Hi guys…
I go to a top 30 college in the north east and I really messed up my first semester. A combination of procrastination, cutting classes, a hard schedule (Bio 2000, Art history 2000, gen chem, econ, and spanish intermediate), and partying literally every weekend has led me to withdrawing from chem and getting an F in art history (C- in econ, B- in spanish, D+ in bio) and having a 1.6 GPA.
I know…I really messed up… I got a letter today saying that I am dangerously on the edge and that I cannot fail or withdraw any classes this spring semester or else they will be forced to expel me.
I just wanted to ask you guys about your opinions on what I should do… Obviously I am going to DRASTICALLY change my study and social habits, studying my ass off for the spring semester and cutting partying mostly.
I feel really bad for wasting my parents hard earned money (I don’t get much financial aid) and am considering going back home to a state school to save them money…but will the state school (which was once a safety school for me) even accept me after they see how bad I screwed up?
and if I do stay at this college, how hard will it be to recover from a 1.6 GPA? Have I really gone off the deep end and screwed myself over?
I prefer the harsh truth rather than a nice covered up fluffy lie…So please guys, I really need advice. I’m at a critical point in my life right now and have a lot of decisions to make. I really appreciate you guys helping me out and reading this, really, from the bottom of my heart. Thanks a lot guys!
Seriously you are the person best to answer most of these questions. You are the one who knows if doing better is an empty promise or not. Your are the one who decided not to attend class and knows if you really thought you could do well in that circumstance and would do that or not next semester. I think usually someone who makes promises of reform are pretty empty. No I don’t think you can transfer now, your gpa is too low for any college. You could recover but you don’t have a structure to do so in. I guess in this case you have to consider going to a CC and having a complete change of atmosphere, because you are just not succeeding where you are.
So right now your immediate goal is to not get kicked out.
What’s your long-term goal? Grad school?
I think you’re in decent shape for the immediate goal and you don’t even need straight As to save your skin.
Shoot for a at least a 2.6 for the 2nd semester. This should get you to around a 2.1 GPA for the academic year. I am assuming they won’t kick you out with over a 2.0 GPA. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I am also assuming you’re a freshman.
For your sophomore year, shoot for at least a 3.0 GPA so your overall GPA will now be ~2.6.
For your junior year, shoot for at least a 3.2 GPA so your overall GPA should be around 2.75.
So, your immediate goal of getting a 2.0 GPA by the end of this academic year and thereby not getting kicked out isn’t too onerous at all assuming you’re going to change as you said you will.
Obviously, if you were thinking of grad school after college, then the GPAs you shoot for in subsequent years should be much higher than what I’ve indicated here.
I’ve sort of set the bar low for GPA in subsequent years because of your history of neglecting your academics. I also wanted to suggest more realistic targets rather than just telling you go get a 4.0 from now on.
Summer school is a very good way to mitigate failed classes and keep you from overloading your schedule in subsequent semesters assuming you’ve got the funds to do that.
I think you’re in good shape to recover if you’re going to change. Med school or law school may be a steep uphill climb if that’s what you wanted to do but graduating from that school with a GPA right at about 3.0 is very doable.
Good advice from @chicagosportsfn. I’d add choice your spring courses carefully. Can you take 4 instead of 5? Is there a course you can take that you’re fairly confident you’ll do well in?
You’ll want to go to office hours, find study groups, go to tutoring center etc. Did you do any of that last semester? I’d also suggest you might reconsider who you hang out with. Find friends who will support your mission of turning this around and distance yourself from those who distract you. You got in to this school so you can do it. Shoot for a 3.0 next semester.
All above are good advice. First, look at what courses you did poor this past semester, Chem and Bio are hard science that may be the harsh classes to weed out pre-med. Avoid those in Spring. Take 4 classes, not 5 and make sure they are the easy ones and aim for B’s (3.0 GPA).
You can still have a great GPA by the end of your college career. For example, I had a 3.86 freshman year. However, in my chemistry class and my mineralogy class I got Cs. This dropped me to a 3.3ish. My point is when you have few credits your GPA can change drastically one way or the other. However, the more credits you have the less dramatic the change is. So my advice is work hard now when you still can. Good luck!
I would suggest you doing everything possible to do well next semester including: attending office hours with instructors, meeting regularly with a counselor in academic advising, monitoring every grade and going to talk with the instructor when you do poorly, and becoming involved in academic activities outside classes-like research. I’d write something up about your plans to turn things around and give copies to your academic advisor and your parents.
@TomSrOfBoston You hit it on the nose.
One of my colleagues had a 1.4-1.6 GPA in college. He dropped out and enlisted in the Army. Went through SF qualification training and finished college. He got into medical school and is now a physician board-certified in 3 specialties. I asked him what happened in college and he said that he just needed to mature a bit.
I wouldn’t cut your partying drastically. I would cut it altogether for a semester. Is it more important to stay at your college, or have a beer with your buddies?
