<p>Hey all! I go to Frostburg State University in Maryland, and I'm a freshman. For my first semester, I got all A's, and B. It all came out to a 3.7. I feel kind of bad because that one class I got a B in was really easy and I screwed up one test and didn't remember it was on the day it was on and failed it, so my A dropped to a B. I was only able to bring it up to a high B after all the work I did and getting an 89% on my final. I feel bad because I could have gotten an A in the class, but i didn't because I was being a slacker and could have gotten a 4.0. I am trying to go to Johns Hopkins for med school, and I'm afraid that I won't get accepted now. I feel like college gets harder and that I will only have lower gpa's from now on :(. Is my gpa not good enough? Is it still possible to bring it to a 4.0? I know I probably sound ridiculous, but I feel bad because I was so close to getting a 4.0 my first semester but I didn't. </p>
<p>Once you lose a 4.0, you can never again have a 4.0. But if you get straight As for the rest of your classes, you could still have a 3.99. A B is not the end of the world. It happens to most of us. Very few students finish college with a 4.0 GPA. Many students that do not have 4.0s get into med school. That being said, having a high GPA is an important factor in med school admissions, so you definitely want to do as well as you can. </p>
<p>edit-You could possibly bring it back to a 4.0 by retaking that specific class for a higher grade, but that would be incredibly silly. Odds are, you will get at least another B at some point in your college career. </p>
<p>Don’t feel bad. It happens to a lot of people. Just look at it as a sort of lesson. You realized that you had to work harder to keep your A, and now you’ll know for future courses in future semesters.</p>
<p>If you do really well from now on, you can still bring your GPA up to a 3.9, which is an impressive GPA. It’s good that this happened early in your education because now you have a reason to work harder and do better. Take on the attitude of proving to yourself that you can still get As and that it’s not too late. Mind over matter!</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>A 3.7 is a respectable GPA - especially considering that the reason it isn’t a 4.0 is simply because of a scheduling mishap. You would have gotten an A had you known the date the test was on - a problem that could easily be remedied by better organization (i.e. a planner/agenda book). It wasn’t like it was something having to do with understanding the concepts in Biology I and now you’re going into Biology II - I think you’ll be fine. </p>
<p>If you don’t get into Johns Hopkins medical school, it won’t be because of this one B in your first year of college.</p>
<p>Don’t assume that you will naturally get lower grades just because it gets harder. Now that you know what college is like and you have better adjusted, you know what you need to do in order to get those higher grades. Many people have said they have found some of the upper level courses slightly easier because the lower level courses can be used to “weed out” non majors and it builds a strong foundation. Besides, don’t focus too much on one medical school at this point. Getting into a medical school should be a priority</p>
<p>@comfortablycurt wait a second. weigh in on how to regain a 4.0… i want some more details!</p>
<p>so you can get a 4.0 if you retake the class? please reply!</p>
<p>@lululemonxx
It depends on where you go. For example, my school will let you retake a class, but they still count both classes in your GPA. There’s no reason to retake an A- in any case.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather so you’re saying that some schools will just take the highest score into consideration?? interesting. i don’t know, an A-?.. be honest with me here. if you don’t go to an ivy league school, and you don’t get a 4.0. will companies like Goldman sachs or Google even consider you? Is a 3.9 that impressive? or not?</p>
<p>
Yes. Here is a random example, [url=<a href=“http://www.uc.edu/registrar/policies_and_procedures/grade_replacement.html]from[/url”>http://www.uc.edu/registrar/policies_and_procedures/grade_replacement.html]from[/url</a>] the University of Cincinnati:
Typically the old grade will still show up on your transcript somehow:
Again, this doesn’t hold everywhere and you’ll need to check your own school’s policy. </p>
<p>^^ You obviously haven’t been in college long enough to realize that getting a 4.0 isn’t an innate indicator of your success and your abilities. There and plenty of 3.9 people with work, club, and research experience that get the job over the 4.0 person who just studied and got perfect grades.</p>
<p>People keep telling you this, but you don’t seem to listen.</p>
<p>Yes, many schools will allow you to retake a class for a higher grade. However, retaking a class that you got a B in is silly. A 4.0 GPA is ultimately meaningless in the long run. If you got a B in it, you clearly have a grasp on the material. A student with a 3.6-3.7 GPA and research experience etc. will often get the job over the 4.0 student. You GPA is but one measure of how you have applied yourself in college. It certainly is an important one, but without retaking this class it is still possible that you could get a 3.99 GPA. There’s absolutely no point in retaking a class that you got a B in. It really doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>Be prepared - This probably will not be the last B you get in college. It happens. </p>