<p>I don’t know what the average GPA is for a 1st semester college student is, but I hear it is usually not very high due to the tough transition from HS to college. I recieved a 3.8 GPA this fall semester. I never passed a 3.7 in HS and graduated with a 3.449 overall. Is this a rare case?</p>
<p>not really. A lot of my friends have 4.0.</p>
<p>No, not rare or unusual, but certainly ahead of the pack so far. You should feel very accomplished of this achievement. It is certainly true that many students stumble the first semester, so you should be very happy that you made it over the first hurdle.</p>
<p>There are so many factors that go into a semester’s worth of grades. You may have taken subjects that you were able to naturally do well in – a future semester may throw in a few zingers you weren’t expecting. For some, their natural bane might be Organic Chemistry, for others, Music Appreciation will throw them for a loop. There are also some professors who just grade a lot harder than others and you may have avoided them this semester.</p>
<p>Just remember to approach each semester with fresh eyes and fresh enthusiasm. There may be some classes in the future that will be a huge challenge for you that will be the true test of your academic future. Strangely, sometimes it is that hard fought for “C” in some class that is the defining point of getting to the end goal of a degree rather than this momentary “high” of an awesome freshman year semester.</p>
<p>Good job, keep up the great work. Do a victory lap or two and then get back to the books. :)</p>
<p>Annika</p>
<p>Great job on your first semester! It would seem you have done well at establishing good priorities and work-habits from the start of your college career. I will echo the advice to approach each semester with that same focus and enthusiasm. And, I will bet that as you get more and more into your major, you will find that focus easier to achieve as you will surely chose a major that you enjoy studying…</p>
<p>Good work, king26. My son is off to a very good start, too. Because he attended a very competitive high school, he entered college with fairly low self-esteem, which was something I hadn’t realized. His new college advisor was really worried about him at the beginning. Now she’s asking how he was able to get an A in biology from the “professor who never gives A’s.”</p>
<p>Good work, and congratulations! Maybe you’re like my son, whose learning style and habits are a much better fit in college than they were in high school. He likes the independence: choose courses you want to take, explore new subjects, write papers, study for exams, and go to class and participate. It’s all up to the student, and it can be liberating.</p>
<p>King - Many factors go into 1st semester grades. Congrats on making a success of YOUR first semester.</p>
<p>all depends on your major/courses. I know d’s friends averaged from 4.0-Communications major to a 2.0 Chem Engineering major Calc/analytical Geometry vs psych 101. big difference in course load.</p>
<p>What classes are you taking? Some majors have weed out classes in a first semester that are exceptionally hard even for very top students.</p>
<p>
You know, I TA’ed psych 101 this past semester, and the students as a whole did much worse than I would have expected…</p>
<p>My S got a 3.9 his first semester. And this was after starting the semester 3 weeks late as a Katrina transplant. He initially went to college with a healthy fear of needing to work hard to keep up…he has always been a decent student but not the best organizational/study habits. He says that he just worked alot harder the 1st semester, primarily driven by that fear.</p>
<p>He’s been back in New Orleans after that 1st semester and his grades haven’t approached anything NEAR that amazing 1st term. Wish he still felt the “fear”…just a little :)</p>
<p>As other posters have said, congratulations. Now hang onto that focus so that this semester won’t be an anomaly. Good luck!</p>
<p>That is fantastic! Way to go!</p>
<p>My neice also got a 4.0 her first semester and has maintained it for five semesters. I think some students just hit their stride and go, go, go.</p>
<p>Congrats :D</p>
<p>3.967 with biology, chemistry, English comp, philosophy, and an intro class to physician assistant studies. Fear is a good word to describe how he was feeling. Prior to enrolling, he met with one of the professors in his major, who said, “We have a great beach near campus, but with this major, you’ll never see it.” He still hasn’t been to the beach. I hope he realizes he can go there now. Students need to see the “beaches” or in other words, have some type of fun.</p>
<p>Good job in getting a 3.8!!!</p>
<p>Our DD had a perfect 4.0 in all her life before college. In her first Q, she got… … well, less than 4.0. However, I could not have been happier for her. </p>
<p>While taking 19 credits with some challenging classes, including a junior level class, she managed to have a lot of fun - made some real good friends. She is loving the school she went because of the $$. We lost count how many times she shouts out “I love my school” during her winter back at home. </p>
<p>Like others have said, the GPA is probably school dependent. Our DD had a HS classmate who had multiple choice tests for each and every one of his exam in all his first semester classes. He attends a top tier state school (not the flagship). While DD did not have one such exam for all her classes. </p>
<p>I would also like to think the GPA is peer dependent because grading could be based on a curve. It is going to be harder to get an A in chemistry, for example, when you have 1/2 the class that made the top of their states in chemistry olympiad. </p>
<p>That being said, a 3.8 in college is a great achievement. Keep it up.</p>
<p>Congrats - Mathson is doing quite similar to high school - nearly all A’s but the occasional B in a course he can’t avoid (World History and Technical Writing.) I don’t think it’s always school dependent as Dad II says, I think being able to take mostly courses you want to take makes it easier to do well, and for many, not being graded on the picky stuff, (homework, neatness) is also a help. Our son is working much harder than he did in high school, but he’s working on stuff he likes doing. His grades are mostly project based (computer science.)</p>
<p>D struggled to end up with a 3.5 in high school, but just graduated college with Magna Cum Laude. Her love of her major gave her focus. I think this happens a lot.</p>