Is Engineering Physics 2 Worth Continuing Despite Challenges?

[JamesMark25]

While I am deeply fascinated with the material, engineering physics 2 is breaking my will and spirit. I am a non traditional student and taking it as an 8 week course over the summer. The date to drop is next week after our sixth (out of 9) exams . I had an 81% going into this exam and I am sure I failed it (magnetism unit) - while it’s disheartening I’ve sunk the money into it and the time and the frustration, I don’t want it to be the end, but if I can’t master the material, obviously it is the end.

I know I’m not the only person to be in this situation, I work full time and have a new baby with my wife so I have very little time. I feel our professor takes it easy on us since it’s community college, but I’ve been to regular and big public unis, and know it’s not too far removed. Idk if this is more on how to perfect study habits or a resource request but man the worst part is feeling isn’t that I’m close to mastering it, but at least having a pretty good under standing of it.

Does that makes sense? I am overcaffenaited and I’m a post exam haze but I’d really appreciate any input or advice. I guess sometimes I feel like between having to review math and leaning about these novel equations/ relationships, I see that the subject matter is our best definition of reality, and it makes it really beautiful and interesting.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Summer classes are paced very quickly, and not everyone does well at this pace. Especially if real life intrudes. Can you drop it and try again in Fall?

 

[symbolipoint]

While I am deeply fascinated with the material, engineering physics 2 is breaking my will and spirit. I am a non traditional student and taking it as an 8 week course over the summer.

Upon reading just THOSE first two clauses, what you are doing is the wrong way to go unless you are a highly superior student. I'd guess the course is Electricity & Magnetism, and it difficult for a normal semester length course. Eight-week to contain the full semester is too much to learn in so short a time.

 

[JamesMark25]

Summer classes are paced very quickly, and not everyone does well at this pace. Especially if real life intrudes. Can you drop it and try again in Fall?

Probably what I’ll have to do sadly. Thought I could power through it but I don’t expect to get anything but C’s or lower on the last 4 exams.

 

[Vanadium 50]

You want a solid foundation. If it means slowing down, it means slowing down.

 

[Orodruin]

As a university professor with a 1-year-old at home, I would strongly advise against trying to cramp the time necessary for that course. You’ll end up sacrificing either the course or time with your child or both. Not worth it. Physics will be the same later on. Your baby’s first times only come once.

(Luckily I live in a country with a healthy dose of parental leave for both parents. I got to experience several firsts myself.)

 

[JamesMark25]

You want a solid foundation. If it means slowing down, it means slowing down.

You’re right, but I’m still in the course and I’ll have to decide to either drop or ride it out.I am awaiting a reply from an advisor to tell me if I can repeat it with a replacement grade- if so I’ll likely repeat it. I appreciate your input

 

[JamesMark25]

As a university professor with a 1-year-old at home, I would strongly advise against trying to cramp the time necessary for that course. You’ll end up sacrificing either the course or time with your child or both. Not worth it. Physics will be the same later on. Your baby’s first times only come once.

(Luckily I live in a country with a healthy dose of parental leave for both parents. I got to experience several firsts myself.)

I luckily had 3 months off when baby was born - be a year soon and I get to spend plenty of time with baby with wife and Is work schedule - grandparent comes Saturday to watch baby a bit and give me time to study.

I’m at a really dangerous point grade wise but I also get whole day tomorrow to study so maybe if I can score C or higher on three out of last 4 exams I can pass.

It is really fascinating, yet also obviously difficult to truly understand.

I appreciate your input and am glad you’re bonding with your family - it’s very important

 

[symbolipoint]

You’re right, but I’m still in the course and I’ll have to decide to either drop or ride it out.I am awaiting a reply from an advisor to tell me if I can repeat it with a replacement grade- if so I’ll likely repeat it. I appreciate your input

Not important. Basically learning is the result needed. The grade means nothing.

 

[Dr Transport]

As an adjunct lecturer, I only recommend summer courses to make up for a failing grade, not a first exposure. In a 6 week session, the material is presented at a pace that well outside a normal students ability to retain. I'm teaching a 12 week engineering dynamics class and that is even too fast for the students I have who are seeing the material for the first time.

 

[Vanadium 50]

The grade means nothing.

I don't think I agree. The OP thinks he's not learning the material, and the likely grade reinforces that.

And, as others have said, a foundational class at a summer's pace is inherently problematic.

 

[Joshy]

Do you plan on transferring and if you do, then does the next university transfer the grades too or just the units? If you got mostly good grades and you've already invested time and money while you have a baby at home, then maybe... sure... in terms of the academics goals it's optimal to get the best grades possible, but in terms of your needs maybe that time and money is more valuable? If they don't transfer the grade anyways do you think you could tolerate a less than perfect score in a couple of community college classes?

