Failing Calc Midterm: Overcoming Setback & Moving Forward

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a participant's experience of failing a calculus midterm and the implications for their academic progress. Participants share their feelings about setbacks in education, strategies for moving forward, and suggestions for managing the situation, including course planning and personal reflections on learning from failure.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about failing the course and losing multiple subsequent classes, indicating a significant setback in their academic trajectory.
  • Another participant suggests exploring other course options that could be taken while waiting to retake calculus, such as liberal arts or core classes.
  • A participant shares their plan to take additional classes alongside redoing calculus, emphasizing the importance of continuing to progress academically despite the setback.
  • One reply encourages the original poster to communicate with their professor about possible options for grade improvement and to reflect on the reasons behind their low score.
  • Another participant emphasizes the importance of learning the material over merely achieving a good grade, suggesting that dropping and retaking the class may be necessary for a better understanding.
  • A participant expresses hope about retaking calculus next semester, indicating a willingness to try again.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of learning from failure and the potential need to retake the course. However, there are differing views on the best strategies for moving forward, including whether to take additional courses concurrently or focus solely on calculus.

Contextual Notes

Participants express various emotional responses to academic failure, highlighting the personal impact of setbacks. There is no consensus on the best approach to take following a failure, as suggestions vary widely based on individual experiences and perspectives.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students facing academic setbacks, particularly in mathematics or related fields, as well as those seeking strategies for managing course loads and learning from failure.

Lancelot59
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I just failed my last calc midterm, which likely means that I'll fail the course, or get a D. This sets me back an entire year, because I lose four courses. I'm going to try to take it again next semester. Has anyone had to deal with this sort of thing? Any tips on how to handle it?
 
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It's just a year. Anything else you can take while 'waiting' for more math classes to become available? Liberal arts requirements, required core classes, etc.?
 
Well in losing Calc 1 I lose integral calculus, and in turn lose matrix algebra, physics 2, and mechanics.

So while redoing Differential calculus I'm going to do my microcontrollers class, and my java programming class, then find a fourth to give me some more to do.

Then next year I guess I can start to finish off first year.

I'm just having a hard time accepting this. I've never failed like this before.
 
Lancelot59 said:
I just failed my last calc midterm, which likely means that I'll fail the course, or get a D. This sets me back an entire year, because I lose four courses. I'm going to try to take it again next semester. Has anyone had to deal with this sort of thing? Any tips on how to handle it?

I would talk to your professor. Some professors will give you a few options (ex if you show a significant improvement on the final, ill drop your midterm grade) and some professors will wave you off. Either way it doesn't hurt to talk.

Also, you should determine why you got such a low score, so you do not make the same mistake.
 
Lancelot59 said:
I just failed my last calc midterm, which likely means that I'll fail the course, or get a D. This sets me back an entire year, because I lose four courses. I'm going to try to take it again next semester. Has anyone had to deal with this sort of thing? Any tips on how to handle it?

Sorry to hear it. But remember, the goal here is not to get a good grade (although that's always nice), it's to *learn* the material. If you failed the midterm because you have gaps in your understanding, you don't have a lot of options...you really do need to know this material to advance in physics. Dropping and re-taking the class may be the best way to learn it.

So pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and start again. Don't feel bad, just re-direct your frustration into determination to do better.

And yes, I did have to drop a class once because it was kicking my butt. I didn't like it either, so I know how you feel.
 
Yeah, I'm going to re-take calculus next semester. Hopefully I can get it the second time around.
 

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