Did anyone else do really bad in college?

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: Agentbolt
Of course no one here did poorly in college, this is ATOT fool. Everyone here graduated at 16, makes 400,000 dollars a year, dates a supermodel, and could beat up Jackie Chan and The Rock at the same time.

story of my life

 

[BrownTown]

Yeah, I did pretty bad, 2.9 GPA here and 50% of the jobs (and 90% of the cool ones) say 3.0 or better required . Its not the end of the world though, whats done is done and then you go and try to get the best job you can and impress your boss and make it in life that way. Really if you think about it a bad GPA might set you back ~2 years in life, but after a few years its only gonna matter what you did at your job and less and less what your college GPA is. Also, I dunno about your situation, but a bad GPA can be partially helped by good intern experience and recommendations. I worked as an intern at the same company all 3 summer in college and was doing the exact same work the engineers who made 75,000$ a year were doing by my third summer, so I have a good recommendation by my boss, and also know alot of the technical terms in the industry I worked in which shows up well in interviews.

 

[Deeko]

go get a blue collar job, maybe school isn't for you...no shame in that.

 

[dyna]

You should finish and be sure to pick a major that has some demand. Its pretty obvious but most college students don't understand that.

GPA will have some impact on your first job but after that nobody ever includes GPA on a resume. If your good at what you do, you will be successful. College is mostly easy, don't make it harder than it should be.

 

[tw1164]

Have you thought about going to a trade school?

 

[Aztech]

I'll throw you a bone, since a lot of what you say reminds me of my college experience.

I was a "smart" student in High School as well. 3.4 GPA. But I don't think High School prepares you for college. At least mine didn't. There wasn't enough guidance counseling to help you figure out what you would be good at, etc.

I chose Engineering and it was downhill from there. I think I'm righ brained as well (the not mathematical side). I did very poorly in my engineering classes, but I didn't want to give up. I barely passed them, repeating most of them at least once. My low point was a 1.0 semester where all I passed was Tennis.

Looking back, I wish I would've changed majors. I was stubborn in not wanting to "give up" and I was barking up the wrong tree. I barely finished, after six years of struggle. I suck at my job now and I'm not happy.

Let this be a lesson to you. Take your time in college and take lots of different classes to see what you like. Buy "What Color is Your Parachute" or equivalent career guidance book. Take time off if you need to, but that could be non-productive if you just sit around. You gotta learn by doing and experimenting and learning.

Right now, you make the decisions that affect the rest of your life. Do what your good at and what you enjoy doing and the rest will follow.

Good luck. PM me if you wanna chat some more. Maybe it could help us both...

 

[Vetterin]

Originally posted by: potoba
did well in my 8 years in college. Doing poorly this current semester... I dont know why...

Okay, you beat my 7 years to graduate.

 

[Q]

I'm in my first year at college, and academically I am doing really well (though I'm not really doing anything, classes are easy this semester) but next semester is going to be hard. I don't really like college, may be where I go (really little, nothing to do) but I'm not sure. I have been debating whether to transfer to the large university where my friends go but still not sure. I just kind of feel lost right now, not sure what to do.

 

[slsmnaz]

Kinda the same as Aztech in that I was a pretty good HS student, took many AP classes, National Merit HM, etc. but just wasn't prepared for college. I got there and really wanted to let loose and I did. Not really the best thing for my grades but I skated along for about 3 years like that (on & off academic probation) but never enough to finish.

Eventually I just gave up, took 2 years off and traveled, bartended, played golf, was a bum... For some reason I woke up one morning and decided that I needed to quit that lifestyle and get my degree. I went back and got my degree in 1.5 years and did very well in classes (around a 3.8 during that time). I actually enjoyed my classes for the 1st time ever. This was a huge difference!

If you're not motivated now then don't waste your time. Do something that you will really enjoy and then decide if you want to go back. There is nothing that is going to make you suddenly turn it on and succeed. Sometimes it just happens

(kinda rambled I know)

 

[djheater]

Lower 25% in high school.
Went to art school, got bored, went on walkabout. ended up managing a comic book store...
Got a girl pregnant, got two more jobs working 65-80 hours a week, for around $22000
Bought a book on building your own computer.
Built it.
Got a helpdesk job
Worked my way up to sytems administrator...
Finally went back to school in Aug 2006 and have been a straight A student.

Motivation, perspective, and dilligence are the keys to success for me.

Not everybody is equally served by the standard school model.
It's a crappy fit for the way I learn, but what happened is I finally matured enough to take it by the horns and get what I wanted out of it.

OP, you may need to really figure out what you want before you're able to commit to it, IMO. Career counseling therapy might help you figure out what you want to do...

 

[KarmaPolice]

I am the opposite, I was a mess in high school and did really well in college. Just take it seriously and you will be ok. Think of it as your job, would you come in late and hand things in late at work? no.

Just buckle down and get the stuff done, its not always fun. If you like to travel, study abroad...its the most awesome time ever.

 

[Casawi]

Originally posted by: Tick
Try a different major? Or maybe college isn't really what you want to do with your life, and you just haven't consciously realized that yet?

Real motivating. I don't you have much of a choice these days, but getting a college degree.

 

[Casawi]

You should change your school friends. Hangout with the people that are serious about school and ask you to come and do school work together. It helped a couple of my friends in college, their grades change dramatically just by being with a good crowd of students. We always encourage each other, reminded each other about homework, explained thing to each other... it worked great. Just don't be one of those guys that just want to copy the work and never contributes (Hitchhikers).

 

[sdifox]

Bad school could be 2 things, you didn't put in the time (or not interested enough to put in the time) or you are just no good at school. Neither of which has any indication on your future.

 

[Modular]

Originally posted by: udonoogen
do you pay for your own schooling? that definitely is a motivator.

Exactly. Paying 24k a year for a private school is a great motivator. The better the grades the less you pay thanks to scholarships etc. Hell, most public schools are getting about that expensive as well.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I did great my first semister then terrible after that. School just isn't for me, or atleast at the time I wasn't ready to go to college. I haven't graduated (and never will) but am doing fine without it. My wife on the other hand has her masters degree and wouldn't mind continuing her education. Different things work for different people.