So I'm failing Calculus in college...

[Funnel]

So this is my 3rd year at college, studying computer engineering and man, I'm failing Calculus. This blows cause now I have to retake it and it's a 5 credit class. The class started with 28 students and now there are only 12 (myself included). Other students have dropped the course cause they seem to be in the same situation. Our professor started making jokes this morning about how many students will be in the class when the final exam comes in may and she said "I bet that there will be like 5 students when the final exam comes...". In the first test I scored a 78%, in the second 60%, and now I scored a 45%. Thing is, I've done all of homework, studied with some buddies, borrowed a Calculus book, went to a math lab for some tutorials, and nothing has helped me. I guess Calculus really hates me. Sorry BYOAC, but I got no motivation right now and guess I'm just venting here...

[jmike]

A friend of mine was having trouble too and someone suggested this site

https://www.khanacademy.org/

He said it's helped him quite a bit.


 

[Funnel]

A friend of mine was having trouble too and someone suggested this site

https://www.khanacademy.org/

He said it's helped him quite a bit.


 

 
Wow, that page is awesome! I'm not going to drop the class but I think I'm not going to pass it. I'm going to keep trying...

[ChadTower]

What is the minimum required grade for major credit?  When I was in cmpsci I think was a B- in the core math.

Are you going to have to follow this up with Calc 2? 

Go to every single extra help session your professor offers.  Even if you hate her and can't stand the subject.  A lot of times if you're close to the grade you need, and you've demonstrated enough extra effort and desire, you'll get the benefit of the professor's discretion.  I had to do that in linear algebra and ended up with the min credit grade despite being a couple of points short.

[Howard_Casto]

My college was a bit more lenient.  My higher math grades weren't stellar (I think one was even a D) but they didn't care because when they looked at my programming/networking grades they were all at least an A.

Then again, my degree was CIS/IT not compsci. 

I'll agree with Chad's advice, you'll be surprised how much leverage they'll give you if you try everything you possibly can to get the grade up. 

[Gray_Area]

If you're not getting it, it's either because you can't - or because you haven't found the method by which you can.

Given the lateness of the semester, you might not be able to do this, but if you can't make it filing an incomplete may be best. If it's really bad, you also might reconsider your degree.

[z-kun]

I haven't taken calculus, but I found the Statistics version of this book to be very helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Guide-Calculus-Hiroyuki-Kojima/dp/1593271948

I read through the statistics book before taking Statistics (I knew I'd have to take the class), so I was familiar with the basics (one chapter in the book was oddly advanced; my stats teacher supposed it was probably due to the U.S. and Japan having different standards). I also referenced the book throughout the semester. That was the first time I ever earned an A in a math class (well, and currently only; I haven't had one since). A good, solid A, at that. I've got the math version of dyslexia, so mathematical concepts can be very difficult to understand (on top of having to triple and quadruple check numbers due to often reading numbers inside-out and/or backwards). The Manga Guide to Statistics framed the math differently, which helped me understand how it worked. (If I don't understand how a math formula works, it's just a confusing jumble to me and I'm more likely to not learn it correctly.) Granted, I also had a good Statistics teacher who gave examples similar to what the Manga Guide book gave and had the class set up so students could tailor the amount of work to their needs, rather than loading up on too much busy work or leaving them with not enough practice. (He put up all his old tests and quizzes as practice examples that were optional, so you could do as much as you wanted until you got it, and would help you very well if you had questions about how to do specific problems.)

This series goes through math/science/programming/etc lessons in a story format and presents real-world examples for the concepts. If the calculus book is as good as the stats book, it'll help a lot.

[TopJimmyCooks]

I had a hard time with higher math.  I took calculus senior year of HS and was borderline failing.  I decided I didn't care and would phone it in.  No problem with one F, my other grades were great.  Then, I accepted admission to George Washington Univ. on a full academic scholarship.  A stipulation of the scholarship was passing all classes senior year.  Oh S___.  I begged the teacher to let me retake a few tests (she was very cool and helpful about it) and scraped by with something like a 70.5 out of 100 for the year.  In college I survived by taking statistics and computer classes instead of calc. 

Keep your head up. 

[dgame]

I took me about three tries to finally pass Calc. 

The best advice I can give is to drop the class before you fail it.

Good luck.

[ark_ader]

You just need to spend less time on the computer and more time with your head in the books.

It sounds like old parent talk, but that is what the problem is.  Too much distractions.

