<p>there are lots of reasons....more often its the not doing the work, however, some kids try and they get Cs, which is Passing....</p>
<p>My D goes to a college that is known for tough grading....you gotta EARN that B....so a C isn't seen as failure at all, nor should it be</p>
<p>Just wanted to say that I got almost that exact same GPA my first semester of college largely as a result of poor study habits, low motivation and spending a lot of time online. I continued onto second semester with courses in my major but as it turned out it wasn't the right major for me and didn't improve my motivation. I tried tutoring and counseling services but both didn't help me actually want to do any work. I'm taking a year at the moment which is helping in terms of work experience, maturity and increasing my want to go to college especially now that I think I've found what I want to do. I do regret not taking a leave of absence prior to the second semester so I would encourage your daughter to evaluate if taking some time off would be right for her. From working to doing any kind of program that she wants to do, something different from the usual study/write papers routine of school may help.</p>
<p>My D would have had this GPA if her school had not allowed her to drop the course in Ancient Greek she was flunking. She had only three classes then and earned a very respectable GPA and has done fine.</p>
<p>It's easy to end up with a low GPA if the courses are difficult and all test based, such as lab science or a math class somewhat above her ability.</p>
<p>I would steer her into more paper based classes until she gets her bearings, unless I'm wrong and that's where the problem lay.</p>
<p>Panicking is not good, although attending to the issues at hand is.</p>
<p>My son ended up with a 1.1 first semester after consistently getting mostly As in high school. I did not talk to the school (as I think that is up to him) but I did talk to him about what might be wrong. It was many things, partying, difficulties adjusting, lack of interest in his classes. He said he didn't care, but thing is when kids say this they often really do care and are just afraid to admit it, and though the reasons may be obvious to you, sometimes they're not obvious to them. In my son's case I figured if he got his confidence back with some success next semester he would do better in the long run. So I encouraged him to not worry about requirements or the future and just take things that interested him and to try to get a light course load. I also said if you are failing something just withdraw. He did much better second semester and that made him very happy (even though he had said he didn't care). Since then not always smooth sailing, but he's back on track (even with having to withdraw from a class now and then). And his school lets kids retake failed freshmen courses and that has helped his GPA.</p>
<p>My son did fine - not great not bad but fine and good enough not to jepardize merit $ - but he definitely put his rear on the line by taking an "extra" class and a lab based class so he carried almost the maximum load allowed. He eased up abit for this semester taking a more reasonable "normal" load of classes including an art class (to fulfill a requirement) into the mix. I think it's very easy to get in over your head freshman fall especially if you have a child that never had a tough time in High School and just naturally gravitated toward the more difficult classes in high school. My son let slip that the hardest thing for him was not necessarily the classes but balancing the classes, the social life and how many hours he worked. A very good lesson indeed and for some kids a lesson they might not learn quite so quickly. I would advise the OP also to try to discern what the cause or causes of the low grades might be and also to really talk about what the course load and classes are for the next quarter or semester. Like many here have guessed - I'd guess a combination of not balancing the social and class perhaps coupled wtih a too rigorous class selection. My son tested out of some of the basic math and english classes and I'm not convinced that this concept (AP in place of college work) is necessarily a good thing for all kids.</p>
<p>My son did not do as well as he should have. He acknowledges that it was not that the classes were difficult. In 2 of the classes it was a matter of him not waking up. For one of them which was a difficult class under any circumstance for him he missed lectures that would have delivered the material to him in another form. He has LD and listening is another form of input for him. He ended up with a C and he is grateful for that.
What really hurt though was a class that was easy for him. A class where his exam grades were A's. The professor had an attendance requirement. Son missed so many classes that it had a huge effect on his final grade. It was a real eye opener. One benefit of a small school the professor knows if your there or not.
He has a scholarship requirement. He already had figured out what he needs to get to keep his scholarship. He knows he won't be returning next fall if he doesn't keep the scholarship.
