<p>So, I didn't do too well on my midterms and I think I am possibly going to end the year with a very bad GPA. Have I destroyed any possible chance I have had at graduate school as once they see my transcript and my first year GPA, they will automatically reject me?</p>
<p>Do you really think that anyone who gets a low GPA their first year will be completely unable to get into grad school? Really?</p>
<p>Relax and do better next semester and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Don’t they calculate your GPA for all if your classes? Not just the one year?</p>
<p>Relax. I had a horrific first semester (no study habits to speak of, and ended up with a D in what was once my best subject) and still got into grad school. As long as the grades trajectory is upwards, you’ll be fine. You do need to figure out where you went wrong this semester, though. Too much partying? Procrastination? Poor writing? All of these are fixable.</p>
<p>A bad first year GPA makes it harder to get research jobs. Lack of research experience makes it harder to get into grad school. Not to mention, bad foundations in core courses will probably make it harder to succeed in higher-level courses, unless you’re only getting bad grades in institute requirements that have no bearing on your future plans. GPA is very important, even in the first year, but with enough effort you can usually improve.</p>
<p>That being said, if you’re only at midterms, you don’t even know how you’ll do for the semester, let alone the year. Maybe your teachers will be better next semester and you’ll do better. Who knows.</p>