I feel like ripping my eyes out (A rant: I'm a computer science major)

I failed my Physics I class
I failed my Trigonometry class
I failed my literature class

I was feeling down...

I took summer classes...

I prayed...

I tried to study harder...

I stopped making excuses...

I passed!

And now I'm working. And I enjoy studying gamedev stuff at home. :)

that's why I wear glasses. It prevents me from actually ripping my eyes out [grin]

on a more serious note: been there, done that. failed a cacl class, retook during summer, passed! just don't panic, set goals and work really hard. good luck.

heh, I failed my calc 3 too, but I got an A after. It's not the end of the world. Do your homework, if you want to succeed in math classes.

I have failed exactly one class, though my transcript does not reflect it. It was a graduate relativity class (I was a physics major in college). The Professor was a very brilliant theorist--at least I assume he was; I never had the chance to engage him in a discussion on something I understood well enough to make any real estimate). As a teacher, though, he left some things to be desired, as evidenced by the fact that, even though he only had 8 students that semester, he never learned their names, nor did he make any effort to gauge how they were coming with the material--even deferring the collection and grading of all homework to the end of the semester.

I was not unimpeachable in my role as a student, either. I only went to office hours once, but the experience was so demoralizing that I did not return. More fatally, I let myself get lulled by the deferred homework due dates; I did not panic as early as I should have, and when I did, I didn't do the right thing, which was either to withdraw or get major, serious help right away from somebody other than my professor.
Well, semester's end came, and I was hopeless. Tensor calculus still eluded me, and the mechanics of 4D Riemannian manifolds were still far outside my grasp. The due date for final homework submission came and went with the majority of mine still outstanding (there was no final exam).

What a feeling! I had never failed a class before.

That afternoon I got an email from my professor, calling me in to see him. He wanted to give me an extension rather than fail me outright. That might have been a kindness in some circumstances, but I hadn't failed to pass in my work because I ran out of time; I had failed because I just wasn't clever enough to work the problem sets. But how could I turn an offer like that down? I accepted, and spent three miserable weeks over winter break sweating and worrying, trying to find some mathematical cranks to turn to extract answers, even if I didn't really understand what I was doing. By the time the next term started, I had some shoddy, meager assignments to submit, which I did.

I never heard from my Professor in words again. My final grade was a C-. I'm sure he knew that was a travesty; my understanding of the subject was so poor no honest interpretation of my work could possibly have passed me. I hated this and I've never really gotten over it. I took my academic integrity pretty seriously; I had some bad grades, but I owned every one of them. And now...that; a little, crawling shame in the pit of my stomach every time I looked at my transcript.

There is a bright spot to this story. While the class was mostly a loss, the lesson in humility has proved a valuable one. Occasionally I have the opportunity to try to explain something I know to my peers at work; there's always the temptation to feel a little smug intellectual superiority when asked to do that, but then I remember what it felt like to be the slowest person in class, sitting in a room with people way smarter than myself, failing.

So, moral: keep your chin up, keep fighting, and go down with dignity. There is no shame in giving your all at a difficult task (and Calculus IS difficult, don't let anyone tell you otherwise), and coming up short. Many people go through life without ever really daring to test themselves. If they do find something that may be beyond them, the majority tend to become unmotivated and stop trying--I suspect because that way, when they fail, they can cover themselves by saying "well, I wasn't trying that hard, anyway". It is a courageous thing to give your all at something that you may fail at, and there is much of value in the attempt alone.

HOLY TOLEDO

CALC III

I am bearly passing Pre-Calc in highschool! But then agian my teacher is working us extremly hard so maybe I am over reacting on how hard it is. I wouldn't mind a good notes site or something for calc classes. Maybe I can help bost my grade. :)

My maths teacher in year 12 (final year of high school) failed me 1 week before the final exam (worth 50% so i could have made alot of marks up). That set me back a full 12 months seeming i had to go to tafe and redo it all....

Was i pissed? yes, yes i was. But you get over it and just keep goin'.

BTownTKD, I know a bit of how you feel. I finished my last semester of a two year college program over the summer, with a 4.0 gpa. I started a university transfer program here at the University of Lethbridge in September. My marks have taken a severe beating, leaving me feeling quite vulnerable/defeated. I just have to take a look around at some of the other goons that seem to be making it through, and I figure if they can do it, so can I. I am not failing any classes, but I could certainly be doing better (and I wish I was).

Hang in there. (And don't destroy anything - it will make you feel worse in the end).

what really sucks is that moment when you realize that you don't know a damn thing. you are past the worst part, just suck it up and try harder next time.

or drop out, it's only a piece of paper. that's on you.

I have failed in every possible aspect of life.
School, Work, Love...
You name it, I failed it.

Seriously though, whether you like it or not you will move on sooner or later.
Crush something beautiful and be on your way.

Moved to the Lounge, where you can drown your sorrows in silly pictures of kittens.

Meh, it sucks, but lots of people have to re-take classes. I had to re-take calc I, barely passed calc II, and never took calc III. I still managed to go on and get my math minor. Clearly in breadth, not depth :).

So yeah, do what you can, next semester will be better.


edit: sorry I don't have any silly pictures of kittens at the moment.

I will probably get a b or c in college trigonometry. I am pretty sure I failed the recent test. I turns out after 2.5 years with no math my algebra is rusty and unconfident.

OP, I am in the same boat, only with calc II and theoretical computer science. My advice... stay in the class, screw the tests if you know you are failing. Focus on taking notes for the next time around.

I'm going to have to retake 2 of my classes from this semester, but I can put them off since they aren't prerequisites to other classes. Rewrite your notes, study them, and when the class comes around again, get an A, and then your bad grade gets overwritten.

During the 5 years it took me to get through Mechanical Engineering I learned to fail with style (well get Ds anyway). What you want to focus on is learning the subject, no matter how many tries it takes. Once I resigned myself to this I actually did better. It may kick your but this time and you might cruise through it next time.

When it came to senior year I was in the same group I had struggled through with the whole time for our final project. At the end of a long semester of work we recieved the highest grade in the class. We recieved many compliments on our attention to detail and adherance to good practices. We had the lowest GPA of any group. I strongly believe that because we had to repeat classes and struggle we were more cautious and remembered early course work better. So stick in there, it just means you will have seen that information twice where others have only seen it once. Plus these classes are the very foundation off which you can build a strong understanding of your later coursework.

Muse, I had the same thing happen to me in General Relativity I. I had very little problem in Special Relativity. However the math in Gen Rev kicked my ass and I was given a C- when I deserved a D I am sure. It still bugs me and I have kept at it hoping to go back some day and redeem myself (to myself).

By curiosity did you have a difficult time in Calculus 2? I've heard from many people that once you understand Calculus 2, Calculus 3 is quite easy. This may be something to consider. Or at least consider some extra studying time in Calculus 2 concepts and then look at the Calculus 3 concepts your having a hard time with.

Luckily your GPA in college doesn't matter unless you’re on a scholarship (or some other form of aid that requires your GPA to be high). Chances are the places you go to for a job will not be asking you "Did you get a 4.0 GPA!?" All that matters are that you get your degree the rest is pretty much void.