<p>its typical for any incoming freshman. i got a 3.0 this first quarter and i know what mistakes i did so im gonna try to improve on them for this upcoming quarter. dont let one bad quarter take u out. its a learning experience so just work harder next semester.</p>
<p>Although not in the Ivy League, many formerly "straight A" students now at Northwestern University are receiving Cs & B-minuses despite living in the library.</p>
<p>Don't expect get a 4.0 at a college like Penn, which is comprised of some of the most academically motivated people in any colleges (I think a lot of val, sal, etc)... Maybe you should spend 10+ hours at the library every day.</p>
<p>I will always remember attending a parent meeting while dropping our S (our 1st) off for his 1st yr. College officials reminded us, that while our kids were the top (5%, 10% maybe even val.,or sal.) in their hs, in college some of these same students will still be on the top, others middle and some bottom. There has to be a top and bottom half. A school where all students earn A's is highly suspect. It's called grade inflation or BS.</p>
<p>Quaker, you will likely better learn how to study on the college level and your 1st yr grades will be your lowest. This does not mean you are doomed. And a 3.0 first semester, although not what you are used to, is not awful.</p>
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Um...with a 3.0 GPA? I'm sorry dude, you don't know what you're talking about.
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<p>was that directed at me? I bet the Penn students who graduated with a 3.0 are doing just fine for themselves. Point me to the ones on the street, and I'll reconsider.</p>
<p>3.0 ain't bad. Anything above a 2.7 first semester (B- Average) should be considered pretty good. You'll raise it up next semester. Try to take a writing seminar or something else a bit cushier than Econ, Chem, and Math. Many students at Penn find those classes tough. Who did you have for Econ 1, Stine or Spiegel? Most of my friends who had Spiegel struggled with him because of the accent and unnecessarily ugly math.</p>
<p>soccerguy, I bet those Penn grads are doing fine, but I don't believe that was the question you put on the table. A 3.0 at Penn will not beat a 4.0 at decent state universities most of the time. This is especially true for such GPA sensitive endeavors like med or law school, where it's (sadly) better to attend a state university and do well than go to an Ivy League and get owned by your peers.</p>
<p>Why do you think 4.0's at state universities are just handed out? They aren't.</p>
<p>Agreed with arialblue. While a 3.0 is fine for getting a decent job out of Penn, it isn't necessarily where you want to be for med/law school admissions. That being said - don't think that your shot at med school is gone just because of your first semester in college. It seems like Econ was your worst class, so hopefully you won't have to take any more of those types of classes as you focus on the sciences in the next few years.</p>
<p>My start at Penn was the same way though in a different area/major and here's what helped. Focus a lot on the early part of the semester and your midterm grades. You shouldn't just be aiming to do ok on midterms and then banking on doing great on finals to pull off As/Bs; there's a lot more competition around finals time because everyone is working hard to get an A to pull up their grades and there can only be so many As due to the curve. Instead, you should be aiming for the highest possible grade you can get and even one of the highest in the class for midterms. It's easier to do better on midterms because there is less info to learn; make sure you understand all the material in really intricate detail and if you don't, go to office hours etc. Profs appreciate people who show interest through the semester, not just people who show up for office hours right before finals. Once your midterm grades are set, you obviously have to work hard for finals still, but you'll just need to maintain your grades instead of pulling up grades.</p>
<p>Even though everyone is saying to relax, I'd work really hard in spring semester frosh yr -- even if you have to over-work a bit, you'll be much more confident going into soph yr if you've gotten your first yr GPA to a level you're happy with. Also, it'll show med schools that you didn't just write off your first yr.</p>
<p>aerialblue, ah! I agree with everything you wrote in that last post =) If you are set on grad school, grades are very important.</p>