Your institutional GPA counts for the credits earned at your university. There is a semester GPA which is based on the credits you've earned each semester.There is also a cumulative or overall GPA for the total amount of work that you have completed during your college career. As with most college students, you can start out with a very high GPA and as you take more classes, your GPA may tend to fluctuate. Before you know it, your 3.5 has fallen to a 3.0. So what can be done about this? Students often wait until it is too late to take action, leaving college not knowing that there were things that could have been done. Here are a few tips on how to raise your GPA before you graduate. Take difficult courses first If you are dreading those few math requirements you have to take, don't leave it until last. Take all of your difficult courses, first. Students often apply themselves to course work at the beginning of their college year, getting more tired and loosing focus toward the end of their college careers. Taking difficult courses early will also give you a chance to raise your GPA , later on, when you've made room for your easier course work. Enroll in the summer semester While many students choose to take their summer off, this can cause you to loose valuable time that could be spent raising your GPA. …show more content…
You head over to the campus bookstore before your first day of classes and realize you'll be spending more $500-plus on textbooks. There has to be a better way, and there just may be. Take a look at these simple tips: Do NOT buy textbooks before the first day of class. Walk around any college campus in the days before the start of a semester and you'll see hoards of students carrying boxes or bags full of textbooks. It makes sense to get their textbooks ahead of time. They want to be prepared before the start of classes, but here's a helpful hint: no college professor will penalize you for not having your books on the first day of class. That means you can take advantage of the first class to find out what you really need. Sometimes you may even be able to get away with holding off on buying books for the first week or so. If you get into the flow of class and see that you're able to succeed without a certain "required" coursebook, that's money in your pocket. remember that in this age of open information, much of what you need to know for class may be available free online. Who knows, your professor might even be able to let you in on an alternative to the campus bookstore where there are better deals. So, don't head out into the mob to get your textbooks ahead of time. It's worth it to wait. Make copies. Let's say you're in a class with a friend of yours, and the professor requires you to buy two books.