.
I’m sure that for you, it is just the very beginning of the fall semester at this point. You probably have not had any exams to actually assess your understanding of the material yet. If you really feel that lost already, you should talk to the instructor about whether or not you have adequate preparation for the course. Are you a first semester freshman who received AP credit for calc 1 and went directly into calc 2? If so, you may simply not be ready, as AP courses and tests typically do not match the rigor of their actual corresponding college courses, and your instructor may advise you to drop the class and start by actually taking calc 1 at your university.
@umcoe16 no I already have my AA. Just finishing up prerequisites. Yeah I’ll talk to him.
@dobbleyouteeeff so then did you take calc 1 as a part of your AA degree? Was it a while ago? If it has been a long time, an instructor may recommend that you restart from calc 1.
@umcoe16 yes I took it in the summer in 8 weeks. I feel since I’m not very good with math that maybe taking cal1 in 8 weeks wasn’t the best idea because I basically had to study to just past tests and didn’t have a lot of time to conceptualize the material.
Can you switch sections or attend another professor’s class instead? Not all schools work the same way, but at mine the tests for all Calc2 classes were the same for all the professors. I struggled with the first prof I had. I started going to the lectures given by another prof. It was at 8am, 4 days a week, but it made all the difference for me.