I Need Major HELP on Spring Schedule and GPA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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<p>Hello CCers, I'll need each and every one of you guys' suggestions/advice as to what I should for spring regarding both my class scchedule and GPA. I'll be brief but clear. </p>

<p>As an chemi engineering major, my current GPA, which is at 2.4, may look okay/fine for some, but to me, this looks like a disaster, a huge letdown, a nightmare. However, I'd say that Chem 140A & B brought major impacts to my GPA, since I resulted in C- for both. As for my past schedules, here are the following:
Fall Winter
Chem 140A: C- Chem 140B: C-
CENG 1: pass CENG 15: pass
COGS 1: C Math 20C: B-
Math 20B: B MCWP 50: C+ (I'm deeply surprised on this one; I thought I did better)
MCWP 40: B</p>

<p>Regarding both of these schedules, I won't provide an excuse as to why the grades are that way, but I'll provide my interpretation of my performance for both quarters.
Fall quarter: Finally deciding to choose Chem 140A over Chem 6AH, I had confidence and believed that having 5 classes (which is totally opposite of what ANY freshman would ever do), I could strive to pull out A/Bs just like high school. In spite of hearing the incompatibility of 1) having both MCWP 40 & CHEM 140A in one quarter with 2) having 5 classes total for one quarter, I wouldn't say that I was arrogant in a sense from both upperclassmen and my class, my mind reassured itself with the "I can the impossible possible" mindset. Unfortunately, that turned out to be wholly untrue. Throughout the quarter, I managed to put ample time into MATH 20B and MCWP 40 (by putting 3-7 hours on each draft/essay). CENG 1 was nothing to worry about. However, for COGS 1, I thought that with OK quiz grades and relatively "B-" midterms, I was doing fine for that. Unfortunately, for Chem 140A, with having Oconnor, I found that getting a mechanistic mindset of the reactions in the class was my goal to do exceptionally well, and I thought I was getting there! Until I looked at the lack of practice problems I did, along with reading the chapters in the textbook a few days before the 2 midterms, studying relatively 4-6 hours weekly (MAJORITY of it reading the text/looking at lecture notes). First midterm wasn't too bad for a freshman (B); second midterm was worse hoewever (C). By the end of fall quarter, I discovered that I was under the illusion that by valuing the textbook for Chem 140A and doing relatively fine on both midterms and the amount of problems I did, I would do OK for the final by revisiting each chapter (most time on beginning/middle chapters, little time spent on last chapters) and doing the practice final exam. Unfortunately, I saw that grade: C-. As for the other classes, CENG 1 was expected as pass, Math 20B: B, Though with math as my strong point, I expected an A-; COGS 1: C, I was surprised at this, because while I took some notes for each lecture, I found that 1) I didn't study enough for it as much as I did for math and putting enough time for it like MCWP 40, and 2) my interest in the subject swayed throughout the quarter. Finally, for MCWP 40: B, though I believed with the first paper (A-) and second paper (B-), my final paper would ultimately be an A as well, since I devoted much time into the paper. </p>

<p>For the second quarter, thoughts OF loneliness and depression haunted my mind and creeped even further into the amount of study time I set for myself. MCWP 50: Less time was put into it thanks to 1) waking up late & coming late, 2) putting significantly less time into the drafts, and 3) even forgetting to submit one of the main drafts via email. CENG 15: Turning in homework was okay, though I LITERALLY put little to no time to actually studying the material out of both the textbook and the lecture notes. MATH 20C: Online hw was easy to turn in, thought I did little to no textbook problems (though I did do some practice problems for it). Worst of all, CHEM 140B: Hoeger's syllabus listed all of the ESSENTIAL stuff everyone should focus upon, including problem sets for hw, attending all discussions for few quizzes, repeating the practice problems listed in the syllabus, etc. I felt truly stupid neglecting each and EVERY single one of those tasks. At the end of winter quarter, I look at the grades and I think, "I truly deserve all of it. How can I change? What is wrong with me? What has my life come down to? WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF when the future is in my hand?!" "Will it be the same for next quarter?"</p>

