How "bad" is getting a D?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
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<p>I’m a sophomore at UCD, and throughout high school up until now, I have never gotten a D or F. I have not recieved my official grades for the quarter yet, but I’m almost positive I will get one A, one B, and a D. The D is in a required calc course (I’m a CS major.) If I do end up getting the D as I believe, I will repeat the course and definitely do better the next time.</p>

<p>I honestly feel pretty stupid about it. But considering that it’s my first fail/D, how “bad” is it, really, to get a single D and repeat it? Ie. how will this affect my job opportunities, scholarships, etc, assuming that it’s repeated, it never happens again, and my cumulative GPA is good in the long run. (I have a 3.45 right now, not including this quarter, but I always aim to keep at least 3.0+)</p>

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<p>It isn’t the end of the world. re-take the class and move on. </p>

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<p>I definitely agree with you that you should retake it, especially if it’s your first D. If you get a better grade when you retake the class, it should be all good. I don’t think employers will look so deep into your undergrad history that they’ll discover you took this course twice, and the first time received a D. I don’t even think it would show up on your transcripts once you’ve taken the class a second time.</p>

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<p>^ It doesn’t. Once you repeat a class you got a D in and get a better grade in it, the better grade will override the D. Fr example, I got a D in one of my classes my first quarter, but I repeated it the next quarter and got a B in it, and it knocked the previous D I gotten in it on my transcript. </p>

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<p>So if you get a D you HAVE to re-take the class?</p>

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<p>@chima76: Unless it’s required for your major, no, you don’t have to. </p>

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<p>Depending on the school, after you retake the class, even though the new grade replaces the old grade in the GPA, the fact that you took the class with a D may still appear in transcript. That is, both may appear in transcript, but only the better is used in GPA calculation. Have to check your school policy. </p>

<p>Also school dependent, though most only require retakes of D/F within the actual major, others may require retakes of some expanded course list that includes some core classes related to major. Have to check that too.</p>

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<p>It’s math 21A. I think I need a c- or above to continue into math 21b</p>

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<p>^yeah if it’s part of a series you need C- or higher unless it’s something like Chemistry 2C to Chemistry 128A then you need C and not C-</p>

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<p>I made a D undergrad and later went to a top 20 law school on partial merit scholarship. Don’t let it define you. (I also made straight As afterward because I changed majors.)</p>

<p>If you have a scholarship now, check what your minimum GPA is to keep it and all those details. Figure out what happened to get a D. If you didn’t grasp the material, then find out now what forms of tutoring are available and get started. If you didn’t turn some things in or missed a test, then get more organized for tracking deadlines. If the D is actually the fault of the professor somehow, then appeal the grade. </p>

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I forgot I made this thread, but I passed with a low C if anybody cares… I did better than I thought on the final exam. So never give up, I guess.