have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try you're always behind in your classes and drowning in work yeah I've been there during my first year as a mechanical engineering student I was feeling my classes feeling overwhelmed and honestly questioning if I had made the right choice I thought maybe I'm just not smart enough or cut out to study engineering but then one day something clicked and I went from struggling to becoming one of the top students in my program so in this video I'm going to share how I made this sudden transformation
and the exact strategies that helped me succeed let me take you back to one of the lowest points in my life it was a dark winter evening I remember sitting in my Boston University dorm room located on 7 buzwell Street after failing yet another exam and failing like a complete failure my roommate was playing Starcraft like a madman like he always does with his physics textbook open and placed on his lap in between games and I'm not even exaggerating he would read his textbook momentarily for about 5 minutes and then proceed onto his next game
at that time all my classmates were like my roommate who could seemingly understand everything effortlessly while I was drowning in formulas and Concepts that just didn't make sense and essentially I was playing ketchup all the time I had always been a top student in my high school and I wasn't used to falling behind I have to say that was one of the scariest feelings ever for me at the time Boston University had given me a 4-year scholarship that covered a huge chunk of my tuition which was around $43,000 back in 2012 to keep this scholarship
all I had to do was maintain a GPA of 3.0 but that apparently was a tall order for me after almost bombing my first midterm for mat lab class I literally thought I would lose my scholarship drop out and be forced to attend a university that I hated for me Boston University was a dream School everything about it was perfect except for the tuition if you guys didn't know I originally from Ohio and I could have attended Ohio State or Case Western Reserve for a lot less but my family who is a typical middle class
family in America made a lot of sacrifices so I could attend my dream School although I was feel in down the dumps and nothing was going my way I knew I had made it too far to give up and let my parents and myself down so I went back to the drawing board identified what worked and what didn't work and changed my Approach entirely and this decision ultimately changed everything the first thing I immediately noticed that I wasn't doing was managing my workload effectively I didn't know where to start and basically treated every class equally
I quickly learned that this is a recipe for disaster every class is different each Professor is different and the level of difficulty of each class varies greatly on the first day of class you need to sit down with all your syllabi and break down each class's grade structure identify which assignments projects and exams have the most impact on the final grade and focus on those for example in my thermodynamics class the final exam was worth 50% of our final grade this meant that I had to start preparing for that exam well in advance even if
it meant sacrificing some time on smaller homework assignments and projects this brings us to the second thing I fail to do that had a huge impact on my grades and that is having a prioritized to-do list and calendar that lists out all my important deadlines you want to have a list of daily tasks based on key assignments and exam deadlines that you jot down on your calendar can either be a digital or physical calendar it doesn't matter I wrote down every assignment and project deadline as well as midterm and final exam dates and even scheduled
time for studying specific topics if my lab report was due on November 30th for example I'd work backwards to determine that I should start working on it two weeks in advance I would then break the work down into drafting typing in the text and finalizing assigning each phase its own deadline your to-do du list and calendar shouldn't just include School related work it should also include key deadlines and dates for things like applying to internships attending career Affairs and participating in club events the next major mistake I made was not asking enough questions you definitely
need to ask questions I would sit in class totally lost and just hope things would make sense later spoiler alert they never did so I started doing something different whenever I was studying and H roadblock I would write down my questions in a Google doc along with my current understanding this gave me a list of things to clarify during lectures or office hours for instance I struggle with fluid dynamics especially with understanding the terms in the navier Stokes equation instead of just moving on I wrote down all the parts that I was confused about and
brought them to the teaching assistant and occasionally the professor not only did this help me understand the material better but it showed the professor that I was genuinely engaged this simple yet effective habit drastically improved my grades don't just wait for class to ask questions email professors and Tas attend office hours and participate in study groups where you can get different perspectives remember there's no such thing as a dumb question well there is but it's likely your questions are valid and not asking them is simply a missed opportunity to learn now now at some point
you have to realize that the way you studied in high school probably won't work well in University especially for a major like mechanical engineering the classes are much more challenging the pace at which material is taught is much faster and it will demand much more self-discipline and problem solving ability you need to find what works best for you it took me an entire semester to realize that the way I was studying wasn't working out but I eventually discovered the quote unot qu set of optimal parameters that led to the most efficient study sessions what I
did was experiment with a lot of different study Styles until I found what worked best first I tried studying alone for a few hours then with friends what I found was that starting with 2 hours of focus solo study allowed me to efficiently absorb the material without any distractions then studying with friends reinforced what I had learned through discussion and explanation explaining Concepts to others is one of the best ways to solidify your understanding of them now I also tested different environments studying in my room was convenient but I often got distracted the library provided
