<p>Long time reader here on CC but never felt like jumping into the conversations until now. My only child recently arrived home from his college freshman year. He is attending a LAC that is in this the top 50 on USNWR. He received a generous academic scholarship. He loves his school - very well adjusted on the social side - can not wait to get back to school. He participated in a variety of activities. He is going back in the fall as an orientation leader. His grades.....hmmmmm.....I am underwhelmed to say the least but not sure if I am being too hard on him. His first semester he had a 3.33. He went back in the spring with the intention of improving his GPA. That did not happen. Second semester he had a 3.0. His cumulative freshman GPA is about a 3.16. That GPA is good enough,after freshman year, to keep his academic scholarship. </p>
<p>Again, he is my only child so I really need some help and/or perspective from the wise folks here on CC. Am I over reacting by being a tad bit disappointed with the GPA? I do not feel that this is his best. He wants to go on to law school or graduate school. Is this GPA going to eliminate those options for him? Is this GPA "ok" enough considering that he is happy and otherwise well adjusted (ie. wants to return to school). I feel so anxious about this and I am not sure if my expectations are out of line.</p>
<p>Is in a major which has a lot of “weed-out intro courses”* or did he happen to take one to fulfill Gen-Eds? </p>
<p>How does HE feel about his academic performance? Most would feel it’s ok or even fine for freshman year as he still has three years.</p>
<p>Lastly, did he prioritize his EC/social activities over his academics?</p>
<p>Personally, the second semester performance/downward GPA trend would have infuriated me if I was him and cause me to figure out ways to kick myself into proper academic gear…such as pairing down some of those EC/social activities, studying more effectively, and/or reevaluating course/major selections.</p>
<p>Then again, that wasn’t my actual situation as my GPA trend was the exact opposite.</p>
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<li>STEM majors like Computer Science, Physics, etc.</li>
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<p>Cobrat - Thanks so much for your response. He took some gen - ed classes but nothing too fluffy and he took some classes in his initial intended major (Philosophy) one of which was an upper level class and he was the only freshman in the class. He did have to complete a foreign language requirement and foreign language has always been an incredible stuggle for him. That requirement is now complete!!! </p>
<p>He feels he did “alright” “ok” but should have done better. He feels that he did not hurt himself but did not really help himself either with the GPA and future goals. He is looking forward to next year and feels that not having to deal with a foreign language in his schedule will really help.</p>
<p>I am not sure as to how he balanced his time. I do not get the sense that he was spread too thin. He does have a ton of friends and seems to know all sorts of people both in his grade and above ( we have seen this walking around campus with him). Overall he is well adjusted so I know I should count my blessings in many ways.</p>
<p>Fenway, it really depends on the school. A B at one school can be the equivalent of an A at another. The grad schools understand that – they know which schools have tough grading standards and which have rampant grade inflation. </p>
<p>I think you should lay off. If your son’s grade are good enough to retain his merit scholarship, then they are good enough for his school. </p>
<p>It sounds like your son is doing very well in a tough academic environment. </p>
<p>Bottom line: don’t worry about the GPA, it’s not your problem. That’s part of the whole “letting go” part of parenting – his grades are his own responsibility at this point.</p>
<p>Fenway, my 94 year old mother still worries about me. She doesn’t say much, but I know she does. It’s OK to worry, it’s how you handle it that matters. Chats on an anonymous board are fine. That’s what we are here for. If your son is done with any classes that might be problematic, then I would suspect his GPA will rise. If he is sticking with the philosophy major, he may have other difficult course, but they may come easier if he has more courses under his belt.</p>
<p>Those terms are much more generous than many I’ve seen. Many would take the scholarship away if one fell below 3.25 or sometimes even 3.5. </p>
<p><a href=“Philosophy”>quote</a> one of which was an upper level class and he was the only freshman in the class. He did have to complete a foreign language requirement and foreign language has always been an incredible stuggle for him. That requirement is now complete!!!
