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College students - bad grades?

Jumpem

Lifer
How do you guys deal with getting less than stellar grades. I've always done fairly well and received A's and B's on most everything. Recently, I transferred to RIT as a CS major and this quarter thingas aren't looking too good. I study hard and spend alot of time on class work, but it doesn't seem to matter. I barely passed three of my midterms with C's, even though I thought I had a clear grasp of the material. It helps a little knowing that most everyone else is in the same boat. I'm just not sure really how do deal with it. I'm getting all depressed over school and losing my motivation. Thanks for listening...
 
Having worked as a technical recruiter, it's always heartening for me to remember that when we check the Education portion of a resume, all we glance at is that the person has a B.S. or B.A., no matter in what, no matter the GPA. That they had to college education/experience is all our clients are looking for. No search order has ever mandated a 3.0 or higher GPA.
 
well it really depends on what you want to do.

if you want to go to med school or law school, then get your butt in gear. Grad school, make friends with your professors (they have contacts and can get you in), and start picking up your grades, but don't stress.

perhaps the biggest revelation my friends and I experienced during our college stays is when my friend flunked a class, and... nothing happened! He had to take it again. No big deal.

What I feel you should focus on in college is figuring out what you like. When you find it, it should come naturally to learn it, but if it doesn't then put that extra effort into doing so. But I really don't think that your grade in "ANTH 313: Cars and Culture" is going to have a real impact on your life.

Chin up, hmm? If the stuff interests you, then try to learn it, but don't necessarily let the tests and homework dictate when and how you learn it. They are just tools. If you get some stuff wrong on the test that you don't understand, but you're interested, go ask the prof or TA afterwards about it. Hell the prof would be thrilled. But the grades themselves, I say they don't matter.
 
take less credits... like just two classes or something... once you start a consistent pattern of doing really well, start adding more credits. not only do you improve your grades, but you minimize the damage done until you get your study habits back up.
 
I used to be really depressed when I get bad grades. I came to realize that, as long as I worked hard, and did the best I could, there's nothing to regret about, and nothing to be ashamed or feel bad about. A "C" can be as satisfying as an "A", while an "A" can mean just "Average".

Out of your (or my) entire life, a "C" probably won't be significant.

I've gotten B's that i was really proud of as i worked really hard for it, and i've gotten As that meant nothing to me as it was too easy...

To each his own... Just learn from the past otherwise it would be a total waste, and hopefully there won't be anything to be regretful about, such as "I could've done better if only I went to class"... etc.
 
Dude, don't get yourself all worried. My first semester in college (1991) I had a 1.4 GPA after graduating high school with a 3.8. It's a bitch to get back up, but don't get stressed. I graduated with a 2.8 and I'm a programmer working with a great company on a great contract right now.

Like HotChic said, as long as you get that degree you shouldn't have a problem in the job world.
 
Thanks everyone!

The thing is that I've had decent grades for the past three years in college. Just this quarter isn't going so well. I'm a CS major so it doesn't look good to barely be passing three of your required classes. I feel that I'm learning quite a bit, but I'm just getting my @ss handed to me. The average test scores in these classes are in the 605-75% range, with very few A's. So I don't feel like a complete idiot.
 
Not only is there a boat load of students with bad grades there are ships full.

I'm majoring in Comp. E. and I'm in the second semester of my soph year and my GPA is the epitome of BAD...=(
I was normally used to getting A's and B's too, but sometimes bad grades just happen and it seems like there's nothing you can do about it no matter what you do.

It is rather depressing and of course I worry about getting a job when I graduate.
At some points I even consider switching majors so that I could graduate with hopes of a higher GPA.
Right now I plan on grinding it out...even though I know that my classes are only gonna get a lot harder...
Even the guys who had 3.7+ going into the soph year had dramatic drops in their grades...so I know that I'm not the only one who knows this is tough.
Basically all the students know that the classes are hard and that its only gonna get a lot harder...so I assume that when people look at our GPA's they, too, know the difficulty.

Regardless of how bad your grades are try and let your motivation be to do better (because you said you know the material so you should do better).

When I do bad I always get mad at myself...and when I'm pissed off at myself it motivates me.

Good Luck to both of us...
 
Another issue is how you compare to everyone else. If, as you say, the average grade is in the 65-75% range, and you're pullling C's, then you really aren't doing badly at all. Some profs grade like hardasses, even if the material itself isn't particularly difficult.

Side rant: We should abolish the current GPA system and replace it. It seems that a large number of people seem to think that a 3.0 GPA is the same, regardless of what your major is. For example, where I went to school, the composite Economics GPA one year was 2.6; in Education, it was almost 3.5! Clearly, a 3.0 GPA is not the same in those two departments, although many people perceive that to be the case.

Solution: Replace it with a "standard deviation" measure. In other words, instead of just using GPA, people should be judged against others in their own department by saying how many standard deviations above or below the average GPA they were. For example, suppose the standard deviation of GPA's in Economics is .3, and in Education it's .1. Then in the example above, a 2.9 GPA in Economics would be equivalent to a 3.6 GPA in Education, because both are 1 standard deviation above their respective averages.

Yes, it's more complicated than the current system, but obviously MUCH better. Any more thoughts on grade theory? 🙂
 
Hey Jumpem,
Don't worry about your GPA, it really doesn't mean anything. The highest grade i got my freshman year was a C+. I was also concerned about my GPA, studied some and brought it up. I finally graduated with a somewhat descent GPA, and 2 degrees. Now I work in an industry that has nothing to do with any of my majors. Acctually.. it doesn't even require a HS diploma. My point is, you never know what'll happen in a couple years. Don't sweat it, you'll be just fine. What more can you do but try your best???
 
foolanger speaks of the truth...
he is a living example of how your college grades have only a slight effect on your future.
you must control your future, like foolanger, and not let college take over.
 
I got a 2.8... with a 2.5 in my main area of study. I just realized that it wasn't for me and then I got into computers through a tech school. Best decision I ever made. Though it kinda happened through luck.
 
a degree only means you have the ability to put time into studying a subject, anothing other than that is just a bonus, because most companies will train you to use you according to their wishes.

Aelus
 


<< me no like ICS @ UCI... too hard, bad teachers, bad grades 🙁 >>


I can recommend Economics @ Miami University. Still hard, still not very good grades, but the teachers are wonderful. 🙂
 


<< I have a 3.55 gpa at my college - and I'm on the Deans list. It's not that hard 🙂 >>


Without information about what college you go to and what your major is, information about your GPA is pretty worthless.
 


<< No search order has ever mandated a 3.0 or higher GPA. >>



Last time i checked Morgan Stanely and CITI bank, they all require 3.2 GPA 😉 (Amazon 3.0)
 
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