I got a C in that class too while I was in community college... it was one of two C's I got during community college and my community college grades were really good, but if you happen to browse around some of my old posts I got < 3.0 GPA while I was at the university. That happened (in terms of the math used to calculate my GPA) because none of my community college grades mattered / didn't show up were not weighted on my transcript so the the fact that I worked so hard for mostly A's didn't matter otherwise my GPA would have been alright. You might be wasting time to save your grade or GPA if it's not going to matter in the long run anyways. Also other students applying for transfer some of them with lower GPA than I got into some universities that I didn't get into, and so while GPA matters a lot and I would encourage trying to get the best scores it's not the full picture and I could see that within my in circle as we all went our separate ways.

I think it's tempting to say that you won't learn the material if you're okay with moving forward with a less than desirable grade. I think that just depends on the person. If you're sweating it over less than perfect grade it doesn't sound like to me you're that kind of person. I too have a baby at home and I just began graduate level classes. I always study that material even after the class so now I took the electromagnetism class and aced it this time, and this time it also shows up on my transcript :)

edit:

(Wanted to clarify on some wording it did show up on my transcript but it did not have any weight on my GPA is what I meaning)

 

[symbolipoint]

@Joshy, post#12
really? Grades not transferring with the transcript to the next institution?

 

[symbolipoint]

I don't think I agree. The OP thinks he's not learning the material, and the likely grade reinforces that.

And, as others have said, a foundational class at a summer's pace is inherently problematic.

In the very general sense, the learning is what is needed from course to course, and grades just follow along with very short term meaning. Grades are supposed to be a mark of how well student performed, how well student learned, but most of that learning does not stay fresh on its own. Just a guess but if JamesMark25 is earning C or even B, but feels like he is not learning then I understand that he really is not learning well enough to reach the NEXT course in sequence. Note carefully, you DID talk about "building a foundation", and that there is extremely important. Only the student himself knows how well is his current foundation, and that is much more important than letter grade.

 

[Joshy]

Yes, can confirm grades do not always transfer to the next university. It didn't for me.

edit:

Just a little reminder about #12 I'm not suggesting to just get through the class without learning any material and forgetting all about it. I'm just pointing out within terms of the practicalities OP might be going through with a young baby at home and possibly a different financial situation learning doesn't have to mean being an A student within a short 8 week summer course. OP can only answer for themselves if they are just struggling to get a good score in the class or if this is really something they are not understanding and not doing well in, and for all we know they could be unnecessarily panicking they were going into the exam with a reasonably good score for most places I've been to 80%+ is pretty good and they haven't even gotten their exam grade yet so they don't even know if they failed or not; I think the feelings they shared with us is very natural and typical after a challenging exam. Lastly I was sharing my own experience I've been in a similar position too and sharing what worked for me.

 

[symbolipoint]

Joshy,
Maybe some details about courses, grades, credit/units, and transcripts, I do not remember as well as I did so many years ago. I would still figure that at least some of your courses should have been transferrable; maybe not all of them. Do you or did you have some clear understanding of why your c.c. course grades did not transfer?

 

[Joshy]

It was merely policy. I was trying to find a specific clause or posting on my university's website, but I could not find anything all I know is the outcome that affected myself and classmates at our university. When I went to Google search on "grades of credits transferred" it looks like a lot of places are describing this as common practice too.

The classes were accepted for transfer. I got the credit for them. When I signed up for classes that had these classes as a prerequisite they I didn't need any special exceptions or paperwork. The grades even shows up on the transcript, but the grade does not have any weight on my GPA. Even though I came in with a really high GPA and a lot of transferred credits... my GPA was based purely off the classes I took at the new university so if I had for example a 3.9 with over 100 units coming in and I got straight B's in two new classes I took, then my GPA was 3.0.

 

[symbolipoint]

Post #17 makes me wonder if it is mostly your current (most recent?) UNIVERSITY which is holding a strange policy of accepting credits and course but now allowing the c.c. courses to go into CUMULATIVE Grade Point Average. Like I said, been a long time now and I maybe have lost some familiarity about some of this.

 

[MidgetDwarf]

Post #17 makes me wonder if it is mostly your current (most recent?) UNIVERSITY which is holding a strange policy of accepting credits and course but now allowing the c.c. courses to go into CUMULATIVE Grade Point Average. Like I said, been a long time now and I maybe have lost some familiarity about some of this.

This physics class the Op is taking, did not give transfer credit at the university I attended. It was a decision made by the physics department, since the majority of transfers were underprepared in more advance course work. At the CC, we covered both intro thermal and EM, but at the university, it was solely intro EM.