Trying to recover from poor three semesters

Student Lounge College Life
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I am a sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering, and will be going into my 4th semester in January 2018. My first semester of college was okay overall, though, second semester is when things started to deteriorate. At the end of my freshman year, I had a 1.98 cumulative GPA and was placed under academic probation and lost my two scholarships. Fall 2017, I started off the semester well, but once we started having exams, my grades started to fall. As of now, my cumulative GPA has fallen to 1.66, and I am beyond scared. The official grades for the semester haven’t come out, and I am honestly more scared than I ever have been, mostly because of my parents and their reaction, granted their reaction will be justified. Next semester, I will be taking 13 credit hours:

  1. Math Methods in Physics Sciences II
  2. Aerodynamics for Engineers
  3. Materials and Processes
  4. Dynamics
    This major and the school I chose were all my decisions, and I don’t regret them at all. I don’t want to change my major, and want to graduate on time in Spring 2020 with the rest of my Aerospace Engineering class. I know I can recover, considering the resources I have and the support of the professors and advisor I have. Though I don’t know how since I’ve already completed three semesters. Time is university is flying by faster than mach (Pun intended), and I’m trying to work with time, not against it. I’ve put in so much effort over the past three semesters, though it has yielded nothing. I want my efforts to pay off and hopefully graduate with a cumulative GPA of 3.5+.
    Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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Graduating with a 3.5 at this point should not be your goal, as your current gpa is below a c and this is not good. Try thinking about why your grades are so low. You say you are putting in a lot of effort, but if this effort is resulting in D grades, is this really the major for you? I know you don’t want to switch, but not to sound harsh, your GPA is VERY low right now and will be difficult to bring up where you want unless you start getting mostly A’s. This does not happen magically, especially if this has not been your average thus far.

Talk to your advisor. Talk to career services. Consider specifics as to why your grades are so low, and what you can change to bring them up. Are your parents still willing to the foot the bill for classes that you are barely passing? Talk to them about this too.

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Are you using resources for help at school such as tutoring, office hours, working with classmates and study groups, and supplemental instruction?

Have you read the book called how to become a straight A student by pal newport and done what it teaches?

How have you done In specific classes?

If you wish to graduate on time and raise your GPA, you may have to retake some of the classes you did poorly in, get better grades, and go to summer school.

Do you have a good answer to why you’ve been doing poorly? If this keeps happening you could get suspended from the university.

Have you thought about doing something easier like aerospace engineering technology?

Are there personal issues in factor affecting personal performance? I encourage you to go to counseling and get health issues solved if you have any.

I encourage you to speak to advisor and career services as well!

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@SuperGeo5999 I go in for office hours post-exam, though I should start going in for office hours regularly for certain courses. Before every exam, my friends and I study through notes, assignments, and other material we have.

I haven’t read that book, but I’ll look into it. The excerpts of it online make it read out to be a useful resource.

In terms of specific classes, I’ve done well in Calculus I & II and Math Methods 1. Physics hasn’t been too kind and so is the case with a specific professor. All other courses, I received either an A or a B in.

I retook Calculus I over the summer and raised my grade from a D to a B which allowed me to take Calculus II which in turn was my key to the classes I took over Fall 2017. I can’t do much for classes I’ve taken the past three semesters, and can just look forward and do better. My university does offer grade replacement.

As to a specific answer for my poor grades, I would say my performance on exams. Since high school, I’ve had issues with exams, mostly in math and science courses, and that it what the entirety of my college career is. No matter how much harder I study, I don’t seem to be improving my exam grades. Other than that, I do fine in my courses. The worst that could happen is removal from my major, though that is based on my fourth semester grades. For Spring 2018, the outlook on grades looks quite positive as I am guaranteed at least a 3.5 for that semester.

My university offers Aeronautical Systems Tech, though staying in Aerospace Engineering is something I’m quite adamant on. I’m part of the first class of Aerospace Engineers at my university, and I don’t want to leave it considering that overall, we are doing well.

I’ve thought about the possibility of me having text anxiety, though it seems too far fetched. In general, I don’t have any health or personal issues.

I’ll be contacting my academic advisor and our lead professor, both who know me well, so they should be able to help me out and get me back on track.

I appreciate all the feedback and advice!

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what specific classes have you failed or got Ds in? Those are what must of dropped your GPA bellow a 2.0. I reccomend at some point retaking those if you hope to have a 3.5 when you graduate. Retaking classes is not a bad thing because I’ve had to do it too. I’m sorry you struggle with test anxiety, I’ve struggled too with it. I’m glad your struggles haven’t caused you to be discouraged from your major.

