Failed First Semester

[apollo33]

So I just got my marks for my first term back, well I failed. Now I have to drop out of the faculty and apply for re-admission.

This is probably the lowest of low in my life so far. I pretty much cruised through high school with A's and B's and went through a incentive program in the 11th and 12th grade to get in to this university. I never thought I would ever fail anything, but i guess I grossly underestimated college and how much more difficult it is than high school work.

The thing is, this is not my home city, I am currently living on residence and I paid for the full year. I am really lost right now because I can't continue the winter semester because of my fall average. I really don't know what to do...I really feel like I let a lot of people down especially my family who had such high hopes for me when I was admitted into this university.

i don't know what else to say other than I am really depressed right now, I havent have the chance or courage to talk about this with anyone.

Just thought if there's anyone with this kind of experience in college.

I was admitted into the engineering faculty btw

Yeah, just a rant of mine, thanks for reading

[DonnyMost]

?

[The Real Shady]

Hey, you sound like me after my first semester. I eventually graduated, but you have to learn to take time to actually study in college. You never really have to in high school, and college gives you so much extra free timet it makes it hard.

[DwangBoy]

If you got As and Bs in high school, and put forth effort in college, I don't see how this can happen.. did you study hard and apply yourself in your first semester?

[apollo33]

Originally Posted by DonnyMost ?

actually no, I don't game at all

funny thing is, I looked for reasons why I failed, cuz it's usually when people parties hardcore, or games hardcore. I can't even find one other than I just didn't study hard enough

[bnb]

Good luck man. Keep your head up.

I have two friends who went through something similar. Both did well at high school -- both crashed and burned at University. One lost a huge scholarship and went through hell with his folks -- a teacher, and university prof.

The guy who lost his scholarship went back about 5 yrs later in a different field (switched from Science to Theatre Arts). He graduated valedictorian of his class. And is quite successful. The other is doing just fine too. I think he eventually went back and graduated -- but I don't really know. He's married, two kids, house in the burbs and a minivan. Livin' the dream.

**** happens. Get yours together. You're probably feeling pretty low -- but don't beat yourself up. Probably makes sense to talk to one of the advisors at school. Maybe go 'unclassified' for a bit....don't know. The advisors will know a lot more about your options.

[GRENDEL]

Try and keep your chin up bud, it'll get better man, don't let yourself wallow too much. Just try and get a game plan on what you need to do to fix it.

[fadeaway]

Since you failed out of engineering, I am assuming that the field simply is not for you and that you will need to find some other area to focus on. The way I see it, you have several options:

1. Take some time off from college and get a job. There is nothing wrong with this and it will allow you to generate some capital which you can use for future education.

2. Return to school and change your major. I started off in computer science and after failing several difficult programming and math courses, became VERY close to failing out. I ended up switching into English and successfully obtained my first degree, which opened up future educational opportunities for me.

3. Travel. You are young (I am assuming) and this is prime time for you to see the world. Nobody ever regrets doing too much traveling.

Don't dwell too much on failing out. Not everyone is cut out to be an engineer (I certainly am not). It often takes a long time to figure out what you are meant for in life and what will make you happy. Heck, after 15 years of bouncing between vastly different jobs and different educational programs, I'm still trying to figure it out!

[rockets934life]

Chin up bro, a lot of us have gone through it and survived. Don't get down, rather get pissed, motivated and NEVER let it happen again. Change your lifestyle and make sure school is your #1 priority. It's hard now but once you get a good semester under your belt, you'll feel A LOT better. Re-apply and beg for forgiveness, they'll let you back in just make sure it doesn't happen again and you'll be fine.

[apollo33]

Originally Posted by DwangBoy If you got As and Bs in high school, and put forth effort in college, I don't see how this can happen.. did you study hard and apply yourself in your first semester?

I don't think I studied hard enough no, and I realized that too at some point. I guess it was all organization that messed me up. I had six pretty hard courses, and I remember during midterms, I was skipping lectures to study for exams and quizzes. But my efficiency went way down the drain because all the courses I had were math related, I honestly wasn't expecting the workload and how rigorous some courses were.

Not making any excuses or anything, but this was probably one of the best engineering faculty in Canada and one of the most rigorous

[MadMax]

You haven't let anyone down. It's a bump in the road...you're going to be OK.

If the material is too much, there are other things to do or be. They wouldn't let me anywhere near an engineering program!

