Freshman business major who took Freshman seminar, Political Science 495 (Crime in the Cape Fear), College Algebra, Advanced English, and Concepts in Film for 15 credits. Finished with a 3.33 GPA, only missing the Dean’s List because of a C+ in Film. Vast improvement over high school, but still working on that 3.5. I’ll be taking Econ 221, Data Analysis for Business, French 101, Psych 105, and PED for 14 credits. I’ll be working hard and going from strength to strength.
Outside of the classroom, I’ve made a lot of friends and captained my own intramural soccer team. Only went to the beach once, though, disappointingly. Probably won’t be able to go until March, either. I’ll be getting a part-time job on campus to help with money management. Overall, the adjustment to college was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I guess that’s when you know that a school is the perfect fit. I’ve been home for two weeks now, and I’m happy to be able to chill with my family for a whole month, but I can’t wait to go back to my second home again.
@bodangles Mathematics have always been a slow subject for me. Ever since third grade. It’s crazy. I will have to take Algebra I again next semester, although I could skip it until Fall 2016. I did not get a grade from that crazy professor yet. Hopefully it is a good grade. He did curse us out on the last day. He went on a rant.
Just finished the first semester of my senior year, but kind of a mixed bag. I was super busy with my E-board position of a massive student org (which has been pretty rewarding but a massive time suck). I was part of the winning team of a national case simulation for my major, and I landed a great full time position at an awesome company in a city I’ve always been interested in living in for after graduation this spring (huge relief to be done with the job hunt).
On the negative side my grades were not great (it really doesn’t matter at this point, but I am disappointed in myself) and despite having a job lined up I’m not really looking forward to graduating. I think it has more to do with the fact that my friends are all moving to different cities after graduation.
At least I still have one more semester to enjoy everything.
ETA: My school’s football team made the playoff, so I get at least one more meaningful game to watch, and if things go well I’ll be missing the first day of class next semester to cheer them on in sunny Phoenix
Pretty mediocre, I’m afraid. I spent too much time and energy at my job, leaving too little of myself for my schoolwork and driving my ADHD crazy. I ended up with a B in Urban Geography, a B+ in Land Use Planning, and an A- in Urban Transportation. Up until now I’ve had a 3.8 GPA (I’m a Junior), but I just shot that up, and I’m worried I may have completely blown any chance I had at getting to go to graduate school,
@Spaceship , with those grades and your previous GPA, wouldn’t that put you in 3.6 GPA range? With a 3.6 as a Junior, you still should have time to get it back up to 3.8 or higher, which (not knowing any other facts to the case) should look great for graduate studies. Or is my quick math off?
I wouldn’t sweat it too much. 3.6 GPA is really good, and you still have a chance to improve on that. I know what you’re going through with work and school at the same time. It’s often difficult to strike the right balance. Really though, only you can subjectively measure the acceptable trade-off of more work or more attention to academics. I suggest to take the opportunity to evaluate whether the marginal additional time at work has more value to you than the additional time devoted to academics. I do this every new semester. I get paid x an hour, so my trade-off for focusing more on academics (class time, studying, etc) is losing x dollars each hour I’m devoting to academics over work. I make a subjective determination that, at each additional hour I spend studying over working, the studying time is worth more to me (in the for form of higher grades, which results in a higher GPA - which can have future benefits) than the value (monetarily, professionally, etc) of working. Sometimes I literally write out the monies involved so I know exactly how much money (part of my value) I’m “losing” by choosing to devote each additional hour to school, and I can determine that way how many hours I should work and how many I should devote to school. Of course, I still probably work more than I should or need to and instead, then, make a trade-off between school and sleep!
I’m looking for a new job in a field I’m much better trained in right now. I’ve been doing retail (first time ever), but I have a long list of receptionist, administrative assistant, data entry clerk, and records management qualifications, and I live in San Francisco, where there’s a market for that. I can probably make more money with less stress by leaving retail and advertising that I know how to use things like Excel, Access, and Quickbooks.
Anyway, I’m really worried about grad school right now. I want a Masters of Urban Planning or equivalent, but I have three B’s on my transcript now, and that is a major strike against me even if I get my GPA back up. I’m wondering if there is any way to try and retake these classes or something.
Intro to chemistry 1: B
Intro to chemistry 2: B
Principles of Macroeconomics: C( 4 points away from getting a B)
CPR: A
Flim Appreciation: W
Principles of Programming: C
Ended the semester with a 2.88, not my best semester. Although I regret taking programming, lack of support. Not enough tutors. Next semester will be challenging.
Sucks to be right on the border between grades! Did you like macro despite that, @NASA2014? I think I remember you saying that you were considering econ as an backup major.
Sending good thoughts your way re: grad school, @Spaceship. I can’t imagine you’d have to retake a few B’s though. All A’s or bust sounds awfully stressful.
Ohhh, retail, well that explains everything. I’ve heard horror stories about working in retail. so I avoid it like the plague, but the effect it can have on your academic pursuits makes sense.
TBH, those are B’s in MUP-related courses, which isn’t ideal if you want to do graduate studies in that field, but it’s not the end of the world. Again, with the time to come back stronger in subsequent semesters, and even partake in other MUP-related activities (research, maybe, if you have the time between work and school), you can still be competitive graduate-level-wise unless you’re applying to a MUP program that requires a 3.8+ from all their applicants . . . You’re in SF: I’m pretty sure there are at least a couple CSUs or even UCs in the area that have a MUP program that don’t require a 4.0 in undergraduate studies. I get it: A’s are better than B’s as far as admissions and scholarships/financial aid goes, but that doesn’t mean that B’s will hold you back from your goals, unless you let them.
@bodangles I really enjoyed Marco, it taught me how to use my critical thinking skills! I’m going to take Mirco to finish off my social science for Penn State requirement! If anyone is whiling to rate my schedule for next semester. It really sucks that I can’t take late classes, since I commute from home. I live in Upstate NY, and my mom hates driving in the snow. So we usually leave at 2:00 or maximum at 3:00.
General Chemistry 1
Precalculus
Scientific literature ( It’s going to be a fun class!)
Principles of Mircoeconomics
