KU Anthropology Undergrad with a very low GPA. Any options on how to raise it?

[LucianoVela]

Forgive me; this is a long post -- one for which I desperately need advice for.

College isn't going nearly as well as I thought it would...in fact I'm kicking myself for screwing up my undergrad GPA to the point of no return.. My grades are mediocre -- heck, they're pathetic (I have a .94 GPA). I used to be good at school, though I never made the highest grades, but this was years ago (2008), nowadays, whenever I try to make an effort to get homework done or study, I get extremely lazy and lose my motivation to do work. I always procrastinate and I can't seem to manage my time efficiently. I haven't made many friends since being at college either, and I don't know why because I am an easy-going person. As weird as this sounds, I love going to school, not to only see people, but to learn. I can grasp the notes easily in lecture -- but I have the hardest time getting started on my work. Ever since I started attending the community college back home following high school, my performance has dropped dramatically, and despite the fact that I transferred to KU last semester, my academic marks continue to drop, and now I'm completely rim-rocked with a .94 GPA.

I'm on Academic Probation -- so yes, I need to raise my GPA above 2.0 after this semester, but the way I see it, having it go from a .94 to a 2.0 seems rather impossible and the term doesn't start for another 8 days. I'm already losing hope. I never had the courage to reach out to tutoring centers or other professors for help until half-way through last semester, which helped salvage some of my grades somewhat. I feel like I didn't start trying until that point, and I want to maintain that motivation for the entire semester -- not just when my grades are low.

I've been told I'm an intelligent person, but I'm the type of college student who shows great potential, but is very undermotivated to do work. I have thought staying at KU to obtain a Masters in Cultural Anthropology, but those plans might as well be scrapped because of my grades. I'm a junior at KU majoring in Anthropology, but I may end up staying an extra year because of my poor progress thus far. My career GPA is above the 3.0 range -- it's my overall GPA (.94) that's gotten my future in a dark abyss.

The last thing I want to do is to drop out of school. I need help, *not* criticism or anyone putting down my past decisions and progress, nor do I want advice telling me to "just drop out, you have no hope..." etc. I don't even want advice telling me to take time off of school; those are the last things on my mind. What can I do to raise my GPA from a .94 to a 2.0?

I am taking 16 hours this semester:

Calculus I: 3 hrs

Biological Anthropology: 4 hrs.

French III: 5 hrs.

Academic Solutions (a required class for students on AP): 1 hr.

Social Welfare: 3 hrs.

Please. I do regret how my grades have been these past few years. I've suffered the repercussions, and there are more to come. As I said, I desperately need advice. Thank you.

[kaykaykay]

Try to talk to a psychologist. I did it last year and it helped with my procrastination issue a lot. If you are depressed or you have mental disabilities that you do not know about he may be able to help too.

[warpspeed]

The only thing you can do, quite frankly, is get it together and get great grades. You don't want to hear any advice, you just needed an outlet. You know what you need to do, now do it.

[mutualist007]

I feel your pain. I feel that the odds are against me as well and I am trying to muster confidence and determination to finish this new path and succeed. I can recommend what I did and what allowed me to show my new academic record. Get a new fresh start. Transfer to another school and then finish with a near perfect GPA. Sometimes when you transfer, you will get credit for classes but you will not receive a GPA #. So if you transfer in passing credits and then take 60-70 hours at the new school, only your new work will count towards your average. It's not a complete "wipe" and reinstall, but it is a reboot. It is not cheating either. It is a method where you can let your new work shine without it having to suffer the tracking of past mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance if they work hard.

After that, work like hell to make amends, get a lot of experience in the field, mix well with your faculty and peers, and then consider getting a Masters and more experience first before attempting to break in to the PhD caste system.

Get out of your current school and transfer if your GPA allows it.

BTW - Don't overload and try to play super hero! In my first degree I was taking upwards of 21 hours, working and taking other gigs and it was simply too much. When I reduced my work load and applied myself, my grades shot up.

Good luck!

Edited January 17, 2011 by mutualist007

[anthropologygeek]

Not to be mean but maybe your in the wrong field. You have to find the right field to exceed and be happy in life.

[new mexico]

Try to talk to a psychologist. I did it last year and it helped with my procrastination issue a lot. If you are depressed or you have mental disabilities that you do not know about he may be able to help too.

great suggestion, IMHO.

