Many freshmen make bad first impressions on the first day of classes. Some rebound, but many don’t.

And the numbers prove it.

For the fall 2002 semester, freshmen studied (or didn’t) their way to a cumulative grade point average of 2.36 with sophomores earning a 2.83, a .47 point gap.

“There is no mom or dad there to wake (freshmen) up and tell them to go class — class attendance is their No. 1 killer,” said Debbie Barker, an academic adviser who advises 300 to 400 freshmen a semester. “They just don’t realize how much free time they actually have, and they don’t know what to do with all that extra time.”

Wesley Koehler, a freshman computer information systems major, said the lifestyle change from an eight-hour high school day to a condensed college class load can be a tough adjustment.

“I’d definitely say there is too much free time (here at college),” he said. “I actually have lots of free time, and that’s not necessarily a good thing — I should probably spend more of it studying.”

Barker said more demanding classes are the reason for the lower freshmen grades.

“You would be surprised how many students don’t know how to study,” she said. “Even some honors students struggle because high school came to them so easily, and they didn’t have to study. When the freshmen come to the university they don’t really know what to expect.”

But Eastern is not the only public university in Illinois that experiences such a discrepancy between their first and second-year students.

Northern Illinois University freshmen received a 2.2 grade point average with sophomores at 2.6, Western Illinois University (2.65-2.83), Illinois State University (2.66-2.82) and Southern Illinois University (2.54-2.82) all reported significant gaps.

Bob Wheeler, vice provost at Northern, offers one possible explanation for the grades gap.

“One factor, and it is a sad one, unfortunately, is the group of students that have to leave the university after their freshmen year,” he said. “Those who remain are the more able group.”

However, the school-by-school grade comparisons are subjective, said Mary Ann Hanner, the dean of college of sciences.

“There are so many factors, such as who is teaching those classes,” she said. “There is not one individual variable – there are so many things.”

Although Eastern has the second-lowest freshman grades of the five state universities, Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs, agreed with Hanner, and said the freshman grades are not an accurate reflection of the caliber of student Eastern has.

“Other information, like ACT scores and class rank, suggest our students are among the best when compared to other student institutions,” he said. “The external validations suggest our students are at the very least comparable, if not better than, our peers.”

The junior and senior year grades, however, support Lord’s theory that Eastern students are competitive with those attending state universities. Eastern juniors earned a 2.90 grade point average and seniors earned a 3.07, both tops in the state for the fall 2002 semester.

Lord said Eastern’s small class sizes help in the later years of study.

“We know from experience at Eastern the number of small classes change the nature of classes,” he said. “And as a result, there is a different nature of student.”

Dana Ringuette, English chair, said prerequisite knowledge is the main difference.

“For the students that have been working on their majors for three years, they should be more adept and in-tune,” he said. “Well, God, wouldn’t it be scary if it were otherwise? I hope there would be improvement.”

Western had the second highest junior grade point average with 2.89 with Southern tying Eastern’s senior mark (3.07).

“I’m always interested in these types of things,” Lord said. “Why are we different from a Western or a Southern?”

Hanner said once students finish their general education classes and begin classes for their major, the level of interest jumps.

“As they go through school, they will be going to more classes they are interested in, and as a result they will be more serious,” she said.

Delena Natoli, a junior elementary education major, said she became more studious once her general education classes were finished.

“I actually read my textbooks now,” she said. “I study more, and I’m more motivated, but the gen ed classes were so boring.”

The large size of the fall 2002 freshmen class — the 2,751 freshmen stands as Eastern’s biggest ever – coupled with admission requirements that have not changed for years even as test scores have risen, suggests freshmen could be encountering a hurdle before students ever step on campus.

But the grades from previous years state otherwise: fall 2001 freshmen earned a 2.38 gpa, fall 2000 freshmen 2.36 and fall 1999 freshmen earned 2.33.

“It’s not a surprise to me,” Lord said. “I’d be surprised if the grades were otherwise – out two-year data pointed out there was not much movement.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following clarification March 1, 2011:

Jeremy Carlson, the student in the photo, is not to be taken as one of the average freshman, he was an Eastern student at the time this article was written and had a picture taken of him.