I Am a College Freshman Just Done with My Second Semester, and I Just Got a C.

College is very different from high school. Colleges are full of high school A students, who are all in the same environment with comparable students. Some of those people are going to get Cs and Ds - it's really okay. You've learned the hard way that you have to follow the syllabus, and that the professors are not chasing you the way high school teachers (and parents) do. You have to become more responsible, but you aren't the first college kid to have a learning experience, and you won't be the last.

So I'd sit with the Financial Aid office and look at low cost student loans (federal), federal grants, and financial aid funds that the college itself has access to through donations and so on. Many of those do not relate just to GPA at all. My guess is, the college doesn't want to lose you, and they will work with you.

You also have a college adviser, right? So get to know that person and find out what services are available - not just advice, but also reminders and remedial work.

I don't think this is a "confessing" issue worth of fear and shame, unless you come from an unreasonable family with ridiculous expectations and little awareness of the realities of college. Work with the college counselors to help you through this difficult time.

Good luck.

You're human, it's your freshman year and college is a huge adjustment.

Have you looked at your GPA? A 1 credit class is not going to have much of an impact on your GPA.

Please cut yourself some slack on that Calculus grade. I was a Math major and teach college math. I aced math in high school. For me it was so easy I barely had to put forth effort. I took Calc. my first semester, and it almost kicked my butt!!! I had never asked my teacher for help in high school. Once or twice I raised my hand and asked her to do one of the homework problems that had stumped me, but there was always that "oops, how silly of me" moment. Not in Calc. I struggled and went to my prof often form help.

College is a whole new world. Take some time to reflect on what you've learned and how you can improve. Know that some semesters are going to be harder than others. Don't quit, and don't beat yourself up too much. Learn and grow.

Some jobs require you to have a bachelor's degree in something. I firmly believe that's because having that degree says soemthng about your character. It says you can hang in there and tough it out through the more challenging courses, you can take courses you think you will never, ever use again and you can see something through from start to finish. It's not just about your GPA.

Hang in there and know that you are actually doing a great job!

ETA - Do not be fooled by the number of credit hours a course is. Some 1 credit courses are very demanding, just as some 4 credit classes are not as much work. Some profs are more demanding, and some subjects are going to be easier for you than others. Every course is unique, so it's important not to go in with assumptions. Go in the first day with eyes wide open. It will probably be a couple of weeks into the semester before you have a good handle on what the semester will be like.

Edited to add: I see a lot of people commenting on how 1 C isn't bad, it won't affect much, get past it (I'm paraphrasing). At this stage in most young people's life, they are still learning on how to identify "self". People get pegged as the one good at sports, good at art, etc. And for some, they are good at learning/test taking/etc. & are known for getting good grades - it becomes a part of who they are, especially if they have done well throughout most of their school years. Some of them work very hard for those grades, others it comes easily, but it is still a defining aspect of them at this stage. As a result it can be very difficult to not achieve what you have always had in the past.

In my undergraduate work prior to pharmacy school, most of my classes were curved to accommodate the difficulty of the material & the diversity of the students enrolled. In pharmacy school, the work is hard, there is not a curve in most classes, & -everyone- is the "smartest" in their class. It was a hard adjustment to accept B's (& sometimes lower) as the very best I could do, & being OK with that.

So I just want to acknowledge to the original poster, A., that you are more than the grades you receive on paper. You are all of the knowledge that went into getting those grades, all the hard work that went into learning that knowledge, and all the maturity you gain when you realize you maybe didn't put forth your best effort. :)

Original response: Everyone has experiences like this (maybe not college, but a life-changing "wake-up" experience in some area as they mature), and it is really hard to accept at first. We try our best, make assumptions, and then fall flat, and it bruises our ego, makes us feel like we failed, and embarrasses us to acknowledge.

The best thing you can do about it is to take it as a learning experience. Be up-front with your uncle, the same way you did in your post. Acknowledge that you mis-read the syllabus, and went into the class with lower expectations than you should have. Let him know that you realize that every learning opportunity deserves respect, & you will be making sure to approach all of your classes in the future with the same determination, regardless of how many credits they are.

I'm not sure what your other classes are, but I know calculus is a difficult class, especially at the college level. So you must be doing something right to be getting good grades in your other classes, as well as taking difficult subjects! Focus on the positive, & let this experience change you for the better. One credit will most likely not have a significant impact on your GPA overall, but you can talk with your class advisor to make sure you are taking an appropriate class load for future semesters so that you can continue to excel.

Best of luck, I know first-hand how challenging college can be! T. :)

I teach at a community college. I don't think one credit is going to have a huge impact on your GPA. The only thing I can think of is to re-take the course and see if the new grade will over-ride the old one. You will have to pay for the course again which is expensive and I don't know if that is fair to your uncle.
As an instructor, I really believe in taking responsibility for knowing what is due and when it is due. I think this will actually help you in the long run because you'll never let it happen again.
You could try to contact the instructor and offer to resubmit all the work and see if they will change the grade. Most instructors have the ability to submit a grade change within a certain period of time.

Being a high achiever is a great thing, but not to the point of confessions and shame for getting a C. Please be kind to yourself and just look at this as a lesson learned about following the syllabus. Talk to an advisor about how this may or may NOT affect your scholarship. Then go to your uncle with the facts, as an adult, to talk about your average (not failing) grade. I would be very proud of what you have accomplished as a freshman. This is a tough year with many adjustments and you are learning so much more than just the classes you are taking!

Welcome to the real world of life. You have learned that college is not high school and you have to put in the same amount of effort for a single credit as you do for a 3 or 4 credit class.

