Feeling Overwhelmed in My Second Year: Seeking Advice

[Limited_Dasein]

I'm in my second year, and I feel very discouraged and scared. I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm questioning whether this is right for me.

I was doing very well, acing everything, until last semester when I was juggling two jobs, one full time, and ended up in the hospital during midterms.

Due to some amazing professors, and a lot of very stressful nights I managed to get an A in everything except calc 2, which was a B+. I felt slightly better, this semester has started rough.

I am taking a computer programming class, and I literally have no idea what's happening. Students ask the professor lots of questions, and I have no idea what the students are asking. And in my physics class, there's only three of us, and they all already have bachelor's degrees in other fields.

Meanwhile I'm sitting here having just started calc 3, trying to understand what's being talked about. I understand the textbook, and aced the first exam, but I feel like I have such a superficial understanding of the general picture.

I feel like there's so much base foundation knowledge that I just don't have. I feel as if I'm drowning in all the little things I have to look up and try to learn on the fly, since my physics class has progressed way past where I'm at in my calculus class. And my programming class is moving along as if you already know how to program.

The only thing I feel confident in the semester is calc 3. As for everything else, I don't feel confident. I feel so stupid. I've never felt so stupid. I'm trying so hard. I'm working 30 hours a week, on top of 19 credit hours, and I don't know how I can push myself harder. I have to support myself financially, I have no other choice, I'm on my own.

I'm scared, and I don't know if I should continue pursuing physics even though it is my dream. I need advice on what I should be doing, not doing, or what other paths might be good for me. Anything is greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[Limited_Dasein]

Something I forgot to mention: Is this normal? Do people that have gone on to do well later in physics have similar experiences in early undergrad?

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to the PF.

I think that many of us have had similar thoughts like this and have gone on to do well or very well. What you are feeling is not unusual for undergrads entering college and dealing with hard classes, new subjects, and new environments and demands on us (especially if you had significant medical issues during that time).

If you keep feeling overwhelmed, I'd suggest taking advantage of your school's student counseling services, since I'm pretty sure they deal with these issues a lot. It's always good to talk to folks with a lot of experience in what you are going through, IMO.

I felt many of the same emotions in my first year or two of undergrad, since I went from a small town high school where I was at the top of my class with little effort, and then went to university where everybody was at least as smart as I was. Big time culture shock that took a lot of adjusting to it!

 

[jedishrfu]

Short answer is yes. Often the transition from high school to college is a culture shock especially for students who breezed through it without study or note taking. Now in college you are faced with learning things at a much faster pace and the fears of dropping grades kicks in.

In your case, you’re trying to work way too much.

I had the same issues, I worked 20 hours and commuted to school. My dad dropped me off in the morning and I took the bus home and then went to work at the local dept store 6-10pm every night except Friday and worked an additional few hours on the weekend that often increased my time to 30 hours. The pay was minimum wage and every time I got a raise, it would be nullified by a state minimum wage increase meaning I never really got ahead much.

My coursework in the sophomore and more so in my junior year took a hit and I was happy to just pass. In the long term though it makes it harder to go to grad school. Junior year is when you take some serious courses in Physics and Math and if your foundation is weak you will struggle.

Often I handed homework in late. The prof would say my problem solving was excellent but they had to dock me 10pts for lateness. I had no time to work on homework or to study. At the end, I got my degree but felt burnt out and decided to get a job instead to make some serious money and to rest from the grind. After five years, I went back to grad school in Physics but my math skills eroded some and I switched to comp Sci to get a masters.

When I look back, I realize that I shouldn’t have worked so much but I didn’t want to burden my parents and thought I could do it. I told them to discourage my younger brothers from working and to focus on school.

You live in a unique age with so much online internet courses that you can research and fill in the gaps in your understanding if done wisely. I didn’t have that option. Basically I had to struggle through whatever book the prof chose hoping I can find the answers and discovering that no some authors simply don’t tell you all the details and you are left to guess.

My suggestion is to reduce or drop your jobs and focus on your studies. Take an assessment of your gaps and watch some videos from khan academy or mathispower4u.com and make sure you’ve got the concepts down. Calc 2 and Calc 3 are the foundations for much of your follow-on physics courses and you should really dig into them. In order to get started I would watch the 3blue1brown video sequences on Calculus and Linear Algebra as they just might jumpstart your enthusiasm and fill in some of those gaps and doubts that are vexing you now.



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[DEvens]

I'm going to guess you are in the USA. There is a long political discussion that could be had right now, but it would not help you. And it would probably get deleted out of this forum anyway.

Having two jobs is pretty stressful even when you are not going to university. If you absolutely must have the jobs, maybe you must let something else decrease. There is no point destroying your health to get a university degree. Going to the hospital should be a very important guide point.

You must be alive to finish your degree. It would also be nice if you had a long healthy life to enjoy it.

Maybe what you need is a year off university while you save some money. Then a year at university where you only have the part time job. Or no job if you can be frugal enough. Most universities will be at least somewhat open to such ideas. At least one year.

