Downward trend...bad? (school, best, graduate, average)

[TiltheEndofTime]

I started off freshman year pretty strong. I got all A's except for one class which I got an A- in. Then sophomore year came. First quarter...all As. Second quarter, 1 A and 2 A- (granted, one class was Organic Chemistry. The other was intermediate Chinese). Now comes along this quarter. If I keep doing what I am doing, I will get 2 As and my FIRST B/B-....in human anatomy. As a result, my grade has dropped. The end of this quarter, it will most likely be in the 3.8 something range.

Next year, I am taking Nursing classes, and I know Nursing school is no joke and that very few get straight A's. I want to go to grad school, and I'm worried that a downwards trend will look bad on my applications. It's just that the classes are getting tougher, Organic Chem and Human Anatomy being too tough courses.

Will this downwards trend look bad? I plan to keep my gpa AT LEAST a 3.75 (A- average), if not higher.

Did your gpa drop or rise over your undergrad years?

[Pupmom]

Are you kidding?

[TiltheEndofTime]

^^^

No. I wouldn't be worried if I wasn't going to Nursing school, which is notoriously difficult.

[NotSoSmartGuy]

My GPA rose until sophomore year and then took a big drop...I wished I could graduate with a 3.0+ gpa let alone a 3.7. I'm at about a 2.5 right now and i'd say you're fine if you stay over 3.5.

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by TiltheEndofTime

Will this downwards trend look bad? I plan to keep my gpa AT LEAST a 3.75 (A- average), if not higher.

Did your gpa drop or rise over your undergrad years?

Dude, in most majors I am aware of classes get harder, not easier, the farther you go. I started at a 3.3 and by the end was fighting like mad to keep it above a 3.1.

The best thing going for you, though, is GPAs 'cement' the farther you go.
By the time you're a senior, you really have to work hard to drag your cumulative down a lot. A 3.75 is really pretty good.

[Themanwithnoname]

I've got the summer and the Fall to go:

Got a 4.0 this last term and it pulled me back up to a 3.75

I was worried about it last year, but asking around.... Over 3.0 it will never matter.

So I decided to keep it above 3.5, didn't see how it would be an issue, and it made me enjoy life MUCH more (Lower stress)


Decide what you need to accomplish your goals. (For me it's grad school)

And don't sweat the rest.

[vagabundo94]

My undergrad GPA was very static the whole way through: 4.0.

In grad school, my GPA gradually slipped, rose a bit, and ended up being 3.57.

[Tony22]

I went from a 3.0 gpa in a 2 year school to a 1.0 gpa in my first semester in a 4 year school. I'm not in school anymore.