RE: Failing at Uni
July 15, 2013 at 3:41 pm
(This post was last modified: July 15, 2013 at 3:50 pm by pineapplebunnybounce.)
Hi gooders,
believe it or not, there's no such thing as impossible to understand. If someone did it, you can too. The key is finding the way to do it. I find that once you fear a subject, it's very hard to just open the book and try and understand, because you have this misconception that it's unachievable, so maybe getting over the mindset might help you a little. Then, if you're weak at the subject, always, always study early, so if you don't understand anything, go bug a prof. They usually are happy to help
.
However, if your courses involve innovative or creative thinking (eg. mathematical proofs, experimental design, solving problems, etc.), and it's not your strong suit, personally, i think the hard way to deal with this is to expose yourself to these ideas as much as possible, so even if you cannot creatively solve a problem on the spot, you may be able to apply what you've seen or read before.
General tips for doing well in uni:
1. Recording lectures. This one, is the best thing you can do for yourself. Download a recording app on your phone, go to class, sit up front, record. Why? Because on the night before the exam and you don't understand a concept, you can listen to it again, because at this hour, no one will be able to answer your questions. If your courses are memory intensive, listen to your recordings at 1.7x speed the day before the exam, I always do this and I get near perfect even with very detailed questions.
2. Do your readings before the lectures. This one works wonders as well.
Edit: 3. Past year exams. you'll be surprised how many lecturers recycle their exams. I once had a math course that requires us to do proofs of theorems we've never seen before on the exam. First midterm I ended up with a sucky 60+, then I did the past year exam for my second midterm, and i scored 87 (yea, so miraculous i still remember it).
Lastly, do what you like, that way you won't hate your studying time, and you generally do better, but if you don't want to go against your father's wishes, then tough it out. Even if you fail something, if it's what you want, you can redo it. I hear if you do courses in the summer, the bellcurving works in your favour (especially if your marks fall into the weaker group), so this might be similar in your uni? To protect your GPA, take electives that you're good at. Sometimes you want to do what you like, but if your GPA is in danger, best play safe.
believe it or not, there's no such thing as impossible to understand. If someone did it, you can too. The key is finding the way to do it. I find that once you fear a subject, it's very hard to just open the book and try and understand, because you have this misconception that it's unachievable, so maybe getting over the mindset might help you a little. Then, if you're weak at the subject, always, always study early, so if you don't understand anything, go bug a prof. They usually are happy to help
.However, if your courses involve innovative or creative thinking (eg. mathematical proofs, experimental design, solving problems, etc.), and it's not your strong suit, personally, i think the hard way to deal with this is to expose yourself to these ideas as much as possible, so even if you cannot creatively solve a problem on the spot, you may be able to apply what you've seen or read before.
General tips for doing well in uni:
1. Recording lectures. This one, is the best thing you can do for yourself. Download a recording app on your phone, go to class, sit up front, record. Why? Because on the night before the exam and you don't understand a concept, you can listen to it again, because at this hour, no one will be able to answer your questions. If your courses are memory intensive, listen to your recordings at 1.7x speed the day before the exam, I always do this and I get near perfect even with very detailed questions.
2. Do your readings before the lectures. This one works wonders as well.
Edit: 3. Past year exams. you'll be surprised how many lecturers recycle their exams. I once had a math course that requires us to do proofs of theorems we've never seen before on the exam. First midterm I ended up with a sucky 60+, then I did the past year exam for my second midterm, and i scored 87 (yea, so miraculous i still remember it).
Lastly, do what you like, that way you won't hate your studying time, and you generally do better, but if you don't want to go against your father's wishes, then tough it out. Even if you fail something, if it's what you want, you can redo it. I hear if you do courses in the summer, the bellcurving works in your favour (especially if your marks fall into the weaker group), so this might be similar in your uni? To protect your GPA, take electives that you're good at. Sometimes you want to do what you like, but if your GPA is in danger, best play safe.
