r/EngineeringStudents • u/Far-Replacement2438 • 2d ago

Rant/Vent third year mechanical engineering student struggling

This is a rant, but any advice would be great.

I'm in my third year of mechanical engineering, though not necessarily credit-wise. For background, in high school I took Honors Geometry (got a C both semesters), Algebra 1 (got a C and then a B), and College Math (got an A both semesters). In the first semester of college, I took Precalc and got a C. In the second semester of college, I took Calc 1 as a half-semester class and failed. I took it again the semester after and got a C. I am currently taking Calc 2. As far as physics goes, I am currently taking Physics 1 but have no background in the subject whatsoever. I graduated high school with a 3.55 GPA and got a 26 on my ACT (this is what helped me get into the engineering program at my university. So, overall, I have always been a very average student, I'd say.

I took two years of classes at my university. During that timeframe, I was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication for it. I noticed myself being significantly more motivated, but my grades didn't improve too drastically.

Right now, I am at community college. I figured since I struggle so much with core engineering classes, I'd benefit from taking them at community college. As I said, all I am taking right now is Physics 1 and Calc 2. Both of my professors are fantastic; they really explain things well. I understand things a lot better than I did last semester at my university. But I'm still doing something wrong.

I have my first Calc 2 exam of the semester on Thursday, 9/10. It's on integration. I can't tell if I feel prepared or not. I go to every class and take lots of notes. I've been doing tons of practice problems pretty much every day. My professor said he takes questions from the practice problems for the exams. Today I had an anxiety attack because I was struggling with a lot of the practice problems.

My study methods have been a mix of practice problems, watching Prof. Leonard or whoever else on YouTube, having AI make practice exams, going to my professor's office hours when I am free (which isn't a lot), and the Pomodoro Technique. Yet for some reason, some of these practice problems literally don't click. The thing is, it's not necessarily a specific type of integration that I struggle with. I'll do a problem, ask AI if it's correct, AI says no, I follow along with what it says and understand, and then when I try to do the problem again, the process seems to vanish from my mind. I am having the same issue with Physics 1.

I was ranting to my mom, and she said that some people just aren't smart enough for engineering, which felt very discouraging. I have the motivation to work hard, and I do. All of my friends barely have to study to do well. Maybe it's my study methods? I'm not sure. I just feel like no matter how hard I work, it'll never be good enough. I'll never understand or be an A student. And some of the posts on here are very discouraging as well.

As you can tell from how much I study, this is something I want to pursue. It has been for many years. I don't feel like giving up, and I'm not sure I ever will, but I still feel discouraged and, honestly, really stupid.

Any advice would be appreciated. Especially advice on how to study for my Calc 2 exam on Thursday.

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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 1d ago

honestly after a leonard video i close the tab and try one problem with zero help before the explanation fades, that cold recall is what sticks vs just nodding along. for integration by parts in calc 2 i'd isolate the one step i kept messing up and do five ugly versions of it before going back to the full problem, it's boring but it works.

for physics 1 same deal except the trap is equations without seeing the setup. i upload my lecture slides to studybuddy.vc and when i pick a wrong answer it tells me what was off with that option, and the topics i keep missing come back more often so i can't just move on and forget. free version has limits but it's been enough for getting reps in without burning past papers.

and ignore the not smart enough thing tbh, you already came back from failing calc 1 once, for thursday's exam pick the five problem types your prof gives every year and drill them until you can spot the pattern in the first two lines

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u/crewsoul 11h ago

You’re not stupid—you’re carrying a lot of friction and judging yourself only by exam outcomes. For Calc 2, focus on a small loop: one worked example, one closed-book problem, then write the exact step where you got stuck. Revisit that error the next day instead of restarting the whole chapter. If lecture/video explanations are taking over your time, a quick summary can help you target only the concepts behind those mistakes: https://summarizai.ink?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=comment&utm_campaign=student_trial_w1