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<p>Did that upper-level Philosophy course had prerequisites and did he fulfill them through doing private reading of all books covered in the prereq courses? If not…he did an extremely brave, but possibly foolhardy thing. Especially considering Philosophy is actually one of the harder majors…especially rational logic. </p>
<p>And he’s a Philosophy major…he’s a much braver soul academically than I was back in college*. </p>
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<li>History major with minors in Politics and East Asian Studies with a side of CS courses for majors.<br></li>
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<p>While grad schools may take that into account, law schools go by cumulative GPA calculated by LSDAS…including all courses take outside one’s BA institution up to first BA/BS…including dual-enrollment courses in HS and summer session courses. Even if they got no credit for those courses. This factor screwed/helped many friends who were applying to law schools. </p>
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<p>I’d agree if he realized it wasn’t ok to come that close to losing a merit scholarship. By being “ok” with it, it doesn’t sound like he’s fully gotten the message yet. A ONE-TIME reminder is appropriate here. </p>
<p>I say this as someone who had a near-full ride contingent on maintaining a cumulative GPA much greater than 3.16 at a top 30 LAC. </p>
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<p>Even if it’s a tough academic environment, it’s not good to give oneself a pat on the back when one is trying to/has goals which require him to kick himself into higher academic gear. In this case…keeping that scholarship for 3 more years.</p>
<p>Especially considering law school isn’t going to be cheap and uncertain lawyer job prospects.</p>
<p>That’s not, “heart set on law school.” That’s, “What the hell will I do next with a Philosophy major?” </p>
<p>His educational and career goals might change. That’s the whole point of college. </p>
<p>I would not advise anyone at all to go to law school these days unless that person is absolutely, positively, enthusiastically, dead set on a career involving the practice of law. No possible justification for taking on the costs otherwise. </p>
<p>I say this as a lawyer. But it isn’t worth taking on $150-$200K worth of debt and that’s what law students are looking at these days. It saddens me, because I think that it’s a valuable education to have. But the jobs aren’t out there and the cost has just grown too steep.</p>
<p>(FWIW, I know a young adult with a relatively mediocre college GPA and stellar LSAT scores who just got accepted to an Ivy law school, after a couple of years out of college working for a nonprofit legal agency which might be something of an admissions boost. GPA isn’t everything. The LSAT scores came after intensive test prep.)</p>
<p>D2 is pre-law. From all the research we’ve done, GPA is very important to get admitted top tier law schools. There are probably too many lawyers now, so unless D2 could be admitted to one of those law schools, I wouldn’t advise her to pursue it. If your son is interested in law, I would have him do some research on various law school’s requirements.</p>
<p>To the OP, while it is your son’s life, etc. etc., I really don’t agree that as a parent it is our jobs to back off now that they are all of 19 years old, and going to college on someone else’s nickel (yours, a scholarship etc.). Perhaps the foreign language was all that was a drag, I assume you know the grades…but, it most grades were B to B+ and he thinks he is capable of A work, then he is not maximizing his experience academically. </p>
<p>For years I have read about kids and parents so set on their kids going to certain schools, and when the kids get there, a lot of them forget that socializing is not the major goal, although I agree that socializing has an important place. At my college reunion a few years ago, one of the Deans said that if you are not getting a good GPA in your major, maybe you should major in something else. If he did well in Philosophy then perhaps your worries are for naught.</p>
<p>If someone had their heart set on law school, there are plenty of schools around. However, once you get out of a certain group of schools, it becomes hard to get a good job. At some schools (low ranking ones), even if you are at the tippy top of the class, you will have a hard time getting a job in law at all.</p>
<p>I’ve always had the attitude that if the kids had a 3.0 or better overall life is good. I would probably congratulate one of mine for surviving freshman year and in the same breath caution that 3.1 is awful close to the scholarship cutoff and then let it go until fall. I have often repeated the “3.0 or better” mantra as the older two progressed through college since both needed that as a minimum to stay in their major. For the most part they have exceeded my expectations.</p>
<p>I think you need to be more practical, and less emotional about the grades. They aren’t awful. They aren’t indicative of a serious problem. They just aren’t what you imagined (and we never realize we are imagining until we don’t get what we didn’t know we were thinking of!). And believe me, I know all about disappointing grades and barely getting by. </p>
<p>What do you imagine, now, you can do? Take away privelages? Make him pay for his tuition? Do you want to do that for a .33 decline in gpa in his first try at college? And if you take those actions, have those arguments, make those recrimations, will it actually improve his gpa? If only life were a movie, and you could have a heartfelt talk and our children listen and react; or if we have the talk and they learn the FIRST time But it really doesn’t work that way. When he’s at school, it’s up to him, not you. No amount of anything changes that. You sound like you already know that, and are just sooooo frustrated. We have ALL been there!</p>
<p>He has a lot of success in this year, it sounds like, and try to concentrate on that. Certainly I think it’s okay to say “Hey, tell me about the decline in your grades. Was it one class? What do you think happened” but step away, step away. Breathe.</p>
