<p>Hello, I am a second semester freshman pre-med major at the University of Texas. I feel as if it impossible to succeed here for me. I am practically killing myself with studying to barely maintain a 2.7 GPA. I have already failed a biology course that killed my GPA and is a pre-med requirement. If I stay here I am worried I won't have a chance at getting accepted into medical school because of my poor GPA and lack of EC. I have no social life or friends here and I feel incredibly alone. I don't have any time to join clubs because of how much I am struggling with my school work. I went to a very very poor highschool that did not offer advanced or AP classes and I feel so incredibly behind. Right now I have not declared a major (natural sciences-undeclared) and I feel as if I can't because I am below average at everything, whether it be math, science, or even music. To but it bluntly, I feel worthless. I've gotten very depressed since arriving here. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to maybe transfer to a school like Texas State or UTSA. The University of Texas is quite prestigious, being ranked in the top 30 world universities, but I feel like I can't handle the heat.</p>
<p>Some other things to consider:
-I got a full ride here, but with the scholarship I got I can transfer it to A&M, Texas state, or UTSA.
-My SAT score was close to a 1900 and I scored a 29 on the ACT. I had a 3.9 GPA in high school.
-Here at UT I was accepted into an undergraduate research project that is apparently pretty unique. UT is one of the only schools that offers this opportunity, and many of the alumni of this program continue on to do major research like getting journals published or doing stem cell research at Stanford.
-Some of my other friends, that I always did better than in highschool, are at UTSA and Tx State taking the same courses and have a 4.0.
-Both of my parents went to UT and I feel as if they would be very disappointed in me if I transferred out.
- I am worried I am going to regret transferring out and not be able to get back in (again, poor GPA).
-At the end of this semester I will have 54 credit hours (I transferred in with some credit from high school). I'm done with my basics, and have a few pre med required credits done.</p>
<p>All-in-all, do what you feel you need to do but I’m going to throw some heat at you.</p>
<p>You are making excuses and rationalizing things for yourself. Either suck it up and improve, or quit and go to a different school. You are only a freshman, you can retake that course and bring that GPA back up to snuff in time for medical school. You can also transfer, but you are going to end up doing the same thing. While UTSA and TxState may not be as prestigious as UT, you are still going to have to put in the effort at those schools as well. What about the MCAT? Are you going to blame UTSA or TxState if you bomb that test? </p>
<p>You are still adjusting from high school. Some do it better than others and you need to accept that there is going to be times in life when you fail. Calm down, take a deep breath, and focus on the close target: this semester. Invest in drop-in tutoring at Jester, make some friends in your classes, and go to office hours for the Professors and the TAs. I spent every day last semester in Hickenbottom’s office for Microeconomics. I had a C mid semester. I finished the class with an A-.</p>
<p>You need to quit pandering on what you are going to do, and start doing something productive towards solving your problem. Research study methods, you may be wasting all of your time, I know I was…again, this isn’t high school. You can’t just take notes and read chapters expecting to just regurgitate all of that on exams.</p>
<p>You should make an appointment with a counselor asap, if you haven’t already. Your feelings are not uncommon for a freshman. They will be able help find you a tutor and other ways to guide you through this first year to be successful. It IS really hard! That’s why not everyone goes to college. But your GPA and especially your ACT score show that you have the brains and ambition and deserve to be there. Seek some help! You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re struggling alone. Ask yourself how the athletes manage to do it…and many of them I’m sure had a lower ACT score. Good luck…!</p>
<h2>-I got a full ride here, but with the scholarship I got I can transfer it to A&M, Texas state, or UTSA.</h2>
<p>Is it a big scholarship?
Any GPA requirements?
Any chance you can lose it if you don’t improve?
