<p>First off, I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid thread. Please try to have a little sympathy for me as I am just another stressed college freshman. :P</p>
<p>I just wrapped up my second quarter of freshman year and I'm kind of worried about my grades. First quarter I got 3 As and a B (not bad), but this quarter I will be getting my first-ever C in a class (calculus).</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm really stressing because I've never gotten a grade like this, and people keep telling me it's "not important" or that it "doesn't matter" because it's only my freshman year, it's only one class, and it's a class that has nothing to do with my intended major at all and was just for a distribution requirement. I don't know what to think/how true this is.</p>
<p>Can anyone give me some insight on this? I'd really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Graduate schools are most interested in your grades in upper-level coursework relevant to your major or intended field of study. When I applied, many programs asked me to specify my major GPA or my GPA for the last 60 credits. Neither of these would be affected by a freshman class outside of your major.</p>
<p>If you are going into industry, few employers really care about your GPA as long as it’s decent (3.x). Many won’t ask about your GPA at all.</p>
<p>A C is definitely not the end of the world, especially since it is a class outside of your major. Just do well in your other classes and keep your GPA respectable and no grad school (or employer) will do a double take at your application because of one silly C. I received a C in a study abroad foreign language class last summer as a junior and in submitting my transcripts to various jobs, no one asked me about the grade at all (and I have received several job/fellowship offers).</p>