I just completed my second semester at a local community college, and clearly I wasn’t in the best state of mind for college. While I would do well in some courses, in others I might not even show up to the class for a month. In my fall semester, I ended with a GPA of 2.8 - out of five classes, I had two C’s, two B’s and an A. My GPA after the spring semester plummeted to below 2.0 as I failed my pre-calculus and government classes, with a C in chemistry and a D in composition II.
Obviously I was extremely negligent towards my classes - I can say that a lack of interest in the subject matter resulted in my poor performance in classes like government and composition (though that isn’t an excuse), but it is particularly frustrating for me to have done so poorly in my math and science courses, especially since I tend to start out strong when the classes begin.
(TL;DR - made stupid choices, ended freshman year with below 2.0 GPA at community college)
My goal is to transfer into the four-year university I have in mind and get a bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, but with my GPA I clearly can’t transfer right now, since I need to have a 3.0 or higher. At this community college, I have the option of re-taking any classes that I did poorly in, which I intend to do regardless, but I’m just worried about how any university I transfer to will consider my application when they see this horrible waste of time, money and effort in my past.
I’m open to any advice at all, I’m not worried about taking longer than 4 years to graduate or anything like that, I just want to know how I can best improve my academic profile so that a degree and career in a computer engineering/computer science-related field is attainable. Thank you!
Computer Science is an extremely competitive field these days. A 3.0 might be sufficient to transfer into a 4-year school, but, depending on which college, it might not be high enough to get you into a CS program. Continue in CC, retake the classes in which you did poorly. You need to ace the math classes, and to be a competitive CS applicant, you should have calculus on your transcript. Consider an IT field as a backup to CS. It seems the faster you turn this around, the better your chances will be. Stop skipping classes!
Obviously, you know that academically you need to make some changes. This may mean stepping, putting more time into your studies , changing the way you approach your academics, etc
I recommend you staying until you complete your associates, which will make the transfer process easier and cleaner because minimally your community college will have articulation agreements with 4 year school
You need to meet with your school’s transfer advisor who can give you good advise as to where graduates from your school have the most success in getting admitted to CSPrograms st 4-year schools.
are you ready to go back to college?
Why will you do things differently this time?
What will you do differently this time?
Why did you take classes you are not interested in?
Thank you for all of the replies, thinking about what to do about all of this in the last couple of months has been driving me a little crazy. I’ve since met with my academic advisor at this community college and talked about which classes I should take to make the transfer process go as smoothly as possible whenever it happens, and I have also scheduled an appointment to meet with an advisor from the 4 year that I’ve been eyeing to talk about where I’m at in my situation and where I’d like to be.
@Groundwork2022
The competition is one of the things that worries me… my ideal major and career field would be one in which I would be researching and developing hardware and/or software, and so I have been set on Computer Engineering for a while. It would allow me to study the best parts of both C.S. and E.E. degrees, but I do understand that I need to get on top of my math classes. Another stressful part of this all is that I have a strong urge to avoid wasting any time, I want to be constantly working towards this degree so I can graduate at the same time as my friends - but at the same time, maybe this rushing to get through the classes I feel are “unnecessary” has been a contributor to my grades.
@sybbie719
I have been considering just going for the associates degree here, my only concerns with doing that being that it would be an AS in Eng. Science, where my ideal major at this four year university would be C.E. (w/ E.E. track), so I will make sure to bring that up at my meeting with the 4Y academic advisor.
@bopper
The classes like Composition, Government, etc. are required for both the major I have in mind for the 4Y university and for the AS track that I am on at this community college. I guess as far as doing things differently, I just need to push myself harder to put in the study hours, no matter my level of interest in the subject matter.
You grades and study habits do not support your readiness for university yet. It seems reasonable to replace poor grades with very good grades in those classes. That would also provide you with the opportunity to develop and practice extremely good class, study and test taking skills. Taking new classes that are basic requirements in college. Graduating from college with friends is a nice, but not necessarily meaningful goal because students are not following the same road to moving up from elementary to high school. So, organize your goals and behavior in ways that will allow you achieve your aspirations.
You should not be at college or university of any kind at any level unless and until you are dedicated to show up at every class, always pay attention, and always do your homework on time.
Is it possible that you might have some issue with depression? I am wondering if you should see a counselor to discuss this.
I have seen students pull them out of similar holes and do very well. However, you have to really want to do it.
Do what it takes to get As in those classes. The fact you’re not very interested in them is immaterial - you need to be well educated and tour University will want strong students. Engineers have to communicate AlL the time - in fact you’ll likely have to take another composition class dedicated to scientific writing.
Stay as long a needed to complete calculus 2 or 3 at your cc. In the meantime see classes as your job. Your job will have parts you live and parts you dislike - but it’s your job and you have to do it all. No excuses.
GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch khan academy or other videos on line about the topic you are studying.
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up time for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.