so, I have a gpa of 1.9 over the period of 3 semesters. I’m a computer science major. The only one to blame is myself as I have been lacking motivation to do things. I have the potential but when it comes to doing them, I tend to often give up. I developed laziness and I want to break out of the habit and I feel extremely guilty because my parents are disappointed but they support me. I was doing great in high school and thought I’d do just as good in college but I am wrong.I have been focusing on things that made me extremely happy (friends and events) and disregard my work that I had to do for my classes or attending classes. I want to develop studying habits but I don’t know where to start.
Is it possible for me to get on the right track on education and save my GPA? I have 58 credits, I need 64 more. Next semester I am enrolled for 15 credits. Is is possible for me to earn a 3.0 gpa in the time of 2 semesters?
I don’t see how you could. Just doing the math of 1.9 + 1.9 + 1.9 (three semesters of 1.9) + 4.0 + 4.0 (the highest possible gpa you could get) = 13.7. 13.7/5 = 2.74. This wouldn’t be exact based on varying amounts of credits, but I’m not seeing how the GPA could get all the way to a 3.0 after just two semesters. You could get there after four semesters of really strong grades though.
Can you retake a class and have the lower grade be dropped and replaced with the new grade? So let’s say you had a D in Calc II and you retake it and get a B+ then the 1.0 from that class gets replaced with a 3.33. I would look into this as the most likely way to boost your GPA. Not all schools allow it, but I know several that do. My son took two summer classes of classes that he did crappy in in the spring (F and C-) and his GPA went from 2.8 to 3.3 as he got an A in one and A- in the other with the re-takes. For his school the old grade just gets dropped from the GPA calculation. Keep in mind though that you’ll have to pay for the class, and many schools limit how many classes you can re-take. So it can be pricy, as well as not done for all your low grade classes. If you go for this option think about the classes that you did the worst in and know for sure that you could get at least an A- with the re-take. Search for “grade forgiveness” or “course retake” for your school to see what their policy is.
It’s good to hear that you are realizing your habits need to change and that you are in control of your grades improving. Good luck to you.
3 semesters would be like 45 credits…where did the other 13 credits come from?
You couldn’t do it in 2 semesters, but you have 60 credits left which would b 4 semesters.
1.9 + 1.9 + 1.9 +4.0 + 4.0 + 4.0 +4.0? (3 semesters of 1.9 plus 4 more of 4.0 ) /7=3.1?
Tips: 1) GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
Go to Professor’s office hours (office hours are times a professor sets aside to meet with students…the actual hours should be in the syllabus) early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.