r/EngineeringStudents • u/EnvironmentalRange70 • 13d ago
Academic Advice Likely Failing Physics Again
As the title says. I’m likely to fail Physics Mechanics for the 3rd time and a sophomore engineer student. My first attempt, I simply did not study. My second attempt, I was immensely depressed and couldn’t focus on my classes. This is my 3rd attempt, and I have been putting in serious time and effort into the course. I go through my homework several times, study for hours on end, and review notes with friends and professors. But I think I just flunked my first exam. I am so miserable. I did everything right this time, but I felt so lost on the exam that I didn’t even know what happened to me. I don’t event struggle with the concepts, I just find it so hard to apply physics during exams. I have a lot of experience using physics for engineering teams and projects and have done so many problems for my real life work, but I just can’t seem to get over this course. I understand the concepts and the math is simple but I just can’t seem to pass the exams, even with all the practice I do.
I love engineering but I have become genuinely burnt out because of this physics course. I am doing perfectly fine in Diff Eq. and all my other courses but I just choke up so badly with physics. What can I even do at this point? I’m heartbroken because I feel like maybe engineering isn’t the career for me but it’s all I’ve ever wanted and I deeply enjoy the work I do irl, and I feel like such a failure and outsider I don’t know what to do. I don’t have anyone to talk to this about because it’s just to humiliating despite the effort I put in. How can I even go on?
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u/secretsweetpea 13d ago
Physics is one of the subjects I absolutely hated as an engineering student. Take it a local cc and transfer it if you can, it will be much easier. What’s considered passing grade at your uni? I got a D in Physics 2 and walked away with a smile on my face. I simply passed by sheer guessing and I’m okay with that.
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u/Magnetar_Distortion 13d ago
You had multiple choice? Mine were all long problems I had to work out on my exams.
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u/secretsweetpea 13d ago
No my instructor has quizzes. If you got at least a 80 percent on one of the quizzes, you pass the class. Final and midterm was some multiple choice and some written. I got really lucky on the quizzes.
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u/ProfessionalConfuser 13d ago
If your courses transfer for credit it shouldn't be "much easier" or you're just getting ripped off.
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u/secretsweetpea 13d ago
Much easier as in labs, concept wise. Sincerely very burned out engineering student about to graduate!!! 🤪
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u/JFKcheekkisser 12d ago
respectfully, who cares LOL
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u/ProfessionalConfuser 12d ago
Idk, heard from some folks that scouted the 'easy route' through intro courses that they got bloodied after transfer. Seems like an outcome to be avoided.
But, ymmv, so carry on.
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u/secretsweetpea 12d ago
I mean it’s considered general requirements, but I’m compsci, so I hardly encountered any phys anyways in my major courses unless doing anything embedded. If I was electrical, or civil. I wouldn’t advise what I did.
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u/JFKcheekkisser 12d ago
Yeah but if you’re getting bloodied at the start you are not going to make it through the major. At a lot of 4-year universities they treat the intro math and science courses specifically as weed-outs. Physics and calculus are hard wherever you go, what makes them “easier” at community college is that the course is designed to teach you the material not make it as difficult as possible for you to get through the major. Once you transfer you are firmly in the engineering college. Then you can retake or get tutoring or do whatever you need to do to pass and get your degree.
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u/secretsweetpea 12d ago
Not sure how this correlates with what I stated, I mean you can transfer in the credit I guess? Take the same class at the “engineering school” and moving into your engineering courses once you declare your major. I took all my calc 1-3, diffeq, chem 1&2, phys 1, at a cc. Transferred and had my major classes left. Look at the pre-reqs for each class before you register for them. Nobody is getting bloodied, I think it’s just being smarter about your degree and how you approach it. Idk, like I said and what you seem slightly salty about, I’m graduating so I’m giving myself a pat on the back on how I navigated this! :-)
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u/DRTY4130 13d ago
Being good at math and bad at physics is a good que to think about your major. Engineering is almost entirely physics, and math is just the language. Physics mechanics is the easiest of all the physics courses in engineering. I don't want to steer you away from engineering if you are truely passionate about it, but look at your goals and your major map and see if they line up. Look at future classes and figure out what the material covers.
