Need some advice. WWYD?

ChasenSFO

ChasenSFO

hen teaser
I've run into a pretty big issue here. I know I'm only 2 years into college and have many years ahead of myself, but I already feel screwed.

Long story short:
-Haven't passed a mathclass since my jr. year of Highschool
-Had to drop my classes this simester or would have failed
-One more failed class and I'm dropped from the community colleges out here for 24 months then start over with ZERO credits.
-I was trying very very hard to pass, still failed. People seek help for me.
-"Help" tells me my only hope of keeping up is to accept this disorder and that disorder and start medication.
-I refuse for obvious reasons(1st class medical)
-Parents are tired of me not getting anywhere, say either I accept the "fact" I have ADD and a list of other things and seek treatment, or they will not pay for my college.
-I say FU, if thats the case I'm dropping out.

And thats where I am right now. I feel like I'm on a treadmill running twice as fast as everyone else but not getting anywhere. I know how this looks, but I'm not an idiot. The schoolboard once thought I was an idiot in 5th grade and belonged in "special" classes scored in the genius percentile on the state issued IQ test they gave me. I'm just bad at school. Period. But that doesn't mean I have trouble learning anything new. I'm not even that bad at math, I can do basic math in my head very quickly. My CFI told me I could work out all the math for cross-country flightplanning faster than any student he's ever had. Yet I can't learn ANY of this college math crap.

A professor once told me "College isn't for everyone, maybe its not for you." This offended me at first, but now I think he had a point. I look at others in the JC community and their stories. People like Todd who didn't go to college but ended up at a large airline and doing great things once they got to that airline, in regard to his efforts with ALPA. So I now know it can be done, even though for years all I heard was "IF YA DONT GIT A DEGREE EWE WONT EVAR FLY AERPLANES".

I make enough money to fly easily 3 days a week if I wasn't in school, even more if I can split time working on my instrument. My parents are totally closed-minded and think dropping out of college is giving up on life. I however would have no quams with flying every second I can and getting to CFI and hopefully a 135 job as fast as I can manage to do so. Am I stupid for even considering this? I rarely give up on things, but I just don't know how I'll get a degree without sticking it out for 6 or 7 years and making my way up. Who knows, maybe once I do have a flying job and grow up a little more I can go back to school and be more focused.

In this situation, what would you do?
 
I don't mean to give you a hard time, but maybe you ought to be in those books studying for finals, and not hanging out too long on the internet

:dunno:
 
Funny you mention that, thats what I did. Last year I thought maybe I'm just not able to do the full time student thing, so I just signed up for 2 classes, History of the US 1945-present, and Math. I love history, I was thinking it would be all about the cold war, vietnam war, korean war...well you get it, war. Nope. It was ALL politics. Did all the reading, didn't get anything. Talked to my professor. He asked if I even followed current politics, I said not really, he said it wasn't likely I would pass the class. And math...well...see above.

I only work 3 days a week, though I pick up shifts often now that I'm not in school. Other than flying I didn't really do much else that would distract me, I didn't travel on my flight bennies while I was in school.
 
If you can't get through a math class do you really feel that you can complete IFR training? If you could complete your flight training then I suppose you could do it. I bailed on college (in Colorado) when I move to California (out of state tuition is ridiculous...) and I became a CFI. I still haven't gone back to college even though I should.
 
Seriously, though, what do you think is the problem? Are you spending enough time studying, or more time partying, surfing, goofing off, and extracurricular activities. When I was 19, I was a freshman in the TAMU Corps of Cadets, and I saw more than one cadet get kicked out of the university because they thought the Corps was their major, instead of whatever they were trying to get a degree in.

I can't speak for your specific situation, because I don't know you and your abilities. But, I accept on its face that if you were admitted to college, you probably have what it takes to succeed given enough effort.

Am I wrong?
 
What kind of math are you struggling with? What was the highest level of math you passed in high school?

If you don't mind me asking, where do you find yourself politically? What kind of political history were you studying? Perhaps a different viewpoint lead you to being unable (or subconsciously unwilling) to absorb the information.

-mini
 
Oh by the way, I sucked at college math too. I took Calculus in high school and got a 'C'. When I got to college, I started out in Computer Science. The "advisor" told me to retake Calculus since I had to have a 3.0 average in a certain "common body of knowledge (CBK)" classes. Anyway, I took his advice and got a "D" the second time around. Ultimately, I decided not to purue a degree in the College of Engineering. Did I feel like an idiot? Yes. Hell, the only classes that kept me off 'sco pro' my first semester was a philosophy class that was a joke (everyone got an 'A') and Air Spank (Aerospace Studies, aka Air Force ROTC, where everyone also got an 'A') But once I starting taking courses that sparked my interest a little more, I started doing much better.

I did well in math throughout high school (except for the Calculus class), consistently scoring in the Top 5% on standardized tests, but college math in the engineering program was a different animal. Thankfully, only an elementary understanding of math was required for my economics degree. Ironic, eh?
 
The smartest guys I know are not college grads. They are challenged by spelling and other academics. Give them a random how to fix it problem and they have an answer in a micro-second.
We all think differently, but whatever you do, don't give up. Just as you began here to figue this out, search your strenghs and weaknesses.
Good Luck
When you're successful, I'll be happy to be calling you Boss.
 
You know how I feel. I told you on FB, and will reiterate here, don't drop out, no matter what, even if it means taking one class. Do not stop. Have you considered online courses? that you finish in your own time? Put the time and effort into those classes as much as you would into studying for your IR, and you'll suceed. Studying both, and doing well, will save your life someday.

