<p>So I think my GPA for this semester is 2.8, which, well compared to anything else I've received, is pretty dismal. I blame the grade on Chem 23L and math 103</p>
<p>anyways, does it get easier from here? how am i doing in comparison to other first semesters? </p>
<p>I'm afraid that this GPA will negatively affect my GPAs for upcoming years... do companies even look at first semester GPA when interviewing/hiring?</p>
<p>thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Just try harder next semester. 2.8 seems bad but it isn’t going to kill you. (you wouldn’t want it for your overall GPA but for one semester it is recoverable from) As for whether it will get better that depends on what classes you take. (for example: if you are an engineer it really won’t get better but maybe you will get better)</p>
<p>I could also be that you just got unlucky in your class picks (like the class wasn’t a good fit for you) and you were adjusting to like at Duke. (though I would still double my efforts next semester if I were you)</p>
<p>Oh and while people will still look at freshman grades if you show improvement in subsequent semester people might be persuaded to write it off as adjustment pains and not take it too much into account.</p>
<p>So a 2.8 is between a B- and a B. You did not fail a class. You are not on academic probation.</p>
<p>Yes, it is probably lower than what you earned in high school. Just remember that freshman year is a transition year. Like SirGecko said you proably picked classes that were not a good fit for you.</p>
<p>You can consult with the Academic Skills Center. They might have some advice. You can complete the intake forms over the winter break and make an appointment as soon as they are open. Here is the website:</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Skills Instructional Program](<a href=“http://aaswebsv.aas.duke.edu/skills/ASIPwebsite/asiphome.html]Academic”>http://aaswebsv.aas.duke.edu/skills/ASIPwebsite/asiphome.html)</p>
<p>Remember - college is not high school. What worked for you in high school may not work for you now.</p>
<p>In addition to classes you now have to do your laundry, make certain you eat and all those other day to day aspect of living that perhaps your mom, dad, brother or sister nagged you about.</p>
<p>You don’t have the support system you had while you lived at home - even if your family members were bothersome at times - they were there for you. Good luck!</p>
<p>welcome to the club.
taking easier classes is not the solution. what worked for me:
Time management, learning how to study, taking classes I actually liked instead of the ones I thought I “should” take (note: these were not easier classes. just classes I was more interested in).</p>
<p>Take a trip to the Academic Advising Center on East. Ask for Donna. She will whip your time management and scheduling into shape, and if you really care, you will drastically reduce the time you spend doing jack**** and procrastinating with her help.</p>
<p>My son who is a junior at Duke changed his lifestyle after freshman year in these ways, dropped a class he was very shaky in after he was sick (one time privilege and cost us the entire price of the class ouch) when he realized high school and college are not the same…you can no longer just “do your homework” and expect to upload information with enough sophistication to survive a bell curve in a class with classmates drawn from the top academic college pool in the USA:</p>
<p>lights out by 1am at the latest Sunday through Thursday</p>
<p>always take one class that you just love and enjoy when faced with difficult classes you must master, preferably at least one small class to counteract semesters that feel grim with large classes only</p>
<p>always get to know your teacher…even if you are not the class superstar..Duke teachers are pretty approachable and enjoyable, he has rave reviews for teacher who barely notice him…and some who are friends.</p>
<p>wears noise canceling headphones when studying in the dorm</p>
<p>eats big protein/full breakfast by 8:30 daily, takes time for three squares a day with friends to cheer himself up</p>
<p>No more eating and ordering in food after 10 pm which encouraged him to stay up till 3, sleep late, lose every morning for studying, end up tired at night but not having studied well ever</p>
<p>Body clock “reset” so that he treated studying like a 9 to 5 job</p>
<p>Only sleeps in one day a week</p>
<p>Enjoy a guilt free Friday night and blowing Saturday</p>
<p>Gave up believing he could “make up” for blowing a test on the next one, which proved to be more fantasy than reality…studied for all tests as if they were midterms or final exams..</p>
