First semester College Freshman....

[Gamingphreek]

Ok so in High School I never had to study and I never got D's or C's regularly. I ended up with a 3.7 GPA.

My first semester in college however...well to say the least I actually had to study. Not only that even when I did it was a lot harder resulting in many more C's and D's than normal.

I worked out the lowest GPA I could get and it is somewhere around a 2.13 (Purely based on the lowest grade I know that I could receive). Best case scenario I am up around a 2.6 or so.

Is this normal for College students. I have never gotten a D on my report card before. Not only that I have never fallen anywhere remotely close to that low of a GPA. I know that I will score higher next term, but its just so low, that I'm wondering if it is normal.

Thanks,
-Kevin

 

[BigJ]

Freshmen ****** up. It's normal.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

What your college grades are has little to do with your high school grades. Mine are *slightly* better as an undergrad student (3.058) than as a high school student (~2.65). I suspect that once I get to grad school my grades will improve significantly.

 

[bonkers325]

reality hits you like a slippery fish - college is not high school and you will have to put effort into it to pass... unless you pick a joke of a major

 

[Ricemarine]

MMm yeap, same thing hit me... I'm a high school junior @ community college for dual credit... I'm probably getting a C+ or B- for math, dropping my 3.91 GPA, along with A-'s or A's in my other two classes.

I find it a signifcant hit for me, but I hope I make it up when I transfer to a university.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Ok so in High School I never had to study and I never got D's or C's regularly. I ended up with a 3.7 GPA.

My first semester in college however...well to say the least I actually had to study. Not only that even when I did it was a lot harder resulting in many more C's and D's than normal.

I worked out the lowest GPA I could get and it is somewhere around a 2.13 (Purely based on the lowest grade I know that I could receive). Best case scenario I am up around a 2.6 or so.

Is this normal for College students. I have never gotten a D on my report card before. Not only that I have never fallen anywhere remotely close to that low of a GPA. I know that I will score higher next term, but its just so low, that I'm wondering if it is normal.

Thanks,
-Kevin

you know, that is EXACTLY my story/current situation.

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: bonkers325
reality hits you like a slippery fish - college is not high school and you will have to put effort into it to pass... unless you are an English, history, polisci, or psych major

 

[chrisms]

I am also a college f-up and I have understood why after talking it over with my friends and family who did better.

If you are taking art, english, history, philosophy, or other liberal arts classes it could be a problem. These grades are highly subjective and based on things like participation and term papers, which, much of the time, only count positively if the professor agrees with you. I've had classes where I wrote very good papers of the required length and could get nothing but Cs out of the professor.

Then I started taking more fact-based classes, such as economics or health science. In these classes there is no subjectivity. For example, if you know how money is "created" then you get that answer correct on a test. You don't get a B-, for example, because you didn't come up with the exact meaning of the short story that the professor wanted.

This may not apply to you but it was a big reason I did poorly in college at first. I thought liberal arts classes would be interesting and get me better grades but really they are sometimes impossible to get a 4.0 in.

 

[Umberger]

I had this problem in my transition to HS, so I was ready for it when college rolled around. Just know that your freshman classes are B.S. Also, when you actually transfer out of General Engineering into your specific department, they keep track of your "In-major" GPA as well. In my experience, potential employers will look at this as well when they look at your resume and/or transcript. Also, when you apply to grad school here at Tech, they only look at your GPA for the past 80 (or some number like that) credit hours that you have taken. Essentially, if you get a D in freshman chemistry, but an A in classes that your major is actually related to, then companies and grad schools realize that. Don't worry about it too much. You have to have somewhere in the ballpark of 130 hours to graduate, this is less than 20 of them. You have a long way to go. Don't worry about it.

 

[OSUCowboy]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Freshmen ****** up. It's normal.

What he said. I got a 2.2 my first semester; I've gotten 3.2 the last four semesters.

 

[Shawn]

I got a D my freshman year. Now I've been getting mostly As and a few Bs. It happens.

