I'm sitting here waiting for my Winter grades to be posted and I'm trying not to feel anxious or even a bit disappointed.
I know I did well in the 2 classes that I took this past quarter, but the reason I am anxious is because depending on what grades I receive, I will be able to graduate with honors (or not) in June.
My cumulative GPA right now is a 3.44, and I would need at least a 3.5 in order to graduate cum laude.
I think both of my grades would need to be As in order to raise my GPA to what it needs to be.
But then again, I'm not very good at math, so who knows if the 3.5 is totally out of reach for me at this point, even if I got some A+s.
To be honest, I don't think both of my grades will be As. (I think I was teetering around the B+/A- point for both classes.)
So although I have high hopes, I'm also trying to be realistic about it.
It would be nice to graduate with honors, because making it this far has definitely been an uphill battle for me and also for my family these past few (or 7) years.
Nothing has been easy about it...
I've constantly had reading and due dates and deadlines on my mind, preventing me from thoroughly enjoying holidays and time spent with my family.
Elizabeth has had to learn to keep herself occupied while I'm reading or doing my homework. (Michael, on the other hand, refuses to respect my reading or homework time :)
Miguel has had most of the financial responsibility of our family on his shoulders since we've been married, and in addition to that, Mig has had to pick up the slack around here when I've been too busy with my schoolwork to keep up with all the housework.
And yet, he's never complained about any of it. Even when I changed my major a couple years ago, and it meant that my graduation would be delayed even more, he still encouraged me to do what would make me happy.
So I'm very happy that I will finally be graduating soon and that in itself is an accomplishment to be proud of, but wouldn't it be a little sad if I didn't graduate with honors because I missed the mark by a few tenths of a point?
I was talking with my mom about this yesterday and about how I wish I would have tried harder at some of the classes I've taken along the way.
I've only gotten 2 Cs during my entire college career (and it was during the same semester in Political Science & a short-term Art History class), but I think they were enough to drag down my GPA.
I suppose if I knew then, what I know now (that I would be sitting here, desperately hoping that by some miracle, my GPA will magically become 3.5) I would have tried harder.
My mom agreed that it would be kinda disappointing to just barely miss the GPA mark, but then she said (in an effort to make me feel better I guess) that I did the best I could at the time, which is also probably right.
So I guess I'm going to try to stop being anxious and disappointed...
If I get to graduate with honors, great. It will just be the icing on the cake that has taken me years and years to finally complete. And if I don't get to graduate with honors, well then, I think I'll take my cake without the icing.... (It's too sweet anyway).
I hear what your saying about barely missing the honors mark...however you should be so proud of yourself no matter what! I have tried several times to go back and finish college to no avail. It is so time consuming and the fact that you got through it is such and amazing accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteJolene,
ReplyDeleteI hope you get the grades to give you a 3.5 for honors! If not, I know it will be frustrating, but you DID it!
Unless you already have this information elsewhere, I always knew exactly what grades I needed to get the corresponding GPA I was targeting using this formula:
ReplyDeleteNote: USC doesn't award A+ grades so I'm not sure how many points that grade would get but to estimate, I would use 4.3 points for an A+ based on the system below.
A = 4.0 points
A-= 3.7 points
B+= 3.3 points
B = 3.0 points
B-= 2.7 points
C+= 2.3 points
C = 2.0 points
C-= 1.7 points
Since you didn't mention anything below a "C" I assume you didn't get anything lower and won't need those point values.
What you do is, for each class you took that counts toward your GPA, multiply the associated points for the grade you got by the number of units the class was. After you do this for all the classes you took, sum the points and then divide by the total number of units you ever took.
For the two classes you just took and are awaiting grades on, you can play with "what if" scenarios and see how your GPA would calculate if you got, say, an A- and a B+ for the classes in question.
Example:
Total course history:
English: 4 units, A= 16 pts.
Math: 3 units, B+= 9.9 pts.
History: 3 units, A= 12 pts.
Current cum GPA: (37.9 pts.)/(10 units)= 3.79
So for the two classes you just took, say you get an A (3 unit class) and an A- (4 unit class).
Your new GPA will be: (Add the additional points and units to your current totals)
A = 4.0*3 units= 12 points
A-= 3.7*4 units= 14.8 points
New GPA= (64.7 pts.)/(17 units)=
~3.80
You can play around and see what your GPA will be depending on what grades you get. But seeing as how you have taken a lot of classes, it will take a while calculating all your points for all the classes you've taken.
The more classes you've taken, the less your cum GPA will change with the new grades unless you get some extreme grades that can skew the average.
I kind of went through the same stress you currently are experiencing when I was about to graduate. I was very borderline. In order to determine if I could wear the Honor Cords at graduation in Spring '08, they based it off of my GPA ending Fall '07. I made the cum GPA in Fall to wear the honor cords but if I did poorly in Spring and dropped below the 3.5, my degree itself wouldn't actually say Cum Laude even though I wore the Honor cords at graduation so I kind of felt that I wouldn't feel justified wearing the cords at graduation if my degree didn't end up stating that I was an honor student.
Anyhow luckily, my last semester went very well and I got the honors designation on my degree. :)
But don't feel bad if you end up missing it- Edwin ended up missing the mark ever so slightly as well on both of his degrees: for his Bachelors he ended up at 3.47 and for his Masters he ended up at 3.48! He just missed it both times :(
But regardless, once school is all over and you're in the workforce, your GPA becomes just a number and nothing more. But I hope you hit your goal- it always feels good to end on a high note :)
Good Luck!
Since I'm multi-tasking here at work trying to show you how to calculate your GPA I forgot the main point for my comment in the previous one.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to say was, take your grades in stride. Of course when you are in school, they seem to mean the world but once you are in the workplace, your employers focus on your performance; like one of my previous mentors told me before, when you're at work, nobody cares that you were on the honor roll, blah, blah, blah...
I know Edwin was disappointed when he barely missed the mark both times, and I can imagine with the way he lived and breathed his studies, that to feel like he dedicated so much of himself and still not hit his goal, it can be hard and defeating. But anything above a 3.0 especially when it is a difficult major or you have a lot of other responsibilities is an accomplishment in itself and something to be very proud of.
Keep that in mind, regardless of how your GPA ends up. You've already accomplished so much and deserve to revel in your glory :)
Good Luck! I really hope you get the honors :) Keep us posted!
ReplyDelete