<p>Joined study groups with people trying to make Bs and As and showed up for them..you can learn from excellent peers</p>
<p>Paid friend who was a math whiz to tutor him</p>
<p>Never missed a lecture, which apparantly is rare, but learned he could not “teach it to himself” if he missed lectures..he is very auditory (OK>>there are classmates smart enough to skip class, and everyone knows who they are, he is not on the savant short list)</p>
<p>Outlined lecture notes every afternoon instead of just before exams (just like the Academic Skills classes instruct) Websites are full of good study skills..Dartmouth has a very good one on their site</p>
<p>Now he accepts his grades with grace as his “best effort” because they are indeed his best effort. An A average is a goal but even if not achieved he did not avoid hard classes and feels his GPA is fair. One thing I really like about my son..is that he is not jealous of kids who are smarter than he is, and he truly admires his classmates who ace organic and can compete on math teams..he loves being around talented people. He can make As in areas where he has more talent. It is important at a school like Duke to make peace with the talent around you and to remind yourself you chose to attend a school where everyone has something special to offer and everyone can do the basics well.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to consider FOCUS, a semester abroad or truly taking on a foreign language while you are at Duke. Three things I mention that generally offer small group studying, and intimacy with teachers and a new social circle that adds to your life at Duke. </p>
<p>Be strong. You have the ability to get the most out of Duke and you were selected by admissions for a few good reasons. Truly advise you to take advantage of the study skills offered in Academic advising and to remind yourself that tons of successful people had at least one dud semester re grades…you did OK and were busy on many fronts adjusting on other levels..use second semester to hone your study skills
all best and hope Duke is as magnificent for you as it has been for our son.</p>
<p>ps..cliche but exercise was a boost to our son’s academic performance..he let that slip freshman year for a while…now it is routine with friends…nothing major..he is no varsity college athlete…but a happy routine with friends…and we can literally see he is in tougher mental shape as well.</p>
<p>ha…then you have people like me on the opposite side of the spectrum who go to sleep at like 3-4 am all the time, wake up past noon, cram before tests, etc. I never really adjusted towards having good study habits…I guess it never mattered since I’m almost done with my major. </p>
<p>I’m an Econ major which I think is pretty easy in general since you get a bunch of electives. I took an Econ or two a semester and took 2 easy classes along with them to fill my other reqs.</p>
<p>The underground study drug market (like any top school/Ivy) is also somewhere to turn…there was a story in the Chronicle about the adderall and ritalin usage during midterms and finals.</p>
<p>“Gave up believing he could “make up” for blowing a test on the next one, which proved to be more fantasy than reality…studied for all tests as if they were midterms or final exams..”</p>
<p>“Outlined lecture notes every afternoon instead of just before exams (just like the Academic Skills classes instruct) Websites are full of good study skills..Dartmouth has a very good one on their site”</p>
<p>After five semesters at Duke, the advice Faline2 just gave is, in my opinion, some of the most useful advice I’ve seen posted on this board. Particularly those two which I think are fantastic! </p>
<p>Here are my thoughts. I went through the same thing. My first YEAR at Duke I had 3.0 first semeters and a 2.8, 2.9 after the second. I think I got 1 A- in Spanish 63 and the rest B’s and C’s. Yes, ok, I had problems adjusting to school. But I realized there were two things that were going wrong when my “adjusting” problem carried well into second semester when I had found a great group of friends. </p>
<p>1) I “studied” with the computer in front of me. I think we all have days when we do this. And while it worked when studying for my Bio 48 Genetics and Society exam, it didn’t work for Math 103. </p>
<p>2) I waited until the last minute to do everything. Chem test tomorrow? “Crap…I’m 2 chapters behind…” Paper due tomorrow? I hadn’t even started it. </p>
<p>3) I thought I was being “college-y” if I stayed up all night doing everything. It was like being tired was a battle scar and meant I was working really really hard. I thought my papers would be way better if I worked on them until 5 am.</p>