<p>Currently, spring quarter, the LAST quarter for freshman year, is soon to begin. I set myself to having a schedule like this:
Chem 140C
Chem 7L (waitlist position 6)
Mus 95G
Math 20F
HILD 7C</p>

<p>However, people have still told me it's relatively not a GPA-booster schedule for me. I need your guys suggestions as to whether it is worth taking Chem 140C. For one thing, my major is Chem engineering, though Chem140A-B are only required. However, with the thought of grad school/transfer in mind, I'm not sure whether I should still continue and take the class. Is Chemi 140C really worth taking, despite having C-s for the previous courses? Along with that comes Chem 7L as well. I've heard that it's time-comsuming, the only thing is I don't know to what degree. </p>

<p>Honestly, at this point, what do you guys advise, regarding both my horrible GPA and my spring schedule in terms of recovering my GPA? Along with that, what is your guys' suggestion regarding both my study skills for academics and my social condition (depression & loneliness)? Should I disregard my condition and focus purely on academics, being in study groups, etc?
(I apologize for the long post; the sudden shock at my grades prompted me to write this long.)</p>

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<p>No, that’s not going to be a GPA booster schedule for you. Not even a little. And you’re right, if you’re considering graduate school or transferring, it’s going to be very important that you pull up your GPA. At least above a 3.0.</p>

<p>First of all, it will be the same next quarter if you keep making the same mistakes. You’ve identified some of them–do the work, turn in all of the assignments, do the practice problems, go to class, etc. Part of the problem seems to be that you were stretched too thin (didn’t spend as much time on one class because you were working on another), part of the problem seems to be general unhappiness (loneliness, depressed), and part of the problem seems to be not understanding the material or how to study for upper division college courses.</p>

<p>So address all of these problems. First, take less classes or balance out challenging courses with easier ones. Do you have to take all of those courses to stay on track for graduation? Do you have the wiggle room to switch one out for a different quarter? Or could you take a class over the summer (CHEM 7L is often considered to be easier over the summer, if you aren’t taking other classes with it)? Not only will taking fewer courses give you more time to devote to each of your courses, but it will also give you some time to figure out how to do well in college courses. You have some ideas about what you need to do (and actually do them! It doesn’t seem like anything really changed between fall and winter quarter, but it’s never too late to change now), but you need some time to figure out what’s going to work for you. You may think you spent a lot of time on a subject, but if you didn’t get the results that you wanted, then you have to spend more and ask for help. Talk to TAs early on, if you’re struggling, and do all of the practice problems, old exams, homework, etc, that you can get your hands on. Make sure that you understand why you’re doing things and what things mean, instead of just going through the motions. Taking it slower might help.</p>

<p>Also, have you tried talking to a counselor about the loneliness and depression? Are you clinically depressed (have you struggled with these problems before?) or are you perhaps depressed mainly because you haven’t really settled into college yet? Have you tried getting involved, meeting new people, or doing things outside of school that you enjoy? It’s important to focus on academics, yes, but you also need to take time for yourself (as long as it’s not hurting your study time).</p>

<p>About you’re classes in particular, I would expect CHEM 140C, CHEM 7L, and MATH 20F to be the most time consuming for you. You don’t have a very good foundation in organic chemistry, so CHEM 140C will likely be challenging. CHEM 7L is not difficult, just time-consuming, and given how strapped you seem to be for time, will likely be challenging. It seems that you expected higher grades for math than what you actually got, which suggests that you didn’t know the material as well as you thought you did. I would expect MATH 20F to present the same challenges as math classes have in the past. HILD 7C will likely include a decent amount of reading, writing, and studying, so I would expect to devote a good amount of time to that class as well. I don’t know anything about MUS 95G, but if it’s time consuming, you might want to reconsider it, unless you use it as a stress reliever or something.</p>

