<p>I just finished my first year of school at ucsb and I'm a little disappointed at my summer grades. I decided to take 12 units over summer to get a little ahead (bad idea!) I got a D- for physics 2 and 1.7 GPA for summer, this means i have to retake it but I also got a c- physics 1 before and I retook it and got b. The thing is i have to go all the way to physics 3 as a requirement for my science courses ( I'm a computer science major) and im afraid how my grades are looking. I'm a b student in my other classes, and my GPA was a 3.07 before this d-.How bad do these two classes will look when it comes to looking for a job? Is it bad for a computer science student to be this bad at physics? I'm really depressed because physics is just really hard for me and makes me wonder if I'm competent enough to pursue computer science. I also had hopes of going into graduate school..</p>
<p>Are you happy with the amount of effort you put into the class?</p>
<p>As long as you do well in your other major requirements you will be fine. Physics is like 3 classes outta probably 12 for your major. So if the other 9 are solid you will be in good shape.</p>
<p>For someone going into software, physics will matter mainly if you are writing software which is applied to physics, or which uses physics, such as controlling devices and interpreting data produced by them (e.g. car engine computers, wireless communication devices), solving physics research problems, or games involving objects moving around.</p>
<p>For someone going into hardware, physics may have more relevance if you go into lower level electronics and the like.</p>
<p>It’s definitely not good to get those kinds of low grades, but it’s not the end of the world and it’s not going to disqualify you from getting into grad school. Since you’re still early in your undergrad career, you have lots of time to raise your grades.</p>
<p>Most employers don’t ask you for your grades on individual classes (although internships may ask you for a transcript of some sort) so they are not likely to see your low physics grades anyway.</p>
<p>The real question you should be asking yourself is why you’ve done poorly on these two physics classes and whether or not you really gave them your best effort. Maybe these classes were simply graded tougher than other classes. Maybe you didn’t have adequate HS preparation to take college level physics. Or maybe you were taking too many accelerated summer courses concurrently. It’s okay to admit it if you find a certain subject especially difficult – most of us had classes that we struggled in (personally, I was never very good with differential equations) – but what’s important is how you face these challenges. Being able to tough it out all quarter (or semester), pulling as many all nighters as necessary – grit, for lack of a better word. Often, that’s what will distinguish the best students from the underachievers. If you try your hardest and you get a C, I think that’s OK. One of my proudest achievements as an undergrad was earning a B+ in a difficult class that I worked really hard for. I’m more proud of that B+ than I am of any of the As in earned in my other classes.</p>
<p>I think the big thing you have to worry about is if your school requires at least a ‘C’ in courses that are used to admit you into the last 2 years.</p>
<p>Still, if you graduate with a 3.0+ GPA in computer science, you should be fine.</p>
<p>I would ummmm…stay away from “Computational Physics” as an elective though, LOL.</p>
<p><strong><em>I am trying to brighten up the thread</em></strong></p>