 

[ViviTheMage]

2.75~~ in high school, 2nd year college at 3.1ISH , I got 3.0 my first year.

SHRUG, it wont matter, as long as you graduate

also the 'in-major' grades as umberger said..matter a lot.

 

[mugs]

I hope you don't have to maintain a certain GPA to keep any scholarships you have. I had to maintain a 3.2 to keep my scholarships.

To answer your question - my first semester was probably my worst semester in college. But you're not going to do better without more effort.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: mugs
I hope you don't have to maintain a certain GPA to keep any scholarships you have. I had to maintain a 3.2 to keep my scholarships.

To answer your question - my first semester was probably my worst semester in college. But you're not going to do better without more effort.

i think we realize that now, things are just different and taking a little getting used to.

 

[Umberger]

Another note: I'm assuming you're taking the standard freshman general engineering fare.... so i'm assuming that you're in all the retarded large lecture classes... freshman chem and whatnot with 500 other students in lecture.

You get virtually NO personal attention or feedback in these classes... all scantron tests, etc...

My classes now are all less than 30 people, most of my professors know my name, and I can email/call/go to their office for help anytime that I need it. The material is more in-depth and "harder" than it was freshman year, but I am more able to do well because of the nature of the work and the additional resources that I have available to me.


edit: okay, one last comment... the ENGE class, engineering fundamentals, or whatever they call it now... is WORTHLESS. Please forget everything that you have learned in that class as soon as the final is over. time for more coffee... i have a project due tomorrow :frown:

 

[Gamingphreek]

First let me say this. I took AP Classes. They are NOTHING like true college classes. NOTHING.

Second, I noticed it after the first test in Chemistry that I actually had to start studying. My studying time gradually increased throughout the semester and in all of my classes aside from Chemistry (I just absolutely suck at Chemistry) I improved in.

My classes shouldn't be hard:
Engineering Calculus (1205) (Probably getting a high C but for lowest GPA possible I put C-)
Linear Algebra (1114) (Probably a B but I put a B- for lowest)
English (1105) (Probably a B+ or A- but I put a B- for lowest)
Chemistry Lab (Most definitely a C- by my calculations unless they curve it due to low class avg)
Chemistry (Probably some sort of a D. I control my fate here with my Final Exam. But for lowest I put a D-)
Personal Health (A- definitely)

All of that equated to a 2.234.

I just wanted to show my schedule isn't absurdly easy or hard, but that I definitely know I should have done better.

Saying it is a norm for college Freshman is in no way an excuse, and I plan to do much better next year, it is just slightly comforting knowing that it isn't unheard of.

-Kevin

Edit: Right now I am in University Studies but taking the necessary Engineering Courses. Next semester I SHOULD be in General Engineering (With hopes to make it to ECE) provided that I get the Engineering Exploration class that we have to wait for.

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
First let me say this. I took AP Classes. They are NOTHING like true college classes. NOTHING.

Second, I noticed it after the first test in Chemistry that I actually had to start studying. My studying time gradually increased throughout the semester and in all of my classes aside from Chemistry (I just absolutely suck at Chemistry) I improved in.

My classes shouldn't be hard:
Engineering Calculus (1205) (Probably getting a high C but for lowest GPA possible I put C-)
Linear Algebra (1114) (Probably a B but I put a B- for lowest)
English (1105) (Probably a B+ or A- but I put a B- for lowest)
Chemistry Lab (Most definitely a C- by my calculations unless they curve it due to low class avg)
Chemistry (Probably some sort of a D. I control my fate here with my Final Exam. But for lowest I put a D-)
Personal Health (A- definitely)

All of that equated to a 2.234.

I just wanted to show my schedule isn't absurdly easy or hard, but that I definitely know I should have done better.

Saying it is a norm for college Freshman is in no way an excuse, and I plan to do much better next year, it is just slightly comforting knowing that it isn't unheard of.

-Kevin

what are you signed up for next semester, and what professors are listed? or are they still just listed as "staff"?

