Farm Legend: Classes Are Easier the Second Time Around
Occasionally students tell us things such as “oh, that class won’t be hard because I took it before”, or “oh, that’s not really over 20 units because one of those classes is a repeat.” And we raise an eyebrow and say, “hmm…”.
So, there are a few things to think about here.
The trap of repeating—it’s really easy to confuse “This is familiar” with “I understand this.” Be wary of falling into this. Do some practice questions to apply your knowledge. Test yourself.
Maybe you did understand the earlier stuff, but then lost track. There’s another trap--you might not be prepared for the course to suddenly start taking more time and energy than in the first few weeks. So a load that was manageable becomes an overload just as midterms and essays pick up--if you don’t realize this is happening, you might fall behind in your classes.
Maybe your opinion of why you didn’t do so well the previous quarter isn’t correct. Reviewing your previous work with the professor to be sure you understand how to do better in the future is always a good idea.
Maybe the class has changed. Professors regularly refresh their material even when teaching the same class, and if the instructor isn’t the same one you had before, the class may be even more different.
In short, don’t assume that just because it’s a repeat, it’s going to be easier--and definitely don’t assume you’ll automatically get a higher grade! Sometimes the grade goes down...
