I need some serious advice...

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I hate to come to MC with my personal problems but I am really at a loss with this decision right now.

I am a freshman in the midst of my first semester of college and, while I do like the school, I'm not completely satisfied and am struggling a bit more than I anticipated. I had to withdraw from one class because I was failing hard and didn't want to risk it any further, I'm getting a D in two classes (one because the professor refuses to lift the grade even though I have done pretty much all the work except two assignments at the very beginning of the semester and got good grades on all of them, and the other is because I'm flunking the tests in the class but doing fine in everything else). And I'm doing solid-but-not-spectacular my two other classes. Also, my only real friend on campus withdrew from the school today. I am invovled with a few social groups but have come to a screeching halt the past couple weeks because my enthusiasm for the school and extracurriculars has withered slightly. I'm really thinking about transferring to a different school next semester or next year because the seams at my current college are really beginning to show. Should I stay here or transfer?

 

[RedPiggy]

If tests seem to be the main academic issue, have you tried tutoring (with in-person tutoring, self-help books, etc) for test-taking skills? There is a method to writing tests, and it's my experience that if you're good at figuring out that method, tests become easier whether or not you actually know the material. I don't know if your professors write their own or use test banks or some combination of the two, but I had to learn how teachers structured their tests. Sometimes it took me a try or two. Test banks are harder to study against, because they rarely take into account what the professor actually covered. On the other hand, if you're nearing the withdrawal date, you might want to discuss it with your professors. Better to walk out with a W than an F, right?

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

If tests seem to be the main academic issue, have you tried tutoring (with in-person tutoring, self-help books, etc) for test-taking skills? There is a method to writing tests, and it's my experience that if you're good at figuring out that method, tests become easier whether or not you actually know the material. I don't know if your professors write their own or use test banks or some combination of the two, but I had to learn how teachers structured their tests. Sometimes it took me a try or two. Test banks are harder to study against, because they rarely take into account what the professor actually covered. On the other hand, if you're nearing the withdrawal date, you might want to discuss it with your professors. Better to walk out with a W than an F, right?

The withdraw date was today, I only withdrawed from one math class. The first class I'm struggling in there is still a slight chance at increasing my grade but the other one (where I get the tests that I am flunking) it could go either way.

 

[RedPiggy]

Then it could be getting tutored in test-taking skills might be your next best bet, especially any on that school property, as they'd know more about how the tests go than a third party.

 

[Beakerfan]

First semester is always tough. It takes time to adjust to the new environment, new workload, find where you "belong", and meet people. And mid-semester is almost always a killer. You would not believe how many times I have come to the middle of a semester and thought "I should just give up"... but give it time and hang in there. Sometimes it is worth transferring, but you might find that you have similar problems no matter what college you attend because you haven't given it enough time.

 

[Drtooth]

The first semester is the toughest. That goes without saying, actually. It's intentional.

They are trying to forcibly weed out students that can't handle the pressure. I've thought of giving up a load of times... though, frankly, staying did me a fat load of good. They still get the money for the first year/semester if you somehow slip through and drop out.

As for transfering, I never had to do that myself, nor did I drop any classes. Artistically speaking, I got lousy grades from people who wound up liking my cartoony stuff. Which all I could think of saying was... you HATED when I tried to do cartoony before.

But enough about that. Seems like you've got a lot of others who feel the same way in your classes. The work load gets insane half the time... thankfully, I didn't need some ultracomplicated math programs, but then again, fat load of good it did me. What do you have? like Calculus or physics? Something like that?

 

[CensoredAlso]

I'm really thinking about transferring to a different school next semester or next year because the seams at my current college are really beginning to show. Should I stay here or transfer?

Like I see other people are saying, it's normal to feel this way your freshmen year of college. I also wondered about transferring. School is so much more difficult in college and it comes as a quite a shock and an adjustment. Only you know your real situation but I would give yourself a chance to see if you can adjust to the work and start to improve (that did eventually happen with me and other people I knew). And if you do decide to stay, definitely try to keep involved in activities, they'll be a good stress reliever. Good luck!

 

[frogboy4]

I went to three colleges so I do know a little something about transferring. Hehe.

My best piece of advice is to sit down with an advisor and outline what's not working. There should be people there for this exact issue! See if you can make things work there and only drop classes or transfer if you've actually made a solid effort that hasn't been mostly successful.

People can go to the best colleges and not learn a darn thing. Students can attend the crummiest school and leave with a great education if they take charge. Like the movie Labyrinth, there are many paths you can take to many interesting places. None are right or wrong, but some reap better results than others.

Even though there are people grading you and scoring your improvement - - you are driving this thing yourself. It’s really up to you. Nobody ever really knows what they’re doing. You’ve just got to stay on a path long enough to figure out if it’s the right way and have friends and family to support you no matter what.

Hope this helped. My academic career was a very strange one!

 

[Drtooth]

Just... well,... try to avoid art school is my advice. No one likes art anymore, everyone thinks they're a cartoonist now, and it's a real mess. But hey, be an accountant. The rich people in charge of everything need someone to count their money. They're THAT stupid.

Not kidding by much, actually... but that's the way it is.

 

[frogboy4]

Just... well,... try to avoid art school is my advice. No one likes art anymore, everyone thinks they're a cartoonist now, and it's a real mess. But hey, be an accountant. The rich people in charge of everything need someone to count their money. They're THAT stupid.

Not kidding by much, actually... but that's the way it is.

That's partially true, but I would never discourage anyone going to art school. Just know that most of us have to take a variety of odd jobs to float expenses between gigs.