You have to formulate a study plan in the future to maintain a higher GPA. When I started I had a professor state to me that for every hour in class you should study 3 hours outside of class per course. So if you had a 1 hour credit that would be 3 hours. A 3 hour would be 9. Each professor thinks that their course is the only one that you have so hence, the study plan. You may not need 9 hours a class but you do need a good amount of time in study.

Strive for the As and know that you may not always get As in the course. Do your best in every class and know deep down in side that you have done so and you will feel confident in the end result. Some classes no matter how hard you try you may not get the A but you will still turn out fine.

Speak to your uncle and be honest with him about the grades. If you can do a course this summer, then do it. Don't be ashamed let it be a lesson learned.

Contact a counselor and get yourself back on track and focus my dear and you will make it. Study as hard as you can until you think you can't as this will show you just how much you can handle in learning knowledge. There is a scene in a movie called "Weird Science" about a student who runs out of a dorm room screaming -- he just hit his learning wall and needed a break.

Make your uncle proud of you.

How do I know this? I am still going to school off and on and I am probably older than your uncle. My GPA is 3.6. I work at a university and speak with many students freshman to graduate and encourage them to just do their best and to stay focused on the prize -- the diploma of completion for the BA, BS, MA or whatever.

the other S.

One C is not the end of the world.
You'll know to pay better attention next time - an easy A doesn't always work out that way.
Honesty is the best policy - and I'd be upfront about it and tell him right away.
Get a job over the summer and start helping to pay some of your own bills.

I think if you tell him what you tell us-- explain your mistake and take ownership of it, that is the best way to approach this. Let him know that you will do better next time, and then do it.

When you get yourself into a hole, the only honorable way to deal with it is to be honest, dig yourself out via being intentional in your future actions to not repeat the mistake.

In life, there are 2 things you need to do when you make a mistake:
1) own up to it to the mistake
2) explain to the other people involved how you are going to fix it

So in this case, you go to your uncle to tell him what happened and also tell him that you plan to do XYZ to make sure it doesn't happen again.

As for the scholarship, talk to your school. Only they can tell you if your scholarship is affected, and avoiding talking to them about it isn't going to change the outcome. Talk to them ASAP, so you can either relieve your mind, or you can let your uncle know so that the two of you can deal with the consequences.

IMO, you're being a little too hard on yourself. Take a deep breath. You're obviously intelligent and I'm sure your uncle is proud of you. A 'c' isn't great but it's passing. You passed and I also think that you learned something pretty awesome concerning this. And that is, that it's all in the follow-up. When you get that syllabus in your hand, follow-up on it. That simple. Forgive yourself and move forward. Let your uncle know what happened and let it go. Be proud of yourself for being where you are AND be excited about moving onto your year of being a sophmore.

Well since it is only a one credit course it is only weighted as such so it won't really pull your grades down anyway.

Please don't look at this as something you need to "confess" to. Do you not understand that college does NOT compare to high school? There are so many kids who make easy A's in high school and then get the shock of their lives in college. You are NOT ALONE!

It's part of growing and learning how to study and how to give a professor what he or she wants, being in college. This is what freshmen have to figure out. There are many who don't figure it out until their junior or senior years. My husband finally put the pieces together in his head his senior year. And he is a very smart man.

Mathematically, this one hour C will not affect your gradepoint average much. The calculus grade is a factor, but calc is very hard and you could have studied that subject 10 hours a day and STILL made a B.

Hold your head high and tell your uncle that you appreciate his support so very much, and that you hope that as you continue to figure out what the professors want in your courses, and how to learn these difficult subjects, that you will make even better grades.

Studying smart is what you still need to learn. And PLEASE remember that your tuition includes getting help from the tutoring staff. Make use of this resource!!

First talk with the school to find out how this impacts your gpa and scholarship. Find out if you can take the course again if it impacts your grade too much..

Once you have that info you need to talk to your uncle. Tell him exactly what you said here. Straight forward without excuses. You made a mistake. You accept responsibility for that mistake. Then you figure out how to make things right. Its not the fun part of growing up but a lot of the grown up parts aren't fun.

You can look into working and going to school part time or working and going to school full time possible taking a loan or two to pay for things.

Talk to your professor and see if there is anything you can do regarding the grade. You won't know unless you ask. And be forthright with your uncle. There is no shame in owning up to your mistakes and being honest about them. If you try to hide it, pretend it isn't what it is, or put it off, you will feel worse. Just be honest. And tell him what you told us. How it happened, how you feel now that you realize, and what you have learned from this experience.

It's only one credit, and it sounds like you learned your lesson. Not to worry.

I had one "c" in college...it was in calculus. Instead of being bitter, I was nothing but grateful I got a "C". That was a difficult class.

A one credit class should not hurt your GPA too badly.

Many college freshmen who did all-A work in high school end up unpleasantly surprised by their college grades.

Talk to your advisor about the C and if it will impact your scholarship. If not, move on. If so, retake the class. You know what mistakes you made and can fix it.

Keep doing your best in your classes, pay attention to the syllabi, and don't have unreasonable expectations. The B in calculus should not make you feel shame. That is an out of proportion reaction. You may want to speak with a school counselor about the pressure you're feeling, because what you do not want is to burn out/break down and have to leave school entirely.

You don't have to 'confess' anything to anyone. You need to handle your situation like the pro-active adult that you are. Then, when you know what you're doing going forward and if it is necessary that he know, you can let your uncle what you're doing, adult-to-adult. You can do it. :-)