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How come my sims keep failing university classes

My sim fails her classes despite taking notes in class. Is there a bug?

Comments

  • EllupelluelluEllupelluellu Posts: 6,868 Member
    They also do all their homework and term papers and presentations?
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  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    Yes. I put the option for "take notes" and my sim still does not do well. I get that notification after her class
  • Mizzila1297Mizzila1297 Posts: 620 Member
    Minai wrote: »
    Yes. I put the option for "take notes" and my sim still does not do well. I get that notification after her class

    Does she only fail class when she takes notes, or regardless what setting it's on? I usually just have my sims set to whatever the default is and they manage 4.0 GPAs after doing the presentations, term papers and homework
  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    Minai wrote: »
    Yes. I put the option for "take notes" and my sim still does not do well. I get that notification after her class

    Does she only fail class when she takes notes, or regardless what setting it's on? I usually just have my sims set to whatever the default is and they manage 4.0 GPAs after doing the presentations, term papers and homework

    I'll try that :)
  • Calico45Calico45 Posts: 2,038 Member
    I'd also ask if you are arriving on time and in a good mood. 4's classes can be quite fickle and with larger households I have had Sims be randomly late and thusly underperform.
  • Mizzila1297Mizzila1297 Posts: 620 Member
    Calico45 wrote: »
    I'd also ask if you are arriving on time and in a good mood. 4's classes can be quite fickle and with larger households I have had Sims be randomly late and thusly underperform.

    I honestly completely forgot about mood, too! That could do it.
  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    Calico45 wrote: »
    I'd also ask if you are arriving on time and in a good mood. 4's classes can be quite fickle and with larger households I have had Sims be randomly late and thusly underperform.

    I honestly completely forgot about mood, too! That could do it.

    Oh wow I didnt think of that either!
  • IsharellIsharell Posts: 1,158 Member
    Mood matters? Oh, heck, that might be the reason I've had several sims fail or barely scrape by. I will have to remember that! I've found it's easier to send them to Uni if they don't live in a dorm. They get to class on time and don't wander off and miss their finals that way. :D But it is more satisfying to have them live in a dorm.
  • SilentKittySilentKitty Posts: 4,665 Member
    Useful tips here. Thank you.
  • Mizzila1297Mizzila1297 Posts: 620 Member
    Isharell wrote: »
    Mood matters? Oh, heck, that might be the reason I've had several sims fail or barely scrape by. I will have to remember that! I've found it's easier to send them to Uni if they don't live in a dorm. They get to class on time and don't wander off and miss their finals that way. :D But it is more satisfying to have them live in a dorm.

    Yes, mood also makes a different in careers! I don't think it's quite as drastic, though haha
  • Carnation77Carnation77 Posts: 3 New Member
    > @Isharell said:
    > Mood matters? Oh, heck, that might be the reason I've had several sims fail or barely scrape by. I will have to remember that! I've found it's easier to send them to Uni if they don't live in a dorm. They get to class on time and don't wander off and miss their finals that way. :D But it is more satisfying to have them live in a dorm.

    Whenever my sims live in a dorm they always arrive late at lesson and miss their finals.
    Even though I lose part of the experience offered by the expansion, I prefer keeping my sims at home. This way, they are able to be nearly always on time, they get perfect scores and they even manage to have part-time jobs and build a family while studying.
  • BeardedgeekBeardedgeek Posts: 5,520 Member
    edited September 2021
    After pushing a huge numer of Sims thru Uni there is one major thing I recommend.
    Even if you play on short lifespan, or feel it's "cheating" in general to turn off aging... do it.
    Just stop aging until you get thru Uni.

    The main reason for this? It is simply much much easier to do a maximum of 3 classes a "year". Also, never do more than 4 total "activities" (including classes) per "year".
    With that I mean that the maximum workload that is doable, really consistently, is 3 classes and one student organization OR extra activity such as soccer, e-sports, babysitting, what have you. Also keep in mind that grinding thru 4 sets of homework is much much worse than 3 sets. And not doing your homework will always make your grades suffer badly.

    Also when picking your student organization: to maximize grades and make life easier I strongly recommend the Braniacs or the Debate Team depending on what school you go to. Third choice is the Robotics people. The rest are Flavor Only so to speak and I would not pick them unless you go down to two classes per "year", meaning you can join both the debate team AND the spirit squad.

    Personally I tend to spend 5 years at Uni, something not unheard of IRL anyway ;). My preference is a 3 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 3 plan, class wise since especially Scholarly Ambition is very grindy in the middle if you want to pick that one (I always do). To fulfill the 3rd step that involves tutoring 5 classes, usually takes 2 "years" to complete while the 1st and last steps in the Ambition are very easy to fulfill so 3 classes is easy.