Some universities have co-op programs where you work for 4 months then study for 4 months. They put you together with employers relevant to your course study. Is there such a thing in your university?

 

[gleem]

The only thing I feel confident in the semester is calc 3. As for everything else, I don't feel confident. I feel so stupid. I've never felt so stupid. I'm trying so hard. I'm working 30 hours a week, on top of 19 credit hours, and I don't know how I can push myself harder. I have to support myself financially, I have no other choice, I'm on my own.

19 hours is a large course load even for one who is not working let alone a physics major. You have 30 hours less to study than your non-working friends more than 4 hours each day not including travel time to work. This is crazy it would challenge the best of us and cause most to bail. You might start by evaluating what courses you will not do well in and drop them or accept a lower grade. You should talk to your professors to get a better plan for your studies. BTW what courses are you currently taking and what did you take last semester?

 

[jtbell]

19 hours is a large course load even for one who is not working let alone a physics major.

I agree. Why are you taking that many hours? At the colleges/universities that I'm acquainted with, a normal course load (one that will give you enough semester hours to graduate after 8 semesters) is 15-16 semester hours.

 

[Choppy]

As others have suggested, I think what's happened here is that you've encountered that point in university where you're learning entirely new material. For many students the first year or so can be relatively easy because they had decent prep in high school--good teachers, AP classes, exposure to advanced topics in an environment that's much more forgiving, and where they're on the advanced end of the normal distribution of academic prowess. So when they get to university, the same approaches they used in high school work for a while because a lot of the material is review.

But eventually you get into completely new territory.

The new stuff is challenging, you're a lot closer to the middle of that normal distribution among your physics major classmates, and the old studying approaches that you're used to are no longer viable.

I think this happens to most students to one extent or another.

In your case is sounds like you've also got yourself into a situation where you don't have the time flexibility to adapt. You're overloaded with coursework, and trying to hold down a 0.75 FTE working position.

Something's going to give.

What can you do about it?

As others have said, try to free up some time in your schedule. Remember it's not a race to the finish, and if you get there without having understood what you've studied, there isn't much point to getting there in the first place. I get that you have to work to support yourself, but is there a way to defer some of that work until the summer? Or maybe think about ways you could get a better paying job, or at least one that might pay you while you study (sometimes something like a static security position will actively promote this as a benefit). You might also want to think about dropping a course to help you concentrate on the other remaining courses.

The other thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you're taking care of yourself. Get adequate sleep. Eat well. Exercise. Socialize. Allow yourself some down time. It's surprising how much more efficient you can be when these pillars are all strong.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

My rule of thumb is physics majors should expect to spend 2-3 hours preparing outside of class for each class hour. So a 15 credit hour course load requires 30-45 hours each week outside of class, for a total (including time in class) weekly effort of 45-60 hours. Disciplined students can often work 10-15 hours a week on research or some other campus job. But by disciplined, I mean no TV, no video games, very little time on social media, etc.

Since most students I mentor enter college with some dual enrollment or AP credit, I recommend lightning their course load to 12-13 credit hours each semester or as low as they can to still graduate in 8 normal semesters. This leaves more room for research, ample preparation time, and a more balanced life.

No need to be terrified, but you do need to reduce your work load to a manageable level.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Let me add that one of my answers for fear and being overwhelmed in college was to make a schedule organizing a study plan. This prevented those deer in the headlights moments - freezing up and not knowing what to do because there was so much on my plate. If the schedule said:

6-7 PM Math Methods in Physics Homework
7-8 PM Philosophy Homework
8-9 PM Modern Physics Homework
9-10 PM Calc 3 Homework

I could do it. I could move along because the schedule said to, in spite of knowing lots in Math Methods was yet to be learned. But for the toughest subjects, I also had an hour scheduled earlier in the day. But due to a manageable course load, I can count on one hand the number of times I stayed up studying past 10 PM. Early to bed, early to rise and all that.

Even today when I feel overwhelmed with the thought "How will I get it all done?" I take a deep breath, make an explicit plan, and get to work. I remember a book of ancient wisdom that says, "All hard work brings a profit" so I stop worrying if I'm working on the right thing at the right time, and I just keep working. When I feel diminishing returns on one subject, I switch to another and circle back later.

 

[berkeman]

I can count on one hand the number of times I stayed up studying past 10 PM. Early to bed, early to rise and all that.

10PM is early to bed? Maybe in undergrad, but not for me now!

 

[riancy]

I majored in physics in college and also got a master. In my junior and senior years I double majored in business administration. I was in classroom 10 hours/day. It was quite overwhelming with all the homework/exams. When I looked back, it was probably my toughest time in school but very memorable experience. I am still quite amazed how I survived this. Even till today I am still intimidated by physics to be honest when it is time to work with my daughter to start learning physics in middle school. I have to say, once you survived a physics major you can nail anything in your life. It would teach you not only academics but lots of skills such as better prioritizing tasks and efficiency improvement. It would give you confidence to conquer anything. Hang on there and you can turn impossible to possible.