<p>I am feeling extremely depressed right now. This quarter I took physics, chemistry, calculus, and urban studies at a UC and got 3 C's and an A. I went to office hours , did all the homework, asked questions in class and even took tutoring for Chemistry. Despite my mediocre/abysmal results, I enjoyed all the classes I took with the exception of chemistry. I want to know how I can do better next quarter. </p>
<p>I feel so depressed knowing that my GPA is so low right now, that it may close doors and prevent me from going to graduate school and what not. I feel worthless, and nothing seems good to me right now. Is there any hope?</p>
<p>Class: You took a heavy course load. I’m assuming that physics, chemistry and calculus all had weekly p-sets, and that physics and chemistry had labs. On their own, each course would not be a killer unless the level was way past what you’re comfortable with. But three together is tough.
The best combination of courses, in my opinion, is a combination of courses that do require weekly assignments and courses that may have a midterm, final and term-paper or some other requirements that don’t necessitate weekly homework,
Another thing to consider: are you really good at math/science or would you enjoy humanities and social sciences classes more? Think about these issues for next term, and don’t give up. Many students have a rough freshman fall.</p>
<p>class:
How far along are you? Was this your second quarter of your Freshman year? </p>
<p>Many of the courses at the UCs are tough. Many are graded on a tough curve and there’s no grade inflation - at least at UCLA/UCSD. </p>
<p>Don’t worry too much though. Assuming you’re a freshman you have a long ways to go and your GPA can rise. You need to re-orient a bit and realize that while you were likely one of the top students at your HS so was everyone else around you at the UC. The threshold has changed and it can be a challenge, especially as you take the tougher math/science or engineering courses. Hang in there and you’ll likely settle into the right routine (or maybe even change and settle into the right major) and see your GPA go up. You’ll also get used to the fact that many of the courses require a lot of work, aren’t usually graded lightly, and the other students, almost all of whom were also at the top of their HS classes, help set the curve.</p>
<p>That was a very heavy load. Are you on the quarter system or semester? My D is at UCLA (quarter system) and for the first year her main concern was keeping her gpa up as she had to apply for her major fall of sophomore year and gpa was the key factor. She has taken only 3 classes each quarter in order to do really well. Most are 4-5 unit classes so she usually has 15 units per quarter and has managed to keep a 3.9 gpa. I would not worry so much about what is done but think about the next few quarters. Try to take only 3 classes and get the best grade possible. If you do this for a few quarters your cumulative gpa will come up. You may need to take a class or two during a summer session if you feel you are not getting in all the classes you need. But my D has found it is better not to overload and to do well in every class. She plans to stay in LA this next summer and take a class to fill in some extra units. Just watch your class load from here on out and know that over time you can get that gpa up.</p>
<p>I agree with the others. You have a heavy load. Taking 2 of the 3 physics, chem, calculus would be already tough. Don’t feel bad. Take a lighter load next time and you should do better.</p>
<p>I was in college many years ago, and freshman year, just for fun, I took an advanced calculus class for math majors. Everyone else in the class was an upperclass math major. But I liked math in high school and I placed out of the intro courses.</p>
<p>Extremely difficult, tons of work, and I received a C-plus in the class. And I think the professor was being generous.</p>
<p>It remains, to this day, the most exciting and interesting course of my college career.</p>
<p>A few C’s are no reason to be depressed, IF you’re enjoying the classes and getting something out of them.</p>
<p>If this was your first quarter as a freshman, then this doesn’t surprise me. First of all, you’re probably not used to the fast pace of quarters. </p>
<p>You need to “mix up” your course load each quarter, taking some easier classes with some harder classes.</p>
<p>Don’t worry; this was a learning experience. You now know not to take so many harder courses during one quarter. If you do well the rest of your time in college, your GPA will likely be ok. </p>
<p>Is it possible for you to retake any of those classes during the summer quarter and “replace” the grade?</p>
<p>Agreed that this is a heavy course load at any U.C. Don’t be depressed- you didn’t fail anything, and pulled out an A. Besides that, the Profs that you had were likely impressed with your dedication, and may be willing to write you grad school recs, etc. You needn’t get As to get excellent recs. Finally, remind yourself that the average gpas in college (especially in the sciences!) are typically much lower than in HS, due to the fact that most schools, the UCs at least, don’t weight gpas and have less grade inflation.The average GPA at Berkeley, for example, is 3.25. For goodness sakes, honors begins at 3.8 or so, and is restricted to the TOP 4% of undergraduates. Also, you’re on the quarter system, which means that each single grade is worth less, and you can make up the gpa more quickly. </p>
<p>Just a note: At least at Cal, you can’t retake courses that you pass to replace grades.</p>
<p>What are you thinking of majoring in? Do you have an undergraduate advisor who can help you with course selection? I don’t know about the UC system, but at my university, the departments distribute sample course schedules to help students plan out a four-year program. The sample schedules show the courses that students are usually able to handle in combination, and they are arranged so that all of the pre-requisites are in place when you need them. They generally don’t include physics, math, and chemistry all in the same quarter/semester. At a state school, even if you are a “no preference” major, you are generally better off getting advising from a specific department in math/science/engineering (if you are headed in one of those directions), even if it’s not the department you eventually major in.</p>
