Will top graduate schools overlook terrible grades in the first two quarters of college?

Student Lounge College Life
1

I’m currently a first-year undergraduate student at UCLA, and my grades are not good at all for me. I didn’t earn one A due to depression and terrible habits (like skipping class frequently and focusing more on my extracurricular activities than on classes)

First quarter grades:
1 Pass in Physics Mechanics
1 B (in Life in the Universe course, basically all memorizing but I was being cocky)
1 C (Multivariable Calculus, which I believe I should have been able to get an A but I was wrong)

Second quarter grades:
Astronomy 81 (a sophomore class, but I wanted to take anyway for the exposure): I will probably get a grade of a B, I’ll know by tomorrow
Linear Algebra: Pass (Again, I didn’t do too well even after studying most of the material before the class even started)
Differential Equations: C+ (I don’t know how I got this grade after studying from the textbook)

My current GPA from first quarter is a 2.5 out of 4.0. After second quarter, my GPA will be around a 2.5, but I’m taking five challenging courses in third quarter to try to make up for the terrible grades.

Third quarter courses:
Quantum Mechanics
Astronomy 140 (Upper Division)
Astronomy 82 (Class that is after Astronomy 81)
Principles of Critical Reasoning
Physics Mechanics Lab

If I get all A+'s in third quarter, then I can get a GPA at around 3.26, which is still mediocre, but I’ll take four classes over the summer. After summer, if I get all A’s, then the GPA would increase to 3.51. Hopefully, I’d be able to get an internship by the start of the 2019-2020 school year, but I’m concerned about my GPA holding me back. Also, how do I make sure that graduate school admissions will overlook my bad grades from the first two quarters? I plan to have all A’s for the rest of the undergraduate years. I know published research papers can help, but, no matter what, I’ll always worry about my poor start in grades. I was an idiot, but I’m still depressed over my multiple failures in high school. I could have done a lot better in those academic and music competitions and show that I was the best in the district and even in the state, but I got embarrassed and bullied by those who did better. I also didn’t get all 5’s on my AP exams (I got mostly 4’s on my junior AP exams, and I didn’t check my senior AP scores since I’m scared that I failed one of them and didn’t get all 5’s), and I disappointed one teacher who believed that I could have gotten a 5 on the AP exam he was teaching for. I am talented at being a disappointment to everyone.

I’m looking at the top graduate programs in astrophysics like Caltech and Princeton. Anything lower is not worth it for me.

2

Meet with an academic advisor and discuss your plan. You run the real risk of burnout by taking five tough courses in a single quarter. Are you going to devote enough time and energy to get A grades in every class? I am not sure your plan is viable.

Use the college counseling center. You need to take care of your mental health, so call today and make an appointment.

Not sure what your AP grades have to do with anything, apart from allowing you to possibly skip some intro level course. Grad schools won’t care about your AP scores.

3

I’m trying out the hard schedule anyway. If I am a genius, then I should be able to get A’s in all of them.

Yes, I’m considering getting mental help, but I don’t want to satisfy the people who are jerks to me when I was in high school. They kept saying that I need help. If I do get help, it would be a win for them.

4

Wow. No, that’s not how it works. If it’s a win for them, it’s a loss for you, right? Depriving yourself of healthcare is only detrimental to you. Mental health is health. Why should you care anyway about people you went to high school with? Do they matter? Surely what matters is you being able to succeed in your life.

I’m a little perplexed by your statement about being a genius. Geniuses manage their time well. They don’t overburden themselves with impossible constraints. They know that succeeding takes time. Even geniuses know that they need to sleep and study effectively.

In college, much emphasis is placed on getting to know professors, attend office hours, make connections with others through clubs and the like, and have a good work-social balance. Your current idea is going to allow you time for none of that.

I’m not entirely sure you are being sincere in this post, but in the event you are, I will caution you that you are setting yourself up for failure. Please be realistic. See an academic advisor and discuss your plan. They want you to succeed and will help you find the best way forward.

5

If you’re not getting all A’s now it’s unrealistic to think you’ll get all A’s next term without changing your behaviors. Skipping class and focusing on ECs isn’t going to help you.

If you need counseling for depression or other issues you should get it. If you do seek help it’s not a “win” for anyone but you. Your high school classmates won’t have access to your medical records anyway.

6

Bill Gates got all A’s in most of the classes (some were graduate level) that he was enrolled in and he never attended lecture for them. This is while he was also attending classes that he was not enrolled in. I thought I could do the same.

Sure, I’ll change my habits by attending class, but I’d lose time on ECs. High school severely damaged me psychologically and it is hard to forget about it.

7

You are in your 1st year in college. A lot can happen in the next 2 -3 years. Why not focus on college? That’s what you should be doing. Stop worrying about graduate school and start making the most of the opportunities you have been given. Consider how many changes people experience in 2-3 years. Just imagine! You could have 2 kids by then. Only kidding about the kids but not about the fact that you are worrying about something totally irrelevent. Start doing what you need to do to make the most of the opportunities you have been given now; the rest will fall into place if you do.

