<p>I took a bunch of college classes in high school, and I screwed up on a couple of them and had to retake. I'm at a 3.3 right now with 3 retakes. I'm a first year. By the end of this semester, I will have around a 3.6. I'm a chem engineering major</p>
<p>Is it wrong and stupid to be ambitious and declare myself a 4.0 student from now on? I will be taking more, and harder classes. Next semester, I'm taking 21.5 credit hours, which amounts to an average of 7 classes. My adviser told me that students in the past have done it before. I know this girl who took 21.0 credit hours and got a 3.8 GPA for that term, but she's a com sci major, which is supposedly much easier and a lot less work than an engineering major.</p>
<p>by the way, I got ultimate frisbee, lab assistance job, and tutoring. I think I might just drop half of ultimate and only show up to practice and not go to the tournaments.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m graduating in Materials Engineering in about a week.</p>
<p>1) No, you won’t be able to get a 4.0 from now on. Hardly anybody gets consistent 4.0 semesters in engineering, let alone 6 of them in a row. Your GPA is actually pretty decent right now, and if you can keep it over 3.5 (the cut-off for most of the most restrictive jobs) you’ll be golden. Just focus on doing the best you can and don’t worry about the occasional B or even a C.</p>
<p>2) Why. The HELL. Are you taking 21.5 credit hours? That’s an absolutely horrible idea, whether somebody has done it before or not. It’s going to hurt your social life, it’s going to hurt your professional life, and it’s going to hurt your GPA. Comm Sci does not equal engineering. Sit down and plot out your schedule, and shift a class (or two) to a later semester that won’t become overloaded. You’ll thank me later.</p>
<p>1) You don’t need a 4.0 to do ANYTHING. A 3.5 GPA with relevant research/work experience will allow you to do ANYTHING that a 4.0 will do.</p>
<p>2) You need to relax and enjoy college, just a little. It will help your grades out a lot. And yes, Com Sci is a lot easier than engineering. Last quarter, I took 18 credit hours. I spent maybe 2-3 hours a week outside of class on my 5 credit Freshman Linguistics course. That just DID NOT happen for any of the math courses I took. Chem E is a lot harder and a lot more marketable than Com Sci. You do not have to get a 4.0 to get a job. </p>
<p>3) Your success in college is determined by far more than just your grades. Remember, relevant work experience and research >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Grades.</p>
<p>chuy, I get what you’re saying. I’m staying home anyway. I want to get my classes done. I also want to get the f* out of Iowa and go to grad school. My friends also don’t get why I take so many classes. Usually, I just say “cuz I want to get ■■■ done.” I guess it’s just better to overload myself than underload you know what I mean (to me at least)? Like I would feel slightly sadder if I hear that someone is doing more work than I am, that’s just me. Besides, I’m taking only 1 engr course, which is basically a seminar. The other stuff are mostly 3 chem classes: 2 thermo and 1 o-chem.</p>
<p>Btw, I’m considering grad school as oppose to industry. I really like science, and I despise spreadsheets.</p>
<p>Lastly, I have $0 for scholarships right now. $0.000000. I’m an international student, and I need to prove myself. There are many other Chinese kids who are just as insane. They don’t party, they study together, and they’re far from indoor starcraft nerds. I can’t really see myself as a ‘regular’ college student, because I got so many things on my ass right now to worry about, like money, future housing, scholarships, etc. Friends and social life are on that list too, but they’re nowhere near the top</p>
<p>It is possible to get a 4.0, but it depends on how much you are willing to put in without burning out. Also it depends on your school and how they grade. Like where I attend school, a 90% and above equals an A, so if you received a 90% in all of your classes, you can graduate with a 4.0. It has happened at my school – with kids in Engineering. But it’s like 1 person every few years.</p>
<p>Hey, and why be hostile to “Recharge” because he/she is in high school? I actually think he/she makes two good points. There is no other way to get a 4.0 than putting in time and not being hard on yourself.</p>
<p>You can find plenty of work to do outside of classes, and should. Clubs, undergraduate research, UTAing (if your school has it) are all EXCELLENT ways to look good for grad school. You said there are a ton of Chinese kids studying their asses off to get a stupidly high GPA. What’s going to set you apart from them when you’re applying to grad school? Is it your stupidly high GPA that’s .1 points higher, or the club you had a leadership role in and the research you published Junior year?</p>
<p>You might only be taking one engineering class, but o-chem kills a lot of people, and thermo classes do as well. You’re going to have to put a ton of out-of-class time into each and every one of those classes. You don’t want to push yourself past the breaking point; move a couple of the classes to later.</p>
<p>And BS. A ton of students, including me, had to deal with money, housing, scholarships, everything. You’re a regular college student.</p>
<p>If you get a 4.0 in Engineering without doing any undergraduate research, you are not getting into grad school.</p>
<p>Period. Full stop. </p>
<p>In other news, listen to chuy. Cut back a lot, and do research. This way, you get to 1) make money 2) actually have a chance of getting into grad school.</p>
<p>I’m very serious. It doesn’t matter what your grades or GRE’s are. If you do not do research, there is not a single PhD program in the country that will accept you.</p>
<p>Guys, I’m not stupid. I’m asking how plausible is a 4.0 in engineering. I didn’t ask how much time it would take. Of course I would make sure I have time to work in the lab. Like I said, I’m also tutoring, although I may eventually change that to a helper in one of the help rooms, depending which one pays more. Research is #1, I know that.</p>
<p>If research is really #1 then there is no way you have time for 21 credits. That’s what we’re saying. You might have your priorities straight in your head, but you’re underestimating how much time each of your classes are going to take next year, especially thermo and o-chem.</p>
<p>@ lastchancexi: I’m heading to Berkeley for a PhD in engineering, and I didn’t do any research in undergrad. So it’s possible. But I’m sure it helps a ton.</p>
<p>So I assume you did some REU/internships/co-ops or something that qualified under “work experience” on your resume. I’m not looking to follow your footsteps, but what did you have on your resume?</p>
<p>Nope. Good GPA at a good school, and good GREs, that’s really about it. My profs told me I was basically good to go anywhere. I was skeptical, but had good success with admissions, so I guess they were right.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You do not need a 4.0 GPA in order to do well in school a 3.5 and above is considered “very good academic standing” and that should be okay.</p></li>
<li><p>WHAT THE H*** WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU REGISTERED FOR CLASSES?! Are you working a job? If so, your probably going to put in at least 20 hrs a week at that job. Plus time outside the classroom doing your homework and studying. You already signed yourself up for 52 hours of your week to working and doing school. Where will the time for fun fall into place? I want to kick you academic advisor in the butt for telling you its okay to do 21 credits. That’s WAY too many, I am taking just 14 and I feel very busy. How can you balance work, school and fun time with such a course load? Plus, you probably signed up for course that many students fail (chemistry, political science and math are subjects that most people fail in at my school). Take that as a warning sign and take only 12-15 credits in the fall and do 3-6 credits in the summer.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Our school wouldn’t even allow you to take that many. 21.5 credit hours? That’s insane, and the answer to your question is likely no. If your “one story of inspiration” took an easier major and got a 3.8, what makes you think you can manage a 4.0 (which means not getting even an A- in one class) in 7 difficult classes? It’s not realistic at all.</p>
<p>I do not mean to go off topic, but to get at least a 3.75 (pre-med) in undergrad, how much time (hours/class studying) does that actually work out in reality?</p>