<p>OP, I think he is doing fine. Now that the adjustment period and novelty of being a freshman are over, he probably will bring that gpa up. Remember though that these are his grades and his experience and the consequences now of doing well, or not doing well, are his. Oldest son is an engineering junior at a university and I honestly have no idea what is gpa is. An A student in high school, it is much harder to get those As at his college. This is because of the course work and sometimes because of the professor. I think he is a solid B student. I do know he studies and takes his courses seriously so that is all that matters. (He is lucky that his scholarship isn’t tied to a specific gpa number though otherwise I might be a little more concerned.) Keep in mind alsothat some schools it is easier to get As than others too and your son’s school might be tougher.</p>
<p>It sounds like he is doing very well. Freshman year can be very difficult, and his grades are more than decent. It may (or may not be, I don’t know you) be time for you to step back and let him manage this himself.</p>
<p>Well, I’ll come at you with 20+ years of working with college freshmen. In spite of what people are going to say about their own kids and their friends’ kids, a drop in GPA between first and second semester year is far more common than a rise. I feel pretty confident saying that because after this long in the game, I’ve seen thousands of freshmen.</p>
<p>Why? Well, first semester, the institution, through various means, keeps it’s watchful eyes on the incoming class. Where I am currently, there are peer leaders, a pretty intensive advising program, and a common gen ed for all freshmen. Second semester, that all goes away. Generally, grades will stay about where they are for first semester sophomore year before starting to creep back up once students realize their apptitudes and adjust majors accordingly.</p>
<p>I do not believe you need to be concerned about a student with a 3.16. His “dip” between frist and second semester was from a B+ to a B. That’s probably not a kid majoring in “party” or “new girlfriend”.</p>
<p>At some “Top 75” LACs we toured, I sensed a “scared straight” attitude regarding freshman year experience from presentations, particularly regarding their writing component expectations and assumption that freshmen needed to be “torn down to be rebuilt” into superior competent students with strong writing skills. This philosophy would probably manifest itself as “hard grading” for freshmen.</p>
<p>Also, it’s my understanding that kids w/AP credits can find themselves overwhelmed by their subsequent “first” classes at college, when they take advanced subject classes w/o having taking related “Gen Ed” intro classes at their college. Likewise when freshmen jump into an advanced-level class just because they can do so.</p>
<p>If foreign language was GPA’s drag - well that requirement is apparently complete.</p>
<p>For longer-term planning purposes, might be helpful for your son to review a “Law School Applications” guidebook that publishes average GPA/scores for each school, so he understands requirements for target law schools. Given current glut of unemployed/underemployed recent law school grads, it’s supremely important to get into a top school and do well once enrolled. I’d suggest doing same for grad school programs if he’s so inclined.</p>
<p>OP says he is in a “top 50” school. If you were always in the top 10% of your class, and you go to a college where everybody else was also in the top 10% of their class, guess what – 90% of you aren’t, anymore.</p>
<p>I’ve been a lawyer for over 25 years. I agree with posters above – essentially that there are presently too many law school seats in the US, and they charge too much for them, for it to be a good idea for all of those young people filling the seats. You do need to go to a top law school, at present, if you want to have a lot of options afterward – particularly if you graduate in debt, as so many do. If the family can afford to put the kid through law school by writing checks, it changes the game significantly – but so would buying the kid a $150,000 home upon college graduation, and letting him find a job on the strength of his bachelor’s degree. These are questions the OP’s son will have to grapple with, as he goes through his undergrad years.</p>
<p>Good lawyering calls for a far more complicated set of social competencies and experiences than a lot of other professions. OP’s son seems to be on track, there. And the pathway to law school can be more circuitous. One of my law school classmates (good school) spent a few years between college and law school as a roadie for a well-known heavy metal band. He would shudder a little when a cover version of one of their songs was played in a law school bar. 3.something may be the best OP’s son can reasonably do for now, while keeping his life and his sanity in balance, and he will have the same challenging post-collegiate decisions to make that everybody else has. I wouldn’t be too hard on him. But his future will be what he makes it.</p>
<p>As someone who got all B’s first term freshman year, and all B’s except for one A (in a notorious but wonderful gut) the second term, but ended up graduating magna cum laude with highest honors in my major, I wouldn’t worry too much. Once I figured out what I was good at and enjoyed learning, I did very well. I’d add that taking a language can be both a time sucker and GPA killer if one doesn’t have a natural facility. My younger son would have a great GPA if he didn’t have Arabic every term bringing it down and at times using up all the spare time that would have allowed a few of his B+'s to turn into A-'s. I got better grades in a far easier language and only managed that by spending twice as much time on homework as my classmates. </p>
<p>So I agree a comment that he’s skirting close to scholarship limits is making you nervous is okay, but leave it at that.</p>
<p>It is always best to go in with wide open eyes. D1 knew she was going into banking, so she majored in math/econ, and she also knew she needed 3.5 and above. D2 wants to go to law school, so she is major in philosophy (not a very marketable major otherwise), but she also knows 3.5 is not going to cut it. Is D2 a lot more careful about protecting her GPA? Yes.</p>
<p>If he doesn’t improve his GPA next year, he should reconsider law school and maybe think about if philosophy is a good major for him if he needs to get a job after college. This is very blunt, but this is the conversation I would have with my kid. I am advising D2 to take some econ courses, just in case.</p>
<p>If it weren’t for his desire to go to law school, I don’t think above 3.0 GPA is bad for freshman year.</p>
But it really doesn’t work that way. When he’s at school, it’s up to him, not you. No amount of anything changes that. You sound like you already know that, and are just sooooo frustrated. We have ALL been there!</p>