If you loose it will college still be affordable?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Seek help with a counselor at the student health center for help with feelings of depression.</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to counselor at Natural Sciences College to discuss options with classes, tutors, majors, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Watch this video made by Dr. Laude, Chemistry professor. He gives a lot of great advice that might help you. [Thirteen</a> Rules for School - YouTube](<a href=“Thirteen Rules for School - YouTube”>Thirteen Rules for School - YouTube)</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to a career counselor at the Undergraduate Studies office - they know a lot about helping students struggling with same issues you are going through (I personally am friends with one of them!) They can guide you to look at all options - changing majors, changing schools, taking some classes elsewhere, etc. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are a lot of options for you - let the counselors guide you and it’ll work out. They have a lot of experience helping people in the same situation you are in.</p>
<p>Well…for one…top 30 in the world?Not really, but it is a very good school.</p>
<p>Some things to consider:
If you have a fullride, you have the potential to do better and succeed. The school would not offer you a full ride if they did not believe you could not do it.</p>
<p>Speak to a counselor to get some advice, invest time in tutoring and study groups. </p>
<p>You can do it, you are just feeling overwhelmed in trying to adjust.</p>
<p>Your life sounds like what my 1st year, second semester ChemE major is going through. He has almost no social life as he has to spend nearly all his time doing homework or studying.</p>
<p>He was comforted to know he is not alone in his struggles and he found people in similar situations at the study tables at Jester.</p>
<p>He also knows that most of the other students in a class don’t do well either – many are struggling to keep their head above water.</p>
<p>This wasn’t what he expected college to be like last August. What he changed was his expectations. You are in a tough major.</p>
<p>Hmm well thats interesting given that other sources don’t list UT in the top 30. But every source ranks their schools differently and may or may not include certain information. But if that site is more credible then I guess it is but not according to other sites</p>
<p>USNWR ranks us #46, Forbes ranks us #104. And college rankings are subjective anyway, so I think it’s difficult to say definitively that we ARE in the top 30 in the nation. That said, we are a pretty damn good school.</p>
<p>To the OP: Suck it up, get yourself squared away, and bring your GPA up. It’s really that simple. There are literally thousands of people who work on this campus just to provide tutoring, from the guys at Jester study tables to every prof and TA who holds office hours. Utilize your resources. I have dyslexic friends here who are Engineering majors who are doing just fine. I say all this not to make you feel bad, but to prove that there are people who have it worse than you who are pulling through, and that you have everything you need to succeed. You just need to figure out how to take advantage of it all.</p>
<p>And sidenote: TAMU is no easier than UT, and the quality of instruction at UTSA/TxState is likely to be significantly lower than UT. Take all this into consideration.</p>
The quibble with rankings is over World rankings, not national rankings. I agree that rankings are subjective, but for one poster to mitigate the OP’s rationale when he/she is struggling is not very productive, IMO. Besides, the OP was accurate.</p>
<p>That being said, getzin I really feel for you. As some have mentioned, please seek out tutoring for those courses you are struggling with. Try to organize your time with a study schedule and stick to it and also allow for some down time. As UTMother mentioned, use the resources at the UGS office to help talk out your frustrations and provide guidance.</p>
<p>Feeling overwhelmed is natural for first year students. Almost every student, in almost every major, goes through this at one time or another. Give it some time, implement some of the advice you’ve been offered here, and see how you feel at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation, sorta. I’m not having trouble with classes, I just don’t have the money anymore. To U of H I go!
But seriously, don’t feel bad, just don’t regret what ever decision you make!</p>
<p>You are right these ranking are very subjective. I do not have a child attending UT, so no dog in this fight, but to be fair, the Forbes ranking itself claims:</p>
<p>The rankings, …, focus on the things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, high graduation rates and low-levels of debt. They do not attempt to assess a school’s reputation, nor are they a measure of academic selectivity and we pointedly ignore any metrics that would encourage schools to engage in wasteful spending.</p>
<p>So the question is, do we really want to see, non-selective, cheap colleges with high graduation rates ranked higher than those with lower graduation rates? Also, we do not know how they are measuring the quality of teaching and career prospects. Also, the amount of debt is variable from student to student. For example, if one is a NMF at Univ of Alabama or OU or A&M then average debt would be irrelevant. Similarly, career prospects can vary from department to department. A top state univ may have great engineering or business school but not so hot other departments.</p>
<p>First, I never intended to insult or bash anyone or anything. I never said the op was not accurate. I was referring to the statistics. I’m just stating facts and was never intentionally trying to start any argument. I gave my opinion and left it as is. And if anything I tried to meet in the middle and even say that if the source is credible then maybe UT is number 30 in the world so chill out.</p>
<p>I just don’t agree with people making decisions based on college rankings on which college they should attend to specially when rankings are inconsistent. I’m not saying UT is not a great school, cause it really is a fantastic school overall but, depending on your field of interest, research schools based on that field and not overall rankings. Cause at the end of the day it does not matter what school you come from, its what you do with your degree.</p>
<p>For most people (including me), freshman year is the most difficult and least successful. If you transfer to an easier school, you will probably do better next year. If you stay at UT you will probably do better next year. No matter what choice you make, you will end up feeling it was the right one.</p>
<p>Well. I’ve decided to stay. As for some of the questions I’ve been asked:
-My scholarships are valued at over $18,000 a semester. They give me money for housing, food, and “social activities”. It mostly comes from 2 major foundations (terry foundation and another local to my hometown) and 1 from the CNS at UT.
-I have to maintain a 2.5 to keep my scholarships.
-If I lose my scholarships… well I would probably have to drop out. Me nor my family would be able to pay for it.</p>
<p>But as I said before, I’m staying. I reasoned that in reality I’m only an 1/8th into college and maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. That also leaves me with time to bring up my GPA. Also, even though I made it sound like it, my main concern wasn’t my emotional welfare with this post, I’m mostly concerned I won’t be able to achieve my ultimate goal (to be a doctor) because I won’t get into medical school. Maybe I’ve just made friends with the unusually smart people, but all of my friends have 4.0s :(</p>
<p>Keep your head up. You were able to work hard to get you where you are now so all you have to do is put in the effort and things will turn in your favor. You are adjusting to a new routine and lifestyle, as well as taking a huge plunge into a harder level of academia. You’ll be fine.</p>