I feel your pain. I feel that the odds are against me as well and I am trying to muster confidence and determination to finish this new path and succeed. I can recommend what I did and what allowed me to show my new academic record. Get a new fresh start. Transfer to another school and then finish with a near perfect GPA. Sometimes when you transfer, you will get credit for classes but you will not receive a GPA #. So if you transfer in passing credits and then take 60-70 hours at the new school, only your new work will count towards your average. It's not a complete "wipe" and reinstall, but it is a reboot. It is not cheating either. It is a method where you can let your new work shine without it having to suffer the tracking of past mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance if they work hard.

After that, work like hell to make amends, get a lot of experience in the field, mix well with your faculty and peers, and then consider getting a Masters and more experience first before attempting to break in to the PhD caste system.

Get out of your current school and transfer if your GPA allows it.

BTW - Don't overload and try to play super hero! In my first degree I was taking upwards of 21 hours, working and taking other gigs and it was simply too much. When I reduced my work load and applied myself, my grades shot up.

Good luck!

another +1

[ZeChocMoose]

Get out of your current school and transfer if your GPA allows it.

I do not recommend doing this. It is unlikely that you will be able to transfer with 0.94 GPA at your current institution. Just so I am clear you graduated from a community college and received an associates degree with an above 3.0 GPA? Then you transferred to KU and now you have one semester there with a 0.94 GPA?

In that is the case then I have some alternatives. What services are being offered to you now that you are on academic probation? Are you required to check in with an academic advisor or see someone in the tutoring center? If so, follow exactly what you are suppose to do. If not, please seek out an academic advisor at your institution. They will be able to provide you with assistance and you can talk through what you feel is going on. They might recommend that you see someone at the counseling center. Most importantly, they will also be able to explain the academic policies at your school in particular what are their repeat policies. You want to know if you retake these courses and do well-- will the lower grade be removed from your GPA? At my graduate institution they called this "freshmen forgiveness." If worked for freshmen or transfers that did poorly in their first 15 credits. They were allowed to retake the course and the original grade was removed from the GPA but still on the transcript. Also, you might want to ask for a retroactive withdraw from one of the courses. Usually this is not granted unless there are some circumstances surrounding it and it needs to be approved by the dean (usually) but it doesn't hurt to ask what the process is. This will replace the D or F on the transcript with a W and remove it from the GPA. Usually you can only do this for one course though.

So I have covered some logistics on how to fix the past. Moving forward to this future semester. 16 credits sounds to me like a heavy load. As a former advisor, I would not suggest someone to take this heavy load after the semester that you have had. I suggest dropping one course and using the extra time to extensively work on your study skills and motivation. And you have to be serious about this. Things that helped me were either blocking away the same time each day to study and always doing it then no exceptions. Also if you get distracted in your apt/dorm, leave and study in the library/coffee shop/outside. Anywhere that you can get things done. You also need to start attending your professor's/TAs/etc office hours before you notice that you are struggling. Make it a habit to come by, ask questions, and talk about the lecture/course. It will help you understand the material better and help build relationships with your professors. Make it a goal to do this in the next semester. Make yourself accountable to these goals.

For the friend issue-- if you are isolated with no support system this makes academic difficulties much harder to deal with. I suggest that you reach out to people in your classes. Offer to go grab lunch and get to know each other. Or join one extracurricular activity on campus or in the community to help you meet people. Everyone needs in outlet and being isolated is not healthy and generally very unfun. In my experience, my friends really helped me when things became stressful during college and in grad school.

I wish you the best of luck. This is not an insurmountable task. I have seen people recover from a bad semester or two in undergrad and go on to finish master's and PhD degrees. It is definitely doable, but you have to want it and work for it. You need to reach out to staff/faculty on campus to help you. Devise a reasonable plan and stick to it.

[mutualist007]

ZeChoc is partially right; you may not be able to transfer if you don't meet a GPA minimum. I was thinking the wrong scenario. What you may can do, though it's not an attractive alternative and will take longer, is recoup as much GPA as you can now, then graduate, THEN transfer in your post-bac credits. More often than not your post-baccalaureate credits will take care of the general ed requirements and a few others too, and all be "credit only" with no impact on your new GPA track. Just make sure you get in and aim for a very high GPA after that with a 4.0 in your major if possible.

It might be possible to do a dual degree now, but your GPA may still be held back by your current tracking. Consider salvaging what you can in your current school, so you can strive for a fresh start as a post-bac transfer second degree student at another university. It won't be too easy but a little extra time will be worth it for a second chance. Going back to school after graduation may mean changing majors now so you can do your fav major later, or it may mean adding a new complimentary major later. It will also cost you an additional 4-5 semesters of time, but you can also work and do fieldwork during this time to further enhance your background. If you do decide on the second degree transfer in option, check the school policies on post-bac transfers before diving in.

I wish you the best of luck!