When I first got to college, I intended to major in math. I took the hardest class they would let me take, a linear algebra class that met at 8am, had no textbook, and the professor mumbled towards the board the entire lecture. Each week, we had one set of problems and proofs that were due the following week. I had no idea whom to ask for help, where to go if I had problems, and no feedback and how I was doing. I felt completely lost. I did not do well in that class, and switched majors the following semester.
I may have simply been unprepared for the class, and I suspect other students did better. However, I felt totally isolated, and unsure of where to go for help. The material was over my head, and that just made me more embarrassed about the situation. Just a simple nudge in any right direction — where to go for help, how to ask for help — would have completely changed my attitude toward the course.