Aspies For Freedom

You have only been there a few weeks, give it more time, or quit and go home.

Do you really think that this one quiz accurately demonstrates that you can't do well enough in chemistry?

I don't think quizzes ave quite that god-like power of prediction.

Give it some time. How are others doing in that class? Do people feel the professor is tough and/or that the quiz was particularly hard?

You are...3 weeks into classes?  Don't panic.  Just see if you can understand what went wrong on that quiz, and learn from that.  If you cannot figure out what you did wrong, go ask the prof/TA.  I doubt that you are the first person to have a problem on the first quiz of a college intro science class.

I say follow your dream and don't sweat the small stuff.  It is far too early to settle for something other than what you really want.  Good advice to check out how this prof likes to grade.  Some grade everyone hard and then curve at the end of the semester.

Sometimes it take a while to figure out how to think to do certain type of work. Chemistry is a class where you have to think differently, it won't be the same as high school and it won't feel the same as math. Having not done well on this quiz, you can be aware that you need to study the subject material to find out how things didn't go.

Did you think you knew it all before the quiz?

If you are really worried about the major, talk to some professors and upper level students. Defiantly check with the chemistry professor to see if he thinks you should have concerns, but also check with some geology professors. They are there to help you. Try to use the resources the school offers to your advantage.

Good idea.

And it does take used to managing the extra stresses that come with college. But you will get used to it and you will be "settled" enough to think clearly like you were before.

I had a situation similar to you Chem 1 problem. There's no way around that problem but to read up on what's missing. More than likely a study group would be able to help you out. Maybe you can borrow your current school's chem book from the library and look through and find your missing pieces?

Just some ideas. Good Luck.

Tim, talk to a counselor at school. If you changed majors, what new ajor would most efficiently incorporate the classes you've already taken?

A counselor should be able to evaluate your transcript and see what majors you're on-track for.

The class is so front-loaded that you've already failed in 3 weeks?  

Surprised no-one else has mentioned this yet, but IT and architecture are math-intensive, and might require you take chem II or otherwise physics I & II. They're both probably more math-intensive than geology, although at some colleges IT perhaps isn't.

Talk to your advisor. Your tuition is paying for their salaries, so might as well use them. Btw, sometimes an introductory class can be hard, but once you get the hang of the subject, later classes can be relatively easy.

Aw, that's a bummer. Well, do they offer anything more in the humanities side of things?

hint: target a career field characterized by scarcity.
rationale: American employers seem to do things their way unless they have to do things differently, at which point they will do what they have to.  Think Rosie the Riveter when 14+ million men went off to war.  Who else built 6,000 ships and thousands upon thousands of airplanes, tanks, guns?

Cross out woman and put Aspie, cross our riveter and put IT.

A lesson from history: when people are forced to change, and recruit people like you and me, they will, but in certain occupational sectors only.  And even Rosie the Riveter became a homemaker wife and mother when the men who survived the war came back.

I'm afraid I have to agree with GuessWho on this one.

With a few caveats... IT isn't the only sector characterized by scarcity, and I'm not even sure how hard it is for employers to find employees there nowadays. If you don't like IT and try to do it anyway, odds are you won't be good at it which will really reduce your odds of getting a job, unlike in the 90s, when every moron who could find the 'on' button could get a job in IT.

FWIW, 4-year college is not the only way to go, and if you're not sure on what to do, I would recommend you don't get yourself way in debt just to get a degree. Consider getting a 2-year degree from a community college... you can get paid pretty decently doing welding or HVAC or such and save up for your 4-year degree in case you ever decide what you want to do. I'm going to go to truck driving school (a 4-week course, even better than 2 years ), to pay off our debts and save up for college. I know what I want to do but I really can't afford it at the moment.

Requirements for different majors vary per school... at UTD, for a computer science degree you need Chem I, Physics I & II, Calc I & II, Linear Algebra and Probability & Stat. A minor in math from UTD is worth more than a major in math from A&M Corpus Christi...

You might only need Physics I for a degree in architecture, but surely you're going to need some courses on material strength or whatever that are basically math/physics courses with a different name. Architecture is an engineering discipline, not an art. My aunt started majoring in architecture and decided it was too much math & physics for her... she switched to civil engineering, specializing in water engineering...