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  • please help...I'm doing bad in school

    I'm doing bad in school. I go to community college. I went to KCC for few semesters and HCC. OMG..I'm so ashamed. My gpa is like 2.0 and I just finished my summer session this week Friday. If I get a "D" or below, my gpa will be like 1.8 and I'll be on probation.

    I was on probation before like 2 semesters ago and during that time, I recieved a letter from my college, saying that if I don't raise it up to 2.0 or higher, I will be suspended for one semester. So the next semester, I raised it up back to 2.0.

    And now, I'm back to where I was. Depending on how well I did on the final, there's a chance of my gpa staying still at 2.0 or going below. I don't even know what's gonna happen to me if it goes down again.

    This is so sad because I spend most my time staying home study and I don't hang out with friends at all or party. I study too and my grade is still messed up. Any suggestion people? I sure don't know what to do.

  • #2
    Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

    Originally posted by Shredder
    I'm doing bad in school. I go to community college.
    This is so sad because I spend most my time staying home study and I don't hang out with friends at all or party. I study too and my grade is still messed up. Any suggestion people? I sure don't know what to do.
    Hmmmmm...If you're studying and you're still getting bad grades maybe you have a learning disability. It is not uncommon. I had one, I still do. My suggestion is to get tested. Do you have a counselor?

    Did you have difficulities in High School? It could also be many things which I am not a professional to give any advice. However, I do recommend you utilize what is available to you at HCC in as far as counseling and recieving extra assitance.

    Good Luck

    Auntie Lynn
    Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
    Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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    • #3
      Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

      From a fellow college student to you, I suggest that if you are studying and still not getting the grades, go to your school and seek help, ask your counselor if they offer tutoring assistance or another possibilty is that maybe you are in a too advanced class....maybe see if you can take a lower class in that subject.

      What helps for me is to take your time, don't cram to the point that you feel hopeless and not know what you are trying to learn. Another is how many classes are you taking? Don't take no more than you can handle. I wish you all the best and good luck with your studies....don't give up! There are assistance programs in your college....seek them out and get help!
      Live for today....tommorow is never promised

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      • #4
        Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

        Heck yeah, go see a counselor at school right away! Do whatever you need to do to get that cumulative GPA up.There's no shame in seeking help. You obviously want to be in college (otherwise you would have dropped out already). One thing I learned myself when I was in college was the quality of my studying was more critical than the quantity of my studying: how you study is more important than how long you stare at a book and nothing sinks in.

        Could also be that the classes you've been taking (probably required ones, yeah?) don't interest you very much. I always did better in the classes I liked (the electives) than the ones that I was forced to take because it was part of the requirements for graduation.

        Miulang
        Last edited by Miulang; August 13, 2006, 08:39 AM.
        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

          Originally posted by Shredder
          I'm doing bad in school.
          You're doing bad in school?
          defecating in the hallways?
          spraying graffitti on the lockers?
          punching out the teachers?


          well, can't help ya there.
          oh. wait. Maybe you meant "I am doing badly in school."
          well. if even school can't help ya with that... I dunno...

          if my teachers never taught me "bad/badly" usage, I would punch 'em out too!
          Last edited by kimo55; August 13, 2006, 09:43 AM.

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          • #6
            Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

            I've never been to community college except for occasional summer school classes, so I'm not sure how much this will help:

            In addition to speaking to a counselor and the other things that have already been mentioned, work your professors! You are paying for their time, so get your money's worth! Talk to your professors during office hours. Show interest and/or show them you are interested in the subject even though your test grades might be low. Go over tests and homework assignments with them, but dont hog all of their office time because they may think you're toooooo desperate . Ask if they can recommend tutors. Definitely get on their good sides.

            But some professors want nothing to do with students and don't bother showing up for office hours. Many colleges require profs to be in their offices during their scheduled office hours (unless otherwised posted, like for a doctor appt or are sick), so if yours are the type not to show up during office hours or not answer e-mails, try to make specific appointments with them. If they don't answer emails or want to make an appointment with you, make sure you have their office hours correct (like from the syllabus) find the department chair or their secretary and nonchalantely ask "do you know where prof so-and-so is? He/she isnt hasn't been in her/his office during schedule office hours for the last 4 weeks..." One professor was notorious for not being available at all for students (he was old and rickety), so the chair would take his students when they came looking for him...so you never know til you start asking.

            I personally found that some professors (specifically trig/calc since I totally suck at it) had a really hard time failing me if I showed up during office hours and asked for help from them or their grad students/tutors. I mean, you dont need to take up all their time, but if you show them you're struggling through tests, but you're trying hard and that you understand most of the homework, they may give you a C- rather than a D. Sometimes, just dropping by for 5 minutes to discuss a particular problem or assignment once a week does the trick. Allowing the prof to put a face with a name when marking a final grade may help you a lot.

            Now that I think of it, we had academic counselors specifically for students on probation - does your CC have anything like that? Also, if there isn't a tutoring program, many students will tutor (and advertise their services) but it'll cost you. I had a botany tutor that let me pay him in beer twice a week, so I guess I got a tad lucky.

