Why am I doing so bad in college?

Question

Ok so I just finished my freshman year in college and I did WAY worse than I could have ever expected. I always got top grades in high school and all my classes were either honors or AP and I got mostly 4s in all my AP tests, etc. Now that I'm in college (University of Florida) I haven't been able to get a single A. Well I did get three As but they were stupid classes. The rest have been Bs and Cs and this semester I had to drop a class because I didn't want to get a C again.

I'm pretty sure my GPA will end up being very close to 3.0 perhaps even below 3.0 like 2.96 I'm incredibly dissapointed about this semester in particular because fall semester I could blame it on my roommate who never let me study or do anything, but this semester I have no excuse and I thought I was going to pull up my GPA to at least 3.25

The worst thing is that I've perfectly understood all the material and everything. I just don't understand what's wrong with me, and why I can't make the grades. Help!

Answer 1

There are too many reasons why you are not doing well in college... one maybe is you're not focused on your studies, just try to relax and concentrate to those subjects you know that is difficult. Try to have some options in your study, like try to build a study group, or research on the library or internet to gather more information. two, is maybe you don't like the course you are taking. It is better to take a course that you love because it makes you more willing to study it an it would be interesting to study. third, maybe you just needed an inspiration or a great motivation to study harder, like having a relationship (girlfriend, for that fact!) and balancing it well, or your family - that if you graduated you can help them after, or your siblings after you graduated and earning money. or give inspiration your self that if you finished college, you have this confidence to face the world with a degree backing you up. I hope my answer has a sense to you and hope i could help. ;-)

Answer 2

First, don't be too hard on yourself. Your GPA is not bad for a first-year student. Acclimating to college can be tough.
Are you tired? Being away from home for the first time, not getting enough sleep (either from partying or just from the wacky schedules you keep), not eating right, not managing your time well (as in, waiting until the night before a test to readint the materials) etc. may have blurred your idea of "understanding the material."

You may understand the material, but you may not have conveyed that to your professors. College professors expect a more in-depth analysis of the material than high school teachers do. Even at a big university, your professors should have office hours. If you get a particularly bad grade on a test or paper, ask your professor or their TA to go over it with you and point out where you've gone wrong. As a big college, UF should have lots of tutoring resources, too. Take a paper to the school's writing center and go over it with the workers there. Good luck.

Answer 3

You're experiencing what can be called "Freshman Flop". Basically, it explains students who did well in high school and went into college expecting that success to continue, but weren't fully prepared, or were over-confident.

What I would suggest is to seek out the advice of one of your school counselors. They can show you new study or note taking methods (since these are vastly different in college than in high school). Also, you might seek out other students on campus having the same problems so you can share your problems/solutions with them and in the process find dedicated study partners. Also, look for quiet spots on campus with few distractions for studying. Remember to keep lots of fruits and veggies in your diet and cut down on the alcohol intake (if you've been drinking). Don't hesistate to speak with your professors as well. I think the excuse of "you got a bad professor" is the most selfish and irresponsible thing I've ever heard .. don't buy into that mentality or you'll really be screwed.

Finally, you are doing fairly well compared to most other college students. A 3.0 is not bad and can be brought up pretty easily, especially when you're still under 30 hours. Just keep at it and don't give up!

Answer 4

Without knowing any specifics, there are a lot of reasons you may not be doing as well as you hoped.

One is that you are simply in a very tough program. Most engineering programs have much lower GPAs than other majors, for instance.

Another is that you are having a difficult time adjusting to college life (like many other people). It sounds like you let your roomate run your life, but in college you need to take charge of your education, saying no to some social activities, or taking your studies to the library, if you must.

Or maybe you aren't studying enough. Maybe the material makes sense to you, but you don't do enough practice problems or whatnot to ingrain it in your head, so when test time comes you don't remember anything.

Or, you could be in the wrong major. Maybe you are pushing yourself to be in a major that has a reputation for better jobs, when you would really enjoy and excell in a different major. Maybe those "stupid" classes you got As in are classes that really interested you.

Unfortunately there isn't enough information to give a better answer.

Answer 5

I think people often take a year or so to acclimatize to college. How well you're doing depends on a lot of things, what kinds of classes you're taking, your study and attendance habits etc. As a college instructor I find that some students did well in high school partly because they learned how to do exactly what their teachers wanted. In college they have a harder time because they have to learn a different way of thinking about the material ... a more analytical and critical way. That's harder if you've been in the habit of thinking in ways to simply get good grades. If that's part of your problem, keep working on it. Also .. you might get some ideas from an adviser.

Answer 6

As any individual who went to a 4 year college and graduated, I evaluate community colleges are a appropriate thought. Now confronted with the fact of paying lower back student loans i'm thinking why did I pay plenty instructions to take American historic previous and govt. 4 365 days colleges will would desire to in particular have greater effective lecturers is actual. I say usually simply by certainty there are some stunning community colleges contained obtainable (my renowned govt professor left to paintings at a community college reason it was once nearer to homestead and he rather made extra money at it provided that it replaced into in an rather wealthy county). yet you do no longer would desire to have a professor to coach you maximum fundamentals. once you finally end up taking greater degree training on your top then this is the time for ultimate professors, whether keep your cash, transition into college paintings much less annoying, and bypass purely good to your instructions and you gets a pass scholarship jointly as you bypass to a state enterprise. there is not any longer an organization organization or a graduate college it somewhat is going to look at you any in a distinctive way than somebody else who graduated at a 4 365 days enterprise with you purely once you communicate approximately which you began at a community college and that they did all 4 years at a state college. which you additionally can get greater custom expertise at a community college particularly of suffering via potential of a coarse type with some caught up professor who thinks his stuff does not stink and does not care sufficient to assist his scholars simply by fact the he's on the lower back of on his examine. shop your cash, and your GPA. talk on your handbook approximately what classes will pass on your state instructions of your determination so which you do no longer take some thing you do no longer would desire to.

Answer 7

College is much harder than high school. I would sleep during high school classes and I made the honor roll. I would have flunked out of college if I hadn't dropped out. Ask your teachers for help before the end of the semester when you can still do something about your grade. And you can always retake a class for a better grade.

Answer 8

Maybe you're studying differently, maybe you've just been a little depressed and it's causing you to have trouble concentrating... it could be anything. If you feel depressed, then ask to speak with a doctor or a therapist, they would be more than happy to help you. Don't be embarrased, it happens a lot, especially in college, to more people than you think. If you don't feel you are depressed, I would suggest seeing a counseler, they can give you a better perspective because they've heard and tried to solve so many different student's problems. I'm sure the couseler could probably suggest things that might help. Good luck!

Answer 9

Well you don't really explain your studying methods, or what do you do to prepare for exams. Or how do you take exams, what kinds of exams make you do the worst. I would say you are too hard on yourself having met people that are happy to have B's and C's but I would feel the same way if I got a C in a class although I have learned to accept that B's do happen even to the best of us. Well, answer my questions and I'll help you with test taking techniques and studying techniques.

Answer 10

Without knowing what specifically you are doing poorly on, it is hard to give specific advice. If you are getting low scores on tests, access the University's student support services to get advice on test anxiety. If you are getting low scores on written work due to poor writing, take advantage of the writing center. The best, overall place to start is with the counseling office--lay out what is going on, and I'm sure they will help.