But in the meantime, if this is THE THING you feel like you'd regret not giving another shot, then go do it again. Now you have the wisdom behind you to know you can't underestimate it. Prayers for you!

[apollo33]

Thanks a lot guys for the advice.. yeah i guess it is the first bump on a long road, will keep my head up

[mylilpony]

Originally Posted by DonnyMost ?

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to DonnyMost again.

[FranchiseBlade]

If you did study but still didn't pass, change how you study. Try and find a study group for each class with good students and study with them. Having different ideas on how to study might help you be a more efficient studier over time.

Study groups can really help.

[RocketsPimp]

At least you are realizing what you need to do while you are young. I didn't. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I figured it out. You'll be fine. Just work hard and make no excuses.

[adeelsiddiqui]

Try Community College. It does wonders for many.

[Commodore]

Many people who think they were smart in high school get a rude awakening at college (some have the opposite experience).

My mom teaches high school physics. She showed me the pass/fail rates for the Physics AP test. For Kingwood High it's 55%, for Humble High it's 15%.

So an Humble High student who makes A's and is in the top 10% might think they are smart, but it's all relative to your peer group.

I don't know where you go to school, but at UT Austin, go to the engineering library. Look who is in there. Chinese/Pakistani/Indian students predominately. They get there in the morning and stay through the evening. They work harder than us. Now granted, most of them are grad students who got their undergrad degree in their home country, so you aren't competing with them. But it gives you an idea of what it takes.

I thought I was smart and hard working until I got to grad school at UT, where I had to struggle just to be average.

Don't get discouraged, especially if it's only your first semester you have a chance to recover.

My advice.

1) Summer school - most undergrads don't bother with summer classes, they want to go to Europe or something. Big mistake. Summer classes allow you to take less hours in the spring and winter, which gives you more time to study for those classes, which leads to better grades and a better GPA. Summer is an ideal time to take a weed out course (thermodynamics, organic chemistry), you can focus on just that one subject and my experience has been that summer classes are often a more relaxed environment and the professor might make the course easier (not always).

2) Office hours - go to them as often as possible, probe the professor for information about what to study and what to expect on exams, some will be forthcoming, some won't. Ask them about useful references or websites beyond the textbook. Wikipedia is a great resource believe it or not. Find examples that you think are likely to mirror exam questions and work them all.

3) Library - stay there all day, there are too many distractions at home. Find a quiet corner and just stay there. Bring a laptop and browse clutchfans for a few minutes every hour, but don't leave.

4) Look at job postings at your career center for graduating engineers. Find out what skillsets companies are looking for. Often times they will ask for knowledge about a specific piece of software or a specific area. Find a niche within your degree and specialize in it. Find a professor that can advise you on it. Find a club that does work in that area. Specialized skills help you stand out in a competitive job market. It's never to early to start developing them.

[LonghornFan]

Originally Posted by FranchiseBlade If you did study but still didn't pass, change how you study. Try and find a study group for each class with good students and study with them. Having different ideas on how to study might help you be a more efficient studier over time. Study groups can really help.

This is the truth. I underperformed my first semester as well and freaked. Mine was due to too much 6th street though and not even putting forth the effort needed to glide through. Once I found a study group and cooled down the party time my grades rose sharply. Plus you'll meet a whole new set of friends. Most I still keep in touch with to this day.

Also, you might try summer courses? It much easier and eases the load of a regular semester.

Edit- Beat to it!

[BleedRocketsRed]

I am kinda going through a similar situation. Cruised through HS (graduated in '05) and went to a university far from home. My problem was that I fell into the whole drugs/partying scene (never did any in HS, tried almost everything in college, well not almost everything but alot). Did horrible my first term, got into academic probation and got out of it my second term. Did well but started ****ing up again during my junior year, got back into probation again which later led to disqualification.

Took almost a 2 year break (occasional courses at a JuCo, working full time to save $), did well last semester at a JuCo and was admitted to UH for this upcoming semester (starting on Tuesday, have like 3 terms left, plan on working harder than ever, staying sober like I have been this past couple of years and just owning through it with a plan of walking by 2012).

My point is, you are still very early in your college career. Clearly you are capable of doing well. Just buckle down.

[RedRedemption]

Originally Posted by apollo33 actually no, I don't game at all funny thing is, I looked for reasons why I failed, cuz it's usually when people parties hardcore, or games hardcore. I can't even find one other than I just didn't study hard enough

Yeah. Did you take AP classes in high school? Because if you didn't that's why you assumed that college would be a breeze.