A few basics:
Attend EVERY class and recitation section.
Sit in the FRONT row. It may feel uncomfortable, but you need NO distractions.
Put your phone away during class. And your laptop if you are tempted to do anything except take notes. Take good notes, and keep them organized.
See if you can get ahead on the syllabus – but at a minimum, do all the reading and assignments on time.
Review the syllabus and make sure you understand the grading structure so you can try to get all possible points.
Make notes of any items in the homework, lab, reading, or lecture that you are not clear on. Go to office hours or any tutoring offered, and ask them.
Take your study materials/backpack to dinner, and keep right on going to the library after dinner instead of back to the dorm where there are distractions.
If there is a writing center on campus, use it. If department tutoring is offered, go.
Make a calendar to track all upcoming assignments and tests. Start early, not at the last minute.
If you study with others, make sure it is productive. If the group goofs off much, don’t spend your time there.
Eat a healthy diet, try to get a workout in at least a few times a week, and sleep well – stay focused so you can get to bed at a decent hour.
You have dug yourself a deep hole. It is going to take big changes to get out of it. Your first semester grades are so poor it is hard to know what classes you should stay away from – can’t tell your actual strengths and weaknesses. While an A in Art History can be hard to attain, an F shows a true lack of effort. Looks like you should stick with Spanish for sure and put in some more effort. I would worry that the next sequence course in Bio or Chem or Econ will not be good choices, as there is some building on prior material that you have not mastered.
Adding to them, I’d say that it’s good that you’re aware that it’s costing your parents $$ to go to this top school. On the other hand, we parents know that there is an element of risk any time you send an 18-19 year old away from home to college. So my point is don’t beat yourself up. You’re not the first freshman where this has happened. Don’t keep doing stupid stuff though.
If my son were in your shoes, and I was pretty convinced that there was NOT an addiction or substance abuse problem going on (in which case all bets are off), I would probably advise my son to stay where he is, drop back on the course load, and really focus hard on classes in the spring semester. I would probably insist on some sort of “accountability” type person - i.e., a tutor, therapist, myself - someone who he has to check in with on a weekly basis with an update on grades, course progress, etc. Hopefully you can get at least all "B"s, and stay in school (sounds like you are on the school’s radar). At the very least you would raise your stats to make a transfer more easily.
Good luck - awareness is a big part of the battle. Hoping things make a turn for the better.
Take 5 courses in spring but maybe make one of them Physical Education. Go for an easy A and get your body regulated too. That would maximize your earned credits for your full-time spring tuition. Also take 2 transferable summer courses at community college (taught double-time).
I suggest trying to attend every class. The professor is still teaching even when you are not there. The A students are there. The C- students in Econ are not there. What were you doing during the missed classes that was so important? You can be successful if you can get control over your butt. Get your butt to class.
And you don’t have to do this alone. Most schools have some sort of academic resource center (to help with retention efforts) to help students who are struggling. These people are (usually) in addition to your academic advisor. At Duke, it’s called the Academic Resource Center. If you don’t have one, email your advisor or another adult on staff (or a Residence Coordinator, or a member of Studetn Affairs Staff) that you trust and ask if they would be willing to meet every week or every two weeks to review how things are going, what is happening in your classes, if you’re going to class, etc. Set up some regular accountability to help you.
Thanks A LOT guys!! I really appreciate all the helpful comments. I will definitely work my butt off next semester and my goal is to cut partying all together.
Answering and asking some questions that were asked:
-I fell above the average curve SAT wise and average GPA wise stats wise for my college
-I initially enrolled on a pre-med track, I know I really screwed up, is it not possible anymore?
-My course load for spring semester is
*Biology (ecology and evolution) 2000
*Calculus I (I don’t have a strong foundation in math)
*Principles of Macroeconomics
*Spanish Intermediate (I’m positive that I can do better in this class)
* Philisophy (I’m probably gonna change this one)
What do you guys think? What are some easier classes that I should take instead?
-In addition, I have dabbled with various substances in college but only recreationally (and very infrequently) and I am in no way addicted to any of them… (Weed, MDMA, LSD)… I’m will stop those all together.
You are going to have a tough time climbing back to the GPA you need for med school. And also gaining the knowledge you need for the MCATs… I’d assess at the end of next semester, though. Looks like you are retaking the same Bio class? If that is the case, will it replace the D+ in you GPA calculation if you do better? You need to find that out.
At my college they had some 1 credit geology courses (half semester) that weren’t too hard – maybe substitute a credit or two like that for the Philosophy class if there are 1 credit options. Also, some will poo-poo it, but look at your upcoming profs on Rate My Professor.com. Although I don’t recommend it as a standard practice, see if you can avoid hard graders for a semester. My kids took 8 am sections sometimes to get the best profs – consider that (and don’t miss class!). You need to do everything possible to get back on track.