<p>4) My classes (Math 103, Bio 25, and classes I took later on such as Physics 53 and 54, Physical Chemistry) were not making me happy. They were miserable and I hated doing work.</p>
<p>Now as a junior, I feel as though I’ve found my niche at school, and my grades/study habits have changed tremendously. And, I guess for the sake of organization, here’s what I changed and what I attribute to my greater success.</p>
<p>1) Go places to study. I personally hate the library…too high stress…so I LIVE at Bella Union. One of my best friends lives at Alpine Atrium. Find your place.</p>
<p>2) Don’t ever procrastinate. There are no excuses for it, and you’ll find that once you stop life will be better. I read reading for classes days before…not three days before the test. I start papers well before they’re due so I have time to let it sit for a day before revising. and have it done atleast 2 days before it’s due. Work on each class EVERYDAY. Study a little and review past concepts everyday…even if it’s just skimming. This makes studying for tests much more doable, and you retain the information so much better. AND you don’t have to pour over material for hours and hours the day before. When I have a test I study, say, 2 hours a day for an entire week before and that generally gets me by. I mean, I did this for finals, and for the most part it works well (with the exception of, say, Physical Chemistry which I was bad at from the beginning). </p>
<p>3) Yeah, no, you don’t need to stay up all night to do good, quality work. I stop work at 10pm every night and am in bed by 11. (I have all 8:30 classes so I’m up at 7am everyday, fyi, so my sleeping schedule is probably different than the average college student) I think the fact that I give my mind time to calm down every night and do something like watch TV or sit on AIM for an hour is great…it really helps keep me motivated and ready to do work. Plus getting 8 hours a sleep a night is crucial. I was in PChem, Physics 54, and 2 Art History classes with a ton of reading, and still got 8 hours of sleep every night but two this semester. And I did just fine in those classes. #2 and this kind of go hand in hand.</p>
<p>4) TAKE CLASSES YOU LOVE, if possible. I understand if you’re a pre-med bio major, but despise Chem and Physics, you have to suck it up and do it if bio is what you’re truly passionate about. But for me, I was a chem major and hated every single one of my science classes, plus I was horribly bad at all of them. BUT there was Art History which I still, to this day, can’t get enough of. I LOVE going to class and I LOVE to listen in class and engage myself in the material for an hour and a half straight because it’s that interesting to me. I LOVE doing the reading and I’ve actually found that I can be interested in writing papers. A final paper I wrote this semester was the first paper I actually sat and revised until I wanted to die, just questioning everything I had written because I wanted it to be perfect. I NEVER had that level of engagement in a science class at all (although I know many people who have), and I guess that’s how I know that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. And when you’re happier and like you’re schoolwork you do it and do a good job. Professors see that and you get A’s. While yes, this is an extreme case because I’m a little obsessed with ARH, and yes, ARH is an easier major than Chemistry so naturally one would likely get better grades, I think this is an important point because, to paraphrase the great Andy Warhol, you have to be smart about what you’re smart about or you’ll end up depressed. </p>
<p>Those are just my thoughts. There are people like thethoughtprocess who gets by with habits like that, but if thats what you’ve been doing all along, you may want to reevaluate. All in all I think what my post is getting at, is that you have to try ways of studying, learning, and LIVING to find what works for you. Evaluate what you’re doing, and you’ll find ways to do well and get A’s (although a 2.8 is between a B and B-, like many have said, so you’re, in all reality, doing decent even if it’s not what you’re used to). Duke let you in for a reason.</p>
<p>(and please, don’t turn to the “underground study drug market.” It makes me really sad that people think they have to use that stuff. Someone on juicy campus said it should be against the honor code and I think that was the only good thing that has come off of there.)</p>
