I ended my first semester in college about 2 weeks ago. My G.P.A. is exactly a 3.0, can I get it to a 3.4 ?

Question

I do want to go to Med School, and I know I need at least a 3.5 to be competitive in the application process. I really would like to hear some words of advice. I know a 3.0 is ok for freshman year, but what tips do you have for next semester on getting my grades higher. Better studying tips and so on.

Answer 1

Yes, I also learned my lesson my first quarter and I had to change my study habits.

First of all, I'm sure you've learned college is no joke. It's HARD. These classes in math and science require a lot of practice. Read the chapters before you go to lecture, and then you will find yourself paying better attention in lecture. Take really good notes, and actually read them after class. Keep refreshing your memory on what you learned. Go to office hours the instant you have a doubt. Make use of all the resources your school has to offer. The key to subjects like math and chem is practice practice practice. Just doing the homework won't be enough, you gotta do more and more problems. And you have to study throughout the quarter, not just cram for finals at the end. Keep reviewing what you've learned (cumulatively!) at the end of each week and you will retain the information better. A lot of college students utilize the weekend for social life and partying (which is what I used to do) but making a habit out of late-nighters will screw up your sleeping patterns and performance. Make use of the weekend (because you don't have classes!) to get some work done during the day. Then you can go out with friends at night, but of course if you drink every weekend and stay out until 3 am don't expect to get very high grades. Also don't waste time in between classes and during the weekdays either. Get some food, go to the library, start studying. If you don't waste time each day you will find that you are done with your studying early! and you will have some free time in the evening to chill or do whatever.

Since your GPA is at a 3.0, if you keep on getting all Bs, it's going to have to stay the same. As for specifics on how to get your GPA up, I could be more helpful if you tell me the average number of credits and hours you're taking. To calculate your GPA, multiply the GPA you get in a particular class times the number of credit hours. So say you took a 5-credit hour class and got a B, that would be 5 x 3.0 = 15. Do that for the rest of your classes, add the numbers up, and divide the result by the total number of credit hours you're taking. Now you can do that with the expected number of credits vs the expected number of grades for next semester and see what kind of grades you will need in the future. Reality hits really fast, doesn't it?

It's all time management, buddy. How smart you are doesn't matter anymore. How you utilize your free time, however, does.

Answer 2

Yes, you have a long time yet, and a 3.0 is good to start out with.

In order to get what you have to do to get your GPA to 3.5 or higher, we need to know some things. How many credits total will you have from here on out?

Pretty much, the easy way is to say that you have to make A's on the majority of your classes from here on out, and nothing less than a B.

Answer 3

Motivation is key. You can take a few GPA boosters. Also remember that GPA in your major is very important as well. So once you start major specific courses you need to make sure you succeed in these classes.

Find a friend who is smarter than you are. At college there is always someone smarter than you. Let their study habits rub off on you.

Attend the learning centers your school provides for free tutoring and course assistance.

Make pals with your professors. Make sure that they know who you are and that you speak with them often.