After completing my senior year of high school with a 4.5 gpa I went into college pretty confident. I am now done with my first semester of college and I received 2 A’s and 3 B’s which left me with a 3.2 gpa and major anxiety. I am a political science student on a pre-pharmacy track and its crucial that I keep my gpa high to get into a good pharm.d program. Basically I am just really concerned and scared for the future because if I wasn’t able to get a 4.0 my first semester with my easiest course load then what’s going to happen to me when I start taking higher level classes. Also how damaging is this going to be going forward or it wont matter at all if I improve in the future.
I am getting A’s and mostly B’s on my exams so idk why its has become so difficult for me to get the GPA that I want in college.
Dude. Relax. First semester is always a challenge. I failed my first college exam. I thought I was so cool. Struggled my first semester – typical home sick, school didn’t fit, wanted to transfer, etc. Pulled straight A’s second semester. The following semesters where solid. First semester is always an adjustment. It’s all downhill from here.
As above. You have now made the college adjustment and can adjust your study habits as well. Many good students did not have to study that much in HS while college requires a lot more. The rule of thumb has been 2 hours of homework/study time per week for each credit hour. Sometimes much more and sometimes less time is required to do the work/master the material. There is a reason most of your time is spent outside of class.
Relax and enjoy your winter break. Recharge and be ready for a whole new set of classes. You do not expect your gpa to be as high in college (even without the weighting you were used to).
Congratulations. You got through your first semester of college with an above average GPA even though you took 5 courses… at many schools, that’s a lot. You now know what it takes to excel in college – and are likely to do even better next semester.
I absolutely agree with the other posters. Give yourself a break! College is a huge adjustment.
Clearly you have a good work ethic. You’re going to be just fine.
At many schools, students are encouraged to take no more than three courses their first semester. Five sounds like a lot to me. Either way, your GPA is very good for the first semester. Relax and enjoy the break.
You need to assess what you are doing wrong and how you can improve in your study, test taking and personal habits. Your school may have tips or counselors who can help you to develop efficient study methods, and to learn when to seek help, and most importantly how to juggle competing demands for your time.