How to get a high undergrad gpa?

[PONS]

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Hello everyone, I’m currently a freshmen at a state school. My grades are ok, I have 3.2 or so. C in gen chem is holding me back. That being said, do you guys have any tips for acquiring a 3.8+ gpa. I’d appreciate advice from everyone, but I prefer to get some from “less” intelligent people like myself that have to work harder for our grades. Thanks

 

[jhmmd]

Hello everyone, I’m currently a freshmen at a state school. My grades are ok, I have 3.2 or so. C in gen chem is holding me back. That being said, do you guys have any tips for acquiring a 3.8+ gpa. I’d appreciate advice from everyone, but I prefer to get some from “less” intelligent people like myself that have to work harder for our grades. Thanks

How do you have your grades back yet? Are you on the quarter system?

 

[PONS]

How do you have your grades back yet? Are you on the quarter system?

Nah I am on the semester system. My semester ends towards the end of December, I am asking now before it’s too late basically.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

problem solving based studying. Especially for Chen and physics courses

Do your professors post practice exams? Take them as if they were real exams. Don’t look at the answer key until you make a real effort >hour to solve

 

[PONS]

problem solving based studying. Especially for Chen and physics courses

Do your professors post practice exams? Take them as if they were real exams. Don’t look at the answer key until you make a real effort >hour to solve

Ah ok. Yeah, I feel like I take too much time trying to conceptualize those subjects rather than doing practice problems. I'll be sure to prepare that way for the next upcoming exam. Any tips for Biology or other more conceptual based classes?

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

Big picture advice that helped me in undergrad:

• Change your focus to the short term. Instead of worrying about getting a good grade in the class, look at your syllabus and figure out when the next test or quiz is. Put all of your energy into acing that. Do that all semester and you'll get an A.
• If you are approaching your studies with a fixed mindset ("I'm just bad at Chemistry"), use a growth mindset instead. Stop telling yourself that you are "less intelligent." You CAN get better at Chemistry/Physics/whatever even if they don't come naturally to you. When I started undergrad, I noticed that every time I looked at a remotely challenging problem, my brain would shut down and all I could think was "this is hard and I can't do it." When I learned to turn this thought process off, think through the problem, and tie it to what was taught in class, I improved immensely. That is how I excelled in Physics after having zero confidence in my math abilities in high school. Today, I refuse to tell myself that I am "bad" at Physics. If I wanted to get a PhD in Physics, I could if I worked hard enough. However, I will not be pursuing a PhD in Physics because I do not find it interesting, not because I am bad at it.
• I'm not sure what your extracurriculars look like, but as a premed freshman you should be focusing on your studies, adjusting to college, and then whatever hobbies/activities bring you joy and relaxation. If you joined 10 clubs because you thought they'd look good for med school, you need to make some serious changes. A lack of ECs is much easier to fix than a bad GPA. See this thread: How I got into 3 US MD Schools with a 2.6 sGPA
• You are a freshman and have time on your side! Rising GPA trends are looked upon favorably.

More concrete advice:

• Try struggling through problems on your own, and then go to office hours with questions
  • I found it helpful to make a study routine around when office hours were. For example, if the homework is due Thursday and office hours are on Tuesday, I made sure that I had at least attempted the homework problems by Tuesday so that I could ask about them in office hours.
• My Gen Chem professors strongly emphasized the importance of doing practice problems if we wanted to do well. Doing what your professors suggest doing is a great place to start
• For Biology and more "conceptual based classes," I found it helpful to ask myself "what is the story here?" If you can tell the story of a particular pathway to a friend, a tree, your dog, etc. you probably have a good grasp on the material.
• Also for Biology and Physiology-type classes, I found it helpful to make flashcards of different concepts and then spread them out on a table in a way that mapped the concept
• After you take practice exams (which you should do under test-like conditions), make sure you can go through and explain why each answer is right or wrong

Best of luck this semester!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Ah ok. Yeah, I feel like I take too much time trying to conceptualize those subjects rather than doing practice problems. I'll be sure to prepare that way for the next upcoming exam. Any tips for Biology or other more conceptual based classes?

