<p>I've seen similar results at a not-so-competitive LAC that I attend. I have a friend with similar profile as me (valedictorian, NHS president, considered for full-ride, etc.) and he got a 2.9 last semester while I got a 3.89. I'd say he's just as smart as me, if not smarter, and out of the two of us I do more in terms of EC's and partying. </p>
<p>He tells me though, that all he had to do in high school was go to class and absorb the information, and he would get all A's. I did the same, but when AP test time came around, thanks to my crappy teachers, I teach myself everything a la Princeton Review. Some people are better prepared than others, even if they have similar academic profiles. I think he's still the smarter one, but I worked really hard last semester for my grades while he spent his on WoW. He might have to transfer after this semester if he doesn't raise his GPA up to a 3.2 (minimum for scholarship).</p>
<p>Ask the dean's office if your school has tutors for math, etc. I know mine does --even if you're not doing badly in the class, but want to improve, you're allowed to go see a writing, math, econ tutor, etc. Also, I second the TA thing. Also ask them about the curve -- that can REALLY make a difference. One of my friends found out that the 14% (yeah I know) he got on his midterm would actually turn out to be a B+. I'm not making this up.</p>
<p>Futurenyustudent: if you're going to a competitive school, it is entirely possible to get a 2.5. Stress and difficult classes, combined with grade deflation can really take a toll, especially freshman year. </p>
<p>And why do you keep posting on CC about your grades/obsessive studying?? You wanted to kill yourself for having a 3.4? I think that's a tad extreme.<br>
Don't drive yourself crazy studying, it's not worth it long-term.</p>
<p>It is probably just an adjustment period from a regular high school to an academically demanding & challenging university. Many of the elite prep schools require secondary students to learn in a different fashion and in a different environment than the typical public high school.This frequently occurs in the first year of law school when the straight A students are confronted by the Socratic method of learning. No longer can they rely on hard work, memorization, regurgitation & simple analysis; now , often, there is no right answer--only sound logic & reasoning. If you did well on the SAT I, as opposed to the ACT, you will recover and perform well.</p>
<p>Well, with math its all about how you approach the problems. Usually math exams are difficult for one reason, it forces you to think outside the box. So next time when you are doing problems, only do the problems that you don't know how to do. if you happen to spot a problem that you know where to start, then don't even do the problem. Thats just a waste of time. You what to work on problems that makes you think for a while on various ways of approaching the problem/s. That way you improve your creative thinking process. Remember, its not a drill. Its always a puzzle.</p>
<p>hey, i'm also a freshman at duke and in pretty much the same situation. i took 103 last semester, and the class ended up having a pretty forgiving curve. who's your professor? anyway, are you in pratt? my gpa was close to yours, and i got no As either. it was really frustrating for me since i'd spend HOURS studying for exams and still bomb them. towards the end of the semester, i realized studying all weekend for a test on tues, for example, doesn't work. maybe simply beginning to review the notes earlier will help? i've begun to do that, and my grades slowly went from Bs and Cs at midterm last semester to As and Bs for this semester's midterm. good luck, and don't let 103 get the best of you!</p>
<p>futurenyustudent, i'm assuming you aren't at duke from your username, and i'm sure nyu is plenty hard so kudos on getting good grades, but please don't talk about what you don't know. many people did terribly first semester at duke even with studying a ton. math 103 or chem 23 are no jokes...</p>
<p>I can understand it a little more in high school then in college. But if its your first year in college, and you're going to a tough school, I would say a 3.4 is absolutely fine. Education is VERY important, but grades aren't everything, and as long as you work hard and take school seriously, you'll do fine in life. </p>
<p>btw, this is coming from me...who spent my four years of high school killing myself in order to get my nice, perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA. I understand what its like to think that grades are everything...but college has opened up my eyes a lot.</p>
<p>Well, that still depends on the person. I agree what taking things to extremes is , in many cases, not a good thing. But hey who can blame them? Accepting a 3.4( one earned with all out effort) is very heart breaking. Its like accepting the following notion that one isn't good enough and that theres no hope in improvement. Sometimes for perfectionistic individuals, its better to strive for perfection, hanging on to the hope that one may improve, than to accept defeat. Because for some, defeat means the end of the line for them.</p>
<p>futurenyustudent: I really hope that you won't jump out of the window even if you end up with 3.4. Don't think too negatively. As long as you put work into it, you will be successful. </p>
<p>Mondo: Don't get too depressed about your grades. Many freshmen are on the same boat as you. It is just an adjustment period. Also, you have next 3 years to bring your gpa to a decent level. Sure, you might not be able to graduate as the top student, but you will have a decent gpa and will be successful in the long run as long as you start doing your work from now on. Keep in mind that employers don't really care if you have stellar gpas in many cases as long as your gpa is decent. You only need stellar gpas if you wanna go to med school or top law schools.</p>
<p>For anyone aspiring to any UG GPA-centric careers or schools after college, GPA is incredibly important (Wall Street, Med & Law School, etc). In that event it's not so much that a 3.4 is a disaster (though it is), it's that you feel like if you put in more effort you would've done better because you know you could've done better.</p>
<p>But yes, for normal people, a 3.4 is fine. It just all boils down to how much you demand of yourself. Again my advice to the OP - just relax and don't clutch up like a hyperactive jackrabbit. It isn't going to help</p>
<p>The class I got the D in was Chem 151. I had a C+ as midterm grades rolled around. A good number of people dropped out from my class to Chem 23 (or just took three classes) and it became harder to keep up with the curve. I failed the final and ended up with a D. I should have dropped it. I don't know why I kept with it, except for the fact that I was considering being a chem major. :-(</p>
<p>As for math, my grade went down a little bit, I am taking some
of the advice here and am starting on new material over spring break. Bringing my grades up is one of my top priorities right now.</p>
<p>Duke has been great to me for so many reasons! I love this school! </p>
<p>futurenyustudent: Don't get so stressed over the 3.4. There is always doing well on the LSAT, if Harvard is what you are looking at. You have plenty of time to bring your grades up too. But I know of quite a few who got into T14 schools with GPA<3.3 & LSAT>170. (I've seen cases like these for all of the T14s except for Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, and Duke.. some like Georgetown, it's far from the extraordinary which was one of my top choices for undergrad anyway.)</p>
<p>Well, you took Orgo as a freshman...That takes some serious guts and if you're worried about how it looks on your transcript, at least it was first semester of freshman year when you're supposed to screw up, and it was one of the hardest classes offered at Duke or at any other college. Take heart from that and keep working hard. I'm sure it'll work out for you. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Mondo-my first choice for law school at the moment is NYU, which is practically as hard as Harvard to get into....:(</p>
<p>People still don't get why I'm upset over an 83 in criminology. Maybe they just don't get it. Yeah, it's not failing, but it's not good by any standard. The next person who tells me a 3.4 is good by any standard, I'm gonna blow up at them. It's "okay" but not good.</p>