<p>I’m currently stuck with understanding a large concept in one of my core college classes now. I’ve gone to the lectures, took notes, read them over, and still don’t understand it. I’ve gone to the internet, looked up all the links in the first few pages, and all the pages are way too complicated for me to understand. I’ve gone to office hours and discussion sections and still, I do not understand. I’ve asked my friends and they do not understand either. What else can I do? When is it time to give up?</p>
<p>Perhaps try posting the class or concept here, and maybe a few posters who have already dealt with a similar course can give you some advice on how they learned it.</p>
<p>I think I would try office hours again. Maybe make an appointment specifically with your prof so you aren’t interrupted and don’t feel rushed. There are no dumb questions…I can remember not understanding how/why gravity worked – what gave something mass? – in my science classes. I now know that NO ONE understood this… but I only realized that when reading about the Higgs in recent years! But honestly, it is one of the factors that made me throw up my hands at science and go in a different direction in my academic career. I just thought everyone else understood something and I wasn’t getting it. Keep plugging on it. Especially if your friends also do not understand, be persistent and talk to the prof.</p>
<p>But… as I figured out later on the mass question, sometimes even the prof does not actually fully understand everything in their field. So sometimes you have to just learn the components that you can, figure out what types of questions are likely to be asked and what to regurgitate for them, and move on for the moment.</p>
<p>Well I’m trying to learn the basics of solving partial differential equations through method of characteristics, separation of variables, and change of coordinates. I’ve exhausted youtube and google and couldn’t find a good and simple-enough source to learn the subject.</p>
<p>Hmm… do you know any math majors who are beyond that class who might be able to help you? Is there any tutoring available from the math department itself?</p>