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<p>@baxtrax I’m deeply grateful for your thorough and informative response to my current situation regarding both academics and social life. I think that as you particularly stated in your response, I was either overconfident or reckless with the amount of classes I’ve taken so far, especially with the Ochem series. If anything, the one thing I really don’t want to continue is to repeat history itself, which relates to what you said about making the same mistakes. </p>

<p>As much as I really want to take less classes (say, 3), I heard from plenty of upperclassmen that with the path I’m going, I’m making it easier for myself for my senior and fifth year at UCSD. However, with this current schedule I have for myself, it comes back to what you said. Actually, I had no idea you could take Chem 7L over the summer! If that’s possible, that allows me to keep the amount of classes now to 4. However, given the description of my future classes for spring, now I’m really unsure whether I should take Chem 140C. It’s not that I don’t want to take it, it’s just that as a chemical engineering major, I don’t know how whether the knowledge I gain from it will be worth it, seeing as most people say they normally forget what they learn in Ochem after 2-4 years. And to be honest, I’m REALLY prioritizing high grades over anything for this next quarter, meaning that with Math 20F, HILD 7C, and MUS 95G (Gospel Choir), that may be the perfect schedule I need to be a GPA-booster schedule. However, coming back to your response, it’ll all depend on my time management & study skills.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I have no idea whether I really addressed all of the issues I had with my previous schedules. I believe I have noted them all, but my mind says that there’s more than what I have listed here so far. Loneliness, depression, lack of time management/study skills and not using available academic resources, like tutoring services, study groups, etc. I know that those are the central problems I have so far within my first year. Looking at my past quarters, I realized that I didn’t really utilize office hours, set out to ask specific questions to both my TA and my professor, use available resources for additional help, and use my time wisely in order to remain on top of my academics. </p>

<p>As for my general unhappiness, it’s hard to say whether I really have clinical depression. I haven’t talked with a counselor regarding this issue, but I have to FEW classmates/friends about my general college experience, mostly based upon the social life at UCSD. Along with that, I believe this is my first time having this kind of problem. If anything, I think you’re right on me being depressed mainly due to the adaptation for college. For one thing, I have mostly hung around with my friends in the clubs I’ve found, rather than set out to continue meeting more and more people. I know that regarding my time for college, I try to set my study time mainly before nighttime so that I can spend the rest of my free time for alone time, but I think with my desperation to get involved in as MANY events/meetings with clubs as I can, along with trying to be involved in hangouts with my friends during the daytime, that I use the time during daytime for all that, leaving the free time during nighttime for PROCRASTINATION to kick in, which mainly accounts for my academic performance so far. While my mind says that this depression I have is only temporary for sure, to the point of it making me want to consider to transfer, I can’t decide whether it’s ultimately important for me to talk with a counselor.</p>

<p>I think the 3 main issues I may have, according to your response, are 1) commitment, 2) self-discipline, and 3) time management (along with sleep). By not fully knowing what to prioritize regarding social life, academics for my future career, along with how much time to put for each of them for weekdays and weekends, I believe that I continuously miss numerous opportunities, be it social or academic, that are laid out for me. If anything, it kind of goes back to the saying, “So much to do, so much little time”. </p>

<p>Going back to what you said for my classes, I know that MUS95G should be a good stress reliever for me. Therefore, with that and having Math 20F and HILD 7C, I wanted to ask for your suggestion regarding whether I should continue with Chem 140C. As with the previous courses, I know that Ochem itself is really a game-changer for grades, which is why I don’t want to repeat my mistakes concerning time management for these hard courses. Concerning Chem 7L, the reason why I included that is that Chem 143A and NANO 101, along with future major classes, will require Chem 7L. Chem 140C isn’t required for any future classes, which is why I’m on the fence about it. One class I have thought of switching for Chem 140C is COGS 11. While it does come back to me thinking that it’ll be an easy class, with my performance in COGS 1, I have a feeling that it won’t be that way.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post once again. With spring quarter soon to begin, I really just want to be set & firm upon my decision for my schedule. Ultimately, I want this schedule to be a GPA-booster, but I don’t know whether those classes I’ve stated above will do that, or whether I should opt for easier classes this time around, since I want to have a high GPA by the end of my fifth year.</p>

