Man...this hits home for me. I had a decent enough GPA my first year in college...something like a 3.4. Then the second semester of my sophomore year everything went straight to hell. I was hanging out with new people, working too many hours, driving a car I could barely afford, and school was the last thing I was concerned about. I got a 1.16 for the semester, which included an F from a class I literally went to for 1 day. I would have dropped it, but that would have made me "part-time" and I was concerned with the effect that might have on my financial aid or whatever...basically I was being really dumb and irresponsible, putting things off to only make them worse. At the end of the semester my dad was furious and just about ready to disown me, but I vowed to him that I would turn things around. Next semester I made Dean's List with a perfect 4.0 and I don't think I was ever under a 3.4 any semester after that. Still, that one bad semester made its mark. I only managed a 3.1 overall. For resumes I skip the GPA and just say that I graduated with honors, since my GPA within my major was a respectable 3.6.
I transferred to UH this semester and I currently have a 4.0 at UH. I'm not sure if they include my other schools' GPA grades or if they just give me the credit for the courses I took. If they include all my classes, my GPA is like a 3.7.
I went to UT for 3 1/2 years and got kicked out with a 1.78 GPA. After scholastic dismissal, I thought that I was done with college. I played in a band and took some JC courses and found an interest for school again. I had a good GPA at JC and I was able to get into A&M. At A&M I did pretty well and finished with a 3.3. Next week I'll be graduating with a Masters degree, so I think that things turned out well enough academically. The point is that even if the worst happens (kicked out b/c of grades) you still can turn it around and graduate from a major university.
It depends on the school. Some universities average out your grades when you retake a class and some just replace it with the higher grade.
Can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with tinman. Yes, you will have employers that will frown upon a bad GPA, but get in somewhere that can look past that and that you can really flex your skills and learn. After that, GPA will never be mentioned again. All employers are different obviously. Personally when I've interviewed people, I size them up after meeting them and talk to them. I don't even look at their GPA. People BS about what they know and don't all the time. Just talk to them for a few minutes, and you can find out what they know and don't.
Wow, congratulations! See what happens when you apply yourself? Anyway, my GPA was never above 3 in college. I was a music major, so I spent all my time in the practice room instead of the library. I didn't give a crap about any of my non-music classes. D stood for 'done' as far as I was concerned.
I would love to have mentality with getting a D and being done, but you can't graduate with a D in any classes being a BIOL major here at PV.
I've never had a bad GPA. Only made 3 B's going through college, including my MBA. I worked in the Dean's office though and had to handle getting students paperwork ready for the Dean when they wanted to come in about suspension. You wouldn't believe how many people would come in with a below 2.0 GPA year after year. The week before the deadline to get into classes, the office would be filled, and we'd go through hundreds of students who needed to be unblocked due to GPA requirements. This was only in the College of Business. Some would come every semester with the same excuse. "I work a lot. I didn't study hard enough. I'll do better next time. I'm getting a tutor." Only to return the next semester. Some changed their act and eventually made it through, some never did. The point is, you have to put in the time. If you know you're working too much, cut hours or cut classes. Otherwise, you'll have to start getting less sleep to get your work done. Also, I disagree with the fact that GPA doesnt matter for anything other than grad school. I was in accounting, and I know that the top tier firms wouldnt even look at a student with less than a 3.0, and then most wouldn't give an offer/internship to those students unless they really wowed them. Otherwise they would weed out everyone who wasn't a 3.5. So yeah, GPA matters...but it can definitely be turned around.
No, of course my dad would beat and kill me if I had a low GPA, hence I kept my marks in the satisfactory range.
To get your GPA up, retake classes you didn't do well the first time. That should erase your previous grade. The problem of couse is you have to spend more time in school and pay more money.
I finished undergrad with a 2.4, due to my miserable first 3 years. I still got into a great grad school 2 years later, so it's not the end of the world. Just make sure to develop yourself outside of school, and score well on the GRE
Sorry to offend but you see I only know of the pressures of Asian families wanting the children to succeed from watching numerous King of the Hill episodes. Wherein my white family it was more like "you'll never amount to anything anyway"
For 3 credit course.. A = 12 A- = 11 B+ = 10 B = 9 etc... and this is for University of Houston. Divide that number by 3 for your GPA for any course.. so if you take 4 classes, and get A A A B... your GPA for that semester will be 45 / (3*4) or 3.75.
I was a nerd when I had to be in college, and started to come around and try when I started taking classes toward my major.. acct/fina.. Ended up with a 3.74 cumulative and 4.00 major GPA.. Don't buy the media.. drinking and fornicating, although fun and necessary in moderation during college, is NOT as important as getting a good GPA... Good GPA = good job = good money.