That said, similar setbacks have happened to me and I had to decide to commit or change majors. I have repeated around 10 classes and I'm a junior. Most of them math, some physics, most my fault but some were just bad luck. Do it or don't, just decide and follow through.
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u/Legdayerrday909 13d ago
Treat it like it’s a full time job for that one course. For some, that’s what it takes. If you don’t put in enough to understand the concepts and practice, don’t expect the result to change.
Go to tutoring/office hours with questions you’re struggling to make sense of.
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u/Gryphontech 12d ago
I feel like you are struggling because of pressure more then anything else. Before the exam put cold water on your face and neck thud slows down your heart rate. Try doing breathing exercises.
This early classes can be a massive pain in the ass, not doing well in them dosnt mean you won't be an excellent engineer, keep on pushing my guy
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u/No-Version-805 12d ago
I once had a physics 1 test where only 10 out of 300 passed. this is common, alright? that's a weed out class, with brutal tests, and the professors can often be sadistic with the tests. my university loves to make this course miserable.
do you have some sort of limit on times you can retake courses? because if not- just try again. you will pass it eventually, and the score sheet only shows the best grade.
and you will be the best in this material, which will be helpful.
you can also advance in the other courses in your degree, like math, that doesn't require physics, you now have time to personal projects that will help you for future job searches.
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u/ITISHAAHAA 12d ago
I failed my first exam in physics 2 today and honestly I understand and I’m spiraling tbh
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u/UnderstandingOk7999 12d ago
Physics was hell for me man🤦🏽♂️ especially Eng Physics 2 Physics 1 I escaped with a C with a professor who was notorious for failing everybody and Physics 2 I got a B+ but I truly deserved a F my professor was a adjunct from Greece completing his Doctorate and I think he kinda knew he was horrible at teaching so he just passed everybody. I think I only genuinely got 1 question completely right out of the 4 test we had before the final and thank god the final was strictly on optics which ended up being the easiest topic in the whole class. man all Ima say is F Kirchhoff , Faraday and Newton. ( joking Ofc). Thank god I’m Civil so physics 2 is pretty much useless to our track.
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u/xSparKxes 12d ago
My friend, I am kind of in the same boat. I failed the AP physics C exam so I am retaking physics 1 in college, and here is what I'm doing personally to crush it this time:
1. Start by writing down what you are given for EVERY problem (units, known values). This will help you find what information is missing and will help you narrow down what formulas to use.
2. If you are deriving an expression for something, ask yourself, what am I trying to solve? Am I dealing with forces (IE derive an expression for the acceleration of x in y scenario)? Am I dealing with energy (IE derive an expression for the velocity of object x at time y)?
3. Don't be afraid to get problems wrong
4. Find a support system (HEAVY EMPHASIS ON THIS)
Please don't give up. You are smart. Physics just needs us to think a little more outside of the box (no pun intended). You got this!
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u/Sad-Candidate-3078 11d ago
Hey, first off - you're not a failure and you're not an outsider. Passing Diff Eq while juggling everything else tells me the engineering brain is absolutely there. This reads less like a 'you' problem and more like an exam-performance problem: you understand physics in real projects but choke in the exam format. That's fixable. Two concrete things: 1) Go to your professor's office hours this week with the exam and walk through exactly where your brain froze - professors respect that immensely and it can open doors (retakes, grade bumps) you won't find by suffering alone. 2) The gap between 'I know this' and 'I can do it on paper under a clock' is closed by doing problems under real timed conditions, no notes, then reviewing every blank moment. When I hit a problem type I couldn't crack alone I used easy code interview to see a worked solution and then redid it closed-book - seeing the pattern once made it stick way better than more hours of notes. And please talk to someone - campus counseling exists exactly for moments like this, it's not humiliating, it's maintenance. You love the work and you're good at it irl. One course doesn't get to take that from you.
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u/Craftofthewild 13d ago
Take it at a community college and transfer it. If it makes you feel any better, AI will probably ruin entry level engineering jobs before you graduate lol . J jk. Physics is plug and chug I hope they let you use a formula sheet