Has anyone else ever felt inadequate in college compared to high school

My experience is the more naturally gifted people are, the harder they take disappointment and failure. The earlier you can learn how to make adjustments, the better off you'll be. Every time you up a level, you're joining a group of people who beasted the last level.

 

So, you're telling me getting wasted improved your potential? You must be lindsey lohan.

You can still have fun - but having fun isnt the purpose of college. finding a balance is key.

 

I was opposite. I didn't care in HS and managed to get maybe 60-40 A's and B's. In college I stepped up and got mostly A's (really A minuses thanks to UT's lame system).

I didn't have any work ethic in HS, totally different when I got to uni.

 

No, I'm not saying that. My words didn't indicate that at all. I'm confused as to how you took what I posted and comprehended it in this way.

I don't disagree with this. You didn't make any qualifications to your post. I was just reminding you that millions upon millions of people have gotten wasted on numerous occasions in college and somehow managed to have very successful careers.

 

I had the same experience. There were 3 levels of math for the common core, so I took the middle one. Math isn't my strong suit, but I wasn't weak in it either -- I had been above-average in everything to this point. But the math was kicking my butt and I had to drop to save my GPA. The next year I had to decide whether to go back to the middle level and resolve to work harder, or go to the low level and take the hit on my pride. Knowing myself to not be a hard worker, I chose to go down a level. I still had to work my butt off and I still only managed a passing grade. It was a humbling experience overall, but a relief to have it behind me. I ended up with a concentration in history where no math is required.

Now looking back 15-20 years later, could I have just worked harder? Yes, I could have. But would my life or career have been better had I persevered? No, it would have been the same. If I could reverse my general pattern in life of not persevering through trial, that could be impactful, and maybe that one math class was a milestone on that path of avoiding work when it gets tough. But that's a character trait I would not have changed with one heroic act. There have been a thousand little tests like that one in my life where I could have chosen the hard way but did not. Maybe I'm less successful than I could have been because of that (though I do alright), but my stress is the more manageable for it.

Anyway, I've found in life and work that being smart isn't worth nearly so much as it was in school. Being able to work hard is worth more. Of course, being smart and working hard at the same time is better still, but they have a way of discouraging one another. So my advice would be to persevere in the hard class and work harder to do well. But, do that also in all things. This one class won't make a difference, but a high motor, generally, will. And if you can't muster it like I could not, whatever -- you'll be all right.

 

Man, we had +/- system at UH too. DAMN THOSE MINUSES.

This may sound like common sense, but I found that being in study groups with people that I actually liked were the most effective. You are forced to get work done so that you can do something fun together afterward. Don't join a study group just because there are "smart people" in it. They tend to be the least helpful since they kind of do their own thing and rarely contribute.

 

College/HS wasn't super huge step up. College to Law School was shock and awe. Had to study ass off just to stay in mid-class.

 

Wouldn't it be natural that classmates in college be smarter than high school? It's just like athletics, everyone in college most likely did well in high school.

If your self worth is judged by how well you do compared to others, you better get out of that thinking quick. The world is a big place.

 

if high school came easy then it didn't properly prepare you for college. i never studied in high school and made straight As. it was detrimental to my college years.

 

honestly just focus on being well rounded, having a great personality, and a great internship

I had a 3.3 GPA when I graduated, I had a really good internship at William Morris Endeavor in LA, but I had a great interview, made the guy laugh a bunch and I got a 740 on my GMAT and got into the MBA program at Rice, so grades aren't everything

 

hire a tutor

 

What I learned from my experience through college was that it doesn't matter how you made it through, its just that you got the piece of paper in the end. Not one single job I ever applied to asked to see my transcript, or even my degree. Highschool is gone, youre now around your intellectual equals and greats. It will continue, once past college you will run into the same situation in the real world. Its how you carry yourself though is what matters in the end. Do what you need to do to be great, not what you think others say you should.

 

What semester you in?

 

join some organizations , related to your major and just for fun.
this is a must. you'll find others who can help you out and mentor you through your classes as well as other activities to do .

 

Same boat (1st semester frosh), I started a thread earlier on this.

It astounds me how smart some of these people are. I didn't try in high school and did really well. My HS didn't prepare me at all for college, it was way to easy. They were more concerned with having the bottom 25% graduate than they were about us.

I agree, prerequisites suck. Only one of my classes is actually related to my major. And that's the only class I enjoy.

 

Honestly, it sounds to me like you just had an unlucky draw on a professor. I remember when I took my business statistics requirement, there was a guy who was really difficult who taught 2 of the timeslots (and incidentally, had the mannerisms of Ben Stein), and a woman teaching the other 4 who was much easier who let you use reference sheets and graded on a curve, etc.

Needless to say I got the tough professor. My grade was pretty poor in that class. Then again, nearly everyone's was.

Maaaybe I could've studied really hard and gotten a good grade, but with 20 credits and two jobs, I just didn't care enough. I was just trying to get the requirement out of the way like most people, so they could move on to studying the stuff they care about.

Don't let it worry you too much. You'll manage to pass the next time around, even if it's barely. And no one cares what your GPA is when you're all done.