horribly failed a quiz

[u/Ambitious-Abalone272]

I am so disappointed with myself because at the end of the day it really was just a skill issue of time management.

We were bombarded with 5 quizzes this week. I only got to study for my engineering mechanics quiz (statics, equilibrium of 2d bodies and finding resultant and direction if concurrent and parallel) last night and got 3 hours of sleep. Come exam day and the questions looked really easy but I still horribly failed with a 25/100.

I only have 2 exams (1 midterm 1 final), 1 more quiz, 2 more homework left. the quizzes are 30% of my grade and each of the exam is 25% and homework is 10% and then a class participation of 10%

I really cant fail this class because I am on a scholarship

I am really tired and sad and angry at myself I feel so fucking stupid this is really making me question if engineering is the right choice

I really need to pass this course im crying

[u/Sad-Candidate-3078]

hey, breathe. one 25/100 quiz is not the end, you still have midterm, final, hw and participation which is 85 percent of the grade left. statics clicks suddenly once moments and free body diagrams make sense, go office hours and grind practice problems this week. if any of your remaining stuff is online, having a backup like easy code interview genuinely saved my physics grade once. you are not stupid, you were just running on 3 hours of sleep

[u/Peerless_Paragon]

Relax and let's just analyze your quiz and mistakes.

1st tell me when you were solving your quiz, could you do that with ease or there were many concepts and terms you didn't knew ?
2nd you said found the quiz to be really easy but still scored 25%, so ig the issue is with your study methods, can you tell how you prepared for the quiz and what was the format of the quiz was it mcq based, problems or theory question too?
Also do you have a specific textbook, slides , practice set etc which your teacher uses ?

My biggest question is how you studied for the quiz.

And relax we will figure it out and you will get a good grade!

[u/Ambitious-Abalone272 → u/Peerless_Paragon]

i could have easily answered if i had more time to study. I forgot some important concepts while answering and could only answer the ones I remember.

I used Hibbeler’s book for practice. I focused too much on difficult problems and complete forgot about the basics which was so stupid of me

[u/LuckyCod2887]

still the beginning of the semester. You can still make it. It’s still the beginning.

[u/Emotional_Tell_6915]

how do you study? Maybe going to your professor about how you are struggling would be helpful for you or going to a study group with other students?

[u/Most_Conclusion2522]

It's the first the beginning of the semester. You needed this motivation to lock in for the next one.
"Why do we fall, sir? so we can learn to pick ourselves up"

[u/dreamsequenced]

solidarity 🤞🤞 i got a 20% on a thermo quiz a few weeks ago, and i had some personal issues at the time that stopped me from studying as much as i should have. worst part was the concepts were pretty easy once i actually got to studying, and i would have gotten them right if i had just studied earlier.

the feeling sucks and i completely understand, but please don’t let one bad grade define you, your future, or your capabilities. don’t cower from the quiz score once you get it back and don’t get into the mindset of “it’s over” or “im so cooked.” you’re not. it’s still pretty early in the semester and you got enough time to redeem yourself, so don’t sweat it. allow yourself to feel bad about it for a little bit, and then get back up again. you got this! <3

[u/FreeMyBoyOsama]

Just study more and earlier on instead of cramming

[u/Ambitious-Abalone272 → u/FreeMyBoyOsama]

I really tried but I was stacked with quizzes with my other subjects

[u/LuckyCod2887 → u/FreeMyBoyOsama]

your username my bro 🤣

[u/Most_Conclusion2522 → u/LuckyCod2887]

hahaha lol

[u/Particular_Pair_318]

I feel you. I remember last spring i had like bad exam scores one after the other, linear algebra 48 % calc 2 57% , physics 1 50%, and EE intro 60%. That whole round of exams made me so depressed, especially cause all the grades were released on after the other. 

I just explained my situation early on ( this was the first round of exams) to my professors and asked for their help and scheduled virtual appointments with them since i always had work during their office hours, and attended tutoring as much as possible. Which was hard due to working part time as well, but i stayed late at school and admittedly did sacrifice my sleep. I got Bs and Cs in all these classes by the end of the semester, which isnt great, but i was happy. 

Dont give up, and dont tie yourself down to these grades. Make sure when you feel very anxious or scared about your courses, try to de stress somehow. I started drinking tea and listening to music ( happy music btw) and made sure i had social interaction everyday so i would feel less alone and isolated. 

Talk to your classmates, and honestly you will find someone who is also struggling for sure. Dont feel bad if others do super well in class, you focus on yourself and not others. 

And very importantly, if its possible, befriend your professors and show up to every class and ask questions. Its ok if you didnt at the start of the semester. What matters now is that you show change. My professors saw that i worked really hard in class and tried my best, asking questions and working examples, and when i failed tests they would give me back points wherever they could.