I want to be an engineer but if I'm no good then what's the point

Jessica,

I apologize for the delay in my reply.  Hopefully you have continued and my advice will be worthwhile or it will help someone else.

I am really sorry to hear about your situation.  I understand how it feels to not reach your goals.

First, I suggest being totally honest with yourself about the situation.  Perhaps this is the first time the material was very challenging and you did not put enough time in studying.  If this is the case, it's good because you know how to fix it.

No matter who you are, becoming an engineer requires hard work and determination.  If this is your dream, for sure you can turn it around.  Here are my suggestions:

1) Do all assigned homework.  Ask for help on any of the problems you do not understand.  Professors usually have office hours or graduate students who will help.

2) Find another student who is as passionate as you are about engineering, perhaps an upperclassmen, and get together to talk about concepts to make sure you have them down.

3) Master the material.  You might need to spend 8-12 hours studying each day.  Engineering text books are not the easiest to read, use Google as your back-up to reveal information unclear in the book.

4) Record lectures or write down everything the professor says.  Then go back and study the lecture notes/listen again.  Writing down can be better than listening, depending upon your learning style.

5) Think, think, think.  Our education system often fails to prepare students for college due to emphasizing memorization over problem solving & critical thinking.  Don't expect to be spoon fed the answers.  Your brain will be used so much, it might hurt at times.

6) Review material from past years and re-take failed courses or courses with bad grades.  You have to do this, even if it takes you longer to graduate.  Some courses build upon each other so if you don't retake them, you will end up in a black hole.

7) After raising your confidence by doing 1-6, you will see that you now have more time on tests.  You will finish your work in lightening speed.  And now you can do one of the most important things - check, check, check.  Never get overconfident on a test that you didn't make some silly math error.  Every minus sign and simple addition or multiplication is critical to getting the right answer. Don't be surprised or embarrassed to become a little OCD.  In engineering, this type of anxiety is a healthy fear.

Jessica, if I missed the opportunity to help you and you have already changed your path, some of my advice could still be useful to you.  However, if you decided to stick with it, do not give up on your dream because I am very confident you will be successful in the end.