Biting off more than I can chew?

[dharmachic]

Hi everyone, just looking for advice from the "seniors" (as in, those who have almost/or did complete their degree requirements) ,

I would love to get the best GPA I can, for both grad school reasons and, let's face it, vanity reasons. I'm 82 credits done, and per EC's GPA policy, have chosen to take online community classes for the DSST exams that have been updated for 2008 to get the letter grades. So now, in addition to working full time, I'm now taking 4 classes online - Statistics, Intro to Computers, Macroeconomics and Marketing.

I've also been whittling down my DSST exams once a month, and my last DSST is Principles of Finance (saved the hardest for the last!) to be held in mid-November. So in addition to my classes, I'm studying for that exam as well. So far, I'm doing good in keeping up with assignments and such.

I'm looking at my old college transcript which shows 4 classes that I didn't do well in - Biology, Chem I and II and Calculus II. I would LOVE to replace those grades with either a P/F by clepping out or retaking the courses for a better grade (although I'm not relishing the thought of going through Calc II again!)

Question: Assuming time is not a factor (single, no kids, no life for now ), and aside from the typical "if you really want to do it, you can do it" line, am I realistically setting myself up for major burnout by raising my expectations too high? I guess I'm looking for people speaking from their actual experiences who may have gone along a similar path - if you could do it all over again, what would you have done differently? And was it worth it, looking back, for you?

(Apologies for the poorly worded question - I hope my intention is clear enough! :o )

Helen

[studyhard]

Don't know if this is helpful or not......I enjoyed pushing myself to do the best I could do (within reason, of course). I wasn't going with the mindset that "Hey, I just need to eke out a barely passing score and I'm good." The lowest score I got on any test was a 60 and I was a little disappointed with it.

But I was kind of in your shoes--I had the the time to do it (single, no kids, like you) so I studied hard for each test. Part of it was fear of failure, not for self-esteem reasons but for practical reasons. I didn't want to waste hours studying for something and then flunk it because I didn't study just a couple more hours. I didn't want to be terrified through the test-taking because the material was too unfamiliar. And I didn't want to have to go to Plan B as far as what courses to take.

I don't think you're setting yourself up for major burnout by aiming for an A each time (whatever that score is at Excelsior). But I wouldn't kill yourself aiming for over-and-above A, if you know what I mean. If an "A" is a score of 62 (is that what it is at Excelsior?) there's no sense in stressing yourself out to get a 79. Stress out for a 70 maybe, but not a 79. hilarious

One thing I did that helped was to plan breaks here and there. I had a week or two at times where nothing was scheduled and I simply didn't study. You need to come for air periodically.

But no, aiming for a high GPA shouldn't wear you to a frazzle if you have good study habits.

[cookderosa]

Setting goals and moving goal posts are two different things. My own personality is to set a goal, and then while in progress, set my sights on a bigger (harder) goal. This is a positive in many ways, but I'm sure you can imagine that it also has drawbacks. So, my question is this:
Was your goal to earn your degree and your newer amendment to improve your GPA?
Next, assuming you earn all "A's" from here on out and you DON'T replace those older grades, what is your cumulative GPA? (Google GPA calculator, you can figure it out in 2 seconds). If your cumulative GPA at graduation will be 3.5, then leave it alone. If it's under a 3.0, I would seriously consider "re-doing" the credit. If it's between the two, it's really your own call.
Since you asked, if it were me, I wouldn't do them over unless I planned on attending a science grad school program. In that case, they WILL look at your science GPA as a separate calculation from your cumulative. (that goes for anything- business, psych, etc) The reason I wouldn't do it, is BECAUSE your planning grad school. The truth is, you can get into grad school with a pulse, and once you get in- no one gives a hoot about your undergrad GPA.
(I'm not entirely convinced that anyone cares anyway unless your 20 years old with nothing else to bring to the table) Just my two cents.