Freshman year of undergraduate and stressed about grades

[lynne8832]

Hi everyone!
I'm currently a second semester freshman majoring in pre-veterinary sciences and have a few questions about undergraduate grades. First semester was great and I made a 3.75 GPA, I was a member of pre-vet club and was very optimistic about going to vet school. I've always had very high expectations for myself when it comes to academics. I am now a month into second semester and things are going well, except for one of the Gen-Eds I am in. It's a history class and I currently have a low C in the class. My question is whether I should stick it out and finish with a C or if I should withdraw from the course. I still have 2 exams and a paper left but the professor is a hard grader and I'm not sure if I can bring it up to a B or if I should consider withdrawing (would withdrawing look better on my transcript than a C or a D in history?) I know this sounds ridiculous but my OCD gets the best of me when it comes to grades and I don't want a bad grade in history to affect my chances of getting into vet school.
Thanks for your help

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[Cobyology]

Stick it out. One C won't ruin your chances, assuming you keep up that 3.75 GPA.

 

[danseth]

It you decide to retake the course and you do better, I’ve been told that looks better than a withdrawal. It won’t affect your science GPA since it’s a history class but it’ll probably hurt your soul (I’m similar in being bad about my grades being as perfect as I can make them). But if you stick through it and aren’t satisfied, try taking it again with a different professor and it might help you out.

 

[dr.lyssypoo27]

Hi everyone!
I'm currently a second semester freshman majoring in pre-veterinary sciences and have a few questions about undergraduate grades. First semester was great and I made a 3.75 GPA, I was a member of pre-vet club and was very optimistic about going to vet school. I've always had very high expectations for myself when it comes to academics. I am now a month into second semester and things are going well, except for one of the Gen-Eds I am in. It's a history class and I currently have a low C in the class. My question is whether I should stick it out and finish with a C or if I should withdraw from the course. I still have 2 exams and a paper left but the professor is a hard grader and I'm not sure if I can bring it up to a B or if I should consider withdrawing (would withdrawing look better on my transcript than a C or a D in history?) I know this sounds ridiculous but my OCD gets the best of me when it comes to grades and I don't want a bad grade in history to affect my chances of getting into vet school.
Thanks for your help

Ah, you sound like me my freshman year. Keep your head up! I was in the same situation with a nutrition class my sophomore year. Horrible professor, I knew I’d be lucky to get out with a C. I’ve always had a 4.0, and I hated that this stupid class might ruin that. I dropped the class on the very last day to drop it, and I never regretted it. My in state school told me that a W doesn’t affect anything, the GPA is calculated objectively with a literal online calculator, so the W is just there and another value they enter (doesn’t affect your GPA calculation). Personally, if you have a bad feeling and it upsets you to get that low grade, I think you should drop the class. A W isn’t the worst thing ever, and I’d take it over a hit to your GPA and your pride.

 

[Lupin21]

Also make sure that you pay attention to the requirements for grades in required pre requisites for vet schools, including gen eds. a C- for example is below the acceptable cut off for some schools, so if you suspect that to be the end result, I do agree a W is alright to take then try try again. Good luck!

 

[prevetkid]

i literally have a 3.18 and got accepted to vet school so just stick it out! one history class won't ruin your chances! for future, avoid this professor and also go on rate my professor to check out the teachers before taking a class!

 

[cbucks]

I definitely understand how you feel, but think about the time you have in the future to bring your grades up before applying! I finished freshman year with a 3.0 (literally no idea what I was doing) and when I applied I had a 3.58 (which isn’t stellar but is a huge improvement!) With this, I’ve been accepted into 2 schools so far (KSU and CSU) and am waiting to hear back from 4 others post-interviews. Seeing as to how your first semester was already strong you probably won’t run into this problem, but I figured I’d let you know it’s possible to bring up a GPA after freshman year!
In terms of dropping the class, I second what other people have said. One W won’t ‘ruin’ your application, and if you end up doing poorly and have to retake the class anyway the W won’t affect your GPA and you don’t have to worry about replacing grades but I recommend trying to stick it out if you can and talk to your professor about extra opportunities if possible!

 

[ajs513]

Thank you so much for the reply! i’ve always been a perfectionist when it comes to grades and don’t want a gen ed to mess up my gpa from last semester!

You need to calm down a bit or you’ll crack. You’re only in your freshman year. It’s not make or break right now. You’re going to make mistakes and learn from them, and that’s okay. People keep saying over and over how important grades are, and while that’s true to a point, experience (and varied experience at that) can actually be more important. Students with good grades are a dime a dozen, and right now you’re a dime a dozen. Until you get lots of vet experience, some interesting research experience, and figure out how you’re an interesting person, you can’t consider yourself a good applicant.

