<p>I won't get into personal details (it's a long story) but my transcript shows one C in my first year (related to my major) and another C and one F in my second year (also related to my major). My GPA is also much lower than it needs to be (I should have a min. of 3.7 to be accepted into grad school but it's nowhere near that number). I don't know what to do anymore. This is the only subject I'm interested in majoring in, and I know I can do better, but it seems like it's too late. A few of the grad schools I'm applying to mentioned they'll only consider courses from the third and fourth year. However, there's a certain GPA requirement, and I'm unsure about whether or not the GPA is also based on the third and fourth year, or if it's a cumulative total (including the first and second). If it's a cumulative total, I don't even know if it's possible to raise my GPA to a 3.7. Also, they might say they only consider courses from the third and fourth year, but two C's and an F seem pretty terrible (even if it's in the first and second year). Even if I managed to receive A's in all my third and fourth year classes, I'm worried I'll never be accepted into grad school for this reason. It's so difficult not to give up at this point. I hope someone here will be able to help me or offer some direction :-(</p>
<p>You can’t do anything about the past (hmm … at your school can you retake a class and either average the two grades or use the higher of the two grades?) … at this point all you can do is control your future. Do your best going forward and when it comes time to apply to grad school see where it takes you.</p>
<p>FYI - I was an undergrad at Cornell and got at least one D-, D, D+, C-. C, and C+ during my first two years of school … then I got serious and did very well my last 2 years … and ended up getting accepted to a top 5 engineering grad school and a top 5 business school. Focus on the future, do you best, and see where it takes you!</p>
<p>3togo – yeah, those were the days when Cornell was notorious for grade deflation. Things have changed a lot since then, thank goodness. Your Ds would now be Cs, and your C and C+ would now be Bs.</p>
<p>OP: your post implies that you’re a junior now. if I were you I would investigate retaking the F course, and possible also the C course from sophomore year, as soon as possible, either next semester or in summer. Meet with your Dean and see if you can retroactively withdraw from both courses, or if your retaking would replace your original taking.</p>