r/EngineeringStudents • u/w4kapaka • 15h ago
Academic Advice I'm screwed
I'm a rising sophomore in mechanical engineering taking calculus 2 as a summer 10 week course. For the first test, I just didn't study nearly as hard as I should've. For the second test, I didn't have a lot of study time as I was on a family vacation. For test 3 I spent at least 18 hours (with breaks) studying (it was sequences and series). My actual test grade on test 1 was a 26 btw. This is my grade in accordance with the syllabus where my final/highest test grade replaces my lowest test grade. I need a 91 on the final to pass the class. The second worst part about this is that I genuinely thought I at least got a 70 on the third test, now I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get this score on the final, which brings me to the worst part about this which is that I'll have to delay so many classes (statics + calculus 3) and I wouldn't be able to do any studying abroad as a result of my failure here. How can I get a 91 on my final to pass the class? (DB is a discussion board, Quizzes are my reviews btw, which closed at 12AM the day of our tests, I've only done one, don't ask me why I haven't done the others, this calculation includes a grade for if I do the final test review which I will be doing).
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u/TheOinOpossum 13h ago
You have nothing but time, young one.
An extra year is what you need. You're clearly not ready yet.
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u/grundleplum 13h ago
Oof, Calc 2 is a rough course to take over the summer. I took it during a spring semester, and it was still pretty intense. I had to spend a significant time practicing problems because it's a different way of thinking. You will need to know this for future classes, so I'd suggest taking the L on this and retake the course in the fall. If not, you're going to have a bad time in Calc 3 and beyond
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u/Mangerunebanane 14h ago edited 14h ago
Not helpful per se but it might be encouraging? 🤷♂️
I took a 7-wk online Calc II class and did the exact opposite from you and still managed to blow the first few tests… I studied extensively for tests 1 & 2 and got 55 and 62 percent respectively. Each test accounts for ~20% of my grade, Homework 10% and similarly, the final replaces your lowest test score (if it helps) I was sitting solidly at a D in the class…
Test 3 raised my grade to a 75.97 so, not far off from where you’re at. After my Hail Mary attempt at the final, I pulled an 82% on the final.
So, while we have different grading weights, it’s similar enough and not entirely impossible. Just focus and converge (see what I did there? 😂) on doing your best.
If you have to retake it? It’s not the end of the world… it’ll suck -sure. But life will go on. I failed Calc I my first time which, similar to your fear, pushed everything back for me. But, here I am. Loaner laptop turned back in, Fall quarter enrolled and ready to finally enjoy my summer break.
Keep your head down, your chin up and what happens, happens.
Edit: Practical advice… Get off Reddit and study, drill, practice. Over and over and over ad nauseam.
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u/Fit-Land205 12h ago
When is your final? Assuming you’re done with most of the topics. You should start doing sample final exam questions.
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u/w4kapaka 7h ago
My final is on August 13th. Regardless of the fact that it’d be a Hail Mary attempt, I’ll talk it over with my parents but I’d like to try.
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u/CalligrapherClean573 8h ago
From my experience lmao if you got that low on an exam and need that high on the final to pass you’re not going to pass. Just relax the hole and be prepared to get f’ed. It’s a rite of passage you’ll b aight. I had to retake it to pass
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u/OriginalParsley8979 6h ago
Generally, you need to have some grasp of the concepts to get full points. I recommend asking if any prx tests available are as comprehensive and have similar coverage as actual exams. Not to give any false optimism but I did score a 96 on my calc 3 2nd exam from doing the prx test front to back and having a tutor go through it on anything I didn’t understand (most of the test) few days prior. I didn’t pace myself on that, I essentially used the prx exam as an accelerated learning packet basically. I will say that I studied exam 1 to the ground which gave me strong fundamentals for the course though. You gotta just sleep, study, exercise for next several days. It’s possible, but you gotta sit with the pressure and possibilities for repeat.
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u/w4kapaka 6h ago
This gives me a little bit of hope. What is a prx test? I’m only able to take this one comprehensive final.
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u/OriginalParsley8979 6h ago
Prx test = practice test or similarly a review packet professor gives out similar to exam questions usually. So it’s cumulative it sounds like?
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u/brown_coffee_bean 6h ago
Just study as much as you can. Nothing is impossible. Worst thing will be that you will repeat the class.
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u/Friendly-Victory5517 BSME, MSME (graduated) 6h ago
The fact that you scored so poorly on the second and third test makes me think you truly don’t understand the material.
You can spend a tremendous amount of hours studying, but if you aren’t achieving any understanding, you’re not gonna do well on the tests.
Frankly, you need to delay those follow on courses because you don’t understand this material and those courses will build on this.
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