    Also, keep in mind that Elective classes can screw up your schedule by being on the other end of campus right after or before a regular class. This will mean your grades will suffer since you will be late for those classes every time unless you can teleport thru Yoga or is a vampire or Wizard.
    Regular classes are never scheduled that way, even if they are directly after each other they are always in the same building then.

    Two final tips:
    1. Never ever ever push thru more than one Sim thru Uni at the same time unless both live in the same household and it is off campus.
    2. The last bit above is important. It is much easier to study off campus since the Sim is never late for classes then, since they teleport away to class like any other job. On the other hand you miss 50% of the experience with going to Uni, not living in a dorm. Up to you.
    Post edited by Beardedgeek on
    Origin ID: A_Bearded_Geek
  • Calico45Calico45 Posts: 2,038 Member
    Since we are talking about it, I put a seven Sims household through uni in the dorms. So I have experienced these issues, which I solved by going into super micromanage mode. I was so busy that I didn't even have time to pause.

    I had two in soccer. A few in the brainiacs, but couldn't bother to keep up with those activities. Majority were mermaids so they were constantly trying to swim at the very end of the campus. Originally I had them all at different credit loads, but I quickly burnt out and made them all take the highest class loads to graduate quickly.

    I was successful, and they all did well, so it is definitely possible if you are willing to put the effort in. However, I wouldn't exactly call it that fun of an experience.
  • BeardedgeekBeardedgeek Posts: 5,520 Member
    Calico45 wrote: »
    Since we are talking about it, I put a seven Sims household through uni in the dorms. So I have experienced these issues, which I solved by going into super micromanage mode. I was so busy that I didn't even have time to pause.

    I had two in soccer. A few in the brainiacs, but couldn't bother to keep up with those activities. Majority were mermaids so they were constantly trying to swim at the very end of the campus. Originally I had them all at different credit loads, but I quickly burnt out and made them all take the highest class loads to graduate quickly.

    I was successful, and they all did well, so it is definitely possible if you are willing to put the effort in. However, I wouldn't exactly call it that fun of an experience.

    The key with the Braniacs is that they require zero effort except to study in the library instead of in your dorm. Every weekday between 3pm and 7pm they meet and do homework at the library. That is all they do. And as soon as you get to the second level as a member you get extra credit in all classes you take. Just for sitting at the library doing your homework instead of doing it at the dorm.
    Origin ID: A_Bearded_Geek
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,843 Member
    @Minai are you editing all papers and presentations until they are Excellent or Outstanding quality? For the presentations, are you remembering to actually go and give the presentation? (outside of class time)
  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    It’s still not working so well even if my sim is in a great mood.
    Could zerbu go to school mod effecting or conflicting with the game?
  • Atreya33Atreya33 Posts: 4,420 Member
    Are you willing and able to use mods? I have found a mod that allows me to check my sims grades during the semester. The grades always start at zero at the beginning of the semester and it acts like a meter which you slowly fill by going to classes, do homework and make papers/presentations. It does not change how they earn grades but let's you know if they are doing bad. In those cases I get them a study book to study for their course. My sims would have done way worse in uni without this mod.

    https://modthesims.info/d/637945/quickly-check-uni-performance.html
  • FanPhoriaFanPhoria Posts: 1,655 Member
    A lot has already been said, but one other aspect (and I could be wrong) is I think your sims skill level in the "subject" might also have an impact. Like, I've had sims who seem to do "everything right" (attend class on time and in a good mood, submit excellent papers, do all their homework, yadda yadda) and still not get great grades (tho I've never had a sim actually FAIL a class), and then other sims making pretty minimal effort (hardly ever doing homework, being late or even missing a class or 2, one sim straight up slept through her final lol) and still get an A or A+, and the difference seems to be that the latter group, despite their class participation, still HAD very high skill levels in the classes they were taking (like, 8, 9, 10 levels I mean) while the first group, despite all their class work, were still fairly low (usually around level 4 or 5). So, it might be the case that if a sim is just "good" at something, they can kinda breeze by, while a another sim who is fairly low level has to put a LOT more effort in.
  • BeardedgeekBeardedgeek Posts: 5,520 Member
    FanPhoria wrote: »
    A lot has already been said, but one other aspect (and I could be wrong) is I think your sims skill level in the "subject" might also have an impact.

    If you choose "Study for (class)" on the computer all you do is build that skill needed for that class slowly. That said you should not be able to fail university classes ("fail" is not the same as getting an A- or a B. The only way you fail a class is being you not getting any credit from it) unless you deliberately do not do your homework or assigned projects.

    Did the OP deliberately choose a Major in something the Sim has 0 skill points in I wonder? Because then it might take to year 3 or so before they get consistent A grades on everything since the skills build up just by going to class.
    Origin ID: A_Bearded_Geek
  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    FanPhoria wrote: »
    A lot has already been said, but one other aspect (and I could be wrong) is I think your sims skill level in the "subject" might also have an impact.

