<p>I'm a second semester freshman at a top 25. My first semester went relatively well (3.64 GPA with 2 major weedout classes in the schedule), but 2nd semester has gone terribly due to a combination of more extracurricular involvement, burnout/depression, and tougher courseload, and I'm looking at a 3.0 to 3.1 for the semester (fewer hours but tougher classes) and therefore 3.3-3.4 for the year. I still attend classes, do homework, etc. but it feels like I'm mostly going through the motions and not absorbing the material as much as last semester, and I have been consistently more tired and feeling more overworked despite taking fewer credit hours.</p>
<p>Theoretically, I can recover, but it will be extremely difficult. What would be some good advice to ensure that this kind of embarrassing experience does not repeat itself? I would like to be competitive for graduate/professional schools down the road.</p>
<p>First remember THIS IS NORMAL. Most students go through a drop like this at some point. </p>
<p>Second, this will not overly mess up grad school admissions. GRE and other factors often weigh heavier for grad school admissions than does GPA. Most people can get a good GPA, and most people in college will have some sort of major life issue–family drama, personal issues, etc–that arise, and most colleges know this. </p>
<p>Third, as for fixing it, you need to truly figure out what the problem is. Maybe for a semester you need to go down to twelve credits, take a fun class, and drop an extra activitiy that you can pick up later. Ultimately what helps me is creating some sort of goal that I need to work to. My freshman year it was applying to the perfect competitive internship (that I did not get acepted to, but it kep me driven). Goals that you look forward to achieving our of joy and not guilt to get good grades are what generally keep you driven. You need to remember why your their and imagine the life you’ll live once it’s over and you’ve worked hard. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if it is normal- the average freshman in most selective colleges still manages to keep their GPA well above the 3.0 mark (3.26 is the mean), and I’ll only be slightly above 3.0 for the semester. The median is higher than the mean in most cases as well, meaning that most freshmen do NOT have semesters even close to the 3.0 mark but rather far above.</p>
<p>Granted, this would be lower in STEM courses, but still that’s no excuse- I should have not gone overboard with STEM courses this semester and should have taken care of myself better early on. I may have learned valuable lessons from this, but it is by no means “normal” that a 0.6 drop in GPA across semesters happen. More typical is a rise from 1st to 2nd. </p>
<p>I would also have to dig out from this- my cumulative will get dropped 0.2-0.3 from this to around 3.4, which is above freshman average but far below what I’d like. Next semester should bring it back up though- hopefully to >3.5. I am severely disappointed with this, mostly because it was preventable, because I know I’m capable of doing better, and because this puts a severe dent into my future options (I wanted to keep the GPA up to par w/med school standards in case I apply, and if I don’t it would be enough for grad schools).</p>
<p>However, it feels like I may have gotten intangible benefits from this- namely, how to deal with setbacks/failures, how to not overextend myself, and how mindset and mental health matters in high-pressure situations.</p>