Fallen Behind and Want to Catch up

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around strategies for catching up on coursework in chemistry, physics, and calculus after falling behind in lectures during the first year of university engineering. Participants share their experiences and suggest various approaches to manage the workload effectively in preparation for midterms.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests clarifying what "fallen behind" means and recommends consulting classmates or professors to understand the content missed.
  • Another participant expresses concern that falling behind may lead to ongoing challenges throughout the semester and emphasizes the need to prioritize studying over social activities.
  • A different contributor offers specific strategies, such as copying notes from friends, quickly working through problems, and reinforcing knowledge later, while also questioning the reasons for the absence from lectures.
  • One participant admits to attending lectures but not completing homework or practice problems, feeling lost during lectures, and struggling with new material.
  • Another participant stresses the importance of starting to study immediately, making a list of topics to catch up on, and seeking help from professors or teaching assistants when needed.
  • A later reply reflects on their own tendency to spend excessive time on the forum rather than studying, indicating a shared struggle with time management.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of strategies and concerns, but there is no consensus on a single effective method for catching up. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to take.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the importance of understanding the specific content missed and the potential impact of falling behind on future coursework. There are also indications of varying levels of commitment and time management challenges among participants.

snowman
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So I have fallen behind by about 5 lectures in Chem, Physics, and Calc in first yr engineering. How do I manage to catch up fast and fully in order to ace the midterms?? tips?

obviously, I study hard and long, but is there any special way?
 
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What do you mean by "fallen behind", exactly? Did you miss those lectures for some reason? If so, find out from your classmates or your professors what was covered in those lectures, and study the corresponding sections of your textbooks especially carefully.
 
Yeah, I'm confused by "fallen behind" too. Depending on what that means you may find that you are playing "catch up" through the rest of the semester. Study more, party less.
 
snowman said:
So I have fallen behind by about 5 lectures in Chem, Physics, and Calc in first yr engineering. How do I manage to catch up fast and fully in order to ace the midterms?? tips?

obviously, I study hard and long, but is there any special way?

Is this for high school and college? If you missed 5 lectures in college then that sucks.. That is a loot of work to catch up with.

If its for high school I'll be glad to give some advice.

1) Copy notes from your friends as jtbell mentioned.
2) Do a few problems in each sections quickly, and then come back later to reinforce your knowledge. That way you won't miss a whole chapter by the time your midterm comes. You never know how time will fly because that is awfully a lot to catch up on.
3) Study study studyyyy. This looks like a nightmare scenario.

Can I also ask why you were out for 1-5 weeks (if for college) or 5 classes (if for HS).
 
sorry for being unclear. I am in my first year of uni, and I have attended almost all of my lectures. But I haven't done any homework or any practice problems. Sometimes I am just lost with what the prof is saying. Most of the time I am just completing assignments, reports, and online quizzes. Until three lectures ago it was review, but now it's new stuff.
 
snowman said:
So I have fallen behind by about 5 lectures in Chem, Physics, and Calc in first yr engineering. How do I manage to catch up fast and fully in order to ace the midterms?? tips?

obviously, I study hard and long, but is there any special way?

Get out of this subforum and start studying immediately. Make a list of what you're most behind and start with that. If you get stuck go to the homework section and get help or go to your professors/TA's. There is no special answer, it's hard work and you're avoiding it by posting here.
 
DrummingAtom said:
Get out of this subforum and start studying immediately. Make a list of what you're most behind and start with that. If you get stuck go to the homework section and get help or go to your professors/TA's. There is no special answer, it's hard work and you're avoiding it by posting here.

I need some of that advice too, this forum is becoming the new Facebook to me. I am much more active here than Facebook and sometimes find myself wasting quite a bit of time. But I enjoy it more here, its a community where I can actually have intelligent conversations, that isn't something I can't really have on Facebook.
 

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