Why am I doing less than average?

Question

I had a 90 avg coming out of high school, I study at least 4-5 hours a day (full days sometimes), yet I still am finding engineering to be depressing because I am not doing that good. It feels like I'm always falling behind, and I am jealous of those who do better than me. I fear this jealousy is clouding my judgement. What should I do, how should I think?.. and dropping engineering is not an option for me.

Answer 1

You chose the toughest major around. I was there in your shoes. When I graduated, a 2.8 gpa would put you on the honnor roll. That was because a 2.8 gpa would put you in the top 20%.
When you become a seinor it will get easier. Infact, most graduate schools will only judge you on your last 60 semester units.

What you do not do is quit. You will look back on these times and remember them as the times you were at your best meeting the biggest challange you will have in your life.
This will be remembered like old war stories or climbing Mt Everest. You will feel more pride in the brutal and punishing effort if you do not quit than any pay off you would get if you do quit.

Answer 2

Don't feel too bad. You may have been near the top of your high school, but you have now gone into classes with others who were near the top of their high schools. So in a sense, you have just joined a group of your peers. Being average in a group of excellent students is nothing to be ashamed about.

Also, there is work out there for everyone. Maybe some will do better than you academically, but they can't actually DO everything. If you feel like you were meant to be an engineer, stick with it. A tutor wouldn't hurt either. Sometimes undergraduate classes are difficult. I struggled through a 100 level chemistry course. But when I got into the higher level engineering courses, I did okay. There is always a learning curve in how to study, take tests and filter out the important details in the material.

I wish you well.

Answer 3

Just so you know, the first year of college classes in most engineering courses are partially designed to get people to drop out of engineering. Alos engineering math, and science classes are much more intense than general studies classes of the same subject. You can't compare your course work or grades to theirs. I felt overloaded the first two years. But when I got into my actual field specific classes in my junior year, I felt and did much better. The first two years you have alot of wide range of subjects and fields to deal with. Do the best youcan. Keep studying and try not to get to discouraged. If you talk to your class mates, their are alot of others that feel overwhelmed at times to.

For me the best thing was to treat it as a job. I took classes in the morning, then did homework and studied till around 5 or six. After six I was done for the day and relaxed and enjoyed some time off from school. You can reduce your hours to 12 to 15 a semester. 16 or 18 is great for liberal arts, not for science and engineering unless you are a genius (which I am not) or a glutten for pain. Most engineering students graduate in 5 years now anyway.

Gig' Em Aggies!

Answer 4

I feel for you, man. I was an engineering student at Georgia Tech for 3 years. I did Good my first year. My second year, not so good and I started to dislike it. By my 3rd year I did bad, and I hated it. I failed my first class EVER. In High School I was a straight A student and I did well on my SATs. I finally figured out that I just wasn't meant to be an engineer. I became a lawyer eventually and I am so happy that I dropped engineering. Dropping engineering IS an option for you. You have to do be happy at whatever you do or you will not succeed. It's tough figuring this stuff out. Do whatever makes you happy. The money and success will come later. Good luck.

Answer 5

I like this question, but I must preface my answer by admitting I know next to nothing of engineering.

I would like you first focus on the people who are getting better grades than you (yeah, jealousy can be used in a constructive way). I recommend that you do everything they do in preparations for exams.

This means (at the very least) attending the same study sessions that they do. Listen to how and why they ask questions.

I boosted my grades tremendously by tape recording lectures (and of course listened to them over and over).

I started sitting in the front of the class and made eye contact with the instructor constantly. This let them know I was listening (which I actually did).

I stopped the frenzy of taking notes on EVERYTHING, and just took notes on what the teacher was emphasizing. Usually I got into a rhythm where I knew what was going to be on the exam. Then I would read the majority of the chapter in the book, but focused on what the teacher expected me to know for the test.

I asked questions like "could you repeat what you just said, but use different words" which allowed the instructor to understand that it was time to slow down, and gave him/her time to place emphasis on the important themes. This technique is extremely valuable, as most instructors are not true experts in the field you are learning from them.

After you do this questioning enough times, you will train your teacher to share with you the basics you must to know, and they will limit the extraneous side stuff they feel must be included (which is what the teachers manual told them they should discuss).

Although the extraneous stuff is interesting and useful, it can also be confusing. Usually the extra credit points in the exam are geared towards the extraneous stuff.

If you are one of those that perform poorly on exams, but actually know the material, its critical that you demonstrate your knowledge to your instructor. You can accomplish this in one-on-one meetings or small group interactions.

Most teachers are teaching because they want to make a difference in someones life. The best outcome for them is share(their) knowledge and communication skills and see that it changes you as a person. Letting them know you are charged up after learning what they taught is a great way to "brown nose" your way to a good grade. But it doesn't take long for a teacher to sniff out a brown nose. Do better on the next exam, then repeat the above steps and the teacher will see you as someone who is "really trying".

Some final thoughts on jealousy. It is just natures way of telling you that you can be doing better. It's an internal and external barometer of how things are going. Take jealously for what is worth, which is just this: maybe you should be doing better.

I enjoyed responding to this question. I think it will help you out in your situation.

BTW, I am not a teacher, but aim to be one day. If you find this advice helps you I would appreciate knowing so.

Answer 6

College is a lot harder than high school, so you gotta take studying to a whole new level. Engineering is hard. It takes lots of practice to get the material down. Don't let stress get the best of you. You might lose a lot of sleep, but it might be worth if you get the stuff. It helps a lot if you study in groups.

Answer 7

High school is a lot easier than college if you're going to a technical field.

Go liberal arts, or education,they're often no more than an extension of high school.

I disagree with the lawyer. "do what you like and the money will come later." If you do what you like and everyone else likes it and is doing it, the wages won't be jack.

Answer 8

I would go to either the tutor or the instructor and start back at the lesson that first started going badly. If I had to make a wager, I would say, something seemingly minute was missed in the lesson before that one and it is just enough to make the rest a little confusing. That's what happened to me.
Keep trying and you will make it, Good Luck.

Answer 9

Quit worrying about how others are doing. And don't ask a bunch of Yahoos on Yahoo how to think. (except me right now). So you have to work harder than some for what you want. Boo freakin hoo. If you fail it'll be because you quit.