Do I have what it takes to succeed in Physics?

[wishfulthinking]

I just got my horrible midterm scores back. I don't know what to do. I never get the worst score in the class, but I am at the bottom of the barrel. This is my first year at a well-known university, I transferred in from a community college. I am definitely interested in the material, but I feel like I am miles behind everyone else when it comes to math. I consistently got Bs in math at my old school, I once got an A in a math class when I had to repeat it. Honestly, the actual material is not difficult when I sit down and teach it to myself, but I find myself daydreaming a lot during lecture or generally just distracted. I can do most of the homework without help. I don't know, I just really screw up on exams, and then my whole grade gets screwed up. It's really disappointing and my self-confidence is at an all-time low. I've considered maybe just taking an extra year longer to finish my undergrad courses, and give myself time to really master the math. However, I have a child and a husband and I don't really have an extra year to spare. My grades for this quarter will likely be shitty, I don't even want my husband to know how bad I'm doing and how stressed out I am.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Choppy]

No one can tell you if you are cut out for physics or not, but one thing is for sure - the material will get more challenging as you progress further with your education.

It sounds like you need to work on your examination skills - specifically to figure out why you feel like you can do the homework, but are not successful in the exams. This could involve anything from figuring out strategies to mitigate exam stress, to developing better test-traking strategies, to assessessing your study skills to see if you really are grasping the material as well as you think you are.