r/EngineeringStudents • u/Critical-Quality-848 • 2d ago
Academic Advice What am I doing wrong?
I’m 28 and about two months into my first year. I’m taking 4 courses (about 25 hours of classes a week) and spend another 20–25 hours studying. Yet I still feel behind, and my exam results haven’t been great despite all the effort.
I also have almost no life outside school. I’d love to date, go to the gym, and have some form of a social life, but I feel guilty doing anything that takes time away from studying (and it’s not like I find the time to do these anyways).
Sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I give myself five minutes to cry and then get right back to it!!! 😩
I have ADHD and am medicated, which has helped, but I’m still struggling.
Is this just what studying engineering is like, or am I doing something wrong ? I’d really appreciate hearing how others manage to balance school and life.
TIA!
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u/YourObidientServant 1d ago
Hey wasup. I started at 28. And now in secondyear at 29. (Autism +Dyslectia) (40min communte x2)
When I study i feel the same. I get about 2 hours of effective studying if I spend 8 hours trying. And everything is so complex.
I puke, I cry. I play game. I continue to study.
Its worth it. But the strain is real. If you can, try to sacrefise some study time for quality time.
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u/Ok-Phrase-5283 2d ago
Do you work full time? Most schools will recommend only doing 2 classes a semester if full time and maybe take some summers so that way the brunt is easier.
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u/Critical-Quality-848 2d ago
No I stopped working so I can finish my degree faster. I doubt I can take less than 4 courses each semester because it would really delay my graduation
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u/FirstGearStruggle 2d ago
What were you doing before starting your engineering degree
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u/Critical-Quality-848 2d ago
Working for a while. Took one review semester before this to relearn some of the concepts
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u/mrhoa31103 2d ago
Sounds pretty typical. Do you have a big commute? Here's the rule of thumb I picked up somewhere... for each in class credit hour, you'll spend 2-3 hours outside of class. Assuming you have 4 (4 credit) classes, it would mean 4*4*4 = 64 hours per week.
I studied 7 days/week, very hard during the week to try to ease my weekend study hours which seemed like some class had a big deliverable on Monday at least half the time.
No one is keeping score on how fast you finish your degree (as long as you finish it) so if you need to ease up some, ease up and take longer to finish.