1 of nine semesters down

[SSChevyManiac]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Hey basketweaving101 may just satisfy a gym credit for him. I took fly fishing during a light load semester, one of the best and most expensive mistakes I ever made.

[daved931]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

I failed Chemistry. Had to drop calculus II. I think I took that twice.

My first year of college I almost got kicked out. I had horrible grades. I couldn't stand bullsh*t prerequisite courses that had nothing to do with what I wanted to do with my life. I am well read and took AP English and Political Science, so it wasn't like I was too stupid for a lot of that stuff (though a lot of the engineers I went to school with could barely write on a 3rd grade level). I was too stupid to put in the effort necessary to succeed in those classes though, ha ha.

Don't let it get you down. Once I got past all of the prereq courses like chemistry, psychology, world history, social science/humanities, etc, I was on the dean's list all the time. When you get into interesting courses that you can see have real world significance, it's easier to get excited about it and want to be there.

The other courses help you be a more well-rounded person so they have their place, they just won't ever excite you that much.

Basically, do as others have said--keep plugging. It will get better.

[seanm]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Any way you can switch those classes to audit and redo them?

[98ciHemi]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

I don't need chemistry for my degree. Perspectives I do, and there is no friggin way I should get an F or an X in that class, though that is what the teacher is insistent that I have earned. I'll deal with it and move on.

[moparmaniac07]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Hey basketweaving101 may just satisfy a gym credit for him. I took fly fishing during a light load semester, one of the best and most expensive mistakes I ever made.

Fly Fishing's great. I took it this past semester and taking it again in the spring. So much better than power walking or weight lifting.

[64casteel]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

i have 10 semesters and i just completed one, the bad thing is im in early college so im taking high school and college classes, most are high school right now.
i was excempt form my math,computers and suprisingly my english but i still have biology and civics to take

[Pumpkin v2]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

i was excempt form and suprisingly my english

Wow, proof of the dumbing down of America, or North Carolina anyway.

[64casteel]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

hey thats my typing not spelling

[milner351]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Walt - if you have to take a class over again - especially if it's offered with a different instructor - don't let it get you down. Also look into what classes from a community college you could transfer over - something you could take during the summer back home even.

I took several classes at Kalamazoo valley and transferred them into WMU.
I took a few classes twice - one in particular (calc 2) with a different instructor - and it was like a different course entirely - the teacher makes a HUGE difference!

Take it one class at a time, one test at a time, one day at a time - DON'T GIVE UP.

[horsewidower]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Dude, I spent my first two years drunk and belligerent (certainly traits I no longer possess : )and was invited to leave. Then two years taking night classes while working for a construction company until I realized that I really wanted to finish college. Last two years I spent immersed in college, pulling "A"s, President of my discipline's club and got the diploma. It didn't come without its heartache, I got engaged and then dumped by the Lovely Donna, cause I studied too much (well that and she thought I was too controlling, I thought someone engaged to be married didn't need to be a "little sister" of a fraternity that I wasn't a member of...oh the stories I could tell). But I digress.

Especially in the discipline that you've chosen, weed out classes are a core part of your initial schooling. A key to success is perserverance. One thing I've always told my kids is that regardless of whether you have an interest in a class, you have to take it and you have to pass. A key strategy of success is to learn the teacher. That's right, learn what the teacher thinks is important and study to their expectations.

Frankly, most folks don't know how to study. High school generally requires little more than a need to warm a seat. And, frankly, home schooling probably doesn't prepare you for the nuisances inherent in a regimented environment. Seek out tutoring help, its usually easily available and may be free. Seek out "how to study" classes, most institutions have them. While I found group study to be of minimal value, it does force you to look at whats going to be discussed and may provide you insight into how others are approaching the curriculum. If your personality is bold enough, identify who is getting good grades in a class that you are struggling with, and ask them for help.

In the end, your employment will have far more to do with completing the education than the grade you carded in any individual class.

[JeffMcKC]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

As Doc has told me many times......

"Do you know what they call the guy in Med School that is Last in his Graduating Class,,,,,,,,,, Doctor"

[Tom Slick]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

As Doc has told me many times......

"Do you know what they call the guy in Med School that is Last in his Graduating Class,,,,,,,,,, Doctor"

The guy who covers up that doctor's mistakes is called a Mortician.

Hang in there - they may curve it up.

[98ciHemi]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Not good. Bombed my last two chemistry exams (52 and 50), I am probably going to end up failing chem, it just depends on how much of a curve he puts on the thing. Engineering should be a B or C, Same for Calc, Physics was just short of an A, Air Force Foundations is an A, and only God knows what my perspectives teacher will give me since she thinks I am a no account bum who doesn't care about school. I am pretty sure I can get away with either failing one class or a sub 2.5 GPA, but if I do both, I probably screwed myself out of my scholarship. Not a great start to college. At least I can always work on cars.

Well, here's the tally:
Chemistry- EPIC curve. I was way clear of passing that class given a normal scale, and I got a CD (c-).
Engineering- BC (C+)
Calc 1- C
Physics- AB (A-)
AF Foundations A
Perspectives- X (incomplete)

I just need to figure out why the heck my perspectives teacher refused to accept my final paper and why she refuses to talk to me, and then I should be were I can recover.

Next semester I will be targeting a 4.0.
I learned a few really important things this semester-
1) Losing a book halfway through the year is bad. Next time, I will buy a new one, even if it does cost me $100.
2) The only places on campus where I actually get stuff done is in the computer labs, cafeterias, and in the cadet lounge in the ROTC building. The study rooms in the dorms are useless.
3) I need a different roommate (actually, I knew that before I even got up there, we just never got around to switching.)
4) I get a lot more done on PT mornings. I would get up, go to PT, come back and clean up, and be down in the cafeteria doing homework all morning.

I do have to say one positive thing about homeschooling- for the last two years of highschool, my parents couldn't help me with my classwork. So they pretty much gave me the textbook and told me when I expected to take the tests and quizzes that came with the curriculum. Studying is the only real way I had to learn the stuff,and it was sink or swim.

Earlier in the semester, I changed my degree from a mechanical engineering major to an applied and computational math degree. It's a degree that won't be really marketable without a Master's to back it up, but that something that I can deal with when I get there. It makes a huge difference in the course load, and will allow me to be more flexible in my coursework.

[88 Dippy]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

might be better off by passing the instructor and talking to an academic counsoler.


working at a college i find most proffs/ instructors are useless when it comes to explaining why they graded a certain way and need a fire under there butts to actualy do there job

[tedly]

Re: 1 of nine semesters down

Excuse my ignorance here, but what is Perspectives? ???