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<p>It doesn’t matter how easy your last year at UCSD is if you tank your GPA by continually taking more classes than you can handle and by not giving yourself time to learn how to succeed. You don’t sound like you’re very happy with the way things are going, so instead of plowing ahead, slow down a little and give yourself a chance to learn from your mistakes and adjust. Nothing is going to magically change–you have to do something to change your situation, if you want to.</p>

<p>Also, why are you planning on taking five years to graduate? You seem to be ahead of your courses (taking o-chem first year, skipping MATH 20A). I took a look at the four year plan for chemical engineering in Muir, and it looks like you can graduate in four years by taking 16 units/quarter (except for one 18 unit quarter). Is there a particular reason why you are planning on graduating in five years? If you’re planning on staying just to take your time, that might be even more of a reason to take things a little slower now, since you have the extra room in your schedule if you’re taking a fifth year. I know many students who were planning on graduating in five years so they took a lighter courseload each quarter to focus on their classes and to do more work/internships.</p>

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<p>Do you have to take CHEM 140C? I looked at the chemical engineering major requirements (<a href=“http://ne.ucsd.edu/undergrad-programs/degree/bs-chemical-engineering/major-req”>http://ne.ucsd.edu/undergrad-programs/degree/bs-chemical-engineering/major-req&lt;/a&gt;) and it doesn’t list CHEM 140C as a required class. Are you using it for an elective? Or am I looking at the wrong major? Are you taking it because you’re planning on medical school (or some other professional school that requires it)? If it’s not a requirement for anything, I’d recommend against it, unless you really love organic chemistry. It sounds like it’ll be a real struggle because you probably don’t have a strong base in organic chemistry and you’re still adjusting to college. Organic chemistry is normally taking by second years anyway, and if there’s no rush to take it, then you could take it next year. I normally recommend people take sequences all in one go, but I think you could benefit from the extra time adjusting to college.</p>

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<p>I took COGS 11 (a while ago, though), and thought it was pretty interesting and fairly easy. But in full disclosure, I also thought COGS 1 was really easy too. But I think if you study and do the work, then you should be able to do well. Even if you do think it’ll be a little harder, it might give you a chance to try out different study systems to see what works for you. It’d probably be easier with that class than with CHEM 140C.</p>

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<p>It doesn’t really matter if it’s temporary, and it doesn’t really matter if it’s clinical depression or not. You can always talk to a counselor if you think that it’ll help. I believe there’s a counseling center at UCSD that you can go to, and it can’t hurt. They may have suggestions for you about different resources that could help, or it might just help to have someone who doesn’t know you to talk to and just get everything off of your chest. Or you can talk to friends or family or whoever. Or if you don’t want to talk about it at all, you don’t have to. But it’s an option, regardless of how serious you think it is.</p>

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<p>While, yes, I think you could use a GPA booster, I think it’s even more important to adjust to college–figure out good study habits that work for you, learn how to balance academics and a social life, and start to get some confidence in school again. Take a courseload that will give you a chance to do well and learn how to manage your time effectively.</p>

<p>I think you’re biggest problem was just… not doing it. You know what you have to do–do all of the assignments, go to lecture, listen to what the professor recommends, get extra help if you need it. You just have to do it. It’s not all or nothing. You can have both a successful academic life and a fun social life but you have to learn how to balance it. Make a schedule and plan out the quarter. Put where all of your assignments and exams are, and plan out how you’re going to study and prepare for them. It doesn’t matter if you study during the day or at night or on the weekends or whatever, but make a deal with yourself that you have to get certain things done or you’re not allowed to go out with friends or do whatever you wanted to do. And when you do get things done, reward yourself by doing something fun (as long as it’s not too extravagant). </p>