Boost GPA for Physics Majors | Freshman Struggles

[penzoate]

I am a freshman majoring in physics .Right now, I have a 2.84(yeah , I know deliciously embarresing), But I was wondering , If I could transform the B and C's I am getting into A's and B's. Are there any physics majors who are going through the same predicament ? Anyone else can give me advice as well on how to boost my GPA because I absolutely love physics and am not about to give it up as a major

 

[verty]

Sounds like you must pull your finger out...

 

[Poop-Loops]

Study harder and take BS classes like into to sociology.

 

[Ki Man]

try going to your colleges library and finding as much supplementary text as you can

 

[imastud]

I actually had a 2.8 after my freshman year mostly because I devoted more nights to drinking than homework (my school's mostly made up of business/humanities majors who can coast without doing anything so I sort of got sucked into that lifestyle). I'm a senior now and since then I've gotten around a 3.8 for my upper level physics and math classes and boosted my overall to about a 3.55. Sometime around my early sophomore year I figured out that you'll do better if you focus on "doing" physics, rather than "learning" it. Basically I focused more on doing the examples in the book and doing problems rather than trying to learn the concepts, and found out that you actually understand the concepts better when you understand the math behind it (go figure right?). Also, you should focus on doing well in the math classes, even though there's a lot of boring junk like limits and integration techniques, because threre's a lot of stuff that's vital for upper level physics (like if you blow off linear algebra and never understand the concept of an eigenvalue you're pretty much screwed in QM)

 

[Cyrus]

Study harder and take BS classes like into to sociology.

Yeah, right. Taking a bunch of BS classes won't make a damn bit of difference. When you apply for a job, they are going to ask for your in major GPA. They don't give a damn if you have a 3.8 because you have 90 credits of sociology to boost your grades. Aye caramba.

Just find out what was the source of your GPA being so low is, and fix that problem. Then you should be fine.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Wow, I didn't know that. So yeah, studying harder is your only option. ;)

 

[imastud]

well if you can find one at least bull**** class per semester it effectively gives you one less class in your coursload, which frees up time for studying for tougher science classes. like this semester, I'm taking three tough classes, stat theory, adv EM, and lagrangian mechanics, but I balanced that by signing up for intro to personal finance and intro microeconomics which require zero work outside class and letting me focus on the tougher three only.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Yeah, I'm minoring in music for that reason. :)

And also, because I like music. ;)

 

[imastud]

along similar lines, if you don't mind being really creepy, one strategy my friend employed with great success was to sign up for intro freshman chem (not required for physics majors at my school) as a senior, which is pretty much a joke class after 3 years of hardcore physics/math. unless you goto mit or some other smart person school, 60 - 70 % of this large class will consist of freshman who will be completley overwhelmed by the demands of a college science class. in this group there are bound to be several cute girls looking for help...I think you can see where this is going. just thought i would pass this strategy along to other sex-starved aspiring physicists.

 

[Ki Man]

along similar lines, if you don't mind being really creepy, one strategy my friend employed with great success was to sign up for intro freshman chem (not required for physics majors at my school) as a senior, which is pretty much a joke class after 3 years of hardcore physics/math. unless you goto mit or some other smart person school, 60 - 70 % of this large class will consist of freshman who will be completley overwhelmed by the demands of a college science class. in this group there are bound to be several cute girls looking for help...I think you can see where this is going. just thought i would pass this strategy along to other sex-starved aspiring physicists.

no comment

 

[pasatom20]

along similar lines, if you don't mind being really creepy, one strategy my friend employed with great success was to sign up for intro freshman chem (not required for physics majors at my school) as a senior, which is pretty much a joke class after 3 years of hardcore physics/math. unless you goto mit or some other smart person school, 60 - 70 % of this large class will consist of freshman who will be completley overwhelmed by the demands of a college science class. in this group there are bound to be several cute girls looking for help...I think you can see where this is going. just thought i would pass this strategy along to other sex-starved aspiring physicists.

Thanks for your nice and creative strategy.

 

[Poop-Loops]

along similar lines, if you don't mind being really creepy, one strategy my friend employed with great success was to sign up for intro freshman chem (not required for physics majors at my school) as a senior, which is pretty much a joke class after 3 years of hardcore physics/math. unless you goto mit or some other smart person school, 60 - 70 % of this large class will consist of freshman who will be completley overwhelmed by the demands of a college science class. in this group there are bound to be several cute girls looking for help...I think you can see where this is going. just thought i would pass this strategy along to other sex-starved aspiring physicists.

I did that in my 2nd year. Well, not really.

I was doing a group quiz alone (because they were so damn easy) and this group of girls invites me over "because I look lonely". I think to myself "wtf...I'm not lonely..." and reply with "no, I'm fine."

 

[Ki Man]

I did that in my 2nd year. Well, not really.

I was doing a group quiz alone (because they were so damn easy) and this group of girls invites me over "because I look lonely". I think to myself "wtf...I'm not lonely..." and reply with "no, I'm fine."

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

possibly they were using you for your answers...or your body

 

[physics girl phd]

Study harder and take BS classes like into to sociology.

IF/When you apply to grad schools however... the committees will look at both overall GPA and Physics GPA.

 

[Poop-Loops]

possibly they were using you for your answers...

Lots of people were.

 

[Sisyphus]

how do I convert my percentage grade into a number in the GPA system?

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

edit: nevermind, sorry

 

[Bitter]

how do I convert my percentage grade into a number in the GPA system?

Well, I may be wrong, but I believe it works like this

You find what your percentage is in letter form. At my school the A will give you all 4 points B=3 C=2 D=1 F=0. We don't have B plus and such. So for example, if you have a 3 credit course and a 85 percent. You would multiply 3 times 3(3 for the grade and 3 for the credit hour) to get 9. You would do this for all your classes. You then divide the total you get over the number of hours you are taking.

 

[oksanav]

how do I convert my percentage grade into a number in the GPA system?

Or you can just use this website:

http://www.image-ination.com/test_maker/gpa.html

 

[fizziks]

If you find it hard to study, even in an extremely isolated location, take some concentration/focus/anti-adult attention deficit drugs. I'm serious but consult a doctor first. Grades shot up from Cs to nothing lower than 95%.

 

[thehacker3]

along similar lines, if you don't mind being really creepy, one strategy my friend employed with great success was to sign up for intro freshman chem (not required for physics majors at my school) as a senior, which is pretty much a joke class after 3 years of hardcore physics/math. unless you goto mit or some other smart person school, 60 - 70 % of this large class will consist of freshman who will be completley overwhelmed by the demands of a college science class. in this group there are bound to be several cute girls looking for help...I think you can see where this is going. just thought i would pass this strategy along to other sex-starved aspiring physicists.

Probably one of the most creative ways of getting younger girls that I've ever read about on a scientific forum. Props, man!