So I’m currently finishing up my freshman year in engineering, and it’s been a disaster. Long story short, my gpa is going to end up being a around 2.29 -2.35 (depending on how my last 2 finals go) and I feel awful ( I took only 12 credit hours my first semester and 13 this semester) . A lot of it comes off of my study habits of course because I never studied in high school and have no work ethic (all things I’m working on now).
I failed two of my required classes which I’ll need to retake, should I use our school’s grade replacement policy? We are allowed to retake up to two classes our classes and whatever grade we get the second time is factored into our gpa. Or should I save it for another time since engineering is difficult.
I would also like to note that our school’s physics department is AWFUL, It is regarded as one of the worst in the country, and I know understand why (they do a terrible job teaching it, and the grading system for the department is awful, the whole course is evaluated off of a 10 question, free response, final that is 60% of your grade). I have an A, but since the final is 60% and after studying for days on it I’m still struggling, I know i’m going to fail. Should I take it again at a community college? or again use my grade replacement (which I only have two of).
I’m struggling with this so hard because I can do the work, it’s just been probably the lowest point of my life. Also, is there any other tips or strategies that you have seen or done to help you situation (I’m extremely concerned about how this will affect applying for jobs, internships, and grad school).
Thank you
Engineering is tough. Sounds good when you are in HS and people ask “what are you going to major in?”…but I could’ve never survived it myself. I have 3 engineer kids - one that struggled is now happily employed and doing well, so I wouldn’t equate the freshman year struggle to ultimate success. That being said (and yeah physics was the dept that could care less if anyone passed, so I get what you are saying there), you need to decide if it is your study habits, will that change? Did you have a study group that you worked with on problem sets? Did you seek out the free tutoring that school’s usually offer? Because if you want to turn it around, it’s not going to be easier second yr. Likely these failed classes will hold you back from moving forward in the curriculum until you knock them out - but there will be other people in the same boat no doubt. Is there an option at your school to take them over the summer? Check with your advisor about whether they can be taken at another college/community college or if they must be taken on your campus.
Don’t feel bad - you can turn this around. What we were told was avg gpa after freshman yr of engineering is a 2.8.
Good luck!
Failing a couple of classes freshman year is almost expected of Engineering majors. You do raise an important question about where and when you should re-take the classes that you need to re-take. Go sit down with your advisor, and find out which classes you can take at a CC during the summer. You need to make certain that they will transfer to your university and will fulfil the requirements of your degree program. If they won’t, then you need to re-take them at your own university whether or not the grade can be replaced there.
I…would not go that far. But OP – the good news is that you have at least six more semesters to bring it up. Especially if you take more credits in future semesters, which means these two will count for less.
Engineering is tough and graduates typically have a lower GPA than in many other disciplines. It sounds like you know what you need to work on so if you can improve your study habits etc. you should be able to improve your GPA moving forward. Both of my kids had the lowest GPA of their four years of college freshman year as they adjusted to the new responsibilities, academic expectations etc.