Is My GPA Hopeless?

College Life
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<p>I am a first-year student with sophomore standing because of AP classes from high school.</p>

<p>At the start of the school year, I was an engineering chemistry (I found out that it's not the same thing as chemical engineering, and the classes aren't integrated- you take separate chemistry and engineering classes) major, and because of the loss of interest I had in engineering and what I stated in the parentheses, I ended up switching my major to Biochemistry with a minor in German Language.</p>

<p>Here are the classes I took:</p>

<p>-Calc III
-Organic Chemistry I
-Second Year German I
-Honors College First Year Class </p>

<p>It turns out that when I switched my major to Biochemistry, I no longer needed Calc III. Since I was more than halfway through the semester, I decided to "ride it out" and finish the class, because I figured it would be a waste of money if I withdrew from it. Plus, I don't like giving up.</p>

<p>For a while, I was maintaining a 3.0 in Calc III. This was pretty good, considering my professor barely curves exams and he is a horrible teacher. I'm not exaggerating- his lectures are dull and straight out of the book, and he always makes mistakes during lecture. In fact, the math department at my school is so terrible that a lot of people go to nearby community colleges just to take their math.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, I was doing very well in my other three classes. Although my Honors College class was basically a blow-off class, my German and Organic Chemistry classes were not typical first-year classes.</p>

<p>Well, finals came along, and my three finals (no final for my Honors College class) were on consecutive days. Oh, I know, boo-hoo, poor me. But honestly, there was so much material I had to know. At that point, I had to prioritize. My German class was somewhat important because it was a class for my minor, but since I knew my stuff and did an extra credit essay, I studied for maybe one hour total. Organic Chemistry is needed for my major, so I prioritized that one above the others (studied for days, which is normal). Calc III was an exploratory credit, so it did get put last. I got stuck in a position where I had to cram everything in one day, and I'm sure that contributed to me bombing my final.</p>

<p>My Calc III professor screwed us over for the final (half of my class failed, and I'm sure they will have to re-take it because I was really the only weirdo in there that didn't need the class), and I literally failed it. First test I have ever failed. It felt like a waste of 2 1/2 hours...I could've just not taken the exam. I came out with a 2.3, and I was somewhat happy that I at least passed, but very upset with the grade itself.</p>

<p>Here are my other grades:</p>

<p>Organic Chemistry I: 3.8 (getting a 90% in the class before the final gives you a 4.0)
Second Year German I: 3.8 (getting a 98% in the class gives you a 4.0)
Honors College First Year Class: 3.8, 4/100ths of a PERCENT away from a 3.9 (getting a 98% in the class gives you a 4.0)</p>

<p>Next semester, I have these classes:</p>

<p>Organic Chemistry II
Organic Chemistry Lab/Recitation
Composition I (online)
Second Year German II
Biology II</p>

<p>My goal for next semester is to get a 3.8 (for that semester only) so I can be on the Dean's List at the end of the year (my school does it by year, not semester). My current GPA is a 3.42 because of Calc III. Do you think I have any hopes of getting my GPA to a decent level? I don't intend on going to med school- I want to be a chemist, possibly a medicinal chemist or a biochemist.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>After all of that and you have a 3.42 ? Be happy that it isn’t a 2.2 with academic probation in the headlights lol</p>

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<p>exactly, a 3.4 is a strong gpa. story worrying.</p>

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<p>With that huge wall of text I was expecting something horrific… But yeah a 3.4 is not bad. Especially since you aren’t even attempt med school, it is a safe gpa to have.</p>

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<p>Thanks…and sorry for the long text haha</p>

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<p>That’s not bad, and if you want to improve it, you definitely can.</p>

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<p>So let me get this straight. You don’t want to go to medical school, and you’re crying cause you got a 3.4 GPA.</p>

<p>Only on College Confidential. Stay tuned for the high school Valedictorian who writes a 500 word post to express her anger when she makes an A-.</p>

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<p>While she blames the class, her teacher, and the fact she has ADD/ADHD/Depression etc…</p>

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<p>Alright, let me explain this further, since the last two posters did not seem to understand what I was getting at here.</p>

<p>I didn’t say once in the post that I shed a SINGLE tear. After all of what I’ve been through this semester (family/personal problems), I KNOW I’m not a wuss. I don’t want to go to medical school because I’m not interested. Like I said before, I want to be a chemist of some sort- perhaps a biochemist or medicinal chemist.</p>

<p>And alright, so my post was wordy. Big whoop. You chose to read it, and to respond to it. </p>

<p>And I’m chuckling as I read the last post, because I don’t have any of those disorders, nor did I even mention them in the post. Who would even joke about depression anyway? Believe what you want, but like I said earlier in the post, the math department at my school is so terrible that a good portion of students go to nearby community colleges to take their math. Oh, and…once again, let me mention to you that HALF of my Calc III class failed. Not just the final, but the class. Four people out of 40-ish students received a grade in the 3.6-4.0 range. So go ahead, continue to blame it on ME.</p>

<p>I will admit, I was lucky to at least have one of the better professors in the math department. But if he was one of the better professors, then that’s pretty sad. I have every right to be irritated with the grade I got in my Calc III class. My grades matter to me, and I want a chance to make it onto the Dean’s List. I’m here for support, not for passive-aggressive, rude comments. If you think I’m whiny and you can’t understand what I’m saying in my original post, then please, take your snide comments elsewhere.</p>

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<p>What I was saying was that medical schools require extremely high GPAs, and if you’re not trying to go to medical school, getting a 3.4 won’t be the end of the world. Trust me, I understand what you’re getting at here. I’ve seen the same old stories many times on this website. OK, let me give you the answer you were looking for that you could of done simple math to figure out on your own.</p>

<p>Don’t worry College Confidential user! No fear! If you make a perfect 4.0 next semester, you can bring your GPA up to 3.7. If you keep making in the 3.8-4.0 range, you can easily bring your GPA to that range since you probably have at minimum 7 semesters left. There’s always next year for the Dean’s List too. But your major is hard so you have to understand that sometimes you’re gonna get hard classes where you’re gonna do bad in. That’s how it works with hard majors. But you seem to be good at sciences so you should be able to pick up your GPA without the Calculus class next semester. So don’t cry too much!</p>

<p>Man, you love writing. Good luck!:)</p>

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<p>Well, it does seem like Calculus has taken away my ability to do simple math… :P</p>

<p>While that’s true (to a certain extent anyway), I have done similar calculations before. I guess my worry is that when I get to the 300 and 400 level classes, I won’t be able to pull off higher grades that will boost my GPA. By then, though, I’ll be used to the workload, so I’ll just do the best I can.</p>

<p>I don’t know if I’ll pull off a perfect 4.0 next semester, but I’m aiming for a 3.8. Even though next semester will be more work, most of my classes are easier, so that should help.</p>

<p>Oh, I’m just sobbing with relief ;)</p>

<p>I can’t really say that I love writing, but I do have a tendency to ramble…thanks for the advice, and sorry if my last post came across as extremely rude (I just re-read it…ouch).</p>