8

“High school damaged you severely and it’s hard to forget about that.” This is exactly why you need to go to your counseling center for assistance. It might be hard to forget, but with help, you can do so. You don’t have to be damaged.

You need to set reasonable expectations for yourself. Trying to be Bill Gates is not reasonable. Obsessing about high school is not reasonable. Focusing on doing your best now, and not fretting about CalTech or Princeton in the future, IS reasonable. Do your best NOW, and the rest will happen.

You must adjust your expectations. If you came here looking for advice, please act on it. There are a lot of red flags in your posts here. Superman isn’t real. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. See the academic advisor and the counseling center right away.

9

I’m sorry that you are in the situation that you’re in and that it’s stressing you out, but I don’t think that taking that many classes is a good idea. My senior year, I took seven classed 1st semester and got a 3.8w, but I only took 6 the next semester (I dropped an easy, yet time consuming course that I didn’t need to graduate) and I got a 4.46w. It might not seem like a lot, but the workload of one class can make a big difference.

10

I hadn’t heard the story about Bill Gates not going to class, so I googled it. Yes, he didn’t go to class but the story went on to say that the audio was missing from the video tapes of one class and he only got a C in that class. So he was getting the instruction that he would have if he attended class. Makes the concept of just skipping classes kind of even more foolhardy.

Getting poor grades in basic math classes doesn’t bode well for those subsequent classes that make use of those math skills. Thinking you will get As sound like a pipe dream to me.

11

The only thing everyone seems to agree on here is that you need some mental health counseling…but you are unwilling to accept that. Maybe quit comparing yourself to Bill Gates and buckle down and study.

12

This why I am not sure why everyone is running to take Calc 1 and 2 in HS…then they get to college and have to start freshman year with multivariable calculus!

Then you took a sophomore class Astronomy 81 and got a low B.

Then you took
Linear Algebra (as a sophomore) and Differential Equations: at the same time (!) and did not do that great.

So for your third quarter, you have not learned to spread out the humanities and STEM classes, and want to take another sophomore course and a upper division course.

How will this be a plan for success? Why are you in a rush with the STEM classes? hat is the normal curriculum for your major? What does your advisor say?

This is magical thinking to up the level of difficulty and then think you will do better.

You may have been the smartest in your HS, but all those smart kids go to college together.

Read this:http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html

Make sure to use all the tools your college provides (tutors, professor office hours, etc)

13

Do I have a chance at those schools then? Caltech, Princeton, and MIT? I will make sure that I get a 3.9+ GPA by the end of undergraduate college. They can’t only want people with 4.0 GPAs.

14

You need to make sure your mental health is in order before you start looking for pressure cooker grad schools. You’re a freshman. Focus on finishing your undergrad, then you can think about grad school.

15

"Anything lower is not worth it for me. "
Excuse me?? you are a freshman and won’t deign to consider U of Chicago? Which has one of the top Astrophysics graduate programs in the country??
"Cocky "is indeed the right word. Maybe that is a cover for your depression. Either way,
I think you need to figure out if you are REALLY interested in astrophysics, and find ways of showing it, or you just want the “prestige” of going to Caltech or Princeton.
BTW, In order to even be considered at any top graduate program [ and CalTech only accepts grad school students who plan on studying for their PhD, which require 4-7 years more education], your GPA in your major will have to be above 3.80, you’ll need to have done LOTS of research before you graduate, you’ll need to have glowing LOR’s from the Professors in your major, and your GRE scores will have to be stellar.

Loose the chip on your shoulder, and concentrate on what you can do at UCLA, following the above guidelines, instead of even thinking about where to apply 3.5 years down the line.

16

My life could have been so much better if I had total control over it. It’s terrible what my mental health had become.

17

No one has total control over his life, and no one ever will. Ever. You can only do your best with what IS in your control. Did you make any appointments today to see the academic advisor or the counselor? I suggest not posting on this thread again until you do.

18

Please make an appointment to go talk to a mental health professional at your school. It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Taking care of oneself is a sign of strength and maturity.

The only certainty of life is that it is unpredictable and we all have obstacles and challenges we have to overcome.

You just don’t have to do it alone!

19

Well, I got a C+ in that astronomy course in second quarter and I am an astrophysics major… so I currently have two passes (would have been C’s), one C, two C+’s, and one B, giving me a GPA of 2.4.

If I get all A’s in my third quarter, I can get a 3.26 GPA, but the C+ in that astronomy class probably destroyed my chances of attending a top grad program in astrophysics. Is this correct?

I probably got that C+ because I didn’t attend the study group sessions, which weren’t mandatory, while the other students did and I never went to office hours. I thought that I can get an A on my own. The course was graded on a curve too, so I was below average… but I probably was the only freshman in the class but that probably doesn’t matter.

I hated being the grade grubber that I was in high school, but what the hell should I do. From my point of view, I lost to some people who only want the high grades. I guess I am being a hypocrite since I want those A’s too.

20

Given that there are no replies, I am screwed.