Hi Everyone,
I’m currently a high school senior applying to college as a civil engineering major. I’m also enrolled in my first physics class (honors). It sucks. I’ve bombed the first few quizzes on kinematics, and I’ve just found everything to be so confusing in general. It’s weird because I did so well in calculus and chem, so math and science is not an issue for me overall. So I’m not sure if physics just hasn’t clicked yet, or if all hope is lost and I should just abandon civil engineering altogether. The only concept I understand pretty well is vectors, since I’ve always had a knack for trig. I’m hoping that since vectors and trig are so important in statics, which is important in civil engineering, then maybe there’s still some hope left and I’ll be able to push through. I should also note that I have a passion for buildings, bridges, roads, etc so I’m really not interested in chemical, industrial, computer, or any other engineering disciplines. Thoughts?
I wouldn’t write engineering off so fast. Two things come to mind, and I might be wrong on both, but here ya go.
Are you a high horsepower student that gets by without putting much if any work in? It’s very common, especially for students on the engineering path. If that’s the case, then it’s simply time to ask for help, put in more time on problem sets and learn to study efficiently. Again, IF that’s the case far better to figure it out now than later. EVERY high horsepower student runs into this eventually in engineering, because engineering is hard.
It may also be that your teacher just isn’t very good, something you will run into in college too. You need to develop workarounds. Do you have classmates that are doing well that can help you? Does your school offer tutors? Have you looked at Kahn Academy?
I might not be right on either, but you’ve clearly succeeded in other challenging classes. LOTS more challenges will follow if you choose engineering. It’s time to learn the skills to push through. Resilience will be your friend in any engineering program.
Good luck!
@InTheLexus, I was a civil engineering major who also struggled in physics. I was a straight A+ student in high school (our HS physics class was a joke). My first college exam was in honors physics, and I got a 45!!! I thought my life was over. I scraped by with a C that semester. I think I squeaked out a B second semester, but it was close.
I went on to graduate with high honors in CE, so you can see that it’s possible for you to do fine in college. You’re right - understanding vectors is what’s most important. You won’t need a lot of stuff covered in physics. Good luck! I really enjoy being a structural engineer.