Oh, HELL NO.

╒ a c a d e · 10-21-2009, 07:30 PM

So guys, I started university on september 28th, and I've been doing good so far. That is, until this damn day! I took my logic systems design test and I just know I failed it. On top of that, I have a calculus test tomorrow and I'm in no way prepared for that.

I truly want to be an engineer, but damn, I didn't know i would be this hard off the bat. On top of that, my very first day of class, I had a paper and 100 math problems due the next day. What's even more depressing about my calculus class if that I am the ONLY person in it who has never taken calculus, precalculus, OR the second half of trig! So That makes me roughly almost two years behind everyone else. How am I supposed to play catch-up?!

I have a very serious dilemma...I can't find time for anything. I can study because I'm always tired, and I'm always tired because I almost never get to eat. I never get to eat because I'm either always in band practice or track practice. On top of that I have two jobs, and I'm involved in 3 clubs. AND then I'm also an engineering major. WHERE CAN I FIND TIME TO BALANCE MY HECTIC LIFE?

And to add further insult to injury, I can hardly do my homework because I need this required software that I purchased uploaded onto a computer. Why don't i upload the software? Hmm...maybe because I don't even have a freaking computer because Toshiba is backed up for two months with my laptop in their shop! It's like everything is falling apart!

Someone, please, tell me how I can survive all of this.

(P.S. That damn EE and ChemE double major aspiration is LOOOOOONG gone out the window. I'm in to AeroE now. =] )

boneh3ad · 10-21-2009, 07:40 PM

1) Don't commit harakiri yet, you don't even have your test grade back. Just take a chill pill. Freaking out is the last thing you should do.

2) Bombing a test is not the end of the world. You will probably do it several more times before all is said and done.

3) The 100 math problems is extreme, and is probably just some prof trying to weed people out. That will not keep up because the prof most likely doesn't want to have to grade all that, and even a paid grader would have a tough time.

4) You are, quite simply, doing too much. You may have to take an axe to your commitments. Start with the lowest priority commitments. You may have to stop going to 1 or more of your clubs or giving up either band or track. Not eating is seriously a very dumb thing to do, so knock it off. If you want to be an engineer, then school should be your top priority, and you might have to sacrifice a few EC's to get some more free time. Don't keep spreading yourself too thin.

5) Time management.

5.1) Get off of this forum RIGHT NOW and go study for your test tomorrow if you feel that unprepared

Treetopleaf · 10-21-2009, 07:50 PM

Band, track, 3 clubs and 2 jobs need to go until you've gotten comfy with the engineering workload. Drop them all for now. Balance can come later. Good luck!

╒ a c a d e · 10-21-2009, 08:05 PM

It's not that simple for my committments. For Track, I'm already registered with NCAA. Band...I don't want to quit. I'm so used to it for all these years, it'd be lik I was cutting off a leg or something.

The clubs, I think I will drop most of them, with the exception of French Club. And the two jobs, luckily I only have to work one of them on holidays and the other on thursday mornings.

Time management? I've never been good at that. I don't even know where to begin with that.

I've already had to give up the fact that I may not be able to handle being a UScholar (Honors program at my university). I don't know, there MUST be a way to balance all of this and still maintain a social life.

Or perhaps that's my problem. I spend far too much time socializing and procrastinating and not enough time focusing on my studies. it just gets so hard. Whenever I even think about studying, my head literally begins to hurt and I suddenly feel exhuasted-- just at the very though of cracking open a book!

boneh3ad · 10-21-2009, 08:16 PM

I had a very vibrant social life in undergrad and did fine. You just have so many clubs and activities that you don't have time, plain and simple.