For bio I would look at slide decks and just peek at the title and write whatever I remembered about the content related to the title. If I didn’t get enough of the material, I would keep the slide and test myself again the next day. If I got enough, I would delete the slide from PowerPoint.

 

[Goro]

Visit your school's learning or education center. And always ask your Faculty for help.

 

[PONS]

Big picture advice that helped me in undergrad:

• Change your focus to the short term. Instead of worrying about getting a good grade in the class, look at your syllabus and figure out when the next test or quiz is. Put all of your energy into acing that. Do that all semester and you'll get an A.
• If you are approaching your studies with a fixed mindset ("I'm just bad at Chemistry"), use a growth mindset instead. Stop telling yourself that you are "less intelligent." You CAN get better at Chemistry/Physics/whatever even if they don't come naturally to you. When I started undergrad, I noticed that every time I looked at a remotely challenging problem, my brain would shut down and all I could think was "this is hard and I can't do it." When I learned to turn this thought process off, think through the problem, and tie it to what was taught in class, I improved immensely. That is how I excelled in Physics after having zero confidence in my math abilities in high school. Today, I refuse to tell myself that I am "bad" at Physics. If I wanted to get a PhD in Physics, I could if I worked hard enough. However, I will not be pursuing a PhD in Physics because I do not find it interesting, not because I am bad at it.
• I'm not sure what your extracurriculars look like, but as a premed freshman you should be focusing on your studies, adjusting to college, and then whatever hobbies/activities bring you joy and relaxation. If you joined 10 clubs because you thought they'd look good for med school, you need to make some serious changes. A lack of ECs is much easier to fix than a bad GPA. See this thread: How I got into 3 US MD Schools with a 2.6 sGPA
• You are a freshman and have time on your side! Rising GPA trends are looked upon favorably.

More concrete advice:

• Try struggling through problems on your own, and then go to office hours with questions
  • I found it helpful to make a study routine around when office hours were. For example, if the homework is due Thursday and office hours are on Tuesday, I made sure that I had at least attempted the homework problems by Tuesday so that I could ask about them in office hours.
• My Gen Chem professors strongly emphasized the importance of doing practice problems if we wanted to do well. Doing what your professors suggest doing is a great place to start
• For Biology and more "conceptual based classes," I found it helpful to ask myself "what is the story here?" If you can tell the story of a particular pathway to a friend, a tree, your dog, etc. you probably have a good grasp on the material.
• Also for Biology and Physiology-type classes, I found it helpful to make flashcards of different concepts and then spread them out on a table in a way that mapped the concept
• After you take practice exams (which you should do under test-like conditions), make sure you can go through and explain why each answer is right or wrong

Best of luck this semester!

I really appreciate your detailed response. It looks like I’m going to have to delete Tiktok and focus more on my schoolwork lol…I also wish you the best of luck future doc

 

[PONS]

Visit your school's learning or education center. And always ask your Faculty for help.

I was not expecting a response from the G.O.A.T goro. But yeah, I feel like I should do that but I feel sometimes embarrassed how little I understand of some topics lol

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

but I feel sometimes embarrassed how little I understand of some topics lol

And this is where my advice about attempting problems by yourself before coming to office hours comes into play. I understand that it can feel awkward to go to a professor and say "I have no clue what's going on here." But if you at least tried to work through it yourself you can say "I tried this and I still don't understand how to do this part," which may feel less embarrassing. Either way, your professors want you to succeed and are paid to help you! So reach out and ask for help!

 

[Goro]

I was not expecting a response from the G.O.A.T goro. But yeah, I feel like I should do that but I feel sometimes embarrassed how little I understand of some topics lol

Park your pride at the door and be proactive about your success.

 

[Dogruffle01]

All Gen Chems are not equal. What I mean by this is, the professor or TA teaching the class is just as important as the class itself. At my university taking orgo with one professor meant you had to be at the top of the class and pray to get a B and the other it was almost guaranteed you’d get an A.

 

[Styrene]

Hello everyone, I’m currently a freshmen at a state school. My grades are ok, I have 3.2 or so. C in gen chem is holding me back. That being said, do you guys have any tips for acquiring a 3.8+ gpa. I’d appreciate advice from everyone, but I prefer to get some from “less” intelligent people like myself that have to work harder for our grades. Thanks

For chemistry, physics, and similar: complete all practice problems relevant to each test until you can do all of them without thinking.

