<p>the first couple of tests in my classes, i havent done very well on the tests. i've merely scored at or below the class averages on these tests, and we're almost halfway through the term. i want to try my best to score as close as 100% as possible and get close to A's in the courses, but after finding out about my first few test scores, i'm rather demoralized...has such incident happened to you guys when you all were freshmen? i realize i cannot expect to get all A's or the perfect GPA as I did in high school, but I know that i can do much better..i guess im looking for solace or something. have undergrads who eventually end up with high cumulative GPA's/graduate as valedictorian (or near top of college class) ever faltered? </p>
<p>Hey, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's hard to adjust to college, and there is plenty of time to turn your grade around this semester. Go to your professors and ask them what you can do to pull your grade up and what parts of the curriculum you are not doing so well in. They should be happy to help you. I had a very good first semester but faltered in my second semester of freshman year. I rallied and pulled my grades back up first semester sophomore year just to have a huge trauma happen that semester that killed my second semester grades. But I decided this semester to pull myself up again and I just got two midterms back with As on them. I've done it, so can you! It will be harder to pull your grade up now than if you were keeping it up the whole time, but if you work hard you should be just fine! Good luck! =)</p>
<p>I had a 1.8 gpa my freshman year of college. I worked it up to almost a 3.0 now. It's nothing to worry about as long as you improve. College is a lot different than high school and sometimes you can get caught up in all the new freedom that you don't do what you need to academically.</p>
<p>thanks for replies, but i find it so difficult to accept that ive started low and have to fight my way back, especially if the class curve is high (class is doing well on tests) and yet im still trying to pull off a high cumulative GPA somehow. argh.</p>
<p>well it seems that no matter where you're at, you'd better get a good GPA..i mean, if im not mistaken, grad schools don't care about your undergrad's prestige; they mainly mind your undergrad GPA? and employers look at what grad school you went to, so seems that all of that good stuff is based from your undergrad GPA...?</p>
<p>lol. you're at Stanford man. can't really expect to be a genius when you're in a class full of 'em. I'd relax if I were you. I don't think you'll be hurting if you graduate from stanford with "average" grades.</p>
<p>I think tons of Stanford grads get jobs at prestigious firms.. I don't imagine them all getting top grades.. Chill.. Well.. Unless you're going to grad school.. but then with a stanford degree.. you can afford not to go to grad school</p>
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if im not mistaken, grad schools don't care about your undergrad's prestige
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<p>I know I got the benefit of the doubt for my pretty-good-but-not-great GPA during grad school admissions since I took as many difficult classes as possible and was at a school that's known for the lack of much grade inflation. And it also helped I had a lot of research experience and really good recommendations (which are generally just as important, if not more so, for grad school).</p>
<p>This applies more to grad schools more than professional schools such as law, medicine, and such.</p>
<p>my first term of college, i received a b+, a b-, and a withdrawal. i wasn't especially good at studying, never having done much of it in high school, and on top of it i was sick with mono for most of the term. that was demoralizing. a year later, even though i'm taking much more difficult classes, my lowest grade this term has been a 90 (which curved to an a).</p>
<p>so don't worry if you don't figure everything out perfectly freshman fall; chances are it'll improve considerably once you get the hang of it.</p>
<p>edited to add: i mean, i guess i'll never be valedictorian, but i think i can live with that.</p>
<p>"lol. you're at Stanford man. can't really expect to be a genius when you're in a class full of 'em. I'd relax if I were you. I don't think you'll be hurting if you graduate from stanford with "average" grades."</p>
<p>question_quest: my second term, i received two a-s and a c+, the latter because i took an economics course in which nearly everyone had taken economics in high school and i hadn't, and i was in way over my head. third term, i got an a, an a-, and a b. this term i have all as so far. </p>
<p>the as and a-s have all been in social science courses heavy on writing and analysis; the b (statistics) and c+ were in quantitative courses heavily reliant on exams, which are my greatest weakness. excluding freshman fall, i've never received a grade lower than an a- on a research paper or essay exam, and most have been solid as.</p>
<p>To help with the spring semester, start studying the materials for your classes at the beginning of the winter break. This generally reduces the pressure for learning material fast during the semester turning the regular session into more of a review along with homeworks, quizzes, projects and exams.</p>
<p>Don't worry man, I got just an average GPA at Northwestern (I did get 3.9+ at WashU for my freshmen year but it's not carried over after transferring) and I got into every grad school I applied to including Stanford/Berkeley. Also, grades tend to be more inflated once you get past the intro courses (freshmen/sophomore year). As long as you do well on the standardized test, you will get in most, if not all of your choices with an average GPA from Stanford (med schools and top PhD programs are exceptions). I wouldn't worry too much about it.</p>