 

[zephyrprime]

Yeah, college is actually challenging unlike high school which is a joke. It doesn't help that so many profs are actually horrible teachers. Sure, they may have good grades and done good research but that being good at those things probably has a negative correlation with how good of a teacher you are.

But it makes you realize how little was really accomplished in high school compared with what could have been if the curriculum were actually challenging.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I had like a 2.2 in highschool. I have a 3.78 in college. Just do your work. Have fun of course..I admit I have just about the worst studying habits ever. I never study for a test untill the day before, and start projects way too late, and homework is also last minute. What I said when I first came to college was...Have fun but no matter how much it sucks just get the ****** done. I dont stop untill its done....maybe a 13 hour studying with no sleep isint the best way..but it works for me.

 

[nageov3t]

I did a stint as an assistant for freshman comp during my senior year of college (mostly grading papers, staying after class to answer questions, etc... usually they have grad students doing it, but they were short my senior year and I was pretty close with the department chair who asked me to do it).

for a lot of the freshman, it did seem like college really hit them like a cold bucket of water in the face. it's amazing the poor quality of education people are passing high school with (whether it's a reflection on the teachers or the students themselves, idk). the first semester, the first paper they were asked to write on a short story ended up being a basic plot summary with little-to-no original thought, argument, or clear thesis from the vast majority of students. I guess in public school, that was good enough for them to get by.

it's always funny when people complain about profs giving their papers bad grades because the students don't confirm with the profs own philosophies (especially when the prof isn't the one doing the grading). truthfully, I'd rather read a paper that brings up a view that I'd never thought of before than read a dozen more papers discussing hamlet's fatal flaw as depression.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Umberger

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
First let me say this. I took AP Classes. They are NOTHING like true college classes. NOTHING.

Second, I noticed it after the first test in Chemistry that I actually had to start studying. My studying time gradually increased throughout the semester and in all of my classes aside from Chemistry (I just absolutely suck at Chemistry) I improved in.

My classes shouldn't be hard:
Engineering Calculus (1205) (Probably getting a high C but for lowest GPA possible I put C-)
Linear Algebra (1114) (Probably a B but I put a B- for lowest)
English (1105) (Probably a B+ or A- but I put a B- for lowest)
Chemistry Lab (Most definitely a C- by my calculations unless they curve it due to low class avg)
Chemistry (Probably some sort of a D. I control my fate here with my Final Exam. But for lowest I put a D-)
Personal Health (A- definitely)

All of that equated to a 2.234.

I just wanted to show my schedule isn't absurdly easy or hard, but that I definitely know I should have done better.

Saying it is a norm for college Freshman is in no way an excuse, and I plan to do much better next year, it is just slightly comforting knowing that it isn't unheard of.

-Kevin

what are you signed up for next semester, and what professors are listed? or are they still just listed as "staff"?

Freshman English 1106 - Oakey (I requested him, because I like his style of teaching)
Creativity & Aesth Exper- No idea. Apparently I need a Fine Art for Engineering. My counselor recommended this to me because it was a Pass/Fail class that most engineers take.
Calculus 1206 - Washenburger
Vector Geometry - Greenberg
Physics Lab- TA
Physics Lecture - Chang (I heard he is amazing for many many people)

That is 13 Credit hours, and then in January the wait list opens up for Engineering Exploration (1024) and hopefully I will get into that so I dont have to take it over the summer.

-Kevin

 

[Saint Nick]

Most high schools, especially public ones, don't prepare you for college schooling. You'll teach yourself to study and figure out a good routine. Same thing that happened to you happened to me.

 

[Whisper]

I think I made somewhere around a 2.8 my freshman year; had to work pretty damn hard afterwards (lots of 4.0 semesters) to bring that up. It's tough, but it's quite possible. At least now you have a bit better idea what to expect.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I found college immensely easier than high school.

 

[magomago]

Yeah i took a dive my first quarter...just get it up

actually it took me 4 quarters + a summer to start getting "Good" grades...

and it took probably around 3.5 years before i realllly learned how to study the material properly.