            Don't give up!
            -k

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            • #7
              Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

              Shredder:

              Everyone who's already responded to this thread has given you EXCELLENT advice. I work with students who are bright but who, for some reason or another, have failed in school, and everything people here have said is spot-on. So I'll just add a few thoughts.

              First of all, if you're trying your best and just getting by, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. If you were slacking, you'd have something to be ashamed of.

              Kelly0040 is right about knowing how to work your professors, but I think this is a secondary concern for you right now. The most pressing concern is to figure out why, even though you are trying your best, you are barely above C-level. Lynn's suggestion that a learning difference might be involved is, of course, the first thing I thought of, since that's what I've been trained to look for. Did you do well in high school? What, specifically, seems to be giving you trouble? Is it focusing while you study? Is it remembering what you've studied? Is it making sense of the notes you've taken? What's going on in your classroom? Can you see okay? Hear okay? How long does it take you to do the assigned reading?

              Miulang's suggestion that HOW you study is more critical than HOW MUCH you study is also worth paying attention to, and the only way I could really address this for you is to know which aspects of your course grades are bringing you down, and which are bringing you up. Do you do well on the assignments but poorly on tests, or is it the other way around? Do you do well on short-term assignments but poorly on long-term assignments? How do you feel about school and your classes? Where do you sit in class? Do you have friends who attend the same school? Believe it or not, these last few questions are relevant to the "how you study" dimension of school, because there are different kinds of intelligence, and if your strengths are social, you need to take advantage of that in order to help your brain remember stuff.

              Localgrl says to consider the number of classes you're taking, and that's critical, too. Add to that what Miulang says about the types of courses you're taking, and this all by itself might be just what you need (because you're apparently not making the grade by just a little!). If science courses are a bear and you know a D is a possibility, take that chem course the same semester you take a couple of other courses that will bring the average up, courses that you know you'll do well in. If reading is especially difficult, don't take history and English courses at the same time. If your problem is with exams, seek those instructors whose grading systems don't weigh so heavily on that one aspect of the course (other students will be able to tell you, but if not, the advisors and counselors will).

              To echo what everyone has said, go see a counselor. There are all kinds of things that might be contributing to your difficulty, and the counselors are trained to help you figure that stuff out.

              I'd like to encourage you because I was suspended once and thrown out twice at UH-Manoa. It took me eight years, but I eventually got my B.A., and it remains the thing I'm proudest of in my life.

              Finally, I'd just like to say that you're not failing. 2.0 is average, or good enough. You're struggling to stay average across the board. If you're just not making it by a little, you're not a lost case -- not by a long shot. A little tweak here and another there might be all the difference you need, so GO SEE A COUNSELOR.

              And keep us posted.
              But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
              GrouchyTeacher.com

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              • #8
                Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                Everyone has given good advice... Heres some other thoughts on the matter.

                My only advice... 100% Attendance, Participate in your classes, find classmates that you can study with, ask the teacher if it would be ok to bring a small tape recorder to class and record the lectures (sit in front for clear audio).

                You might be able to work with the teacher during their office hours...etc.

                I felt the same way about my Spanish classes... no matter how hard I studied... I still felt shame because my grades were always D's or C's in them... However, I studied more for Spanish then I did any of my other subjects.

                If you do have a learning disability, or even a handicap...At UH Manoa their is the Kokua Program that can actually work with students with disabilities.

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                • #9
                  Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                  Aloha -

                  One thing that helped me was to review my notes the same night. It helped to reinforce things so I remembered it, rather than just slowly forgetting as the days went by.

                  Even better is to review all your notes, from day one to present every day you have that class. Eventually, everything will stick and the new notes will make more sense as they'll fit into a pattern. This benefitted me a lot. When I did regular reviews, there were no more 'up all night before a test' sessions, which hardly ever work. At least for someone like me.

                  Ever looked at MindMaps? There's info on the web and I'm sure the library has books on the subject. Some people swear by them.

                  That's about all I have to add. You've got a lot of good info already from everybody else.

                  Best of luck

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                  • #10
                    Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                    Thanks for the advice everyone. I took chemistry in this summer session and oh my god, this class so hard for me. So many math equations and stuff like that which was so confusing. And I took it very seriously. I came to class everyday. I asked the teacher for help too if I didn't get it. And still...my grades suck.

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                    • #11
                      Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                      sorry for posting again. I forgot to say something about my high school grades. My gpa in high school was average, 2.5. But I was slacking a lot in high school and I'm different than how I was before. I care a lot about my class in college.

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                      • #12
                        Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                        Originally posted by Shredder
                        sorry for posting again. I forgot to say something about my high school grades. My gpa in high school was average, 2.5. But I was slacking a lot in high school and I'm different than how I was before. I care a lot about my class in college.
                        The fact that you care a lot about being in college tells me that you're motivated enough to tough it out until you graduate. Keep going! There were days when I got discouraged, too, but then I remembered why I was in school...because I wanted a better future...and that made me suck in my gut and work away at even the classes that I didn't like. Like Scriv said, if you're taking more than one class, try to take one you like (or one that is "easier") and balance that with one that's tougher. The main point is to get your CUMULATIVE gpa higher than 2.0 if you can. The grades you get in each individual class don't matter as much as that average of all the grades of all the classes that you take.

