So I got a 30 percent on a midterm worth 25 percent of my grade. I was confident I would do well as I studied for literally 3 days non-stop, but I guess I have some sort of fundamental concept misunderstandings. I still need to apply for my major as I am a freshman. Should I drop the class? I’m taking 12 credits right now, so if I drop the course I will have to pay over $1000 and get a W on my transcript, along with not being considered a full-time student. Idk what to do and/or tell my parents. Any advice would be appreciated.
Take a deep breath.
Do NOTHING until you meet with your professor. Is your grade an anomaly (i.e. everyone else got a 95) or is it in line with the rest of the class? Do you typically demonstrate mastery over the material (homework, problem sets, review sessions) or did you try to cram the entire semester into a three day study fest?
Meet with the professor before you panic!
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This is important. As some universities, engineering exams are essentially designed for students to fail and it is not unusual for the class average to be 40 or 50% - and then the instructor curves the grades up. Is it possible that is the case with this class
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When is the last day for a W (it’s usually around now)? Definitely talk to your professor. My daughter got a 60 on her first chemistry quiz freshman year,other students were congratulating her, apparently there was a big curve, she worked her butt off and ended up with a B (her second and hardest B she ever earned).
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I believe median for the midterm was a 55, so I was definitely below average. However, the average for the class at the end is a 2.9 so not sure how that curve will work.
I think it is around now, but not sure about dropping because I might have housing taken away since I won’t be “full time” anymore.
Call about that too, but I think they should give you a conditional grace period for next semester. The last day for a W should be on the academic calendar.
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This is a good reason to go to office hours and speak with your instructor before doing anything irreversible (such as dropping the class).
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Also email /call your engineering advisor now. You will not be the first or last to do poorly on an engineering exam. My son told me “we all struggle together”.
In engineering there are some classes you just got to get through. Use this as a lesson going forward. Use every single resource your school offers until you don’t need to. Some of the best engineering students I know go to peer to peer help session. Break out groups. Math /science lab help, professor hours, etc.
Good luck.
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At my daughter’s school, full time is based on how many credits you attempted, not ended up with. Starting after the add/drop period I think.
They had until the last official class date before the final to take a W. Some kids know they’ll be taking the W, but keep attending class to help with their next attempt.
But check with your advisor about your school policies.
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I have definitely seen this in math classes, and my daughters have seen this in biology and chemistry classes. I still remember very well an exam in a class with more than 100 graduate students where the class average was a 45. One student got an 85 which was an A+, and one other student got a 75 (which was either an A or A+). The third highest grade out of more than 100 students was in the mid 60’s, and grades in the 30’s were common. I remember a question (worth 15 points out of 100) on another exam in a different class where the professor told me that only two students even tried to answer the question (again out of more than 100 students, mostly the same 100).
Professors can make exams arbitrarily difficult if they want to.
Talk to the professor. Go over the exam, with your professor if you can or a tutor or classmate otherwise. See how your grades compare with other students in the class. Do not panic. Find out how your grades compared with others, and find out what you can do to fix this.
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You will need to go to the tutoring center every day, and get help every day, practice problems every day. It is not going to be a class you cram for before the test, but something you do for a few hours a day, every day. And go to office hours too.
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Engineering faculty member here. Hanging on the wall of my office, I have two framed pieces of paper:
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The front page of an exam from my first year in graduate school. I scored 28/100 in a course taught by my PhD advisor, who I had barely met at that point. He wrote a note on it: “Very poor! Time to get serious. You are in the big time now!”
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The letter awarding me tenure in my current faculty position.
One test does not define your career. Talk to your professor. Tweak your study method to try to be more efficient. Focus on why you do certain steps in the problems, not just the recipe for doing them. Have a bee… piece of chocolate cake.
Learn and move forward.
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It is hard decision. No one size fit all solution. I would withdraw.
One of my DDs is in that position now. With straight As in very difficult classes (Org Chem 2), and not freshman, she got very low (but not as low as yours) first test and average of the class grade on second in her supposed major. After a lot of soul searching, she decided to withdraw and most likely to change major to harder one but the one that she understands better … She needs to protect GPA as premed in joint program, so no playing Russian roulette with teachers who think that C is a great grade and class is difficult for everyone… I hate professors with the approach only G-d knows for A, I know for B, and you guys should be happy with C.
It is not always problem with studying, not attending office hours, or cramming at the last moment…In DD’s case she did everything possible and impossible.
I don’t know any successful adult who didn’t hit a wall at some point. For the “technical whiz” it happened when he got promoted into a managerial job where the so-called soft skills that he’d always ignored (communicating, giving and taking feedback, generating consensus) became more important than his CS knowledge. For the chemical engineer, it happened when she was staffed on a big team project and doing her own stuff was no longer enough- she needed to collaborate-- even with people she didn’t like- to get to the finish line.
And for many of us it happens in college. There’s the wall- and we’ve run into it at 85 miles per hour.
Don’t panic. OP- I hope meeting with your professor was helpful in figuring out the best way to react/pivot. I got a C in college (final grade, not just a midterm) and the professor told me it was the happiest C he’d ever given because he could see how much I was struggling all semester, but I didn’t give up. And he was so excited for me that bit by bit I was learning the material, even though it didn’t come easily or naturally to me.
There’s something to be said for an Honorable C vs. an Easy A! Good luck and hugs to you.
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