I messed up my first year of college and earned a 2.0 gpa. Is it still salvageable

I really messed up my first year of college and earned a low score of 2.0 gpa. I was wondering if you guys have some idea that could help me calm down and figure out a plan cause I’ve been tossing and turning with anxiety keeping me up all night everyday because I’m clueless on how I can proceed this. I want to be able to reach a 3.0 by next semester if possible and still graduate in my planned 2022

OK, deep breaths. You’re not the first-- or last-- kid to ever mess up. Let’s not worry about a 3.0 specifically, let’s talk about how to pull your grades up to levels you’re happy with.

The first, and most important consideration is to figure out why your grades dropped so dramatically. Was it social-- were you so busy hanging out with new friends that your grades stopped being a priority? Was the coursework simply a lot more difficult than what you were used to? Did you simply choose not to go to class, or not give the outside reading/ homework the effort it needed?

You see where I’m going here, right? This isn’t about grades, it’s about the work and attitudes that may have caused your grades to slip. Once you get a handle on what went wrong you can figure out how to attack the problem.

Yes, it is salvageable.

Obviously work for the best grades possible in the semesters after this, but there is no reason to zero in on a specific like 3.0. If anything, obsessing over that number might freak you out. It could very well happen that three years of great GPA balance out a freshman 2.0 GPA for an overall maybe even a little higher than 3.0! You cannot predict what your final number will be. What you can control is how well you do in the classes or on the assignments themselves at any given time. Study, take good notes and pay attention in class, and (I cannot stress this enough) go to office hours + engage with your professors! Sometimes, they will literally boost your grade for doing so, or they will help you learn the material from class even better than you might on your own and you can ask questions and get a greater sense of their expectations. If nothing else, you’ll get brownie points for caring enough to come.

All this said, do not let your grades or worries consume you. Work hard but also have fun and take care of yourself in college.

A final thought— if available, ask your advisor, a counselor, or someone similar for advice specific to you and your school.

It’s certainly possible. But you need to understand how you got there and what you need to do differently. And be able to do it.

I had a 2.2 my first semester and finished Dean’s List my last 3 semesters, graduating with a 3.4. A friend started with a 1.6 and graduated on time.

But also know that others were in the same situation and didn’t recover. It will take effort to make it possible.