<p>I think companies will more so look at your overall GPA and won’t care much about first semester. Especially if you had no study habits in high school, it can be very hard to adjust from high school to college. My advice would be (well, I’m a first semester freshman in a similar situation, didn’t like chemistry the first time around, now I like it less) to try to figure out what study habits work for you and take classes you enjoy.</p>
<p>
I plan to give up on this too, I did that for my math/science classes this semester (one which I already had AP credit for!). The first set wasn’t so great, the second set was a little better, math went up to a decent grade (but still.. could have done better and most people I know in 32 already rocked BC in high school anwyay..) but chemistry went down again after people started withdrawing from the class/dropping to Chem23.</p>
<p>I really had problems adjusting to a sleep schedule. I would usually go to bed around 3, miss my 8:30 class and then wake up at 9:30 to make it in time for my 10:05 class (on east). I think this really screwed me up because I’d always miss my 8:30 class. It’s so hard though for me to sleep before then, just because there are so many people in the dorms running around and it’s quite distracting. Also, my roommates go to bed at like 3 and 4 so right when i’ve fallen asleep, they’ll come in and wake me up. </p>
<p>has anyone tried noise-canceling headphones? how do they work?</p>
<p>Twinkletoes: noise-canceling headphones usually work in one of two ways: active or passive</p>
<p>1) Active: it samples the environmental noise around you and generates a white noise in the background to cancel out the outside noise. Think of when you plug headphones into a computer but aren’t acutally playing any music. You can sort of hear that white noise. Headphones like Bose does that except ten times better. </p>
<p>2) Passive: this kind is purely physical, meaning you jam the headphones (usually canalphones) into your ear canal, achieve a vacuum seal, and block out the noise. </p>
<p>Having tried both (and owning a few pairs of canalphones myself), the first definitely works better, but the second isn’t far behind, and you can get a nice pair of canalphones from Sony for around $40. Of course, if you don’t like having something jammed into your ear canal, then you might need those Bose-type over the ear headphones.</p>
<p>As for the study habits from above, I definitely agree on most of them. Except I never put them into practice, simply because my dorm is too loud at 11pm and I can barely get all my work done on time, never mind reading ahead and outlining notes. I usually just read the book before the homework assignment then do the assignment while applying the concepts in the book that I’d just read. Come test time, I skim the book, flip the pages, remember what I read, then get a good night’s sleep. The downside to this is that I meticulously read the book and make sure I got everything down (since I’m usually bad at paying attention in class) and that takes a long time.</p>
<p>you kids really are in the hyper over-information age with way too many temptations socially. I don’t think I would have passed my first semester at Duke because I am very social, always want to find out what the people in the hall were talking about, started studying when others fell asleep, and would be IMing and texting and emailing at the same time I was trying to learn very difficult material if I was your age. Life was duller in the 70s and people did actually sleep more. People wrote postal letters and got on the phone once a week! </p>
<p>Unless you are a savant, you have to get scared straight into NOT staying up till 3am. Lack of sleep in college in the USA is an epidemic now and believe me when I say it decreases your ability to upload material and use your time strategically. Duke is also a very social campus and a fun atmosphere, yet the work requires a grind mentality at least for 40 hours a week. For the investment you have in Duke and the outcome you are seeking…you MUST look at Duke as if it is a 9-5 job, and defy the odds. I impressed on our son how many people in the world are already tied to paychecks and time clocks (we forget how many people would love this opportunity). Higher education at this level is a privilege and should be a joy. By the way, twinkletoes, the classes you struggled in are VERY hard and your peers are very smart. You did OK. But you must find a roommate who will let you sleep sophomore year if at all possible. My son blew his sleep patterns entirely at Duke freshman year, but you learn from errors. He did luck out and had a great roommate who was a health nut with good routines. I realize that is a rare occurence and was just blind luck. </p>
<p>Our son is hugely auditory and uses Bose headphones. A wise investment considering your every class costs 5000 dollars, folks.</p>