What to do this summer?

[amar314]

Hello everyone. I'm a first year student who had a very rough first semester, I have a 2.44 GPA cumulative, with science being even lower. I failed chem 1 (D+) and am retaking it now (doing well, will end up with A or A-). My dream is to do physical med & rehab and I'm looking to raise my GPA or make myself stand out to counterbalance the low grades.

My question is, what should I do this summer, should I take chem 2 or another science class to get ahead or should I take my time to volunteer & shadow?

Thanks!

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[addieu345]

I was in a similar situation after my freshman year. I would suggest to take the classes. That's what I did. You can shadow and volunteer any time but having the opportunity to take/retake classes when that is the only thing you need to focus on is invaluable.

Piece of advice: Don't kill yourself about your abysmal GPA, commit yourself from here on out to getting it back up. It's all about that upward thread!! Good luck!

 

[mke520]

getting a solid science GPA and overall GPA is your primary focus right now. so retake any courses you didn't do well in and/or take additional courses to raise that GPA this summer but it's almost a must to do well in your core science courses. don't try to get ahead of the game or try to rush your undergrad courses, take your time and make sure to do very well in all your courses. but don't be too worried, you have plenty of time to turn things around and get things going on the right track. many students struggle their first semester or two of college, including myself.

 

[amar314]

Thank you both so much. Would it be worth it to take chem 2 at my university or at another (does the benefit of taking it at a harder college outweigh the cost?)? Or should I just take chem 2 next fall and take Bio or Physics this summer? Which course would benefit me most?

 

[mke520]

where you take your undergraduate courses doesn't matter, it only matters how well you do in those courses. since you will be just getting done with chem 1 this semester and it will be pretty fresh in you head, i would just take chem 2 and get it over with this summer instead of pushing it off. focus on bio and physics next fall. i took chem 2 in the summer and did just fine, so i'd advise getting the chem sequence done with and move on to other courses.