If I get a 2.5 GPA in my first semester of college, is that bad?
The first semester of college can be a tough adjustment. You are on your own for the first time. There are a lot of tempting distractions. Mom isn’t nagging you to get out of bed and get to class. Your Dad isn’t bugging you to study. So getting a 2.5 the first semester can happen—even to a 4.0 GPA high school student.Just how good a high school student were you? For example, if you were a 2.9 student in high school, a 2.5 in college shouldn’t be a big surprise.Have you identified a marketable major? The longer you go without a marketable major the greater the risk of not succeeding in college.Do you have a scholarship that is now at risk? (A 3.0 is pretty standard to maintain your scholarship.)You are taking the introductory classes now. The work is going to get harder.Are you racking up student loan debt? If yes, your risk is increasing every period.If you are a good student and learn from this experience, you can recover from this weak start. Otherwise, you are likely to be one of the 44% who drop out or one of the 29% who graduate and end up under employed or unemployed.College today is a competition, and you have fallen behind in the race by 1.5 yards.
If I am 20-years-old, have already taken a semester off college and still don't know what to do or what exactly I want, should I go ahead and study something or get work/missions/travel experience?
I'm 24. I stopped college after a year and a half. It took me about a year to figure out a general idea of what I wanted and it took me another year to really create a strategy around what I wanted. "Taking a semester off," or getting "work/travel/mission experience" are simply tactics. What's more important is that you be intentional about growing mentally, emotionally, and evaluating your experiences.While trying to "figure it out" for myself, in those few years, I gained a HUGE curiosity for other peoples' experiences. I began thinking, "Shoot if I only have really led a self-directed life for a couple years and I feel like I "know something" how much more would someone know who is in their 50's?"Whenever I met someone older or someone that seemed to have a pretty good grasp of what drove/motivated them, I'd start asking very specific questions."What about xyz makes you excited?""What were the circumstances that led to you arriving at this perspective?"I began to have a longer and longer mental catalog of people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who had discovered their purpose or the "big thing" that gave them a drive.I spent a lot of time processing through those stories, synthesizing common themes and then arrived at a conclusion for myself.All that to say, it's not about "should I take more time off" or "work/missions/travel." The real question is which one will give you the greatest opportunity to meet people who are fully aware of what they want in life and actively pursue it with a passion?For me, it was 3 years of missions and traveling. Also.. I definitely did NOT live with my parents when I made these decisions, I was fully aware there would be too much external pressure for me to sustain what i was doing if I did stay with my parents. There was a dual purpose -- forces me to be independent financially, and gives less leverage to my parents to dictate my life.Best of luck moving forward.
Why are college semesters so short? I feel I could do much better had the semester been longer.?
First off your missing the point of college. It is supposed to be harder, that's why its the next step. Plus college is based around the idea of you teaching yourself. You're gonna have to study more and you're gonna have to figure out what's going on either by yourself or go to office hours. Yes its gonna go faster that's the idea behind having short lectures, for every hour you spend in class you need to study for at least two hours outside of class...plenty of people have gotten through college just fine, its not the problem with the way college is set up. The problem is the way you're studying. And second.... if you got a 5 on the ap exam there's no way you should have gotten a B in the calc 1... apparently you didn't really learn the material, which is what a lot of high schools do. They just cram for exams and do homework at the last minute. Do your homework, go to class, and study ALOT. Don't say that the reason you didn't get the grades that you wanted was because college is set up wrong... And if you wanna do well in the real world, your summer should not be filled with 'squat'. You either need to have an internship, co-op, or job. Employers hate when students don't do anything during the summers. Welcome to college. Now go study.
Are 6 classes a semester(18 credits) too much in college?
As an academic advisor with experience at OSU (quarter system) and several semester system schools, I'd say it depends on the following factors: * How much can you handle personally? Some students can handle 23 hours in a quarter system, which seems crazy to me. Then again, look at what classes they are taking and how much do they have going on outside of classes. * How much are you working? It used to be that 10-20 hours was seen as maximums. On some levels this makes sense, but not everyone because of the following... * What's your maturity level? Oddly enough, a recent survey by the dean of my office showed people working full-time out-performed all other categories. When he sorted the data for age and other categories, he found that they tended to be over 25, married, and have children. Why? They had to know what they were getting themselves into, so they figured out in advance what it would take to succeed. Being married apparently also helps in having a strong supporter. * How are your academic skills? Do you read and type more effectively and quickly? If your skills are slow, you spend more time studying. There are these pat assumptions about study times out there that ignore the importance of this factor. You can do a great deal more academic work if you can type a 20-page paper in 2 hours instead of 20 with hunt and peck method like I used to do! As for the gen ed classes, again there are a number of variables - especially your fortes and weaknesses. Ex: I hate multiple choice tests passionately and would rather take two upper level writing classes than one introductory (multi-choice test) class. If you haven't declared a major, it may be better to hit as many different topics as possible to maximize your explorations... Good luck!
