<p>I know its my first semester, but I was wondering how long it will take to recoup from a say 2.5-2.8 to a 3.5+. I guess my study skills aren't the best. Any tips on how to study?</p>
<p>Excel is your friend for that kind of thing.</p>
<p>Assuming the same number of credits per semester, a 4.0 for 2 semesters will bring a single-semester 2.5 to a 3.5. A 3.75 for 4 semesters will bring a single-semester 2.5 to a 3.5. You’d need 5 3.7 semesters, and 3.6 semesters will never get you there.</p>
<p>oh i see. Any advice or tips for studying?</p>
<p>Pretty basic, but I would recommend:</p>
<p>Find a study group.
Take advantage of your professors’ (and TAs’) office hours - camp out if you have to.
Get a tutor.</p>
<p>I had a rough start as an engineering student but wound up with a 3.8 GPA. So it can be done. You have to treat school like a job and work HARD. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, too.</p>
<p>Agree with other posters. </p>
<p>I would add an additional item. Stop “worrying” about your GPA. That’s not something you can directly control. Worrying about the future can be distracting. </p>
<p>Worry about learning the material for the classes that you are currently studying. Worry about the next problem set, the next exam, learn the material. Optimize the present. </p>
<p>Basically, the GPA is an output, not an input. You can only control the input - how effectively you study. Definitely work on your game, but apply it to the present. I had a rough start too. Eventually, I learned how to study effectively. </p>
<p>Don’t go into a lecture cold without having pre-read the material. Take lecture notes on scrap paper and later carefully copy them into your notebook so that you can read it. That process will force you to focus on the most important concepts and will cause you to formulate questions to ask at office hours or to your study group. Don’t divy up the problems in study group. Everybody should try every problem early and then get together to solidify your understanding. Different people will “get” different aspects of things. This leaves times to cement things at office hours.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In addition to this excellent advice, I’d also suggest taking a stab at the problems before lecture. You might find that the lecture helps you get past the sticking point, or makes more sense when applied to problems you’ve already wrestled with.</p>
<p>DD is an engineering senior; she says they weed out the dedicated students in the first year or two of coursework. It’s difficult but she said that there is always help available if you ask. </p>
<p>She went to a free tutoring center on her campus everyday because the tutors they picked had had the coursework and knew how to study. She said at the beginning of the semester, students weren’t there. By the end of the semester, there were no spaces to sit.</p>