So I’m a freshman who got a 3.1 GPA my first semester and I’m feeling quite horrible… especially considering all my friends have 3.8+, my parents are disappointed in me, and everyone seems to say freshman year is supposed to be the easiest.
I’m in a school with a combined 6 year Physical Therapy program which requires a 3.0 gpa to stay in. By this standard, I am doing fine, so technically I’m still ok, but just thinking about the 3.1 gpa makes me depressed. Is there any words of advice you guys could give me? Anyone have anecdotes of doing poorly and bouncing back? Anything helps!
First stop comparing yourself to others, do you. Second, ask yourself if a 3.1 represents you doing your best. If you did your best, then there’s nothing more you could have done and you should be proud of staying above the standard required. If you didn’t do your best, then figure out what you need to do to take corrective action next term. You can’t go back, only forward. Use resources available on your campus if you need to such as office hours, study groups, academic support, online resources, etc. College is hard, freshman year isn’t necessarily the easiest, some people struggle at first then dial it in.
I am sad that you feel like your parents are disappointed.
A 3.0+ is fine for first semester - there’s a lot you have to get used to.
Next semester, make sure you go to office hour every week (rotate the classes but do go in every subject several times a month), join a study group, stay away from parties during the week.
Also, depending on the college or the program, grading scales aren’t all the same - getting an A is always hard but getting a B varies in difficulty.
As long as you are truly doing your best, it shouldn’t matter to you. I mean yes, I get program requirements being a bare minimum (I need a 3.0 overall and 3.0 cumulative sci gpa, for instance) but getting B’s when you know you did your best is nothing to be ashamed about. My first semester freshman year was my “worst” semester; I only took three classes and still got straight b’s. Why? It was a huge learning curve. Looking back on it I realize all of the simple mistakes I made (like forgetting to do homework, not studying efficiently, etc.) that would have been so easy to fix. But I didnt KNOW what these things were like in college, and it took me a but to figure out. Use this semester as a learning experience, improve what you can next semester, and don’t compare yourself to others.
You are doing fine and if I was your parent I’d tell you that.
–I hope you are being a bit melodramatic by saying you are feeling depressed. If you truly feel depressed about a 3.1 GPA in a rigorous program then you should seek out counseling when you get back to college.
– Sounds to me like you have made a good adjustment to college life, found friends etc. That is so important and many do not make the transition well.
–If you read through CC you will find tons of kids to truly bomb out their first semester, who are miserable at school etc. You may have not done quite as well as you hoped, but you are absolutely fine.
–FWIW my kids both did better once they passed freshman year. Many people take a year or so to hit their stride.
– Don’t forget – you are in a very rigorous program at your college – I’m guessing you took a good deal of science this year which is always difficult at the college level and tends to have lower grades than many humanities subjects.
– Agree, that you should not compare grades to others. If you are doing well enough to stay on track in your program that is your biggest goal.
–If you want to improve going forward then instead of sitting around and feeling badly, work finding ways to try to improve next semester – figure out how to improve your study habits (maybe study more in advance for exams, make study guides), see professors during office hours, seek out tutoring etc.
In my experience, the first semester is usually associated with lower grades because students are trying to balance classes and studying with getting use to college. Do reflect on your performance last semester to understand what you did well or what could have better. Besides, you are entering a truly wonderful and challenging program and profession. Good for you.
It’s just your first semester and you are trying to transition to college life so don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure you have learned what it takes to prepare for your classes so that you can do better next time. Take those lessons that you have learned and apply them next semester. Be proactive in seeking help on time so that you keep up with the pace of the class and don’t get lost.
Unless your friends had the exact came classes with the exact same instructors, you can’t compare yourself directly. The first few semesters especially in science based programs are notorious for weed-out introductory classes. They are designed to push students out and deliberately be difficult.
Some people have it worse then you. Some people get Cs, Ds, and fail classes in there first year. Some people wind up on academic probation and get suspended during there first year of college. during my first semester, I withdrew from a class because I knew I was gonna fail. After finishing my second semester, while I did better than my first I’m still not where I wanna be academically because I made a C in a class.
