First, grades don’t translate across universities very well. Some schools are a lot easier. Some classes or majors are easier. Someone that works 30 hours a week and pull "C"s is usually a far better hire in the work force than a straight A student.
If I hadn’t worked more or less full time at University, my grades would have been higher.
Actually I gave up on grades when I started taking Chinese. Nothing like working your ass off on a language, when a) not a language whizz b) class was full of students that already spoke at least basic Chinese and c) class was graded on a curve. You know what, not one person in my entire life has ever looked at the grades I pulled in Chinese. I have never ever given any stock to the grades anyone I’ve ever hired has made in Chinese. The thing that mattered was how well I spoke Chinese. Grad school didn’t give a shit, they tested my ability rather than looked at my grades. In the work world, it was only how well I could make things work and use Chinese as a tool to get there.
I hope that you step back a little bit and realize that you’re learning something of value for the rest of your life. It’s too late to save your GPA - accept that and concentrate on learning. If you love a subject, you’ll probably do surprisingly well in it.
waves hand
2.57 GPA checkin’ in. My college career was a lot like bughunter’s–failed a few classes, got one or two D’s, mostly B’s and C’s really excelled in a few classes, pulling easy A’s where the subject matter truly engaged me. I was working anywhere between 35-70 hours in a given week (yes, seventy–that was mostly during my freshman year) to pay my bills, I qualifed for exactly zero financial aid.
I’m another “high school was so easy I practically slept through the whole thing and still pulled straight A’s” sort of kid, so was a little unprepared for the difference in workload, but mostly it was the constant working, I rarely had the time or energy to do any reading, which is where I fell behind in most classes.
I’ll let ya know if it’s a hinderance in a couple years–right now I’m just trying to find any job, much less one that relates to my degree.
If it’s a community college, saying that they are easier than private institutions is BS. I went to Carlow (Pittsburgh private women’s college) for a while, fucked up cause I drunk and stayed up till 4 am constantly, and was fighting depression. I am now at CCAC - a community college.
It is WAY HARDER. I even have an easier major (Education vs. Pre-vet). I’m working my ass off now, and getting A’s, but I totally deserve them. But it is a lot more work, and studying than Carlow ever required of me.
I had a 2.3 in high school and a 2.4 in collage, or was it the other way around… I can never remember. I never had any trouble getting work because of it. I had trouble getting into grad school. I ended up taking grad level classes to prove I could maintain a 3.0 average (which I did) and did a lot of volunteer work. After 3 or 4 years, I gave up on grad school, but never did have trouble getting work.
Wow, I’m amazed at all the supportive comments. I guess I’ve spent too much time convinced that good grades always equate to a good job, though I am learning very quickly that nothing is guaranteed no matter how talented/smart you may be.
I noticed that some posters worked while they went to school. and that may have had a factor on their grades. This is interesting, because I myself work 25 hours a week, 7 days a week, and take private piano lessons.
I’ve often thought about how much better I could potentially do if I didn’t have work. But unfortunately, my jobs are very closely tied to the rest of my life, and I can’t really give them up now.
My dad was a civil engineering professor for 30 years.
He always said "give me that solid … C student’.
Not the flash-in-the pan “a”.
Not the drag-in-from-behind “D”.
The folks who tried to learn, and were sometimes confused by theory, but by Og got up and tried it again.
Take your “C”, and be proud of it. 'cause you’re humble, and you’ll be more apt to learn in the real world.
Fred Smith (of Fedex fame) proposed the idea of small package distribution from a centralized hub in a class paper. He made a C. He seems to have done ok.