For biology and similar: convert the PowerPoints to Anki, line by line, and memorize everything.

For writing: get help if you struggle with it.

 

[PONS]

Just an update if anyone cares lol, I finished this semester with a 3.27. I got all As but the C- in Gen Chem really tanked my GPA. Ik it’s not pretty but it’s honestly a big jump from my high school gpa (2.8). Anyways, should I retake Gen Chem? Do med schools accept C- grades? I also have a W in Calc 1…

 

[Gilakend]

Just an update if anyone cares lol, I finished this semester with a 3.27. I got all As but the C- in Gen Chem really tanked my GPA. Ik it’s not pretty but it’s honestly a big jump from my high school gpa (2.8). Anyways, should I retake Gen Chem? Do med schools accept C- grades?

My high school GPA was way worse than 2.8 so don't be discouraged, that's a good improvement. What I would really focus on is learning how to study as others have mentioned. I legitimately, not being hyperbolic, had never studied in my life before college. It was by far one of the hardest parts of my freshman year. My first semester of college was my lowest GPA because of this. Thankfully, most universities have resources that can help with this. You have a lot of colleges left and can definitely raise your GPA.

I STRONGLY second was Goro said. I once heard, and agree with, that the smartest kids in college are the ones with tutors. It's a sign that you want to do well, not that you can't do well. I used to go there before tons of my exams and they will literally just teach you anything you want. After a while, you start to learn how to learn and you might not need to go anymore. Also strongly suggest active studying through problems as others have mentioned once you get a general handle on the material.

For Gen Chem specifically, my school had an optional recitation class that I took (and later taught) that was helpful for me.

 

[PONS]

My high school GPA was way worse than 2.8 so don't be discouraged, that's a good improvement. What I would really focus on is learning how to study as others have mentioned. I legitimately, not being hyperbolic, had never studied in my life before college. It was by far one of the hardest parts of my freshman year. My first semester of college was my lowest GPA because of this. Thankfully, most universities have resources that can help with this. You have a lot of colleges left and can definitely raise your GPA.

I STRONGLY second was Goro said. I once heard, and agree with, that the smartest kids in college are the ones with tutors. It's a sign that you want to do well, not that you can't do well. I used to go there before tons of my exams and they will literally just teach you anything you want. After a while, you start to learn how to learn and you might not need to go anymore. Also strongly suggest active studying through problems as others have mentioned once you get a general handle on the material.

For Gen Chem specifically, my school had an optional recitation class that I took (and later taught) that was helpful for me.

Thanks for the reply, I’ll look into tutoring next semester or atleast supplemental instruction sections

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Congrats, hopefully this gives you a little bit more confidence/momentum to build off of for next semester.

If you go into an exam thinking that you’re one of the “less intelligent” people like you said in your original post, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

 

[stickgirl390]

Definitely focus on active learning over passive learning, for all subjects.

Passive learning: watching lecture, YouTube videos, reading books, looking over PowerPoint slides

Active learning: practice questions, sample problems, flash cards, verbally quizzing your friends, Quizlet, Anki, labs/experiments, class projects

Passive learning should introduce you to the material once, maybe twice. But after that, concepts should be reinforced through active learning only. The test is an active learning method, so you should practice the same way. Passive learning only helps you recognize things, it doesn’t help you recall them, or critically think to solve problems. I recommend this for all classes.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Second all of the active learning and tutor advice. My high school gpa was a 1.9, and I finished college with a 3.6 and multiple 4.0 semesters. Your high school gpa doesn’t have to hold you back.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I was not expecting a response from the G.O.A.T goro. But yeah, I feel like I should do that but I feel sometimes embarrassed how little I understand of some topics lol

It's important to understand the subject. Doctors don't get paid to guess. They have to know what they are talking about. Also, by going to the Schools learning center, they may find some correctable issues, like test taking anxiety. Doctors must have intellectual curiosity and be life long learners. The good ones have these qualities.