<p>I always hear of straight A students, the ones that never got below an A- or worse in high school even in AP courses, that come out with 2.5 GPA’s. Is college that much more difficult , or students just begin to slack off and not care. I am beginning to worry that I may go from top in my high school to bottom half at UC Berkley.</p>
<p>Yes, college is harder than high school, and if you’ve made the right choice, you will be in classes with your peers, people who also made A’s. You also have much more “free” time in college, or think you do. It’s very easy to while away the time between classes instead of studying, and fall quickly behind. For the first time, you have total freedom without anyone (parents?) checking up on you. Just stay focused. Finish your work before having fun. But do have some fun. (I was a straight A student, but got my one and only C in calculus first semester because I couldn’t get up for an 8am class. That was a wake up call alright.)</p>
<p>My gpa raised. I had a 2.5 in HS and now a 3.5 in college.</p>
<p>Since you can’t spell Berkeley, you’ll probably be on academic probation within the first year. </p>
<p>just kidding</p>
<p>honestly, its because
- college is harder
- the grades depend on less (ie, 4 assignments/tests make up your grade rather than a ton of tests/projects/homeworks)
- there is no strict schedule to follow
- you are on your own (ie your peers aren’t good motivation to go to class)
etc…</p>
<p>we need recess to be instated…</p>
<p>Hey, I was on my phone; it’s hard to type on it…</p>
<p>Probably because students have more freedom, party more in college. Me personally, my gpa raised, all I cared about in hs was girls and the sports I played. Now I have to keep up my grades to keep my scholarships and stuff.</p>
<p>There’s a four, almost five page thread about drinking right above this one, which is a pretty good clue.</p>
<p>Is it like this at Ivy League schools too, or does everyone come out with 3.0+ GPA’s?</p>
<p>The typical reason is that students might not be well adjusted. Surely,College life is harder and its not easy to adapt the new environment!! </p>
<p>Secondly,they have more freedom,independence to be exact. They can do anything they want whereas in High school or Middle School that those certain rules must be Obeyed! </p>
<p>I guess,it will always be the student’s capability,on striving to excellence! :)</p>
<p>My personal experience has been the exact opposite. </p>
<p>Went from graduating near the bottom of my graduating magnet high school class with C and B level grades and not having ever taking APs to graduating from an well-respected SLAC with an average around a 3.5 as a scholarship student despite an slow start first semester, taking heavy class loads, working part-time during the school year, and suffering a family tragedy in my senior year. </p>
<p>From observing classmates who were topflight high school students who then ended up floundering with Cs or worse, there were a few common factors. </p>
<p>One was that many of them were not used to suddenly being in an environment where they were expected to self-manage themselves to stay on track academically. Most Profs/TAs are not going to micromanage them to the same degree as their high school teachers and parents. From what I remembered, you got a syllabus on the first day of a given class and it served as your semester/year-long scheduling/grading/Office Hours guide for the course. Funny how this environmental change actually worked in my favor as it was far more compatible with my personality and work habits. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for most incoming first-years who then experience a jarring adjustment during their first year or even first semester. </p>
<p>Another factor I commonly observed was overconfidence bordering on hubris from college classmates and some acquaintances who were topflight “star” students all their lives up till the end of high school. These students assumed that because they attended the “better” well-off suburban public schools or private/boarding schools, had stellar grades/standardized test scores, and never had to really struggle for them that this will continue to be the case in college. Everyone I encountered who exhibited this cocky attitude had a rude awakening when their started to struggle in their courses and receiving their first Cs, or even failing grades as a result. Some even ended up on academic suspension or in egregious cases…invited to leave. </p>
<p>The third factor is lack of adequate academic preparation from their high schools…because of the wide variability in rigor and quality…even among schools offering AP/IB courses. From what I’ve heard from friends who teach high school in public and private schools across the US, courses labeled AP/IB in one school may not necessarily meet the minimal standards of a regular college prep/general high school course at another. Moreover, most college first-years arrive on campus with inadequate or even non-existent writing and basic math skills which compounds the problem for these students.</p>
<p>sooo cobrat’s post is longer than my college essay lol, and unfortunately my 0.5 second attention span couldnt handle it :(</p>
<p>But to the OP’s question, your parents arent their to threaten your life/constantly nag you about doing work coupled with easy access to alcohol + the ability to go anywhere anytime + that hot girl you see in class that doesnt live in a different neighbourhood but in the dorm a couple minutes walk away from you = why so many students grades drop once they enter college :)</p>
<p>I think the main thing is that college course grading is tougher. In some of my classes, your final grade comes from 2 exams and a final and so if you mess up just one exam, you lose.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Weirdest part is my experience and those of most high school classmates has been that course grading and pacing was actually easier in college than in high school. Only exceptions were classmates who ended up at MIT, CMU, Cornell, UChicago and other similarly “hard schools” where they said it was the same or worse. </p>
<p>@DemolitX Fortunately, I’m not limited to just 250 or 500 words. :D</p>
<p>i think it was hard for me (heck, still is) when i first got to college and ended my first quarter with a 2.2 because high school was just too easy. i didn’t feel prepared at all, especially coming from semester to the quarter system. everything just felt rushed and i didn’t feel like i learned anything. i went to a pretty bad high school, so classes were a breeze. i feel like i didn’t have to put any effort into high school, so once i got to college it was just a different environment and i had a hard time adjusting.</p>
<p>Cobrat’s post is crap.</p>
<p>He got better grades than his smart high school peers because he went to an easier college.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>some people expect to be able to do the same amount of work/studying as they did and high school and still get by OR they don’t realize how demanding the workload is. A quiz in high school might literally mean nothing but a quiz in college could have a lot of affect on your final grade</p></li>
<li><p>trouble adjusting to college- living on own, workload, following their own schedule, the idea of getting to do whatever they want. Sometimes in classes where the only grades are two exams and maybe a paper or so, it may seem like you don’t have anything to do during the first month or so of school. You’re the one who has to remind yourself to stay on top of things.</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>Funny to hear that considering if you had read carefully, you’d realize that my experience of college being easier and less challenging than high school was also that of most of most high school classmates…even those at the UC schools and Ivies. </p>
<p>In fact, the ones who went to the UC schools noticed this contrasting experience much more starkly because of the dramatic difference between OOS and in-state admissions. Granted, this gap may have narrowed over the last decade.</p>
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<p>Grade inflation is rampant at the Ivies and at a lot of other top schools. You’d have to compare the cobrat’s school and major and his friends’ schools and their majors directly in order to make that statement.</p>
<p>collige iz hurd</p>