i don't know what to do. low gpa..

[vn428]

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i just finished my freshman year of college and i have to say i slacked off alot.. always procrastinated and crammed.. i failed chem 2 and retook it in the summer and got a C. my current gpa is 2.4, alot of ppl tell me that i still have alot of time to raise my gpa and show an upward trend in my grades. i'm about to start off my sophomore year but i'm really scared. i really want to go to optometry school, but i'm scared i won't make it. any suggestions? (chem 2 is the only class that i've done bad in, everything else was ok.)

 

[KHE]

i just finished my freshman year of college and i have to say i slacked off alot.. always procrastinated and crammed.. i failed chem 2 and retook it in the summer and got a C. my current gpa is 2.4, alot of ppl tell me that i still have alot of time to raise my gpa and show an upward trend in my grades. i'm about to start off my sophomore year but i'm really scared. i really want to go to optometry school, but i'm scared i won't make it. any suggestions? (chem 2 is the only class that i've done bad in, everything else was ok.)

You're not the first person to ever bomb their first year of school but what you need to do is forget about optometry school for now and just concentrate on what is directly in front of you... your sophomore year.

Optometry school is at least 3 years away. Sophomore year is NOW.

Try not to get ahead of yourself. Obviously, you've figured out that the procrastination and cramming method does not work like it might have in high school. So concentrate on developing the time management skills and study habits that will allow you to succeed right now because those are the skills that you're going to need anyways.

Another thing to be aware of is that a lot of times, students say "ok, ok...I did poorly but this year I'm going to buckle down and study hard."

That may not be enough. That only works if you are sure that you have the foundation from those first year courses you did not do well in. Are you sure you're ready for second year courses because now you not only have to develop the proper habits to succeed, you have to make sure you have the knowledge base to succeed. If you think you do, then go for it. If you think you don't, then spend the last couple weeks of the summer brushing up on that first year material so you know you're ready to go because you don't want to be in a situation where you have to relearn your first year at the same time as learning your second.

 

[cde8]

You do need to boost your GPA. Since you're about to start your sophomore year, you still have time. I would recommend finding other people in your classes that really want to do well, and study with them often. Most of my friends are people that study often so that studying all the time seems more normal.

You still have time to bring up your GPA. You still have few credits and it will make it relatively easy to bring it up. Just remember, if you have a 2.4 now, you will need roughly a 3.6 next year to bring your cumulative up to a 3.0. A 3.0 is still low for optometry school though, so aim even higher. It's a lot of work, but if you have the drive you'll be fine.

You also should remember that a low GPA can be countered with lots of in field experience, but you still will need a higher GPA than 2.4. Lots of shadowing, volunteering, and work at optometry offices will be a huge boost to your resume. The OAT is another way to show that your GPA is not a measure of your ability. Study hard and score high on the OAT and you'll have a real shot.

Edit: As KHE said, you aren't the first. There are many success stories on this very forum, so look around on the forum and relax. You've got a long way to go and stressing about it now is just going to make you lose sleep.