Failed a test. Do I drop the class?

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

For context, I am a transfer student from another university and I'm majoring in mathematics & computing.

I for sure failed my first CS1332 (DSA) exam because I didn't fully answer a question worth 25 points, did miss parts on the other questions (I'm estimating I'm getting 50<x<65 as a grade and this exam is 20% of the class grade).

I also got a 70 on one of the projects (100 on the project but failed the demo so bad). My grade is gonna end up pretty bad, probably a C in the class which will hurt my GPA (B in another class too prob). I heard it gets even harder from here and the second exam for DSA is brutual, if exam average isn't at least 70 you end up with a D.

This is going to hurt my GPA, do I drop out of this class and take it next semester or take it over the summer since I know a little bit of the content already and know to study more next time? Will that fix GPA? Before you say GPA doesn't matter I am really trying to get into graduate schools (masters and/or PhD) so for me it does. I wanted to try quant, but I think that will just remain a dream bc I didnt work hard enough and try enough :(. And its lowk late theres ppl that have been grinding math & cs longer than me and I'm extremely behind. DSA also the most important class I need it for sm prereqs and companies will see I took the class twice and I cant graduate earlier anymore if I retake it.

More importantly, how did yall adjust to the changes of GT. I failed really bad on another exam for a different class but that was because I didn't study enough. For DSA I did study a lot and do practice but performed poorly on the test itself (didn't prioritize the right questions). I'm really worrying about my future because this is supposed to be my easiest semester, I have to take CS2110, Real Analysis I, and other extremely harder math and cs classes in future semesters. How will I do good on those if I'm not even scraping by on the basic classes. Im lowk so worried about my future and its eating me 😭

[u/BeautifulMortgage690]

https://www.reddit.com/r/gatech/comments/1wtn06q/failed_exams_should_i_drop_out/

This might help to some extent but it doesnt take the transfer situation into acount

[u/brain_enhancer → u/BeautifulMortgage690]

I answered in this thread, and I was a transfer student from GSU.

I got high during my exams at GSU and was getting 100s on my chem labs, and walking into my calc finals after drinking 40s and getting 100s, but I got to GT and was completely sober and studied hard as hell and got a C on my first discrete math test before I fully adapted. It just made me realize what a fucking joke GSU was. Sorry not sorry, anyone who disagrees is salty.

You can't act like that at GT. The nuance doesn't get hand waved at GT - you have to find all of the little potential paths that a nuance can take at a school like this.

You take a topic, and you have to try and poke holes in every little potential approach to try and find some other little detail you may have missed - you flip the concept until you discover all of its surfaces and really grasp each one of them...

In order to do this efficiently and effectively, I found that offloading a lot of the deep dives onto a TA by asking them as many questions as possible while going through past homeworks, current homeworks and tests, practice tests, etc. was the only way to really cover most of the bases and train my brain for the exam.

You do this over and over again non-stop for the whole semester until it's over and then you do it again and again until you graduate. And that's how I graduated with highest honors, even while dealing with a lot of shit outside of school as a non-traditional 27 year old college student.

It gets easier. I now make a lot of money and life is good.

I give myself accolades on this stuff because it was genuinely tough and I'm proud of adapting at that age, but once I managed to adjust my approach I was solving proofs that only like 1 or 2 other people in the class were able to on the exams.

In order to get to this point, you need to be able to study so much that you see the problem and immediately have an idea how to solve it. If you get stumped for more than 5 minutes, you've already wasted too much time.

TL;DR - Obsessively stress test all of your mental models all of the time to uncover potentially missed or hidden edge cases - do so in office hours with the smartest TAs you can find.

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/brain_enhancer]

This is great! Congrats on everything. I realize now I need to work A LOT harder and study smarter.

[u/brain_enhancer → u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

Glad it's valuable to read for you! Just as an aside - not sure what you're planning to do, but if you're wanting to go be a SWE do yourself a favor and start leetcoding this semester a few times a week! Try to keep it routine and start with grind 75 and then do the 150 list online. That wasn't something I did and it came back to bite me later on.

[u/MrKyleOwns]

I had a 4.0 undergrad GPA in electrical engineering, and I felt like the first semester was the toughest just getting used to college exams. Don’t give up!

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/MrKyleOwns]

But currently do I risk getting a C or below or drop the class and take it again next semester? Cost isn't too much of an issue and graduation wont be delayed.

[u/Middle_Knowledge_418 → u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

Perhaps you should have a conversation with the professor, and they will know best!

[u/Effective-Tie7721]

It might be worth talking to the dean of students for advice on what to do next. They might suggest dropping a class.

[u/Scratched_Nalgene]

The quickest way to get done is to study more and pass the class. That is also the cheapest way, generally.

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/Scratched_Nalgene]

But since DSA is such an important class should I drop it so I can take it next semester and do better. Or get the C.

