I believe most people here would say “never.”
@“Yalie 2011” well I’m sorry to be blunt too, but you are dead wrong. That isn’t how it is at all. My top priority is doing well in school so I could say I got a degree from the university of my choice.
You really think a NJ school like Rutgers would have a lesser degree value than UNCW? That’s actually quite laughable.
Good luck this semester!
@itsgettingreal17 lol not Rutgers, but (for example) Montclair State or Stockton. Not trying to turn this into a school-bashing thread lol.
Thanks, I appreciate it. Just talked to my freshman year roommate who pledged a different fraternity last spring and he said that pledging shouldn’t put that much academic stress on you and you just gotta manage your time well. Though I’ve never gotten below a 3.0 in at any point in college, previous semesters where I had more free time saw me generally tend to waste it, so maybe this one will finally kick me into gear. My on-campus job is during the day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, so that’s also very convenient for me. I’m honestly nervous, but fairly confident that it’ll all turn out okay. I’ve made a life of performing under pressure and turning up when everything is stacked against me. This should be no different.
I have not read all the threads so I am not sure how this is turning out for you.
I would say to stay the course and concentrate on your studies. Your confident it will turn out fine and I wish you the best. On the bright side, attending your state flagship is a great honor also. It is not so easy to get into those business schools either. Definitely not a blow off. All employers love the state flagships. They are full of hungry students who want to change the world. Not many trust fund kids attend state schools.
My guess is those frat brothers that are able to get a 4.0 during pledging were probably students who were maintaining a 4.0 before they pledged . Also, many students have been blindsided by gen eds that they thought would be easy. It ultimately is your decision. Part of being an adult is accepting the consequences of one’s actions .
@MassDaD68 word. I just don’t think that mine is a great fit for me, while the OOS public I currently attend happens to be a wonderful fit. Hence the strong resistance to anything involving a transfer.
@carolinamom2boys very true. I’m mature enough to accept the consequences of this decision. If my grades are tanking, I’m dropping right away.
Professors know some kids choose gen eds expecting to get an easy A. Posts on Rate My Professor indicates that’s not always as easy to accomplish as people think. I wish you luck, though. Let us know how it turns out.
Fingers crossed for you, and do keep us updated during Spring Break and after pledging ends!
LBad, you’ve got a bunch of analytical adults responding here. We’re saying not to assume, but instead to set yourself up for the best logical and rational chance of success. Carolinamom2boys is right, the 4.0 kid pre-pledge is more likely the 4.0 during and post-pledge. He’s already got the pieces mastered. The kid who’s now at a B avg, may find it harder, more a risk.
You’ve said, “doing better in college than I ever did in high school,” as some explanation, I think, of how the 3.15 represents some improvement. But if so, you may find it harder to ace all your classes, especially when the rest of your time is so taken. MYOS noted a -.1, which could be generous. It takes a whole semester to get to final grades.
Good planning, rational panning, requires a square look at all the what-ifs, not assuming. You aren’t signing up for academic support, expecting a rise. You’re adding the frat and thinking something like ten hours of mandatory study will do it. This is where the leap in thinking is needed.
Don’t be the kid who lets other things distract him. Or the kid whose short term wins mislead him into thinking everything will work out fine because a grade or two are fine, today. We want to see you master this, not just amble along and hope your parents are satisfied.
Dropping out of college because you can’t have it your way is stupid and childish. Don’t do something dumb like give up on college entirely just because you disagree with your parents.
If staying at your current university is truly your #1 priority, then you need to keep that goal in mind if the social life demands of being in a fraternity start to take over your ability to get good grades.
Let’s say you already study 10 hours/week and you need to get a BETTER GPA this semester in order to be able to stay at your university. Plus, you have a part time job. PLUS you just joined a fraternity…PLUS you think that you’re going to study abroad next year.
Your priorities are a little mixed up. You may SAY that staying at your college is a priority, but some of your actions/decisions speak differently.
If your grades start to go south, then your solution is to just give up and go home? That’s foolish. The solution should be to work harder.
Consider this instead…
So if your GPA is in the 3.19-3.20 range right now, then you should consider the following:
- What is your current course load like?
- Are some classes harder than others?
- If there’s graded homework, how have you been doing on the homework?
- Are there concepts that you might need help on?
- If so, are you going to the professor’s office hours to ask questions and get help? If no, then put your money where your mouth is and go to office hours.
- Look at your calendar and plan things backwards from midterms and final exams. What concepts will be on the exams? How much time will you NEED to study for those exams in order to perform BETTER on the tests than you have in prior classes?
- If you need to end the term with a better GPA, then whatever you did before will NOT be sufficient in order to improve your GPA. You will NEED to do something different. Figure out what the “something different” is in terms of study habits.
- Are any of the classes graded on a curve? If so, then there’s competition and only X% of the class will get an A. If YOU want to be 1 of those to get an A, then you have to be willing to study smarter & harder than the other students. Consider this when balancing your social and work life as well.
- How much studying per week for each class do you think you need to put in so that you’ll end the semester with BETTER GRADES than last term?
Do what you want, but I just don’t see how/why rushing is worth the risk.
Lots of good points here. I don’t really have the time to respond to all of them individually, but I will say this: moving back home would really damage my ego (and I’ve had enough ego-damaging moments growing up lol). But if I really have improved since coming to college, NOW is the time to show and prove it. I’m not taking this lightly. I have Intro to Creative Writing, Philosophy 101, History of Jazz, US History 1865-Present, and Geology 101 as my classes. Once again, best believe that I will shut these plans down if my grades turn to crap. It really shouldn’t be too hard, though, as long as I get my assignments done early. My on-campus part-time job is in the library, so I get to study while working also. I appreciate all the support as well as the honest constructive criticism, even if it does sound a little harsh.
Lbad, do you NEED five classes? Maybe scrap one. Or at least take one for credit/no credit.
@Lindagaf My dad says that he doesn’t want me taking less than 15 credits in a semester -_- (I currently have 16, because Geology is three credits + a one-credit lab). The add/drop period is over, but I can still withdraw from a course.
You have 2 history courses, one writing, one science with a lab, and philosophy (which can also be reading and writing intensive). Do you know the minimum grade you need to get in each course to bring your GPA up to where you want?
@austinmshauri History of Jazz is a music class. Just calculated it, I need two A-'s, two B+'s and two B’s to get the cumulative up to exactly a 3.2. That would also give me a 3.33 for the semester, which would put me on the Dean’s List given the requirements (3.2 with nothing lower than a B when taking 15+ credits).
Well that’s interesting. Does your dad know that it’s quite tough to take more than four classes a semester? And if you must keep your job, that seems a little unfair in fact. Maybe you could ask him to reconsider that requirement, just for this semester.
Good. Now you have a target. Post those grades on your bulletin board and keep an eye on them as the semester progresses. Good luck.