I spend a lot of time studying and involved with many organizations on campus. I am a freshman and am loving college. However, currently, I am taking Russian and the professor is a tough grader. I took the first half of the class last semester and got a B. It was the only grade I had lower than an A and I was satisfied with my work. Here is where venting begins. I want to continue this class and still have a pretty GPA. The class is fast pace and I had to work my tail off for that B. Currently I am getting a C in this class. My goal is to get into law school; should I continue Russian (something that interests me and I thoroughly enjoy) or focus on my GPA?
- Do you have a foreign language requirement at your school?
- are you still before the Withdrawal period?
- If you dropped this class, would you still be full time?
- Do you have a scholarship where you have to maintain a certain GPA?
- When would you make up the credits?
- Are you getting extra help (tutor, office hours) for Russian??
1)yes 2) yes 3) no, it is five credits 4) yes, 3.5 GPA min 5) when I am a junior 6) yes-if I did not go to office hours as often as did last semester I would not have got a B.
I like the prof and the class, my fear is that a “low” GPA will look bad on a law school application
In the future you will be faced with other challenging classes. Are you going to drop every class where you don’t have an A? You don’t need to have a 4.0 but you want to still put in your best effort. Are you trying to actually learn the language so that you can become fluent or are you just doing this for the grade? Think thoroughly what would be the best thing to do. If you can put more effort to improve then continue. If you think you cannot then drop it.
Welcome to university. It is hard. A 5 credit course is supposed to be particularly hard.
I don’t know Russian at all, and the thought of studying Russian actually scares me. However, I did struggle for many years to learn a foreign language. Find a group where you can sit and talk in Russian for an hour or two every week. Read news in Russian. Watch Russian movies and videos. Watch hockey games and if possible the Olympics in Russian. To learn a language, you have to use it.
I would say stick it out because you have to have a Foreign language and you won’t be full time (which affects if you can stay in housing and also your financial aid.)
But with the 3.5 GPA requirement, you have to up your game!
For every credit hour, it is expected (by gov’t and acreddiation) that you do 2-3 hours of reading/studying/homework above the time spent in class. So for a 5 credit class, it is expected that you do 10-15 hours of studying/reading/ outside of class per week! Are you doing that?
Like @DadTwoGirls says, you need to immerse yourself in Russian. See if there is a Russian table at lunch (these are often set up, ask your professor). or set up one with your classmates. Watch a movie you know but in Russian. See if you get get easy reader Russian books. Get the App Duolingo and practice Russian.