<p>This quarter I took 3 courses which were really hard for me.... For one of them, I had to change the grading basis to P/NP (Pass, no pass). I don't think I'll be passing that class. I will also be getting a low GPA.</p>
<p>To compensate for this, I've decided to take 4 courses this upcoming quarter. and I will try my very best... Is this a smart thing to do? I'm worried that I'll fall behind..... </p>
<p>Please Help.</p>
<p>bump… </p>
<p>come on such a simple question 
I want your opinions…</p>
<p>You know yourself best; we don’t know you or how well you’ll do in your future classes. It’s doable, but ultimately it’s up to you to do well.</p>
<p>I’m taking four next quarter too! And really, I think it depends on the difficulty of your classes more than the courseload.</p>
<p>Most people take 3 courses their first year. I’m taking 3</p>
<p>take four if you want, but try to go to all of your classes and stay on top of things. to be safe, i would make sure you are prepared to drop one of them before 4th week.</p>
<p>Thanks… 2 one of them are like “guaranteed A” courses. So I’ll be fine right? </p>
<p>haha need the reassurance…</p>
<p>What are the two “guaranteed A” courses?</p>
<p>Why don’t you tell us which three classes you took this quarter, and which one you will not pass, which is a C- so we can gauge your aptitude .</p>
<p>yup! especially the two “guaranteed A” courses! I am really interested to know! :]</p>
<p>Well One of the courses is Ethno M116 . I heard its a guaranteed “A” haha this is what i’m hoping. And the other one is Korean. Since I’m korean with background i think i’ll be fine. </p>
<p>One other course is A&O S II which i heard is really easy, and the last one is Poli Sci 40…</p>
<p>By the way , I’m taking 4 courses winter because I will end up with only 9 units completed this quarter…</p>
<p>And what are the classes you are taking currently? What is the P/NP class? What are the projected grades for the other two classes?</p>
<p>In the original post, I wrote that the only reason why I was doing poorly was because they were too hard for me. </p>
<p>That isn’t that case… I had my own personal problems that I had to deal with , which made this quarter terrible. That’s why I know for a fact I’ll do much better winter quarter.</p>
<p>I don’t really want to say what classes I’m taking now… But I’m taking 3.</p>
<p>Here are my projected grades:</p>
<p>1st possibility: 5 unit class: B , 4 unit class: C , NP</p>
<p>2nd possibility: 5 unit class: B-/C+, 4 unit class: C , NP</p>
<p>3rd possibility: 5 unit class: C 4 unit class: C , NP</p>
<p>Worst Case Scenario (Probably won’t happen) : 5 unit class: C, 4 unit class: D , NP</p>
<p>Yes I know these are absolutely terrible, and that I am in risk for probation.</p>
<p>StevJ17, I’m so sorry that you have had a difficult first term at UCLA. With finals coming up in the next week or so, you’ll need not only to hit the proverbial books but also make certain you go to the reviews for your course as well as go see the TA and/or prof. You list a NP class in all four scenarios. Keep in mind that until the finals are correct, the points tabulated and the class curves are created, you may not know what your actual grades might look like unless you missed the exam or landed well below the average test/paper/assignment grade for each assessment. I once had a Physical Chemistry exam which I felt I had completely failed…I received a 27/100 on it. The class average for the exam was 29!</p>
<p>If there is anyway that you can get a pass in that class you should try to do so and here’s why…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the rules for colleges and GPA calculations vary with respect to P/NP courses. For some, neither a P or NP will be reflected in your GPA. For other schools the P is not reflected in your GPA (but the credits count), and for a NP you do don’t receive a credit BUT the course counts toward the GPA calculation. The UCLA registrar lists a NP as having 0.00 grade points per unit. This is worrisome if it is true for the all colleges within the university since it may imply that a NP is calculated in the GPA. If it is not, then you don’t need to worry as much.</p>
<p>So why is an NP used in the calculation worrisom? It is worrisome for at least two reasons. First, the probation status goes into play under several situations including “if your term/overall GPA falls below 2.0 but is above or equal to 1.5.” What happens if your GPA falls below 1.5? That’s covered under one of the three cases in which you can become subject to academic dismissal “GPA in any one term falls below 1.5”. see: [Probation[/url</a>] Second, you may be at risk for losing any financial aid that you may have should your GPA go under a 2.0 see: <a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2012-2013/SAP_guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2012-2013/SAP_guide.pdf](<a href=“http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/counseling/probation.html]Probation[/url”>http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/counseling/probation.html)</a></p>
<p>So, let’s take a look at the scenarios you proposed AND assume that the NP counts in your GPA calculation. Remember at UCLA +/- grades are used in the calculation, e.g. C = 2 grade pts per unit; C + = 2.3 grade pts per unit.</p>
<p>Case 1= [B/C/NP] possible GPA range = 1.93 to 1.53 for NP course with 3 - 5 units, respectively</p>
<p>Case 2 = [B-/C/NP) possible GPA range using B- = 1.79 to 1.43 for NP course with 3-5 units</p>
<p>Ultimately, let’s hope that I’m wrong about the NP being calculated AND/OR you can get a P in the course you’ve put in the NP category!</p>
<p>With respect to your question about next term regarding taking 4 courses, I would strongly advise that you not to do so particularly if you are on probation. At UCLA you are not permitted to take a course as P/NP while under an academic disciplinary. You have two terms to bring up your cumulative GPA to above a 2.0 (and you need that GPA as high as possible to keep from tipping under the 2.0 line again). If you ended Fall term with a GPA of 1.53, you will need at least a B or higher in 13 units worth of courses to tip the scale over the 2.0 mark. </p>
