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GPA Course Explanations
Question 1
A small percentage of my grades in the last two semesters has beenbelow the required GPA because of a number of reasons. Top on thelist is language barrier because I am an international student fromChina. I started learning English when I was 18 unlike my classmateswho have spoken English for the entirety of their lives. I am nottrying to make excuses for my poor performance, but the languageissue is a big deterrent to my academic success. I am well conversantwith simple English that I use in my day-to-day live but when itcomes to technical terms in class work, I am always lost. Sometimes Icannot help but wonder how better I would perform if the studies wereconducted in Chinese language. I am not asking for exceptions all Ineed is some more time to grasp the technicality of the language. Inthis regard, I have enrolled for English classes for advancedlearners. I hope that I will have sharpened my skills before thebeginning of the new semester.
Technical issues in some course units also contributed to the dismalperformance. For instance, in CSE480, the tutor miscalculated myscore, which he promised to rectify when I raised the issue. However,when I look at the final score, the tutor did not act as promised. InCSE420, I missed two classes, which contributed to 60% of the quiz,because I was very ill. I have documents to prove it. Following thisperformance, I decided to consult more with my tutors and colleaguesin areas that I felt I needed improvement. In the consequentassessments, my performance had improved tremendously.
Question2
Most of the courses that affected my overall GPA negatively are notrelevant for my major in computer science. I never despised thecourse units because they were not related to my area of interest Itreated all courses equally with the seriousness they deserved. Theprimary reason for not performing well in the courses that are notrelated to my major is that I lacked adequate background knowledge.
In the Chinese educational system, students choose their preferredcareer paths as early as middle school. As far as I can remember, Istopped pursuing biology about ten years ago. It therefore came as asurprise when I learned that I was supposed to pursue introductoryphysiology yet I had little basic knowledge in Biology. Despite myenormous effort in catching up, the performance was not pleasant.Other courses include ‘Society and the Individual’ where I had aGPA of 1.5.
Question3
Looking at my transcripts over the past two semesters, there is aclear indication of an improvement for a student of my stature-international student. Over the past few months, I have been tryingmy best to adapt to the American education system. I have madetremendous improvement in my mastery of language and educationskills, but it seems my advancements were not satisfactory to theselection committee. I know I might not be where the selectioncommittee wants me to be, but I am sure I will get there if given theopportunity to pursue my dream in computer science. I am still on alearning curve and I am sure that I will keep making tremendous stepsas the days go by.