Pushing the GPA

[Guest EMHC]

Hi everyone,

 

I've read dogeatdog's "apply should I even bother" post and have attained a lot of insight from all your opinions.

 

I'm in the same shoes as dogeatdog: I can't push my GPA higher than 3.5 (I know, it's low, and I'm thinking of medical school:| ). I'm in first year right now and I've talked to many individuals in their junior/senior years and they say that med school looks at your cumulative average and see if there's any "growth" in your GPA.

 

For those out there who are either in med school or applying to med school, I suppose you must have had stellar grades going in or even had really excellent grades throughout your undergrad years. How were you able to do it?

 

I graduate from high school with a 90 average and yes, my marks have dropped a lot from then.

I haven't been slacking off and actually I'm working even harder than before but my marks aren't reflecting my efforts. >:

 

 

What do I need to work on to push those grades up? I know I have the intellectual ability to attain those grades but is there something I'm doing wrong that's making this barrier with my marks?

 

I'd appreciate it if anyone could lead me in the right direction.

[Guest peachy]

Hmn. This is pretty much the same question as the other thread - I'm not going to repeat what I said there, here.

 

If that's not enough to push you in the right direction, then you should be looking for offline resources. Whatever school you're at must have some kind of academic advising - find out what resources your school has, and use them!

[Guest SarahL]

Hi,

You are only in first year and 3.5 isn't bad at all for your frosh year, especially if you are in sciences! I know a lot of frosh in science and as a resident advisor heard all about the failing courses etc. and these are students who got 90's in highschool and weren't crazy partiers! There are so many adjustments one has to go through in their first year, being away from home, the new workload, environment, friends etc,.. doing as well as you did is nothing to be ashamed of or worried about at this point! In my first year I got a 3.57 and it went up to a 4.0 my second year, and it didn't feel hard, although I know I was working more efficiently.

Next year it will be a lot easier to focus on school, so if you work hard, learn from mistakes etc, I don't think it will be too hard to improve your gpa

good Luck!

[Guest EMHC]

Hi

 

Just another question, what do you mean by "focus". Would you mind elaborating on that please? As well, would anyone mind sharing their successful studying habits?

 

Thanks

[Guest EMHC]

SarahL

 

I was just wondering which University you're at?

[Guest SarahL]

Hi, by focus I just mean that when you are more used to university life, and studying etc it will be a lot easire to concentrate and really absorb the material you are studying, it is amazing how stuff that is going on in your life can clutter your brain and make it harder to retain information. So if you are worried about something or distracted spend hours on what might take an hour to learn when your head is clear.

 

and I am at University of New Brunswick

[Guest Flux]

Hi, first year GPA doesn't really have that much an effect. A friend of mine got around 3.5 or 3.6 in his first two years, and did extremely well in his third year. He is now is his last year and got interviews from quite a few schools. He will mostly likely get in as he has a ton of research experience, as well as a great personality.