Many students who start of with all C’s end up doing very well. So don’t fret too much and don’t panic. The early courses in many schools are survey courses that require certain skills that become less important as you move up in course levels (from 100’s to 400’s). Many rely on how well you can game tests (often multiple choice tests) and how well you can memorize and regurgitate large amounts of material. So I agree with the suggestions about acquiring good study habits, etc. But mostly, don’t panic and don’t conclude that you won’t succeed. As others have suggested, do try to evaluate what may be contributing to the poor grades-do you know the material but are not very good at taking the kind of tests or completing the kind of assignments that are expected. Or do you think you don’t understand the material and may have had poor preparation from your high school courses-or is there a disconnect between what you think is good enough and what is expected, etc. If you can identify more explicitly why you are not getting the grades you’d like, you can either change how you prepare or your level of effort, and/or you will have cues about whether upper levels will help you overcome the issue.