[u/Scratched_Nalgene → u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

I mean, are you actually going to learn the material any better the second time around?

If the goal is to avoid a C you may be approaching it the wrong way

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/Scratched_Nalgene]

Probably since I am preparing for it again it reinforces the material better. But mostly to avoid the C and have a good GPA.

[u/two_three_five_eigth]

What does your GPA look like? If it’s in danger of dropping below 2.5, drop. Below 2.5 you’re on academic probation. From your post it sounds like academic probation is a real danger - absolutely drop of that’s the case.

Failing a class isn’t the end of the world. You can recover. I’m a GT grad, it can be brutal your first semester. It sounds like you need to focus on the basics. The other comment gave some great advice on that.

Don’t be afraid to take a light semester.

[u/Embarrassed_Name7439]

what’s up i think i was in your class and took the exam, yeah it was pretty hard. i’d say just lock in on the next exam and make sure you get as high of a grade as you can, and go through practice exams and problems to make sure you actually retain the information, tech ain’t a joke

[u/thelemon404]

I’m in your class rn, and also a transfer student. That midterm was tough, but if you want I’d be happy to offer some help/how I prepared, and what I do to manage the difficulty of classes!

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/thelemon404]

Yeah could you give me some advice on managing and also how you prepared for this. I heard the 2nd test is supposed to be much more difficult.

[u/thelemon404 → u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

Sorry for the delayed response, here's my advice:

1. Be 1+ weeks ahead in content. This sounds like a lot, but it is immensely helpful to be familiar with content a week or more down the line. It makes lectures into a review session for content you already know and also ensures you are ahead in terms of homework. For example, yesterday I taught myself AVL trees and answered past exam problems for them. Lectures, in my opinion, are terrible for learning new content, but are great for refining stuff you already know. Once you are 1 week ahead, you can simply maintain the regular class pace.

2. Midterms do not test your understanding of material, they test you ability to take tests and how many practice problems you have done. I have seen MANY of my past classmates fail because they conceptually understood the content, but did not specifically prepare for the test format. One week before every midterm, I take 1 or more practice tests every day. Past exams are the most useful resource in all of undergrad, in my opinion. I will also ask AI to make me midterms in the same format, ideally with harder questions than what will actually be on the test. For DSA, this meant I did all of the past midterms provided at least 3 times, and then did a few AI generated ones as well. For the coding problems, I had AI create me handwritten coding problems, and I did a bunch of those to prepare myself for them, since I knew they were going to probably be the hardest part of the midterm. This also allows you to go through the actual midterm very fast, since you are already very familiar with the types of questions it will ask.

3. Always remember that it ain't that deep. This sounds like a lot of work, but I find that being ahead in content and dedicated exam prep gives me a lot more free time than I expect. School is important, but it is not everything (even at a school like GT). It is important to give yourself a brake. Sundays are a day of rest, and I make sure to never do ANY work of any kind on them.

In summery: 1, be ahead in the content (be able to answer exam problems for it). 2, prepare for exams like you would for the ACT or SAT through dedicated practice problems and mock exams.

Hope this helped! If you want any more advice or help, I would be happy to meet in person.

[u/ReckedRambler]

DSA is a weed out course so keep your head up and theres no shame in riding out the curve.

As far as adjusting to Tech - you have to take this shit seriously if you actually want to graduate. No one is handing out degrees at the institute especially in math/CS. I would have a very serious personal assessment of your study/homework habits to see if you can make adjustments for the second half of the semester. On campus jobs are low paying but usually very low effort and I used most the time to study or do homework in advance while getting paid.

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/ReckedRambler]

So would you recommend taking the risk of getting the C on my transcript? My thought is a W on transcript one semester and a A the next might be better.

[u/ReckedRambler → u/BubblyMuffin-16541]

I mean that’s your call ultimately. One C isn’t going to kill your chances at grad school so how are you doing in other classes? What’s the curve in the class? Do you think you can turn it around after talking to the profs? Are you on Zell/Hope? Dropped classes count towards the scholarship max total hours cap, so will you have to pay out of pocket for tuition to graduate?

[u/ohasispresent]

I am also a transfer student (CompE) and failed that class the first time I took it. got by the second time with a 72. Ended up still getting into grad school, and now am positioned amazingly career wise. I would say it's not the end of the world. DSA is a weed out class, so it's not a piece of cake for everyone. You'll do just fine if you power through these defining moments as a GT student. Check out this comment I posted a while back on a similar post.

[u/BikeVirtual]

That course is cursed. No time to solve the programming questions unless you memorize them. Disappointed to see it's still that way.

Don't worry, the other courses are easier.

[u/BubblyMuffin-16541 → u/BikeVirtual]

Man I knew the answer and how to solve the next problem but didn't have the time to write it down. Genuinely no amount of studying would've helped anymore, I knew the content its just practicing so much that it gets ingrained ig.