Hi, I’m a first year engineering student, last semester I failed all my required classes this is because I was mentally ill and didn’t go to class for about 2 and a half month. This semester I dropped 2 of my main subjects because I don’t think I can pass it. I also didn’t go to one of my main subjects because I don’t like the professor and one more thing I think I’m on the verge of failing one of my main subject even though I have a tutor. Do you guys think I should continue this path or choose another one. I feel like I’m too dumb for this path but some part of me wants to continue no matter how long it takes. I don’t know anymore, I really need some advice.
Do you love it? Is it difficult for you?
If you don’t go to class and don’t study, difficult to do well. That doesn’t mean you’re dumb, just means that you’re not doing the things you need to do.
But if it is difficult for you, and you don’t like it, maybe your mind is brilliant in a different way. Maybe you can consider a different type of engineering, or a different field where you can be happy and excel
I struggled through a computer science degree with mediocre grades. I didn’t work hard, but I usually went to class and did all the stuff that was graded. Worth finishing if you’re halfway finished, but it sounds like you haven’t really started so now is a good time to consider other options
Edit: i struggled through that degree and became a teacher. Much happier as a performer than a coder, myself.
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I quite like material science and engineering but I easily get discouraged when I receive 20/100 while my peers receive high grades. I don’t know anymore, if i were to continue this field I’ll basically have to repeat year 1. I don’t know what to do. Everyone including my relatives keeps saying that I should go back home and study another field, maybe that’s what I want but there’s a part of me that is reluctant to give up this opportunity. I have finals tomorrow for physics and I don’t have any motivation to study at all. What’s the point of studying it I’m just going to receive 4/100 while my peers gets 80 and above
Won’t you have to do that if you switch fields anyway? 
It’s your life. But it sounds like you need a do over. Have you resolved the issues that gave your mental health a workout? That seems to be the elephant in the room.
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There are lots of factors here, part of the problem is you missed 2.5 months (not your fault, dwelling on that won’t help). The fact is, they have a big head start. If you’re from the US and your classmates are Asian, that’s another thing you can’t control: their education has had more advanced science and math at earlier ages and they have been primed for memorization and test taking in the way that Taiwanese professors teach
Don’t measure yourself based on them, if you like it you just need to pass. But you have to go to classes, and you haven’t. If you like it, and you’re happy in Taiwan now, and you can keep the scholarship, give yourself a break and try again
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I was also a pretty mediocre engineering student. If you enjoy the subject, and it’s just your illness got in the way of putting in the time and work to study for the subject, and the condition has been resolved, you should give it a try. However, if you don’t even want to go to class or do the work, you might need to try something else.
The only class I outright flunked out of was econ 101 because I wasn’t remotely interested. I didn’t pay attention in class, despite going to them I just read novels in class. I didn’t bother too much with the home work, and I thought the tests would be a breeze. The class properly kicked my ass.
If that’s what you are experiencing with your core classes, it’s time to look for something else.
Also, having teachers you like is a plus, but if the teacher sucks, you should still be able to like the material. I had teachers I couldn’t even understand. You just have to rely on the books and do the homeworks and labs.
Finally, don’t compare with your peers. I can guarantee you people who get good grade put in the work, if not during this semester, then in high school or even grade school. Of course it could also be they are being more efficient in studying than you. In that case maybe you could pay attention to how they organize their notes and time, or find a studying method that suits you because that would be helpful no matter what field you end up choosing.
For classes like breadth math or physics courses though, usually what would help is just do as many sample questions as you can, and check with the solutions afterwards to see how you got them wrong.
The smartest students would read the textbook, understand the concepts and even be able to derive the theorems themselves. They probably don’t need to do all the sample questions and just figure stuff out right there during a test. Most people are not that kind of student.
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I recommend studying tonight and doing the best you can. And then I recommend redoing the first year. It sounds like you need to start again from the beginning. If you still do poorly after you have attended classes regularly, then maybe you can consider changing majors. You said you liked material science and engineering. That’s not a small thing to like what you are studying.
By the way, I don’t think you should drop a class because you don’t like the professor. That’s a really bad habit to start at such a young age. There will always be a professor, superior at work, coworker, classmate, etc. you don’t like. Always.
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IMHO, the point is to make the effort to be the best that you can be. It’s a platitude, but that fighting-spirit mindset will serve you well.
It sounds to me as if you don’t have a positive support network if “everyone” in your circle is telling you to go back home and study something else. So I can imagine it might be hard to find the will to push on without anyone supporting you. I can only recommend not making any rash decisions, and listing up the pros/cons of continuing vs. aborting.
In the workplace, and elsewhere, you will need to deal politely and professionally with people whom you more or less hate (though hate should be checked, as it just consumes your own energy uselessly). It’s a necessary skill to learn.
Good luck! (And as Thomas Jeffferson said: “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”)
P.S. Also, physical exercise is good for mental health, discipline, and cultivating that “just do it” mindset. Endorphins, sunlight, and stuff like that.
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If you don’t know why you’re doing this, then you probably shouldn’t be. Far too many people get railroaded into doing a degree that they’re really not interested in - or not interested enough - and end up in this headspace, although most of them somehow grind through and end up with a meaningless piece of paper they end up never using, and then settle into a tedious career in HR or sales.
It sounds like you have a few issues beyond just deciding what to study (or whether to study), so why not deal with that first? Take some time out to decide where you’re going with your life; what you want your life to look like in 10, 20, 50 years’ time, and how you think you’re going to get there. One thing seems fairly clear, though: you aren’t interested in being an engineer, so get out of that uni before you waste more time and money, and perhaps end up even less motivated than you are right now.
Bear in mind that a fulfilling life is not contingent on a degree - it’s more about the people you surround yourself with and the small choices you make. 50 years ago very few people (5-10% of the Western population) even had an undergrad degree, and the world ticked along just fine. There is no shame in being an electrician or a maintenance technician or a farmer, and these people often get paid more than people with degrees, because they’re high-skill occupations that will be in demand forever.
If you don’t have at least some idea what career you might enjoy, get out there and try a few things for a year or so. Yes, you’ll be starting at the bottom of whatever-it-is and being paid peanuts, but you’ll probably enjoy the experience and at worst, it’ll give you time to ponder the meaning of life. At best, you might find your life going off in (positive) directions you would have never contemplated if you’d just stayed on the straight and narrow.
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