failing a class over and over -help!

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hi all-
there is a freshman level statistics class that I HAVE to take to graduate. It's the ONLY class that I have left. I've tried to take it - no joke- probably a dozen times now, and either failed, or dropped, or withdrawn from it. It's not a difficult class (I've been doing higher-leve stats than this class teaches for years), but it's soooo boring - I *always* end up skipping classes, or hating the teacher, not doing the stupid homework (40% of the grade!), or whatever.

Has anyone else here had this problem? What did you do? I don't have an official diagnosis, so chemical intervention isn't an option. Should I try to get diagnosed so that I can get ritalin for this class? Does ritalin even help?

This is the LAST CLASS that I need - I don't want to sign up for it, though (~$600!) if I'm not sure that I'll be able to force myself to pass it this time.

If you need this class to graduate, then spend as much time as you can with the teacher for extra help outside of class. Spending the extra time with the teacher will influence your grade...even if you absolutely don't understand the course material
...and so you can pass with at least a grade of C. The teacher will acknowledge your hard working efforts...and all you need is a passing grade.

Good luck!

Understanding doesn't seem to be the problem, but going to the teacher can only help. Granted, you probably don't want to go tell the teacher their class is boring and you can't stand to be there, but you might try to explain your difficulty. I personally have a lot of trouble focusing on what I need to do and often don't feel like going to class. I've just failed one class because of it, but I never did go to the teacher and explain to him what the problem was. He took me to his office once to talk to me, but situations like that always make me really anxious, so I was helpless to explain myself.

I'm sorry if I seem blunt, but you need to get your act together. A dozen fails or drops? Come on, just the fact that you got this far means you can do the work, especially an introductory statistics class. I've had a really tough class this past semester as well and got a "D" in it. Yeah, it was terribly difficult and boring, but...it was required, and at least I passed it and never have to do it again.

It's one thing if it's a tough class, but if you're failing only because you don't do the homework and don't show up is just stupid. Plus, I would love it if homework contributed that much to my grade in my courses, where you can take your time and double check, as opposed to a final exam worth the same amount. You have two choices: Don't take it and drop out of school without a degree, or take one easy statistics class and graduate. You can do it, and if it means studying four hour, seeing a tutor twice a week, and consulting the professor to evaluate your study habits, so be it. Even if you irk out a "D," it's worlds better than another "F" or "W."

Ritalin seems like a cop-out; if you really have ADD of this magnitude, then you probably couldn't have gotten this far in college to begin with. You can do it, you simply need to buckle down.

My first instinct is to say to man up and just do the work. However, if that is really something you can not find the motivation to force yourself to do, maybe you could see if they will let you take the final to demonstrate knowledge and give you credit based on that. You claim that you've been doing more advanced stats than this for years, so that shouldn't be a problem if they let you do it.

I was in pretty much the exact same situation (different class), and there's just no substitute for trying. YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE HOURS. Now, if you sit down at your desk, open your book, put your assignment in front of you, and start trying to do it, and end up spending more than 15 hours/week staring at your work not being able to get it done, and doing NOTHING else, absolutely nothing, no surfing the net, no daydreaming, no dwelling on how much you'd rather not be doing it... if you actually spend that much time not being able to get the work done, then and only then should you look into other options.

In my case, when I finally just got fed up and decided that I had to sit and do the work, I ended up getting it done in a fraction of the time that I'd spent procrastinating, making excuses, and generally torturing myself about it in previous semesters. And it was also far less stressful.

That's what I've been telling myself since the first time I dropped the class - essentially, 'just do it.' But, wtf, 'just doing it' didn't work a dozen times. I've known from the start that this was an essential class. I can't challenge it becaue it's a "laboratory" (computer time) class. I've had difficult classes, boring classes, and got through them (Having 40% of the grade based on homework hurts me in a big way, it dosen't help; I usually pass my courses based on my test scores, whether I study or not).

So, fine. For those of you who think that 'just doing it' is the answer, HOW do I do that for this course, given that I haven't been able to despite great time, expense, and significance, in the past?

I don't think that I have ADD at all - I'm just grasping at straws.

"Just doing it" is the answer. I say this because it's not like some advanced calculus or science course where some people may literally be unable to do it, this is basic statistics you yourself said it was easy and just a matter of willpower to show up and do the work. If this is true, then I don't see the excuse for not doing it. You aren't asking an easily remedied question about specific information or study habits, you are asking us how to make you go to class and do your work. The answer? Well, I don't know, besides "just doing it." If getting this class done and graduating from college isn't enough incentive for you to buckle down, then nothing we say will be either. The only shred of advice I can give you is to meet with a college counselor or learning specialist to try to find out exactly what your problem is.

However, are you sure the class is that easy for you? Maybe it's more difficult than you think, and that is the problem.

Concentrate on the simple parts. When you have time to work, don't think about what you might have to do in order to finish the project, because this might cause you to procrastinate from doing anything. First, gather all the materials you'll need to start the project and put them out in front of you. That way, you're likely to spend at least 15 minutes thinking about what you have to do rather than immediately put away everything you've just taken out.

Put aside a time and place to work. If possible, try to take a class that ends 2-3 hours before your statistics class starts. After that class ends, go to the library and follow the above advice.