I'm finishing my degree this year, and I was in the same boat.  Once I turned off all the gear and sat in a quiet room with my books I got the job done very quickly.

Math was never my strong skill, but time and patience pays off.  I am having the same issues with Z but I will focus and cross that bridge too.

You can do anything if you put your mind to it, and want it bad enough. 

I expect to graduate summa cum laude.   

[shponglefan]

Do they grade on a curve?  Because that sounds similar to the Calc class I took in Uni.  The class averages for the three tests (uncurved) were something like 50%, 40% and 30%...  Ended up passing with a C, if only because of the curve.

At any rate, I wouldn't get too stressed over it if you do fail.  I failed a couple courses in Uni and it wasn't the end of the world.  They tend to be much easier the second time 'round.

[Howard_Casto]

You just need to spend less time on the computer and more time with your head in the books.

It sounds like old parent talk, but that is what the problem is.  Too much distractions.

I'm finishing my degree this year, and I was in the same boat.  Once I turned off all the gear and sat in a quiet room with my books I got the job done very quickly.

Math was never my strong skill, but time and patience pays off.  I am having the same issues with Z but I will focus and cross that bridge too.

You can do anything if you put your mind to it, and want it bad enough. 

I expect to graduate summa cum laude.   

That's good generic advice, but it won't work for everyone.  I can't get anything done unless I have a lot of distractions  to keep me from getting bored.  I know a lot of people that are that way. 

[Funnel]

@ChadTower The minimum required grade for extra credit is a C. I'm follow this up to Calculus 2, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, etc.   

@z_kun Did that book really helped you? I'll see if I can buy a copy of it, looks interesting...

@TopJimmyCooks That's exactly what I'm going to do! I'm going to beg her to see if she can let me retake a few tests. She's not going to say no because half the students have already dropped the course.   

@ark_ader Problem is, my college has individual study rooms with privacy. I sometimes spend 3++ hours studying in those rooms and I don't see myself getting better at Calculus... maybe my memory doesn't retain the calc. exercises. I don't know.

Thanks for your input everyone! I'm going to talk to the professor to see if I can retake some of the tests. I don't know why I'm so bad at college math... from 7th grade to 9th grade I was in an advanced math group up until I got out of a vocational high school to study Pre-Engineering with electronics, and the math classes in High School were wayyy more advanced than what I took in middle school.

[danny_galaga]

"I bet that there will be like 5 students when the final exam comes..."

Sounds like your teacher is a teenager. No wonder you're failing 

[ChadTower]

@ChadTower The minimum required grade for extra credit is a C. I'm follow this up to Calculus 2, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, etc.

This is why I suggested all the extra help sessions.  You need to understand this stuff of you'll have no prayer at passing Calc 2.  Differential Equations is going to use some of the lighter derivative methods and such as well.  Probability and stats, not so much, but that class will be a ton easier if you become decent at the basic calc.

Do you have to take Discrete Math?  I took that after Calc 1 and before Calc 2.  Somehow it really helped.

[Gray_Area]

I can't get anything done unless I have a lot of distractions  to keep me from getting bored.  I know a lot of people that are that way. 

Confirming an element of my point.

[upprc04]

My first question is why are you just taking calculus after your third year in?  When I took Computer Engineering (graduated in 2009), Calc 1 was a first semester course and many people had already passed out of it.  Did you switch majors to Computer Engineering?

I know its hard to hear, but you just need to keep your head in the books, ask for help from TA/professors, study study study.  If that's not working, then it might be worth talking to your advisor or find a mentor to talk through how they got through it.  If you are determined to do it you will find a way to get through it and the classes aren't going to get any easier. The main thing is don't give up.  You may fail the class this semester or maybe the teacher is just being tough on everyone to weed people out.  Ask for help, talk to other students, or evaluate if Computer Engineering is for you.

[ark_ader]

Yeah you might be better off studying information technology.

Here is a hint: information technology. Is more in demand than computer science.

As there are less people qualified today with a computer science degree. We call them drones at work.

[wesbrown18]

I can't get anything done unless I have a lot of distractions  to keep me from getting bored.  I know a lot of people that are that way. 

Confirming an element of my point.

Have you considered talking to a doctor and seeing if you have ADHD?  That's a classic symptom of ADHD, even if it is overdiagnosed.  I am not saying that you do, but for years, I struggled with undiagnosed ADHD.

ADHD is very real if you truly have it, and it impacts your life.

If you need 'distractions' to keep from being bored, then you really are not retaining or learning the material.