* Questions for Dear Ernie can be sent to: thecandor@yahoo.com
Dear Ernie,
With my season starting and all of the homework that I have received in my classes lately, it has been really difficult to find a good balance between school, season, my social life, and relaxation time. I realize that I have been spending too much time with my social life and now I’m falling behind in more than one of my classes. In one specific class, I’m having trouble understanding the unit that we are covering. How can I help salvage my grade before it’s too late?
Sincerely,
The Struggling Student
Dear Struggling Student,
When you are struggling in a class, for a lot of students that tends to add a lot of built-in anxiety and can seem like a really hard task to bounce back from and salvage your grade. I’m sure you are feeling a certain level of discouragement and that’s normal and completely understandable! Don’t feel discouraged, there is still time and one of the hardest steps for students is admitting that their grades are starting to slip away.
Designate 1-2 days a week and make some time to go visit the ace center! There are lots of tutors there that are involved with all the majors that you could imagine, and they more than likely have taken that class or one very similar before! Bring all of your notes that you have taken along with the textbook (if you have one) and also the assignments or study guide that you have been struggling with. They will be more than happy to sit down and walk you through it!
If you have the syllabus from the classes that you need help in, look at the very top of the first page and you will notice most if not all professors have their office hours listed out! Sitting down and speaking with your professor or asking for help on assignments or studying can make a drastic change in your grade. Some professors may even decide to hold a study session either in or outside of class to help prepare for the next exam.
A lot of students make a group chat with their classmates to discuss homework or ask to study in a big group, and that can be very beneficial to you! Keeping in touch with one another and putting together a study session can help. Talk to your classmates that understand the material and ask them for clarification on the things you don’t understand!
With using these resources and techniques, you can really build a lot of time that works with your athletic and class schedule, and this will help make managing your time working on things for these classes a lot easier to handle and you will have a better understanding of the material.
Keep on soaring,
Ernie
(Note: The advice given is from Candor writers, student-to-student, and does not reflect the opinion of the university).
The Candor 