And what happens when you perhaps need something as simple as knee surgery down the road and end up getting your medical yanked?....saw it happen to my own AME. Kept him out of an airplane for a year.

P.S. want an easy course of study? learn how to teach...education classes are suprisingly easy, interesting, and you wont have to take the FOI...there are a lot of options out there chasen, dont quit.
 
I was a classic bright-but-troubled near-dropout. Had zero interest in letting The Man tell me what to learn. Everything changed when test scores got me in to a school where I could study something that actually interested me. Not saying you'd have the same experience, but it's worth considering.

I should append, though, that I don't have ADD (that I know of...at least not the debilitating and very real kind)

Basic college algebra and trig can be learned by people I am absolutely certain are on the neutron star side of dim...sometimes it's the process that's the problem. Have you considered a tutor? Some down at the heels grad student would probably be glad for a little under the table income.

For reasons that will no doubt be described in detail here and elsewhere, I strongly discourage you from getting yourself deep in to the 135 world and winding up trapped with no degree. That's assuming you find that flying for a living is for you, which I promise you might not, however much you like it now. There's no rush, the airplanes will still be there later.
 
Codyjp said:
If you can't get through a math class do you really feel that you can complete IFR training?
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Yes. My issue isn't with being able to quickly add, subtract, divide, and multiply. My grudge is with imaginary numbers, 20 part math problems, ect.

germb747 said:
Seriously, though, what do you think is the problem? Are you spending enough time studying, or more time partying, surfing, goofing off, and extracurricular activities.
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When I was in school, I had little time for anything else. Work on the weekends, flying, school, and studying durring the week. If I had anytime to party it was on the weekends after work.

germb747 said:
But, I accept on its face that if you were admitted to college, you probably have what it takes to succeed given enough effort.
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All it takes to get in community college is a check with their name on it. I didn't apply to a single college in High School because I didn't meet the minimum gpa for any of them. But like I said before, I rarely give up on things, and I tried that much harder and got by enough to get my HS diploma.

minitour said:
What kind of math are you struggling with? What was the highest level of math you passed in high school?
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...Geometry.:(

If you don't mind me asking, where do you find yourself politically? What kind of political history were you studying? Perhaps a different viewpoint lead you to being unable (or subconsciously unwilling) to absorb the information.
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I'm pretty liberal. So was the teacher, but to the extreme. All he talked about was how Obama was the next Hitler and so on.
 
ps...a college dropout will get laid considerably less over his lifetime than a man with a college degree...it's a fact, penthouse said.
 
ChasenSFO said:
...Geometry.:(
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First of all, people struggle with learning different things. That's nothing to be embarassed about. So as of now, that stops. Second...Geometry isn't the easiest thing in the world. For me, I was able to visualize it, so I got it. I do find that being able to see something or touch something helps me learn it better than just believing it (like chemistry...I don't get that at all).

Are there any specific things you're struggling with?

I'm pretty liberal. So was the teacher, but to the extreme. All he talked about was how Obama was the next Hitler and so on.
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If the teacher was calling Obama the next Hitler, I don't think I could classify him as liberal. If you're an Obama fan and the teacher was calling Obama the next Hitler, that could have had an impact with how much you really wanted to learn the information. From the FOI, we know that students have to want and be ready to learn.

What are some subjects you like? What subjects are you good at?

-mini
 
Well Geometry was easy for me, I got a B in it. It was advanced Alegbra I didn't get which was the next step, and still is the next step.

My biggest issue with math is when they teach you how to solve something that makes you wonder what in god's name you will ever accomplish with that problem.

"Damn, one of the strobes just caught on fire!"
"Quick! Grab the FMC and multiply all the prime numbers by an imaginary number and divide it all by the hypotnose of this triangle."
"Omg, my hero!'

I just can't wrap my head around these problems the way I could with geometry and basic algebra.

As far as what I'm good at, I always got A's in history, and I had the highest score in my senior class on the state essay exam(only because they didn't deduct for spelling), so I've always been good at writing/English as well. Its really math that held me back the most, and you are only allowed to fail 4 classes before you're booted from community college here, and I've failed 3/4 math classes(dropped the 4th one).
 
Incidentally, I was a math minor, albeit in a sort of unconventional program. Most people go through their basic mathematics education without ever realizing that geometry is the foundation of math (at least classical math...no math grognard objections, please). If you can grasp geometry, you can grasp calculus...the trick is being willing to accept the abstractions.
 
ChasenSFO said:
I just can't wrap my head around these problems the way I could with geometry and basic algebra.
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You'll see this a lot with relatively bright humanities types. Try to think of it as a game. Understanding what you're doing comes after you learn how to do it. Seems weird but it works.
 
I suppose. I usually have a lot of confidence, but my confidence in my ability to get a degree is slipping away with these problems. And I guess when I go into a class thinking "I'm going to fail" on the first day, thats setting myself up for failure.
 
Well, as a fellow college sophomore, maybe I can help you out. :)

I hate math. I mean, of course I can do basic arithmetic and enough algebra to get me through life, but put me in a calculus class and I'm pretty screwed.

Solution?

Don't take hard math classes. I go to CSULB, and here we only need one math GE class. I took the absolute easiest one I could spring 09 semester and got an A.

Find something you're good at and try to focus in on that. I'm a Geography major and I love it. If you find something you really like in school, it will make the rest so much easier.

I advise you don't drop out of school. I think you might regret it down the road, and quite frankly, college is a whole lot of fun. :D
 
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