<p>The Academic Counseling Office should be able to answer all of your questions. If you get a chance, you might want to head over there. In the meantime, work hard…and keep your fingers crossed regarding the grade curves. Good luck with your finals, and I hope all your future academic work brings you much success.</p>
<p>StevJ17, </p>
<p>I read back through your old posts and found that you mentioned that you have taken 9-10 courses through the UCLA extension with all grades of A’s and B’s. This MIGHT help you out with your cumulative UCLA GPA depending upon their course number and prefix as your fall term GPA may fall under the 2.0 threshold, but you cumulative GPA should not. I’m not certain how an under 1.5 GPA for the term might impact you even with a cumulative GPA of >2.0</p>
<p>From the UCLA section on grade calculation for the College of Arts and Sciences (which I presume you are in given the mention of ethnomusicology.</p>
<p>“Only grades earned in regular session or Summer Sessions at any UC campus and grades earned by Arts and Architecture and Letters and Science undergraduate students in UCLA Extension courses prefixed by XLC are computed in the UCLA grade-point average”
[url=<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/archive/catalog/2005-07/catalog/catalog05-07acadpol-2.htm]GRADES[/url”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/archive/catalog/2005-07/catalog/catalog05-07acadpol-2.htm]GRADES[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Haha, you are taking LGBT.
Excuse me, I am just being playful.</p>
<p>3kidz2college,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for helping out. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I spoke with the lady at the front desk of the student servies for Arts and Architecture (I plan to switch to Letters and sciences when my GPA is high enough )</p>
<p>I told her about my situation.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused of what you told and what she told me.</p>
<p>She told me that if that the P / NP class is a lost cause, I should only focus on my 2 other classes and forget about that other one completely because the P / NP class will not effect my GPA. She said that since it’s only 2 classes however, they will highly be weighted.</p>
<p>Good news: I am confident I will be getting a , B /B+ on my 5 unit class.</p>
<p>That just leaves me with my other 4 unit class, — It all depends on what I get on the Final.</p>
<p>You advise me that I should not take 4 classes right? Even though they are all relatively easy?</p>
<p>The reason why I am taking 4 is because I’m worried about the number of units I have.
Since I will be getting a NP on my 4 unit class, I will only have 9 units done for this quarter. By the end of the year don’t you need like 37 credits or something? (if you don’t you will be subject to dismissal? )</p>
<p>StevJ17,</p>
<p>That’s great news that you were told “that if the P / NP class is a lost cause, I should only focus on my 2 other classes and forget about that other one completely because the P / NP class will not effect my GPA. She said that since it’s only 2 classes however, they will highly be weighted.” </p>
<p>This simply means that your transcript show a NP for the course and that it will not be used to calculate your fall term GPA. Congrats on sitting in the B/B+ range for your 5 unit class. That means that your GPA for fall term will remain above a 2.0 average.</p>
<p>Here’s what you need to figure out. You mentioned that you have taken UCLA extension courses and that you have received A’s and B’s in those courses. Look at your transcript online or better yet go over to or call the Registrar’s office to see if those courses count toward the number of credits that your need to meet the minimum standards. For example, a first year student taking 15 credits with an additional 30+ academic credits from AP classes actually would have the academic standing of a sophomore at the end of their first term. I would assume that such a student would have made satisfactory academic progress despite receiving 9 credits for fall term. You may be in the same “boat” with your extension courses.</p>
<p>If you are thinking about graduate school, you want to focus on maximizing your GPA. Taking four classes, even if they are “easy”, may make it difficult to do so since you would be significantly increasing the workload One option would be to register, see how it goes, then drop one before the add/drop date passes. BUT usually those first three weeks of the term don’t reveal what the pace will really be like when you start having a pile-up of assignments, papers and exams which may overwhelm you. I’d still suggest that you get your time management skills solidly in place before you make the leap to four courses this first year UNLESS you need to do so from the academic progress standpoint. If you have extra time on your hands with 3 classes, find a place to volunteer or work which will provide some experience for getting a future summer internship, job or permanent position in your field of interest.</p>
<p>Will you be subject to dismissal based on the number of units…that’s an important enough question that you need to sort it out with the administrators from the registrar. You might want to double check sometime that the situation will not impact your financial aid - if you receive financial aid. Again, the Registrar and the Financial Aid offices would have the most current and accurate answer.</p>
<p>I think have the situation pretty much figured out now. I will talk more with my academic counselor about all this (The extension courses I took etc.)</p>
<p>My time management skills are definitely improving, so I think I’ll do relatively well next quarter.</p>
<p>I will try my best to raise my GPA.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the advice! It really helps when someone replies to my problems</p>