He did make a point of trying to not have 8 am classes each day. He has never been an early riser.</p>
<p>People are going to hate me, but some "lower tier" schools are harder than top ones. Let me explain: I had two kids in top ten schools, where the default grade seemed to be a B+, but most people got As, so the the top kids were competing for awards etc. by the thousandth of a point, just like high school - you know the drill: 3.981, 3.975, etc.</p>
<p>3K (Third kid) is in a difficult program in a lower ranked school that doesn't hesitate for a second to grade on a regular bell shaped curve, and gives out Fs and Ds in every class, with a tiny sprinkling of As. In this program, to be able to go abroad the minimum GPA is 2.8! The same is true in the regular classes - non-honors classes etc. Of the profs that show the class grades at the end, the big lump is in the C's and B- arena, with fewer B's or B+'s and D's, and fewer As and Fs.</p>
<p>3K has a perfect attendance record, all work is in on time, has no time no party (yes, I've checked Facebook, My Space, etc. and have seen all grades and papers etc) - but despite being in the top 10% of a blue-ribbon school, took many APs, etc, has a B- average and we are happy for it! If 3K gets out with a 2.5 from this place, we'll be ecstatic!</p>
<p>Just wanted to pop in to say welcome back, Voronwe...I've truly missed your insights and are glad to see you here again.</p>
<p>Now back to the discussion on hand...</p>
<p>voronwe -- please let me know the name of this school with abusive grading policies so that I can make sure to advise my DD to avoid it in three years! You can pm me if you prefer.</p>
<p>DunninLA - no school names will be forthcoming, but to be honest, I think the top ten schools I referred to that give mostly A's (top ten in the USNWR) are the abusive ones! I used to teach college, and "C" meant "satisfactory" - you did what you were required to do. "B" was above average, and "A" was excellent. In fact, at my Ivy grad school, the department's highest grade (Honors) was for near-publishable work. The standard grade was "Pass," and you got a "High Pass" for above average work. High schools can be just as bad - how about those classes where there is a "rubric" of how many points you earn for doing this or that ("if you list four references, you get 15 points") so that an A comes from accumulating points, not from the judgment of the teacher that you did outstanding work above and beyond what was required.</p>
<p>Below average work deserves a below average grade (and C is average), not the "shame" of getting a B+ (the horror!) for tenth-rate work. I admire the schools with REALISTIC grading.</p>
<p>But I do admit that grade inflation is not going away any time soon!</p>
<p>Mezzomom - thanks! I see we both joined in August of 2004. Hi to you too!</p>
<p>Voronwe--my S is at a top ten school, or close to it, and I can attest that they do in fact give grades under B, sometimes quite a bit under.....:(</p>
<p>But I do I agree that the farther down the college food chain you go, the more likely that GPA's in the 1's and 2's exist. I'm sure that the average GPA in the "fourth tier" private I work at is well under 3.</p>
<p>Garland and Voronwe, your posts are heartening, my S choose a lower ranked small school that had a very strong program in his area of interest that just happened miraculously to be located in a place he wanted to be and he came through his freshman fall I thought quite well. If that school grades on a curve, then he's right about where he should be (as opposed to where he could be but that's my boy). Every once in a while he'd make a comment that the students weren't very intellectual so I shipped him a box of Thomas Pynchon books to mess with him, but he's likes most of the few profs he's met, likes the school, likes the friends he's made, likes the program and quite happily returned after the holidays. My apologies for straying off the topic thread. Having done the rigorous college thing,myself, I worried abit about grade inflation at a lower tier school so both your comments are sustaining.</p>
<p>D is at a non-elite but well respected southern LAC. Grade inflation does NOT exist at this school. Parents are warned of that fact at orientation. D's friend goes to a flagship state U & also has found no grade inflation (she worked SO HARD for a C in Organ last semester). Other friends at various colleges are getting A's and partying the whole time. It really does vary from school to school. My own college used the bell-shaped curve. Plenty of my classmates were able to attend ivy league grad schools despite their non-stellar grades. The grad schools knew our school well & understood that students were very well prepared. </p>
<p>If the student must keep a certain gpa to keep a scholarship, grades are a real concern. If the student wants to go to a grad school or professional program where grades are a big deal, then that is a concern ... but I also suspect that many (no, not all) of these schools/programs are familiar with the grading norms at the undergrad colleges. If "no one" can get in with less than a 3.8, why would the published cutoff be 3.0?</p>
<p>Our son struggled some with mental illness in high school. Still he managed to get excellent grades and we thought he had progressed well enough to move on to college. Unfortunately, without the structure and close monitoring and assistance he got living at home, he totally fell apart once he reached college and we brought him back home in less than 2 months there. He was a total mess when we picked him up. We spent the remainder of the semester getting him straitened out and started him at the local community college the next semester. He did great there, getting his associates degree with a very high GPA. He is now a junior at an LAC right here in town (living at home) and he really loves it there. Got great grades during his first semester there and getting involved in organizations there that really interest him. He still has occasional bouts with his mental illness, for instance a few weeks last summer ultimately resulting in a change in his medications, but we are there to catch it quickly and make sure he gets the right help. We kind of worry about how he will be able to handle and keep a real job after college, especially if it takes him away from home. He has done reasonably well at part time jobs he held while in high school and community college (only fired from one, but the last one really loved him there), but again that is with lots of parental oversight. He may have to limit his career sights close to home, and I'm afraid may be living with us for quite some time. But we will worry about that when the time comes. In the mean time, one day at a time.</p>
<p>Moondogguy, I feel for you. My brother suffers from mental illness, and his life has been a continuous struggle. I commend you for all you are doing to help your son cope with life. The time may come when he has to do it on his own, and it may or may not work out well. I will not blow sunshine up your a** and tell you that everything is sure to work out. There are no guarantees ... but then, there are no guarantees even if your kid doesn't suffer from a mental illness. However, in doing all you are doing, you are setting him up for the best possible outcome. I do hope that you are doing things for yourself, too, such as therapy or groups (families dealing with similar issues). I am sending you positive, hopeful vibes! :)</p>