Failing College: Needing 'a Spark of Courage' (Advice Needed)

Richard T said:

It seems likely you have never failed much before which is a good thing. So welcome to the crowd. The failed test may do more for you than the one with your best grade. Why? Because it has caught your attention. No need to bum out on it though. I too have jumped prerequisites. Never in math though. I had a poor background and had to get a tutor to get through calc.
So you can either double down or repeat the course. If your grade is still a C or better, then you likely have just 3 weeks or so for the end of the semester.
You might still be able to use a math lab, find a person to study with or just grind through the course with more effort. Don't be fearful of going to the professor either during office hours. It is perfectly fine to ask about how to study, or what you can do to improve.
Praying you have no learning blocs or blind spots in all your preparation. That you intuitively know what to prioritize and learn and that you stay humble and put your "face like flint" to remove all impediments to you calling and career. God bless!

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timf said:

It seems you may place greater emphasis on how you feel than what is true. You mentioned that you took a class in advance of what you should have because you "felt" confident. Being misled by feelings is very common. A Christian should not undervalue truth as Christ is truth.

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Gregory Thompson said:

If you skipped taking a class that would be helpful towards the class you did not do well in, perhaps study up on what that foundation is?

Line upon line, precept upon precept. (Isaiah 28:10)

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jas3 said:

My first semester in college was rough. I didn't have to retake any classes, but I got straight B's, and some of those were just barely not C's. Like you, I started with my university's honors version of Calculus 3, which is normally a sophomore-level class, since I had AP credit and didn't have to take Calculus 1 and 2. Before college, I rarely had to study, usually got my homework done at school, and had no problem being at the top of my class.

There's a steep learning curve to time management and understanding what amount of studying is needed to succeed in a class when you get to college. This is particularly true if you're taking classes beyond what someone in your year would normally take; if you were taking the normal classes for your year that are below your proficiency level, you probably could coast through and get an A. You'll probably have some required classes where you can do that. But the harder technical classes are going to demand a lot from you; I would estimate that for every hour of classes I took, I spent 4 hours a week working on assignments or studying (this was more true for the junior and senior-level classes which were all in-major).

My weekly time breakdown was roughly as follows:

• Class: 21 hours
• Study/Homework: 84 hours
• Research/academic extracurriculars: 10 hours
• Eating/socializing/church: 18 hours
• Sleep: 35 hours

Now, that was a horrible work/life balance and I hated it, but I overextended myself and that was the result. I got some nice credentials, but at significant cost to my health, and I'm still dealing with the consequences. I hope I'm clear that I'm not recommending you take this much of a load, it's absolutely not worth it - but for what you do take, that proportion is probably reasonable, and you should expect a normal class load to take at least as much of your week as a full time job.

As for what you can do in your current situation, I'd recommend you talk to the professor during office hours and let him know you're concerned about how you're doing in the class, and ask if there's any way you'll end up with a C based on how the class is going to be graded and how much of your grade the final and any remaining homework is worth. Professors are usually more open in office hours about potential grade curves at the end of the semester, or letting you know that everyone's in trouble and it's not just you. Some professors enjoy having the feeling that their class is "extra hard" and nobody passes without help; I had one class where a 44 average was an A. In a similar class, I went to the professor because my average was in the 40's after the midterm, and I told him I worried I might need to drop the class, but he reassured me that that was roughly a B on his grading scale.

Sometimes professors will also just give you a slight bump for free if it means the difference in a letter grade. They'll also, in my experience, tend to be more lenient when grading your assignments if they know you care about the class and are putting forth effort. You can show this by going to office hours to get help if you're stuck on a problem or don't understand something from the class.

Whatever happens, don't let one bad exam or even one repeated class get you down. Take it as a learning experience, go to the professor's office hours and ask for help on exam problems you're reviewing, and do your best to move on. I'll be praying that this class works out for you.

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