College GPA question

I've removed the details of my story to preserve anonymity just in case anyone who knows me well enough finds the post. Much love to CRE and Riverbanker for their advice.

 

As you still have three years ahead of you, there is fortunately still a good amount of time to boost your GPA. However, I would start by asking yourself what the reasons were behind getting a 2.0 in the first place - was it just your performance in that one particular class you plan on retaking or was your overall courseload difficult to manage? Your projection for a 3.6 sounds a little optimistic either way and you definitely have to buckle down next semester if you do stay.

I think lying to your parents would only create more problems down the line. My parents are pretty strict as well but I'm sure sitting them down for a discussion with a structured plan for how to improve moving forward already in hand would be better than going behind their back. Lastly, I have heard that many banks have a cutoff at 3.5+ but typically prefer at least in the 3.7+ range, which is still attainable in your position.

 

The semester I had messed up was more because of my mental state. The classes were piss easy but there was something wrong with me. I never went to a counselor or a therapist BC my family has always laughed off the thought of mental "injuries" (like depression) as a valid excuse for anything. I think I'll get my grades up and tell them later.

 
Best Response

You fucked up your second semester. Shit happens in life. Tell your parents if they ask, don't tell them if they don't ask, and if they throw a hissy fit about your bad semester you sit them down like a man and explain to them why you fucked up, what you learned from it, and how you're going to improve. You tell them you're not transferring, if you don't want to, and just generally act like an adult. You're presumably over 18. It's time to stop being afraid of mommy and daddy.

This is a life lesson and I have a hard time believing you haven't learned it yet. You are going to fuck up in life and you need to own it and fix it. You will fuck up in relationships, you will fuck up in friendships, you will fuck up on tests and in classes, and you will fuck up at work. Failure just happens. Own it, learn from it, come up with a plan to stop it or prevent it in the future, and don't be one of those people who makes the same mistakes over and over again.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Thank you for the eye opening post. I understand what you are trying to convey but in my experience as my parent's child, they are the no-compromise-ever sort of parents. They even made me sign a document before my freshman year with several performance standards I would have to keep up. One of them is the GPA req. I think I will get my GPA up and then tell them later, apologize for lying and convince them it was for both parties interests. For example, if I had told them: I would not be going to the same school, living the same life, nor would I have the focus required to actually get my GPA up. It might even send me back into the sort of depressive mindset I had in the second semester.

 

Yeah you do what you have to do in regards to your parents. Lying isn't the best solution but I can't act like I've never lied to my parents either.

As far as depression/anxiety - go to a therapist immediately. Medication is a relatively painless fix if that is truly the problem and you'll be shocked at how much it improves your life. There is no point to suffer aimlessly when you can fix the problem easily. My mom is a social worker at a hospital lockdown unit for insane people and both my girlfriend and sister have struggled with both anxiety and depression. A simple pill at breakfast rapidly took them from "I can't get out of bed and I hate everything" to highly productive, friendly, and normal individuals.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

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