First semester of college i passed all my classes with a C but i ended up with a 1.9 gpa?
I think you still will be legible for student loans, but scholarships and grants might be in jeopardy. You can get this question answered in a brief telephone call to a financial aid adviser at your college. To be clear on your GPA, a "C-" is NOT a "C". It's a "C-". That is the grade that brought you below the 2.0 requirement. A "C" is equal to a 2.0, so anything less than a "C" is less than a 2.0. I suggest you take only 12 credit hours next semester. That still is considered full time, but it is less than the usual 5 or 6 classes that most undergraduates take per semester. The lighter schedule should help you to bring up your GPA. Keep in mind that for most purposes, the GPA that counts is your cumulative GPA. That means that even if you get ALL grades of "A" next semester, you still would have barely a "B" cumulative GPA. If you have a special reason for performing well below your ability this semester, you might be able to get some professors to allow you to complete extra credit to bring up your grades. Reasons like "I broke my arm" or "My house burned down" or "My son died" would be very serious reasons that might warrant some sort of a break. A reason like "I was a total slacker, but now I know I have to work hard in college" is NOT a reason that would warrant a special break. Call the financial aid office tomorrow. Better yet, go to campus and see a financial aid officer in person. The semester break is underway, so don't wait. Be at peace over this during the break. Peace be with you.
What happens if i drop out of college after one semester?
My suggestion would be you're there you need to finish it. As my parents used to tell me don't be a quitter, if you start something finish it. I sympathize with you and understand college can be miserable. But if you quit you might never go back. I went for 10 months and I was having a hard time for some reason my brain did not want to retain anything and I didn't do very well. Plus the fact that I am antisocial. While I never went back to school and I never got over my antisocial behavior. I have seen a few family counselors voluntarily and found that their information was pretty much things I already knew. Such as if you fall off of a horse you need to get back on it and ride it. You need to make up your mind that if you start something you need to follow through and finish it. Then you will learn that before you start something you will carefully analyze whether or not it is something that you want to go through with. If you drop classes for their over and their paid for I believe you will lose your money. You may want to check with your guidance office before you decide. But hang in there it will go quick. Good luck
Online colleges that offer general education courses?
Does anyone know of any accredited online colleges that offer general education courses? I originally wanted to go to a community college to get them out of the way while having time to decide on what I wanted to do for a degree. However, from what I understand, the fall semester began on the 2nd of this month while I was out of town (and still am), so I won't be able to sign up for classes at the campus until next semester. My plan was to start taking the general education courses (math, science, history, etc.) online now, and then when the next term starts at the CC, transfer my credits and continue taking my classes at the school. Would this at all be possible? I'd really like to stop wasting time and start on these classes as soon as possible. Thanks in advance P.S.- The CC offers their own classes online, but the majority of them are full. I need to be able to start learning now.
Am I waisting my time in college?
No, not necessarily but that doesn't mean you have to continue. Step #1: Get academic support NOW for your current classes. Join study groups. Go to your teachers' office hours. Hire a tutor. You want to get through this semester and get decent grades. You never know what you may want to do a few years down the line. Step #2: Look into getting some psychological counseling if you think you are depressed. It is perfectly okay to just not like school, but some wording in your post suggests that you may be depressed. This is treatable, but it doesn't go away without treatment. If you need help, please get it. Step #3: Talk to your academic advisor and consider withdrawing AFTER this term is over. There is no shame in taking time off from school. You may not be destined for college, or you may just need a little time to find your way. Step #4. If you decided to take some time off, start looking for a full-time job during your Thanksgiving break. Even if it isn't your dream job, you need to do your best to work close to 40-hours a week. Not only with this give structure to your life and money in your pocket, but it may also give you a clearer idea of what you do and do not want to do for the rest of your life. Step #5: When you have time, read some books and take some tests. There are all kinds of books (and audiobooks if you don't like to read) on how to find your passion. There are also aptitude and personality tests that will help you understand your gifts. Your college advisor can probably suggest so to you.