<p>Depending on the major, taking mostly ‘non-heavy’ quarters isn’t always an option unless one wants to take only 3 classes per quarter (and even then you could end up with some with 3 tough courses) and then have to make up for it in the summers and/or go beyond 4 years. I’m talking mostly about engineering. They simply need to take more courses than humanities majors and the courses are much tougher with much more HW in terms of time and difficulty (depending on the particular major). The average GPA is also not something like a 3.25 in engineering - at least at UCLA and UCSD. The average GPA in the humanities is higher. I think it’s less than 3.0 for engineering since they curve to a 2.7 and above 3.0 (probably around what calgirl77 stated) for humanities majors. </p>
<p>I’m stating the above so you realize that what you should expect out of a GPA will vary with the major. There will probably be times you’ll be quite happy you pulled out a ‘C’ in a math/science/engineering course. </p>
<p>What major are you? Keep in mind also that some of these courses can be a reality check on what you planned to major in. A lot of engineering majors, ‘pre-med’ track, and others decide to switch out of it to another major once they experience the difficulty and work required for some of the courses and see what the competition is like. It’s better to find out sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>I just finished my first quarter of my freshman year. It was definitely an adjustment to move away from home and deal with the loneliness of college, new routine, and having a roommate.</p>
<p>marite- Your assumptions are correct other than there was no chem lab, only physics.</p>
<p>My current major is mechanical engineering. I am considering changing it to economics, or business economics. According to my “plan of study” for MechE I have to take Calculus 2, Physics 2 with Lab, Writing( English Composition), and another GE of my choice next quarter. This course load seems slightly easier, but still difficult. </p>
<p>I do not understand what is contributing to this since I put effort into these courses. I feel that prior to the exams(midterms and finals), I understand the material. I can do the practice problems and recite key concepts along with being comfortable with the practice exam. The tests do not go well. I get confused, have trouble answering the question, or answer it thoroughly and make mistakes. After the professor explains the correct solutions, I realize my mistakes.</p>
<p>When you get your tests back and before the prof explains the correct solutions, do you realize where you went wrong?
One of my Ss–not a math/science type–put a lot of effort in his math& science classes in college. He thought he knew the materials and yet did poorly on exams. He once said “I knew the formula, I just did not know that I should have applied it there.” To me, it showed that he had not understood the materials and thus, the problem, so he did not get the solution right.
So along with understanding the “what?” and the “how?” you should also understand the “when?” and the “why?” Practicing formulas on their own will not take you far enough. You need to try to solve problems. Are you in study groups? These would really help.
But perhaps, you may want to consider switching majors. Everyone says engineering is tough. You don’t want to spend the next 3.5 years being miserable.</p>
<p>Good heavens. I think you did fine for your first semester! You’ll learn to be a better student as time goes on. No need to bail on ME - hang in there!</p>
<p>And you won’t have to take chem much longer, and will take ME classes, more to your liking.</p>
<p>“Good heavens” was exactly what I was scrolling down to type, TTL!</p>
<p>You did just fine! Don’t worry about it. That’s a heavy courseload, and I went through the EXACT same thing as an engineering major at Rice, earning my first-ever C’s and freaking out about not being able to handle engineering.</p>
<p>I’m doing great now… Project manager at a top firm, hanging on after five rounds of layoffs! Got into all the top grad schools, no worries. Take a deep breath, start again next semester, and watch things get a little better. You’ll have the hang of it by sophomore year. No need for panicking yet!</p>
<p>Class, my son–also a freshman–felt the same way: lots of effort (meeting w/ professors, going to their help center, study groups, etc.) and ended it with mediocre grades. He knew all the concepts well and yet bombed in his final. He ended Calc with a C (maybe B-). It was a terribly frustrating experience for him. I think there’s so much you guys are getting used to (roommate, laundry, set dining hours, being away from home, etc.), that I wish he had taken an easier load in the beginning. But with so many pre-requisites, his freshman 1st semester started with a whoosh. Four courses sounded easy compared to 6+ in HS. I’m sure hoping that now, with a break from college, he’s getting a better perspective. I think it’ll get easier and certainly many kids feel the way you have articulated here.</p>
<p>class, You’re ok. In addition to a very difficult courseload, you were also making the adjustment to college – no small task in itself. And you passed all of those courses. Your future is not ruined, and you’re going to be just fine. :)</p>
<p>It might be helpful to go back to the class rubric that was handed out/posted at the beginning of the semester. Do you really understand WHERE you came up short? (testing, homework sets, lab reports . . . ). If you can do a post mortem and see where the C’s came from, then you can undertake to address those points before the next semester. It makes a difference if they were high C’s or low C’s too – (come on, if you had ended with 3 B’s you would be ok, right?) – right now it sounds like you aren’t sure what happened and that loss of control/lack of understanding can make one feel overwhelmed. </p>
<p>Good luck. Some schools have these courses as weed out courses and the following semesters are easier and kinder. Take a critical look at the grading structure. Was it mean and ****y? Look for some parallel paths too – at my college, “zoology” or “biology” was brutal because of all the wanna be pre-meds. But “wildlife science” was a smaller, much, much nicer program.</p>
If you do well the rest of your time in college, your GPA will likely be ok. </p>