I messed up tremendously my first two years of undergrad. I think I had a 2.8 GPA until the end of my sophomore year. I failed two classes and had to retake them, and had several C’s. I really brought myself back up my last two years and my last 45 GPA was just over a 3.7. My cumulative was a 3.32 but only 3.0 according to VMCAS. I made up for that by working a ton at a vet clinic, getting very good experience and learning things that I couldn’t learn in school, and finding a research project that I could talk about and explain without people immediately understanding what I did. My research was focused around goat reproduction, and there were a lot of weird things I had to do that someone working in a lab on fruit flies wouldn’t have done. That made it an interesting conversation topic.

My advisor told me that good grades are important, but without good experience to match, you don’t stand a chance. He knows of one student who had a 4.0 but got rejected from everywhere they applied. He also knows of a girl who had a 2.8 and got into Penn. That was encouraging to me, and I made sure to keep my grades up my last semesters and make myself more competitive. I did fairly well on the GRE, kept working, and cast a wide net. After being rejected from a few schools I thought were sure things, I got a little upset. Then out of nowhere I got an interview at Penn and ended up getting accepted.

My point isn’t that you shouldn’t worry about grades. If I could go back in time and study harder or get help sooner for both my classes and my mental health I would have. However, I had a lot of fun during undergrad and had great experiences. I wasn’t confined to my room studying every night and stressing nonstop about classes. I learned how to balance school with having a social life and extracurriculars. That was most important. Just make sure you’re not destroying your life and mental health over your classes. A C or a W isn’t the end of the world. Just get through them a prove to schools that you’re not a robot and that you’re going to be a good veterinarian, not just a good student.

 

[lynne8832]

I definitely understand how you feel, but think about the time you have in the future to bring your grades up before applying! I finished freshman year with a 3.0 (literally no idea what I was doing) and when I applied I had a 3.58 (which isn’t stellar but is a huge improvement!) With this, I’ve been accepted into 2 schools so far (KSU and CSU) and am waiting to hear back from 4 others post-interviews. Seeing as to how your first semester was already strong you probably won’t run into this problem, but I figured I’d let you know it’s possible to bring up a GPA after freshman year!
In terms of dropping the class, I second what other people have said. One W won’t ‘ruin’ your application, and if you end up doing poorly and have to retake the class anyway the W won’t affect your GPA and you don’t have to worry about replacing grades but I recommend trying to stick it out if you can and talk to your professor about extra opportunities if possible!

Thank you so much for the advice!!!

 

[PppermintTwist]

Hi everyone!
I'm currently a second semester freshman majoring in pre-veterinary sciences and have a few questions about undergraduate grades. First semester was great and I made a 3.75 GPA, I was a member of pre-vet club and was very optimistic about going to vet school. I've always had very high expectations for myself when it comes to academics. I am now a month into second semester and things are going well, except for one of the Gen-Eds I am in. It's a history class and I currently have a low C in the class. My question is whether I should stick it out and finish with a C or if I should withdraw from the course. I still have 2 exams and a paper left but the professor is a hard grader and I'm not sure if I can bring it up to a B or if I should consider withdrawing (would withdrawing look better on my transcript than a C or a D in history?) I know this sounds ridiculous but my OCD gets the best of me when it comes to grades and I don't want a bad grade in history to affect my chances of getting into vet school.
Thanks for your help

There are different Ws

Withdrew passing

Withdrew failing

Vs. withdrew before cutoff

So that may be something to keep in mind. I’d stick it out at this point. Get help/tutor, ask the teacher for help/suggestions.

Starting now with a willingness to get the help you need when you need it will serve you well. It may teach you another way to study. It may just teach you that it’s ok to ask for help.

 

[ajs513]

There are different Ws

Withdrew passing

Withdrew failing

Vs. withdrew before cutoff

So that may be something to keep in mind. I’d stick it out at this point. Get help/tutor, ask the teacher for help/suggestions.

Starting now with a willingness to get the help you need when you need it will serve you well. It may teach you another way to study. It may just teach you that it’s ok to ask for help.

It depends on the school. At my school there was a set date to withdraw and it was always a W regardless. If you had extenuating circumstances you could petition for a late withdrawal. Still just a W though. I know some schools do qualify what kind of W it is, but a lot of schools don’t.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

I personally would probably take the W. It's year 1 and I'd rather save my C's for classes that are necessary for my degree/prereqs.

