<p>I just finished my first semester of graduate school in engineering. I finished the semester with a horrible gpa of 2.5 (my undergrad gpa was a 3.7). I got a C in one class and a B in another....I know that's a failure in graduate school. I'm a good student but for some reason, I was unable to completely focus last semester mainly due to the fact that I also work. However, I choked on all my midterms despite the fact that I studied hard and understand the material. </p>
<p>I'm totally devastated..I feel like a failure and this has just brought about a lot of self-doubt. I'm just so disappointed because this is the worst grade that I have ever received in my entire life...I don't get Cs. I know that I have noone to blame but my self</p>
<p>I'm doing my Masters and after the results of this past semester I'm hoping that I do not get kicked out.</p>
<p>I am writing to ask for advice particularly if anyone has been in my situation or knows about my situation.</p>
<p>You’re not likely to get kicked out after only one semester with a 2.5, but you’ll definitely have to bring it up by next semester.</p>
<p>I would definitely talk with your advisor about ways to improve your performance. You may also have to consider changing your work/academic balance. Maybe cut back on your hours to leave more time to focus on your studies and research?</p>
<p>Graduate school courses can be killers because of their more demanding nature. If you are working/doing research, it makes finding the time for studying much more difficult than it was in undergraduate. And if you’re returning to school after some time off, it can be a tough readjustment. Don’t let the people here who say “getting a 4.0 is easy” in graduate school fool you. It depends on the program and the field. </p>
<p>That said, you need to identify why you are struggling now, so you can fix it before it’s too late. Is it because you didn’t have enough time to study properly? Try to arrange your schedule so you have more time. Is it because you were distracted/not mentally focused? Find routines and methods that minimize distractions. For example, you may have to study in a library instead of in your apartment. Does your job take too much time away from your studies? If so, one of the two must go down to part-time. Did your undergraduate institution not prepare you well enough? In this case, you’re going to have to do a lot of additional work to teach yourself material to fill the gaps in your knowledge. (BTW, this is common among graduate students – researching what a certain process is or reading independently about a particular topic.) Because graduate school is so different from undergraduate, you may not have realized how much work you have to do on your own. </p>
<p>Once you have honestly identified the root of your problem, you can tackle it.</p>
<p>You may have to repeat the C course at a later date, but you can’t worry about that now. Concentrate instead on preparing yourself mentally and academically for next semester. You know what courses you will be taking, so start reading up on the material. Find ways to bolster your confidence over the next few weeks. You don’t want to start a new semester already believing that you’ll fail.</p>
<p>Good luck! You aren’t the only student in this position.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the advice. I was an independent student during undergrad and studied most of the material on my own. I know what the problem is…it’s my time management. I just felt horrible because I happen to be a minority and a female…and I can’t help but feel that my professors just think that I got in because of my minority status.
I’ll definitely work harder now. </p>
<p>You’ll have to get over that. If you had a 3.7 undergrad GPA you should be plenty qualified to get in to your grad school. Besides, I don’t think I’ve met many (if any) professors that differentiate their students based on sex/ethnicity.</p>