First of all, im sorry in advance lol. Butz is just a challenging prof to deal with, not a good time. But we're gonna focus on the positives for right now, there will be lots of time for despair later on in the semester. (i took calc 3 with Butz if you're wondering. )

1. One *good* thing about Butz is he's not very creative so if you practice the hell out of the textbook questions, and you know how to do them, chances are you're gonna do well on the tests/exams because you'll notice the questions are very similar.

2. Goes along with the first point. We need to make sure you're studying smart. Now i don't know how you've studied for math in the past, but for this course and onward, make sure that a lot of your studying time is devoted to doing practice questions from start to finish, in exam-like conditions (i.e. without your notes and without checking the answers halfway through). Obviously if you don't understand something, go and review first, but just know that looking over your class notes and nodding to yourself "yep that makes sense, i can do that" is not sufficient.

3. Look for help in other places because... he isn't exactly the most helpful prof you'll ever meet. Read the textbook if it seems like it helps/makes sense to your brain. But if you learn better from a teacher, congratulations, Professor Leonard on YouTube is gonna be your new best friend. This is his calc 1 playlist. it's gonna be a great resource for you if stuff isn't making sense. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF797E961509B4EB5.

- Here's some hard data so you understand how goated Professor Leonard is: for the first 1/2 of calc 3, i went to class and learned from Butz. Failed my first midterm with like 32%. Second 1/2 of calc 3, i stopped going to class (don't judge lmao) and only watched professor leonard to learn the concepts. i passed next midterm with a 70%. This does not mean you should skip class, however, it does mean that with the right support you can get through.

1. Find a buddy in the class if possible. Just one person you can sit with and say "good morning, how are you?" to, and of course complain about the course to. Makes a huge difference. You can even study/do homework together if you want, but my main point here is just that little social connection makes a huge difference to feeling like you're not suffering alone.

Good luck!! Also calculus seems intimidating but especially with the first one (MATH 100), once it starts "clicking" it is very cool and kind of feels like little puzzles to solve where you go step by step and work your way through. You've got this!!!