<p>Hi Everyone,</p>
<p>I'm just a little discouraged, looking for some advice I guess. I transferred into Cornell, and my first semester here I made around a 2.8. It shook me up and so I tried a lot harder second semester, and I really am studying a lot harder, etc. So far I have:</p>
<p>2 credit lab: B+
2 credit class: A
2 credit Lab: A-
3 credit class: B</p>
<p>Then I had one class where I was REALLY working hard, and thought I might make an A, but suddenly hit a rough patch and dropped to a B-. And then another I'm worried about but our only grade so far has been a big test we haven't received a grade on yet...and I studied hard, but feel like I did badly on the test, so I'm guessing probably a C, and perhaps I can bring it up to a B- by the end of the semester. Total being:</p>
<p>2 credit lab: B+
2 credit class: A
2 credit Lab: A-
3 credit class: B
3 credit class: B-
3 credit class: B-</p>
<p>GPA: 3.14</p>
<p>Cumulative:2.9</p>
<p>It seems no matter how hard I work I can't seem to do any better at Cornell, and next year I'll be a junior, and my classes will be most likely harder. Ugh..I'm getting really stressed out because I keep seeing me with a worthless degree because I'm unable to get into grad school or be hired with such a low GPA.</p>
<p>i tihnk you'll be hired.. but can't give you any "special" advice other than the general ones because we dont know you well enough. by your classes, it seems you are a science major?</p>
<p>anyway perhaps you might want to consider taking fewer classes if possible. if you reduce your class # to 5 it will help. and since you say you study a lot, and still do bad, you might be studying in a wrong way. try to figure that out and correct it. for example a lot of people read textbooks and notes but thats it. they dont try to connect teh topics to each other and understand truly how they work. you need to understand why/how something works and memorize the stuff that needs memorization such as names of things, people, etc. If you have trouble with the understanding, go see a TA, they are very helpful</p>
<p>I know if I did those 2 tihngs above and if i work hard, id have a good gpa too, but my brain is messed up and i can't memorize anything =(</p>
<p>and hort 102 seem like a A/A- class</p>
<p>OP, out of curiosity, what is your major?</p>
<p>haha, i bet its science !!! from the # of 2 credit classes there are... its rigged, science majors should jion together and protest!! 2 cr classes should be 4 when aem classes with half the work as a 2 cr science class is 4 credits!</p>
<p>When applying for a job, are you required to reveal your GPA to your interviewer?</p>
<p>if they ask for it.... which will prob be the case for the first few times. as you get old its experience + recommendation mostly</p>
<p>If you lie, how will they know?</p>
<p>You see, there's this thing called a transcript that Cornell keeps around.</p>
<p>it's pi day and you got a 3.14 GPA....why you complaining! :P</p>
<p>LOL so thats why he posted it today</p>
<p>^ Haha it all makes sense now!</p>
<p>Wow guys...thanks for 10 replies about pi day and crap, lol.</p>
<p>Anbu, I think I study alright, I'm not sure what it is. And yes, I'm a science major.</p>
<p>most science class grades are based mainly on tests which means that if your grades are low its cause your exam grades are low. if you study a lot and study alright, and exam grades are low then something is not right. you should go over your tests and see what kind of stuff you get wrong =</p>
<p>don't worry. There are plenty in the same boat. Just try changing the way you study like Anbu mentioned.</p>
<p>You should really be asking: am I learning a lot from my classes? </p>
<p>I seem to do really well throughout most of the semester, study and learn a lot, and then somehow blow the final. But clearly I am still getting a lot out of my classes, seeing as I'm putting in the work and I'm enjoying it. If this is the case for you, then I would not worry too much about your GPA, especially since it's in the 3.0 ballpark. (You could probably achieve it if you could work to get things to line up properly for you. )</p>
<p>If you are actually finding that you don't perform well because you are struggling with the material, then you probably have a problem with your approach to studying. You said that you did badly despite studying hard. Does studying hard mean you put in a lot of time and effort, or that you learned the material well enough that you felt you had a good grasp on it? If you think you know your stuff but just don't do well on the exams, it might be helpful to get help in test taking strategies. If you simply don't understand the material well enough, then you need to seek help from professors, TAs, office hours, tutors, consultants, etc.</p>
<p>For whatever it's worth, no interviewer ever asked me for my gpa after I graduated until I applied to grad schools.</p>
<p>I'm not in the hard sciences and had honors on my resume, so maybe that affected it. But I don't think they would have asked either way.</p>
<p>
[quote]
For whatever it's worth, no interviewer ever asked me for my gpa after I graduated until I applied to grad schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>But did they ask you for your transcript?</p>
<p>Thankfully, Cornell now includes median grades on the transcript, which means Bs in the hard science courses are going to start being a hell of a lot more respectable to the outside world.</p>
<p>Is this going to happen this year though? I heard that it was going to be postponed until all four classes have it for all four years...</p>
<p>The new policy of posted median grades on the transcript began for students who entered in the Fall of 2008.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But did they ask you for your transcript?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nope. I would have counted that as asking for gpa. </p>
<p>Not one interviewer ever asked for anything. So long as I had the degree, they had more important things to worry about.</p>