I dropped at least 1 class every year. Maybe not the best strategy, but it worked for me. I heavily relied on my elective classes to be grade boosters and increase my cumulative GPA.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Hi everyone!
I'm currently a second semester freshman majoring in pre-veterinary sciences and have a few questions about undergraduate grades. First semester was great and I made a 3.75 GPA, I was a member of pre-vet club and was very optimistic about going to vet school. I've always had very high expectations for myself when it comes to academics. I am now a month into second semester and things are going well, except for one of the Gen-Eds I am in. It's a history class and I currently have a low C in the class. My question is whether I should stick it out and finish with a C or if I should withdraw from the course. I still have 2 exams and a paper left but the professor is a hard grader and I'm not sure if I can bring it up to a B or if I should consider withdrawing (would withdrawing look better on my transcript than a C or a D in history?) I know this sounds ridiculous but my OCD gets the best of me when it comes to grades and I don't want a bad grade in history to affect my chances of getting into vet school.
Thanks for your help

I had a couple Cs on my transcript. It isn't a big deal. Especially when you weigh in the last 45.. This semester won't even be a part of that.

 

[Georgethecat]

Hey everyone, so I posted a few weeks ago about possibly getting a C in one of my history Gen Ed's. After a few recent assignments, I currently have an 80.7 in the class. I have A's in calculus, chemistry, biology and my other elective and I can't decide whether or not to drop history. We have one more paper and two more exams but they're after the last day to drop a class so I'm having trouble deciding what to do. Would having a W on my transcript look better than having a C and having it bring down my semester GPA or should I stick it out and possibly earn a C in the class? Thanks in advance

What is the grading scale for this class? Is the 80.7 a B-? If you feel confident that you can maintain the B- or maybe even pull it up to a B, then I'd stick with the class. If the stress of it all is not worth it, then go ahead and take the W.

Not sure which school/schools you are interested in, but a lot of vet schools do have gen ed requirements from social sciences and humanities. It's to your benefit to be able to use classes for these requirements that you made good grades in. NOT saying that a C will tank your application in any way, just that planning ahead is a good thing. I'd highly recommend setting up an excel spreadsheet to track the pre-req's for each school that you are considering. Kind of fun/satisfying to check them off as you complete them Since you are still early on in the process, it's a good idea to re-check those requirements each year to make sure schools haven't added or dropped a pre-req.

Best of luck to you!

 

[WildZoo]

I doubt that a single C in a history course will have much impact on your application at all, if you even get the C. If that class is a requirement that you have to pass for your degree, I wouldn't withdraw if you don't have to. Just get it over with and put it behind you would be my thought on it.

 

[SkiOtter]

I doubt that a single C in a history course will have much impact on your application at all, if you even get the C. If that class is a requirement that you have to pass for your degree, I wouldn't withdraw if you don't have to. Just get it over with and put it behind you would be my thought on it.

I’d rather take 1 C in a non-prereq class than withdraw and have to suffer through it AGAIN and pay $500 for it a second time.

 

[ajs513]

I’d rather take 1 C in a non-prereq class than withdraw and have to suffer through it AGAIN and pay $500 for it a second time.

Agreed. The only thing is that some schools (like where I went) don’t charge per class when you’re over 12 credits. You’re considered full time and can take any number of credits up to what they allow. Mine allowed up to 22 credits without special permission. So people who wanted to save money loaded up on classes since tuition was the same either way.

BUT, it sounds like OP is going to end up with more than a C anyway, so what you said is even more right. I’d still stick it out and just do as well as possible.

 

[SkiOtter]

Agreed. The only thing is that some schools (like where I went) don’t charge per class when you’re over 12 credits. You’re considered full time and can take any number of credits up to what they allow. Mine allowed up to 22 credits without special permission. So people who wanted to save money loaded up on classes since tuition was the same either way.

BUT, it sounds like OP is going to end up with more than a C anyway, so what you said is even more right. I’d still stick it out and just do as well as possible.

If they were worried about doing poorly in it right now while taking a bunch of other classes what makes you think it would be a good idea for them to take it a different semester while still taking a full load and risk the same happening situation again

 

[ajs513]

If they were worried about doing poorly in it right now while taking a bunch of other classes what makes you think it would be a good idea for them to take it a different semester while still taking a full load and risk the same happening situation again

I’m not saying that’s what they should do. I’m agreeing with you on that. I’m just saying that money may not end up being a factor because some schools won’t charge for a class if they’re a full time student. I wasn’t trying to come at you going “aaaactually they might not have to pay” but I figured it was worth mentioning. But as far as taking classes again, sometimes you’re just better prepared to handle the courseload later on than you were as a freshman. I know for me that was definitely true. But again, I don’t think OP should drop the class.