a quiet space but sometimes it felt too isolated I found a balance by spending my Mornings in the library for deep focused sessions and afternoons in the Department's comment area where I could easily ask classmates questions if needed timing matters a lot too I tried studying at different times throughout the day for me studying for 2 hours in the morning after going for a morning run and eating breakfast was the most productive I would then review my notes right after all my classes and then do practice problems in the evening right before bed but remember
that everyone is different so what worked for me might not work for you now the biggest difference I noticed was when I studied right after exercising I'd go for run or hit the gym then dive into my textbooks the physical activity cleared my mind and I felt like I could concentrate 10 times better definitely give it a try but no promises now one thing I didn't do nearly enough was build relationships with professors this is more important than you might think early on I treated my professors like distant figures but that completely changed after I
started attending office hours regularly by getting to know them I not only gained valuable insights but also felt more motivated to succeed in their classes I remember I took an intro to engineering design course taught by Professor Theo dewinter as a freshman and I had trouble understanding this problem related to share stress I went to his office hours and he spent merely 5 minutes clearing things up for me as a bonus he also gave me tips on how to land an internship as a freshman without much practical experience that one-on-one interaction gave me a deeper
understanding and made me more confident in the class don't be afraid to approach your professors start by asking questions after class or emailing them for any clarification over time you'll build a rapport with these professors that can be incredibly beneficial not just academically but for your future career as well when you need letters of wreck and references and yes there will always be some professors you don't Vibe with just forget about them and get what you need out of the class now everything we mentioned so far doesn't matter if you don't have a positive mindset
mindset is everything when it comes to engineering there will be tough classes garbage professors endless problems for you to solve and those days when you just feel like giving up but it's how you respond to these challenges that makes a huge difference I remember for Dynamics class the professor was not the best at teaching and chose to use a textbook that I hated instead of venting and giving up I found online resources bought a supplemental textbook and studied with a group of friends who were in the same boat by staying positive and controlling what I
could I not only passed the class but did well in it when things get tough remind yourself why you're here focus on what you can control your study habits your attitude and your effort don't waste energy complaining about things you can't change like a bad Professor or a difficult class instead channel that energy and improving yourself and finding Solutions now based on my experience exams in University including midterms and finals typically account for the majority of the final grade so preparing hard for exams pays dividends but at the same time they can be incredibly stressful
I'll share several strategies now to help you maximize your exam scores first when I get my exam I always take a minute to read through all the questions to gauge the difficulty and prioritize which questions to tackle first I always start with the questions that are worth the most points this ensures I'm making the biggest impact on my grade from the start if I get stuck on a question I move on to the next one and come back if I have time next you should always show your work even if you don't know the exact
answer laying out the steps you would take can earn you partial credit and if your final answer doesn't seem right explain why it doesn't make sense and what you would do differently this shows the greater your thought process which can sometimes earn you a few extra points finally keep an eye on the clock allocate your time based on the points each question is worth and leave the last 5 minutes to review your answers and make sure you didn't miss anything now one of my favorite platforms that fostered essential learning skills and and helped me excel
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also get 20% off an annual premium subscription I'll end by saying that University is much more than gr while your academic performance is important it's equally crucial to balance it with other aspects of your life building relationships getting involved in extracurricular activities networking and taking care of your physical and mental health will not only make you a well-rounded student but also prepare you for life after graduation all of my best friends are people that I met at Boston University and I'm so glad I didn't just focus solely on grades because grades mean nothing after you
graduate it's an absolute must to set aside time to eat proper Ms get enough sleep exercise and socialize daily to maintain a balanced lifestyle and avoid burnout remember nothing matters more than your health so that should always be your top priority besides future employers aren't just looking at your GPA what they value way more are relevant practical experience your passion your ability to manage multiple responsibilities and how well you work with others so don't feel guilty taking time for yourself and pursuing activities outside of your studies it's essential and necessary so there you have it
that's how I went from failing to becoming one of the top students in my class it definitely wasn't easy and the entire process was a marathon not a Sprint it's without question that some days will be a dog fight but by applying the right strategies mindset and tips that I shared in this video any of you can and will succeed in mechanical engineering and any type of engineering for that matter you will meet some of the brightest students from around the world and University and just because you fall behind doesn't mean they're better than you
you came from different backgrounds you attended different high schools your teachers teach differently so it doesn't make any sense to compare yourself with others the only only thing you should be doing is improving yourself and finding what works best for you anyways that's it for today guys as always thank you so much for watching and if you found this video helpful be sure to check out my video here where I share the top skills to develop as a mechanical engineer and I'll see you in the next one peace [Music]