    If you choose "Study for (class)" on the computer all you do is build that skill needed for that class slowly. That said you should not be able to fail university classes ("fail" is not the same as getting an A- or a B. The only way you fail a class is being you not getting any credit from it) unless you deliberately do not do your homework or assigned projects.

    Did the OP deliberately choose a Major in something the Sim has 0 skill points in I wonder? Because then it might take to year 3 or so before they get consistent A grades on everything since the skills build up just by going to class.

    I'm not exactly sure how to explain this since I'm not great with words but it happens right after my sim attends class. I get a notification that they put in the minimum amount of effort even when I chose "take notes" during their class
  • MinaiMinai Posts: 704 Member
    Also my teen sims character values fall extremely low into the negatives despite my sims behaving well
  • JeansooJeansoo Posts: 3,606 Member
    edited October 2021
    I’m going through the 7th distinguished degree in Britechester with 3 sims. One of my sims attended classes about 15 mins just one time, then he got B+ on that subject even though the skill was maxed for the subject long time ago. So whenever the class time is coming, I always use ‘reset object’ on my sims , except for my vampire sim, and they attend the class within 5 mins at least. They should be disappeared into the class building or at the front spot of your home lot within 5 to 10 mins.

    The 2nd thing I want to tell is the skill level. I also have a sim has low level in my household. So I made a family study club from Get Together feature. Set the activity to ‘homework’ and ‘dance’. Homework is for doing university, and dance is for relieving the sims’ stress. At night time, I let them go sleep and add ‘sleep’ activity in club. The club points rapidly go up, and get the skill boost perk with the club points. Then I let him learn the skill related with univ classes. He improved his skill up to level 9 just before the final term day. He emails the professors and they say he is one of the highest grades in their classes, and get A+.

    The 3rd one I want to tell is the debate skill. I let them level up to 7 or 8 in debate skill before enrolling the university and take 4 classes a week. I enroll the university on Friday, then you will have 3 days free time to finish your 4 homework, presentation and term paper. Also you will finish the homework much faster with high debate skill without any mods. Even I have free time after finishing all homework. I never study in dorm, always at home. You need to study for 3 weeks at first time, but you can get degrees within 2 weeks from the 2nd degree as the university supports 4. You can earn only 8.

    The 4th one is mentioned here. After finishing the presentation and term paper, you need to hover your mouse on the board and term paper. It will show the quality of them. If it say ‘poor’, then you need to spend more time to edit them until showing ‘excellent’ and ‘outstanding’.

    The 5th one is the bug you cannot attend the class. It randomly happens while you are challenging several degrees, or it can happen from the beginning if you are unlucky. I save the game as other names before 7 am as usually university starts of the day. One of my sims kept standing at the front lot holding his homework. I clicked ‘go to class’ but the command didn’t show up on command order. I clicked go to class so many tomes but he didn’t go to university. So I didn’t save and back to the main, then back to my save. It was just before going to his class but all of a sudden, the time table said that all classes have done for today and the next class will begin in 24 hours next day. All remained classes were skipped. I wondered how I can solve this issue, and back to the save before 7 am, then the time tables said the class will be in 4 hrs. Since that time, I always save my game before 7 am every single day.
    Post edited by Jeansoo on
  • BeardedgeekBeardedgeek Posts: 5,520 Member
    Minai wrote: »
    FanPhoria wrote: »
    A lot has already been said, but one other aspect (and I could be wrong) is I think your sims skill level in the "subject" might also have an impact.

    If you choose "Study for (class)" on the computer all you do is build that skill needed for that class slowly. That said you should not be able to fail university classes ("fail" is not the same as getting an A- or a B. The only way you fail a class is being you not getting any credit from it) unless you deliberately do not do your homework or assigned projects.

    Did the OP deliberately choose a Major in something the Sim has 0 skill points in I wonder? Because then it might take to year 3 or so before they get consistent A grades on everything since the skills build up just by going to class.

    I'm not exactly sure how to explain this since I'm not great with words but it happens right after my sim attends class. I get a notification that they put in the minimum amount of effort even when I chose "take notes" during their class

    That should only happen if you get there WAY too late for class. Sounds like a mod issue or a broken install (try to repair the game).
    Origin ID: A_Bearded_Geek
  • SilentKittySilentKitty Posts: 4,665 Member
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    Are you willing and able to use mods? I have found a mod that allows me to check my sims grades during the semester. The grades always start at zero at the beginning of the semester and it acts like a meter which you slowly fill by going to classes, do homework and make papers/presentations. It does not change how they earn grades but let's you know if they are doing bad. In those cases I get them a study book to study for their course. My sims would have done way worse in uni without this mod.

    https://modthesims.info/d/637945/quickly-check-uni-performance.html

    Wow!! Thank you, this is just what I need.
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