But after a good number of range visits I finally figured out why I sucked at shooting handguns. I didn't figure it out until I was dry firing while repeating the portfolio effect for my SCM final in my head.

Thank God graduation is in 72 hours. Can't take anymore of this "studying" and I need more time to go shoot. Like today, where I shot 10x better than normal. That's all, carry on

If you go to a handgun class (or even an IDPA match) with an open mind other shooters will help you become a better shooter. Other shooters are generally very helpful pointing out your mistakes.

Generally people mess up in the following areas:

Wandering/improper grip/insufficient forearm strength
Poor stance/balance
Flinching
No follow-through/not watching front site through full cycle

I appreciate the advice from both of you. I realized that my biggest problem is flinching. I was doing it even without a round in the chamber. Another problem was squeezing the trigger quickly rather than controlled pulls. I corrected that and went from being all over the place, hoping to be on paper, to delivering my first 10 shots today in a decent group in the head.

I would love to get out and shoot with some people more experienced than me if I had the chance. Unfortunately, I'm 1 out of 2 friends here at school with a handgun, the other got his 2 weeks ago. The only other people that I shoot with are people who don't give a shit and just want to take my gun and make noise. I don't have the money to take a class right now either. But as soon as I commission and move and am surrounded by people that know what the hell they're doing I'll definitely take advantage of it...