                        Good luck and just keep trying. Get help whenever you feel the need. Sit in the front row so you can see and hear your instructor better. It also forces you to pay attention (it's harder to fall asleep in the front row and escape detection than it is to sit in the back and take a snooze! )

                        Miulang
                        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                        • #13
                          Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                          I can only think of a couple of things at the moment.

                          First of all, if you're having family or personal difficulties, that can definetely affect your concentration.

                          Also, your talk about chemistry and math problems indicates to me that perhaps you have some issues with lower level mathematics that is seriously affecting your ability to do well in higher level math/chemistry/physics courses. You may want to ask your professor to direct you to a placement exam if you pinpoint your problem to lack of foundation.

                          Another thing it could be is poor study habits and time management. You can put dozens of hours into studying, but you can still get crap grades if your mind is wandering frequently, you're multitasking studying with other things (IM'ing people, listening to music, TV in the background, etc). I'm not saying you're doing that stuff, your habits and management may be spot on, but it may be something else. I don't know you from Adam, so I am relying on a relatively short amount of text to figure out what's up.

                          Good luck, Shredder. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm not a pro, but I did get through a 1st Tier University, so I hope I have some info that can help you.

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                          • #14
                            Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                            Ah, I felt the same way you do at times...my first semester at HCC, I did so horribly I got put on academic probation. Two semesters later, I did so well, I ended up in the Dean's List! I wasn't on the DL last year (essay writing is the bane of my existence), but I'm definitely not struggling anymore... So don't fret. If I can do it, as lazy as I am, then I'm sure you can, too. I don't really have any specific advice because my problem was that I didn't care about school and didn't always study/go to class, but you do care so it's not really the same thing...but I do know how I made it better, maybe that'll help somehow?

                            I have this habit of skipping...it's why I dropped out of HS in the first place. Somewhere along the way I just started hating school. I was a top student up until then, too, it's pretty sad. A combination of lazy and not liking my classes made me do horribly in my first semester. I had to register late, so Japanese was full, along with art. I ended up taking Communication Arts, which I had zero interest at the time but it led to a web design class, so I just took all the pre-reqs for it because I had to be a full time student. Since I have to walk to school every day, it makes me even more lazy and annoyed about doing it. The walk is only about 20-25 minutes but after awhile I just get irritated with walking in the sun to classes I don't want to take to begin with.

                            Then I compare that to the semester where I got put on the DL. I was taking four classes that I really WANTED to take. Japanese, art, ICS...math I didn't really want to take because I'm just absolutely not good in any math other than geometry, but I surprisingly did well because my teacher made class fun. That semester, I also had many rides to school, so it kept me from feeling like "ugh, I don't want to walk today, screw it, hello bed!" Japanese I've been doing for a long time and have always wanted to excel in, and I love art and computers, so it was pretty much perfect for me. I loved my classes and teachers, I wanted to be in school everyday. I kind of helped that art and ICS are not exactly hard courses, but they still require you to work and be attentive so they're not bird courses by any means. They may not be as intensive as English or history, is all..

                            If I were to take a class like Chemistry (especially in the summer!) I wouldn't make it. You say math equations...yeah I definitely would flunk that. Confusing classes like that are not for me...whether I take it seriously or not, I just do not have the mind for chemistry. I tried so hard in that class in HS (when I still cared), I just barely scraped by with a C. And I don't even want to get into the horror that was Physics.. I'm glad those are not in any of my pre-requisites...I took Japanese this summer. Normally I'd rather have a pet roach than go to school 5 days a week again, but it was Japanese, so I enjoyed every bit of it. I missed maybe two days of class and I didn't have any rides to school this summer >.<

                            For study habits...in math class, equations go in one ear and out the other in my case. But I found that taking notes during class and then rewriting them that night helped me to take in the information. Always made sure I sat in the very front of the class, too, so I wouldn't miss anything. I have a tendency to goof off sitting anywhere else. And I was always making small little notes that would help me understand certain equations better since academic terms straight out of the book tend to be too stuffy for me.

                            Yeah I've rambled for long enough, but this stuff hits home with me...maybe what I've said will help you somehow even if our problems are not exactly the same. I do have to echo what everyone else said about seeing a counselor. In the first semester that I flunked, I went and saw a counselor at the school a few times and I just told her everything on my mind hoping she could figure out what was wrong with me, why I suddenly hated school, etc. She gave me some great advice (on studying and getting enough sleep, etc) which definitely helped me out to get to where I am now, and I still don't even know what I want to major in... So yeah, like everyone else said, consider seeing a counselor...

                            Good luck, Shredder...from one college student to another.
                            myspace | facebook | puppy moonwalk

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                            • #15
                              Re: please help...I'm doing bad in school

                              Thanks a lot Kupomog, but what should I do if I'm on probation? Isn't my college going to kick me out of the school?

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