Personal Advice For the Comeback Kid

Airvine
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 17:39:00 +0000

I want to keep this as succinct as possible because it makes reading and issuing advice much easier.

Here is my story as brief as can be. **This part simply provides better insight into my current situation but CAN be skipped/B.

I am 23 years old and live in North Carolina. I have always been a rather cerebral person in life but until recently I have always hated school. Growing up I always was bored with in the classroom despite the fact that I really enjoyed learning. I hung around people who were “class clowns” and that is what I saw myself as despite my entire family and others always telling me how much potential I had. It had always been more thrilling to me to skip class and cause mayhem rather than sit in the classroom and focus on “boring stuff.” Hanging around underachievers and negative people continued from about 4th grade all the way up to a few years of being in and out of community college with the same awful habits.

Over the past couple years of my life, I have really focused on eliminating dejection and negativity from my life. I have dropped a lot of friends who were really very determined to go nowhere at all. Getting out in the work force and turning this way and that, only to realize that none of that interested me, really got me thinking about how enjoyable being in school is in reality. I have never appreciated so much what a place of education truly is. What is interesting is that this change of lifestyle and attitude has happened simultaneously with an interest paradigm shift.

I wrote and read a lot growing up, mostly fiction and philosophy. Those were always my interests. The real world seemed quite mundane to me and never lit a fire in my heart/mind. However, because of how much I enjoyed philosophy and thinking of existence on the largest scale the human mind can conceive I found my way to Astronomy. Astronomy and its majestic wonders led me eventually to Physics, which in-turn led me to Mathematics. Now, I enjoy Physics and Mathematics more than I ever was into writing and Philosophy. I have really taken to Math and Science across the board. Prior to my new found motivation, I had allowed my GPA to sink to a measly 2.0. Two semesters of a 4.0 has raised that to a 2.8. Before I apply for a transfer, I really hope to achieve between a 3.2 - 3.5 cumulative. My college professors all tell me that I have real potential for Math and Science, which is good because I really want to be a Theoretical Astrophysicist/Cosmologist. At this point I really want to get into the best university in the state of North Carolina to study Astro/Theoretical Physics.

**CONTINUED/B

I had a 2.0 GPA when I was enrolled in the Associate in Arts program at my community college. From the point of finding my motivation, changing my attitude, and really actually giving an effort, I have taken 6 classes. Here are the classes and grades:

Summer 2013 - Semester GPA: 4.0

1. English 111 - A

2. English 112 - A

3. College Algebra - A

Changed degree plan from Associate in Arts to Associate in Science.

Fall 2013 - Semester GPA: 4.0

1. Biology 111- A

2. Statistics - A

3. Precalculus- A

NOW THE ADVICE.
These are the classes I am hoping to take before I finish my Associates in Science degree and start applying to colleges in Spring 2015:
*-NEED TO TAKE
@- Want to take

*Trigonometry
*Chemistry 151
*Chinese 101
*American History 131
*General Anthropology 210
*Chemistry 152
*Calculus 1
*British Literature
*Physics 251
*Calculus 2
*Chinese 102
@Astronomy

So here are the only two ways I arrange it…

Option 1
Spring 2014 - 18 Credit Hours:

1. Trigonometry

2. Chemistry 151

3. Chinese 101

4. General Anthropology 210

5. American History 131 (Online)

Summer 2014 - 11 Credit Hours:

1. Calculus 1

2. Chemistry 152

3. British Literature

Fall 2014 - 16 Credit Hours

1. Calculus 2

2. Physics 251

3. Chinese 102

4. Astronomy

OR

Option 2

Spring 2014 - 15 Credit Hours:

1. Trigonometry

2. Chemistry 151

3. Chinese 101

4. General Anthropology 210

Summer 2014 - 11 Credit Hours:

1. Calculus 1

2. Chemistry 152

3. American History 131

Fall 2014 - 15 Credit Hours

1. Calculus 2

2. Physics 251

3. Chinese 102

4. British Literature

So really the dilemma comes down to whether or not 18 credit hours of THAT particular course load in “Option 1” is feasible. I know it seems like I am almost splitting hairs with how similar the two options are but I REALLY want to stay on the same trend of getting semester 4.0’s. The reason being that I am in the process of pulling my GPA up from a 2.0 (currently at a 2.8) and want to get it somewhere between 3.2-3.5 (about as high as is possible for me to go with my past on my transcript). My desire to do this is because Astro/Theoretical Physics is competitive and I really want to transfer to the best university in the state of North Carolina that I can to hopefully cause a somewhat “chain reaction” that will help me get into the best graduate school I can after that.

So the question is:
While working less than 10 hours a week and doing around 10 volunteer hours a week, is getting another 4.0 while taking the 18 credit hours in “Option 1” feasible?