<p>I’m a student in engineering right now and am worried because of my midterm grades.<br>
For Chem, we had two midterms. One I got a little above avg, one I did far below avg, but we can drop one so I am hoping to drop the bad one and do my best on the third midterm and then the final.<br>
Physics, I did pretty below average on the first midterm but should still be in the C range (I am guessing).<br>
For math, I have two midterms to take and then a final, and my other classes should be fine.
I am just worried that I will get below a C in one or more of my classes and I will have to re-take them (since classes for our major requires at least a C I think). Then, maybe I won’t graduate on time and would have to make my parents pay extra for me to re-take these courses. We’re paying about 20k/year due to financial aid, and I would hate to fail and have to make them spend an extra 5th year or something, or have to transfer out or something. Maybe I’m worrying too much or thinking way too far ahead. Some part of me tells me in order to make sure nothing’s wasted to just keep working hard, doing my best, and wait until the end and see what the final grades are, but it’s difficult to do and frustrating. I will try to find what went wrong and develop better study habits and also do a lot of practice problems with others/groups.
But right now I’m wondering, did any of you have experience with your son/daughter having to re-take one or more classes, and how did it go? Did they have the same worries and difficulties freshman year, and how’d they get through everything? Freshman year is pretty frustrating so far, at least Thanksgiving Break is in a few weeks</p>
<p>[Average</a> GPA of University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/penn.html]Average”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/penn.html) says that Penn’s average GPA in 2004 was 3.44.</p>
<p>My son didn’t fail anything, but he struggled last year, and it is still a roller coaster. We are fortunate enough to be happy to pay for extra time, if it is the right thing to do.</p>
<p>For details, see <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1263136-parents-engineering-freshman.html?highlight=parents+of[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1263136-parents-engineering-freshman.html?highlight=parents+of</a></p>
<p>thanks for the link Shrinkrap, it’s helpful (but kind of makes me nervous as well haha). Also, ucb, I think I saw one of those before, but for the school of engineering, which I think has a lower gpa</p>
<p>My S2 (not an engineering major) had to retake classes after a bad first semester. He took some classes in summer school to catch up and graduated in four years.</p>
<p>Find out what your school’s policy is. My daughter got an F freshman year at a top 20 school. Her school didn’t let her retake the class and replace the grade, nor did they allow her to take the class again and average the new grade with the F. The prof told her she could send in some of the assignments she’d missed over the Xmas break; she did that; the prof then said “oh it’s too late”.</p>
<p>So the way I understand it, at her school, F stands for f***ed.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I see Packmom, I may do that if it happens. And Classof2015, that is very unfortunately and the school/prof should’ve handled it a lot differently I think… Hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else, or again</p>
<p>Back in 2004 at an admitted students’ event for Penn Engineering, I remember the dean telling us that the average GPA for engineers was a 2.7.</p>
<p>We have a child who has had to retake several classes, adding an extra year and a LOT of tuition and fees to the overall college bill. We have no regrets and just hope she does graduate this spring, after completing her 5th year. It can take a while to get through and she was surprised to learn that a C- in your major is NOT considered a passing grade at her U.</p>
<p>Both my kids are in the sciences and they’ve both had to retake a class.
While it is true that to major in the sciences you need to start with your major pre-reqs freshman year, it is also true that college is a huge transition from high school, and many students take too many credits to manage freshman year.
It’s important to get the foundation down, rather than just checking off the class. Sometimes auditing a difficult class first can be a good idea before you take it for credit, or if you need to withdraw, to still attend class so you can get what you can out of it.</p>
<p>Hang in there. Lots of kids have to retake classes. My D had to re-take 2. (She is now a senior and still on track to graduate in 4 years.) One of the classes was so hard for her, she audited it for a semester before re-taking for a grade, so she essentially took that class 3 times! Just keep the “big picture” in mind. You want to get your degree–even if it takes a little extra time. Check if your college will accept transfer credits if you need to re-take–you might be able to re-take at a less expensive college over the summer.<br>
Developing better study habits AND living with different roommates has helped D improve her grades. She is very social, but realized that she couldn’t do ALL the fun activities AND keep her grades up at the same time.</p>
<p>I went to an engineering school, and I knew many students who had to retake a class (or two or three). We weren’t allowed to take it anywhere else … we had to tack it on as an overload, taking 23 or more credits in a semester. Those draconian days are over at my alma mater, though - it was affiliated with GM at the time & tuition was a bargain. Once it became an independent school and tuition went way up, guess they had to get a bit more student-friendly with their practices!</p>
<p>S is a bio major who underestimated his Organic Chem class. He didn’t fail, but he isn’t going to pass Organ II if he doesn’t know the material from Organ I … so he is retaking. It’s not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Yes, if the course is in your major, schools are MUCH more particular about whether you can take the course anywhere other than on their campus. D only took foreign language and general education courses from other schools. All courses in her major have been taken (and repeated as needed) on the school where she’s getting her degree.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks you all! I’ll do my best then, and I guess it’s not so bad, maybe if I have to I’ll take a few summer courses if I can’t overload</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that I repeated both semesters of both general and organic chemistry!</p>
<p>Yes. And it was not at all the end of the world. It’s certainly common to retake classes, especially from freshman year, and especially math and science course. Freshman year brings big adjustments. Don’t lose too much sleep over this. </p>
<p>If you came in with an AP credits, or tested out of any requirements (foreign language, for example) you may have extra credits to give you some wiggle room to graduate on time, too, without “overloading” a semester or going to summer school. Talk to your advisor about options, and the registrar, as necessary. They can give you the best info.</p>
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<p>However, students and parents should be aware that having to retake courses can delay graduation. This is especially true if they are part of a sequence of prerequisites, so having to retake the course delays the rest of the sequence (especially if the course is only offered once per year, instead of every semester or quarter), so that having AP credit may not make up the slack. Even if the AP credit makes up the slack, having to repeat the course displaces schedule space that could have been used for another free elective course.</p>
<p>…and that’s why I said to check with the advisor and registrar at the OP’s school. It’s going to be different for every student, at every school. For my kid, it was not the end of the world at all.</p>
<p>My son (now a college senior) had to retake 2 classes. He added on an extra semester. We are really okay with it, as we know he was trying and just got overwhelmed. It’s okay. Big picture is, he’s on track for a successful life. There will be bumps along the way and we are proud of him for picking himself up and keeping going.</p>
<p>thanks for all the advice and comfort, I now realize it isn’t too bad if I must do it, since getting the degree and overcoming the challenges is important, especially the adjustment of freshman year. though I still need to work harder and do my best to not let it happen if I can haha, I really appreciate it!</p>