There are lots of reasons things may not be going well in your classes. Here are some of the most common issues:
Transitional Issues
Many students struggle with the transition to a new school, and often grades in the first quarter are lower than they might expect. Sometimes this problem seems to almost "take care of itself." That is, after a period of adjustment many students figure out how things work here and all is well.
Don't assume it is going to take care of itself.
Come chat with an adviser and get a second opinion. Be purposeful about your approach to the problem, which might include bits and pieces of the below issues.
"It’s not unusual for students to run into academic difficulties. Sometimes it’s because they aren’t taking school seriously, they’re taking courses that don’t match their strengths, or sometimes life just gets in the way.
For students who have always been successful in school, admitting the problem is often the hardest step. No matter the reason, advisers and counselors can suggest steps you can take.
Most students are relieved when they finally begin to deal with the issue. Take that first step. Ask for help.”
Study Skills Deficits
You may find that the study skills that got you through high school or your previous college or university don't work as well here at the UW, where things move quickly in often very large classes. Different skills are called for, and the good news is, like any skills, they can be learned. You might very well figure it out on your own, but you might save time and be more successful if you take advantage of some of the resources the UW provides in just this area.
Attend the Counseling Center's Study Smarter Workshops if you want to learn more from your lectures, improve your memorization skills, overcome test anxiety, or enhance your test-taking skills. The workshops are only 1½ hours long. Even if you think you might already know some of the information presented, if you uncover even one gem that helps improve your academics it just might be worth an hour and a half of your time.
Also, check out some of the information included here on time management, studying, forming study groups, studying for math and science courses, effective reading, and preparing for tests.
Finally, the UW offers a huge number of study centers and writing centers.
Overload
It could be that you're feeling overloaded. Maybe you overdid it and signed up for 19 credits of Writing courses. Or you're trying to attend school full-time, work a full-time job, and have a social life.
The key to success is balance. Balance your course choices so you can utilize different parts of your academic repertoire. That is, take a problem-based/quantitative class (i.e., math) together with a reading/analysis class (i.e., literature) and a writing class (i.e., composition). That way you don't get too overloaded doing one thing over and over! Visit our page on Course Load for more information.
In the same way — to the extent you can — try to balance the school, work, and social/family components of your life. You may have to make some tough choices, and really think about your priorities and goals, both short- and long-term. For whatever reason, you made a decision to attend the UW; at some point it was a priority. You should be honest with yourself and decide what needs to come first now.
The choice will be different for everyone. Maybe you'll decide to cut back hours at work in order to make room for more studying; this might mean you have to tighten your budget or get a loan. Perhaps instead you'll take fewer credits per quarter for a while, or maybe decide to fight the urge to go out every weekend. We don't make these suggestions lightly or with any judgement. We would just encourage you to be thoughtful about these issues.
If you decide to make changes to your school schedule for the current quarter, be sure to read about Alternatives to Dropping, which talks about S/NS grading, incompletes, hardship withdrawals, and complete withdrawals.
Hectic Living Situation
Part of coming to college is often entering a new living situation, many times one that you do not have complete control over. If your residence hall is too loud, your sorority or fraternity is too distracting, or your housemates have too many parties, you might want to reconsider your living arrangement. Maybe it's something as simple as having a serious sitdown with the offenders and making your issue known; maybe your Resident Adviser or Resident Director can help. Maybe you can spend some time finding a good quiet study spot on campus or on The Ave. You might have to collect your friends and go rent a house; the Student Housing Affairs office is a good resource. Or maybe, just maybe, you could approach your parents and see if your old room is still available.
Learning Disability
If you have previously been diagnosed with a learning disability (or any disability that affects your access to the UW), or feel that you might have a learning disability, Disability Resources for Students (DRS) should be your first stop. DRS is committed to ensuring equal access to the University facilities and academic programs for enrolled students who have a documented permanent or temporary physical, mental, or sensory disability. Depending on the nature of your diability, they can provide or recommend accommodations to balance the playing field, things like notetaking services, more time on tests, and textbook audiotaping.
Distress
You may be attending school, but life goes on, and unfortunately sometimes bad things happen. Your girlfriend/boyfriend broke up with you. You think you're suffering from an addiction. You've experienced the loss of a loved one. You're stressed out and you don't know why. You're depressed. Whatever the source and manifestation of your distress, the UW has resources to help.
The University Community After-Hours Listening Line U-CALL (206-543-CALL) is a student-run listening service staffed by dedicated and trained student volunteers (with professional back-up) who help members of the UW student community by listening to the wide range of issues they may want to discuss anonymously with a peer. Hours of operation are from 5:30pm to 7:30am on weekdays, and all day/night on weekends, during the quarter and finals week.
The Counseling Center exists to support UW students in all aspects of their development. They provide personal counseling, career counseling, study skills assistance, and other services to currently-enrolled UW students.
The Mental Health Clinic (MHC) of Hall Health Primary Care Center offers a variety of services to the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University of Washington. They provide high quality mental health services, which include assessments; individual, couple, family and group therapy; medication evaluation and management; and we make referrals when appropriate to other campus or community resources.
There are many other community resources, and you can find out more by contacting any of the above offices or Undergraduate Advising at the Gateway Center.