Treetopleaf · 10-21-2009, 08:19 PM

"I suddenly feel exhuasted" Yeah, I remember feeling that way for a few days. Then I started working like I'd never worked before. Eventually you'll catch up to those with better preparation (sounds like your math prep is very weak) and acclimate to the work load.

hasuchObe · 10-21-2009, 08:30 PM

Oh wow, you're way behind if you haven't at least taken trig. Definitely free up some time and hit the books hard. Or sink to a 3.0 and change your mentality. Option 2 is quite popular.

nshah9617 · 10-21-2009, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Or perhaps that's my problem. I spend far too much time socializing and procrastinating and not enough time focusing on my studies. it just gets so hard. Whenever I even think about studying, my head literally begins to hurt and I suddenly feel exhuasted-- just at the very though of cracking open a book!

I think you know your problem. Tone down the clubs/activities until you grades get back on track.

hasuchObe · 10-21-2009, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Or perhaps that's my problem. I spend far too much time socializing and procrastinating and not enough time focusing on my studies. it just gets so hard. Whenever I even think about studying, my head literally begins to hurt and I suddenly feel exhuasted-- just at the very though of cracking open a book!

That's me too

This screams you need to man the eff up. Not that anyone with a sports obligation is any sort of wuss, but I'm sure you would rather run 10 miles than study for several hours. To study for hours (especially for guys like us who hate studying) is a practice of mental discipline. You can attempt to gain that discipline now, or think about what you were unable to achieve down the road. Even if you were to get a job down the line, and none of this crap matters anymore, wouldn't it be satisfying to achieve a high level of discipline? There are people like this out there. So step up.

nshah9617 · 10-21-2009, 08:59 PM

You'll get acclimated to the work load after a semester or so, don't worry. Right now the transition might be tough but after a while you'll figure out what works for you studying wise and what doesn't.

You don't want to start off on a bad foot so chug the red bulls, talk to a TA, get a tutor or do what you need to to do to get back on track for the exam.

armaryland17 · 10-21-2009, 09:45 PM

You need to get out of engineering, period. You did'nt even take pre-calc. and your University placed you in an advanced math class! You should have realized that could not have handled that much. Choose some other major... if your really committed to engineering, then choose an field that is a little bit less math intensive (Bio. E.?).

TomServo · 10-22-2009, 01:13 AM

You must not want to be an engineer very much. I desperately want to be an engineer, which is why I'm spending every free moment at work studying (that includes lunch break) and staying up too late with my books. I also work full time, which is something that I *can't* drop. But what will be more important to you twenty years from now?

Sounds to me like you shouldn't have been let into calculus, if you haven't covered trig enough or precalculus. No wonder you can't keep your head above water. Get some supplemental texts, get one on trig and one on pre-calc, keep them handy. Get one on calc too, like Idiot's Guide to Calculus or something. Go to tutoring. Talk to your professor DURING OFFICE HOURS. If you fall behind now you will never catch up, you NEED to have a rock solid grasp of this stuff.

Mr Payne · 10-22-2009, 03:47 AM

No sympathy.

G.P.Burdell · 10-22-2009, 07:25 AM

I don't mean to be rude, but the truth is that you're over your head in engineering. With a <1500/2400 SAT, a 2.4 HS GPA, and not passing a single AP exam, you're starting off deep in the hole in an engineering program.

Just to catch up, you will probably need to put in twice as much effort as other students (the average student at Seattle Pacific had a full point GPA advantage and a 250+ SAT advantage). You seem to be a pretty ambitious person (double major in EE/ChE, trying to transfer to Rice, 5 clubs/sports, etc), but keep in mind that if your ambitions are too far beyond your abilities, you're just setting yourself up for failure. Try to reel things back in and do less until you're able to be successful. Once you've been successful, then start expanding your interests and goals.

Japher · 10-22-2009, 08:38 AM

^Agreed.

Drop band, all the clubs, and unless you are the next Jessie Owens or Usain Bolt quit track. You may be ambitious, but you aren't committed enough to anything you are doing. When you commit to something you will end up making sacrifices, that's how you know it is right; you are able to give things up.

That's pretty much a life lesson that becomes truer the older you get; the more you give, the more you receive.