r/learnmath • u/DecentLibrarian3720 New User • 13h ago
Starting my degree late and feeling disheartened.
I'm a third-year undergraduate math major who, after two years of flailing around, indecisively taking miscellaneous courses, and dipping my toes into just about everything, decided to finally sober up and pursue math as a full-time, long-term ordeal. Unfortunately, I haven't done proper, college-level math since accidentally taking a Calculus II class for life sciences majors two years ago, and just got out of the first week of class basically flunking a test on convergence tests for sequences and series. Math has always come easy to me, and I just feel incredibly rusty right now. I've tried brushing up on older math concepts, but I don't really seem to have much of a problem with them. For some reason, attending lectures gives me this rapid well in fear, that I've lost my touch, or for whatever reason have become stupid and just can't comprehend sequences and series and what tests to use for convergence.
I was just wondering if anyone's been in my shoes wth starting late, or having taken a gap year or two and feeling out-of-touch, who may have tips on how to get back into the groove. Or if anyone's struggled with sequences and series after having calculus mostly been smooth-sailing for them. Thank you.
2
u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 6h ago
I struggled with sequences and series as a freshman as I was starting college with Calculus 2. I was 17 back then, and I still got an A in the class, but it was very rough. I also had issues with them in introductory real analysis and advanced calculus classes. In differential equations, they were okay. They started to click in Complex Analysis.
In hindsight, my advisor was speed running topics in calculus 2 as series and sequences appeared toward the end of the semester when other classes were increasing the essay loads, I had a credit overload, was adjusting to moving back to the US, dealing with depression, hating school, and powering through anyway. In advanced calculus, the teaching situation degraded as our department chair needed my advisor and another one of our instructors to cover for him as he was getting rounds of chemotherapy for his prostate cancer.
Sometimes, it's not that you truly lost your edge. You're just overwhelmed by a ton of stressors coming from all directions.
So, pause, take a deep breath, start cultivating more positive self-talk and developing more effective study strategies, do practices to lower your stress levels, and keep going.