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@SuperGeo5999 The following are the courses I have received a D in:

  • Chemistry
  • Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
  • Statics
  • Physics II
  • Macroeconomics
    Statics is definitely a course that I’ll be retaking since it is part of my major GPA. As for test anxiety, I think it’s just my mindset that “I have test anxiety” that is probably hindering my test grades which in turn is affecting my overall grades and GPA.

I realize there are millions of others who have larger struggles than me, but my entire life has been a challenge. I’ve overcome most of the challenges, and Aerospace Engineering is one I will never give up on. My childhood dream was to become a pilot, though this is way better.

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What makes macroeconomics hard? Was micro hard? I’m taking microeconomics in the spring and I’m scared that this class will be hard.

Have you considered counseling or therapy? This might help you find some help with test anxiety. You’ll wanna find a therapist or counselor that’ll work for you because not all are a match for everyone.

Are you enjoying your time at Kent state?

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Macroecon wasn’t a hard class. It was just that with major related classes, two research competitions, and an undergrad research, I didn’t have time to do the assignments for that class. I took it as part of a business minor, but I’m going to drop the minor to focus on Aerospace Engineering. Micro on the other hand is easier that macro as it covers individual markets and individuals as opposed to the economy as a whole. From what I remember, there are a lot less graphs and formulas, and in my opinion is the better and more interesting of the two branches of economics.

I don’t know about therapy, but I will be talking to my academic advisor when I go back for Spring 2018. She has been helpful in the past and is a great resource.

For a second, I got confused as to how you knew my school, but then realized that I mentioned it in one of my older posts. Kent State was definitely not my first choice at all, though it turned out to be a great choice in the end. Being part of the first class has a lot of perks, especially in terms of involvement. We’re working on two NASA research competitions, and are working on expanding the aero program.

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Well if test taking is the issue, you need to master the material. Mastering the material doesn’t occur cramming the night before the test. You need to start studying for the test day one. Good luck

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My concern would be not having a good foundation for you to take your upper level engineering classes. Also does your engineering dept have a requirement that you must maintain a certain gpa in order to stay in the program? In some engineering schools you would not be allowed to continue with this major or in an engineering program. What does your academic adviser say about continuing with this major? Would you be allowed to do that?

The other issue would be that internship or job prospects would be slim because just to get interviews sometimes there are minimum gpa requirements. Once you find out how you performed this semester really think about the future and what you think you are capable of succeeding in.

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First of all, there should be no shame in this. Don’t let your parents berate you. It is what it is and you’ve worked hard. Failures are difficult to take, but we can grow from them and become stronger. That’s what you want to do. People who are afraid to fail can never be successful. Sometimes people who will eventually be successful fail. So what. It will soon be in the rearview mirror.

Honestly, it’s clear to me that a full-time load is too difficult for you, and by continuing on the current track, you are taking courses in which you haven’t mastered the prerequisite material and digging the hole deeper. This does not bode well. It’s likely, that being on academic probation, that you will not be allowed to continue, or will have to take at least a semester off.

Life is not a race. I think I would withdraw regardless of what your school says, and perhaps start over at a community college, going part-time. Take no more than 3 technical classes and nothing else. Start from the beginning. Prove to yourself that you can master single and multivariable calculus and calculus based physics in all of its glory. Maybe get a tutor right from the get go. With a slow and steady community college record, you will then be in a position to appeal your dismissal. Hopefully with a lighter load, you will be able to learn how to study more effectively and really digest the material and give yourself a solid background to handle aero-astro courses.

Good luck to you.

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@classicrockerdad “Prove to yourself that you can master single and multivariable calculus and calculus based physics in all of its glory.”

That hurts just reading it. :slight_smile:

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These upper level math classes are the norm in any engineering program. Physics is based on math. Without a strong foundation Physics is going to be a challenge.
Was there not any placement testing prior to first semester freshman year for math. In D’s school those who could pass the calculus test could not enroll in engineering classes. They had to pick another major.

One major that might be doable for you is BIT (business information techonology) In some schools it is offered by the business dept but it is a combination of business and technology and there are lots of job opportunities with that skill set.

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Why are you doing research competitions? Is it required? Why are you doing undergrad research?
You need to focus on classes only right now.

Did you retake all your Ds? Does your school replace the new grade when you retake a Freshman D? @Desi4life How many credits per semester where you taking before this?

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“It was just that with major related classes, two research competitions, and an undergrad research, I didn’t have time to do the assignments for that class.”

I think that you need to drop the research competitions, cut back on the undergraduate research, and focus on your classes. You must give yourself time to do the assignments for each class.

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Can you explain this further?

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Update? How is this semester going?

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Academics are the most important thing.
The first thing employers do is look at your GPA.
Then they look at other stuff like competitions and research.

Ideas on how to improve:http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html