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This is one of the core differences between secondary school and college. High school may have taught you how to execute a series of steps, but college is trying to teach you to work without a list, to take a set of tools and figure out how to use them on your own.</p>
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Then here is my advice:</p>
<p>Review the math. A lot. Perhaps take a couple of extra math courses. A lot of the challenge in engineering is really understanding how to make the math work for you.</p>
<p>After that, try looking back at your core material and seeing what it means. At the undergrad level, there are not usually too many steps between the question and answer, and the methods are generally either shown or at least hinted at in the course material even if the instructor does not mention it.</p>
<p>Do not go to office hours without having tried the problems. If you go in saying “I tried methods A, B, and C” you will get a better response than if you say “I can’t figure this out!”.</p>
<p>It is hard to be more specific than that without knowing more about your problem - the courses you are struggling with, the kinds of problems being presented, etc.</p>