My first semester was an exact 3.0, but every subsequent semester it increased slightly, culminating into a 4.0 for my very last semester of undergrad. It takes time to adjust to college, it’s on a completely different level from high school. Don’t get distracted by others’ grades, focus on your own success.
Do not worry about comparing your grades to those of your friends. Also note that earning a given GPA in college is harder than earning the same GPA in high school.
The main thing to be concerned about is staying above the 3.0 threshold for your major.
I’m actually in a 6-year PT program just like you are! I’m currently in my 2nd undergraduate year!
Although you got a 3.1 GPA this semester, you’re doing just fine! Don’t beat yourself up over getting the grades you got, be happy with those grades and look towards the future. When it comes to spring semester, think about what went wrong this semester. Was it Chemistry? Was it Writing? Was it Biology? Remember, you have a lot of time to make up for this semester. For me, I ended up with a lower GPA than I expected in the first semester, but I had one of the hardest Chemistry professors so I was not surprised with what I got. In the spring semester this year, I made sure to be on top of everything and review every chance I got. Did I lose my social life last semester? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes, because the results after that semester were amazing.
For you, don’t compare yourself to other people. Even though I am one of the top students in my program, I don’t see the point in comparing my grades: everyone is in this together. When it comes to these things, worry about yourself and make sure you’re doing ok. Now that you know how college works, take each day one day at a time and make sure that you’re top of everything. I’d also go by the advice from what the older members posted, it really helps!
I really hope this helped and best of luck! You got this 
The good news is: you are above a 3.0 for your first semester. In comparison, I had a 2.7 my first semester, and needed a 3.0 cumulative to get into my major, Computer Science. The reason is primarily failing my introductory computer science class, for which I got a C-, then slacking and getting a C in a Linear Algebra class.
Over the break, reevaluate how you are studying and trying to not procrastinate. If you have to retake anything, prepare over the winter break or prepare for your next semester classes over the break. Next time, try studying in the library or somewhere quiet and spend most of your time studying with people there. Try and network with people who have really great work ethics and befriend them. That’s basically what I did, my second semester GPA: 3.7.
TLDR: Improving your GPA is doable, depending on how hard you work.
Also, make sure you keep your strong study habits and don’t overload yourself. I did that this semester and I’m prolly on track for a 2.8-2.9 but at least all my other semesters were 3.4 or above.
Despite what people tell you, your freshman year is NOT the easiest semester. It’s usually the hardest. It’s called a learning curve. College is much more intense and self motivated than what you were used to in high school. Now that you know what to expect, you can make adjustments and get better grades. You’re not competing with anyone, so don’t worry about other people’s grades. You’re an adult and you don’t need your parents approval either.
DO YOU! At the end of the day it does not matter what your friends are doing. Keep you head up and have a positive attitude and that will take you further than you would expect. I have also found that taking advantage of help on campus made a big difference for me. If you have a writing center or math learning center you can take your work to for feedback then you might be able to get a good idea of what you might be missing. I hope this helps! Good luck and don’t give up!
I think that the main point is to learn from your experience, and work to pull up the GPA for your upcoming semester. Even if you can only pull up one B to an A- you will have opened up a gap between the 3.0 required GPA and your actual 3.1 GPA.
As others have pointed out, you are way ahead of some students who have a worse time transitioning to university. This is a big change in your life. One big plus is that you know what you need to do. Another is that you are still on track to continue and then complete your physical therapy program. I might add a third plus: I have some experience with physical therapy, and have found it made a huge positive difference for me. With a PT degree you can have a job and a career which really helps people in a significant way. I have no idea whether the PT who helped me graduated with all B’s or all A’s or somewhere in between. I know that they helped me a lot (and I still do the exercises regularly).
For the semester than just started (or is about to start for some): Keep ahead in your classes. Keep ahead in your homework. Seek out extra help where you need it. Try to do just a bit better than you have done up to now.
And remember the old saying: What do they call a student who graduates from medical school with all B’s and C’s? They have a word for this, they call such a student “Doctor”.