<p>What motivates you to do so well?
-Pressure from your parents?
-Competition?
-Paving a path that will lead to an awesome college?</p>
<p>And if you could please answer this question:</p>
<p>How good were your teachers??</p>
<p>I think you'll find that most students who do so well, do it because they love it. Our top male student, is obviously smart, no einstein, but smart, so he tries hard in school, gets straight A's, but he volunteers a lot on his own and has a lot of leadership positions because of that.</p>
<p>although Im not the top of the top like a large chunk of the people here are; but Im definitely motivated by the idea of living by myself in a large city when Im 18.
Which at this stage in my life can only be achieved by getting into Columbia, UChicago, NYU, Northwestern,UCLA,etc.
Im just yearning for a normal social life, after enduring nearly 17 years with insanely overbearing parents.</p>
<p>I'm not number one, but I work hard in school to not be homeless and make enough money to have some fun. I really want a pool table when I get my first apartment too, and it would be cool to have enough moolah to get a nice pool table (with black felt...). Oh, and having a family may be cool too. You don't get any chicks if you are a deadbeat living out of a box under the interstate after college.</p>
<p>I'm not as nearly as smart as most of the kids on here, but what motivates me to do well is just because I'd like to. It's like being in competition with myself. I always want to know I'm doing the absolute best that I'm doing... I'm a bit of a perfectionist ;)
But the thought of having a wide variety of options for college is enticing too; I don't want a school I love become out of reach simply because I didn't work hard enough in high school.
Also, about the teachers... I've had a lot of amazing teachers who really know what they're talking about, dedicate tremendous amounts of time to the class' education, and teach not for the test, but so you can leave the class as a more well-rounded, intelligent individual. However, I've also had some mediocre teachers (and downright atrocious teachers) who couldn't command the class, didn't know what they were trying to say, and forced us to learn the material entirely on our own if we hoped to achieve the same grades in the classes with excellent teachers. Overall, I wouldn't say the teacher factored my grade at all... ever.</p>
<p>Teachers and parents just tell me to do stuff, so I do it. That's how it's always been for me. Much like people having stress over turning stuff in, I feel a negative emotion (that I can't really describe) when I haven't done my work. Conscious thoughts about it aren't really related.</p>
<p>I guess you could say I'm not high-achieving extracurricular-ly. I do the things that I feel I would enjoy overall. So again, it's basically a subconscious drive and since that drive isn't as strong as the academic one, I don't stand out as much.</p>
<p>Mostly competition, I'll admit. I never wanted to be considered the smart, but lazy kid and I knew I wanted to have options whenever I started applying to college... I guess internal drive.</p>
<p>And once I found Northwestern, grades had more of a meaning/purpose. EC's were pureply for my own interests though, not for college. I love soccer, philosophy and being NHS treasurer (want to be a banker, go figure). I'll be honest, I wasn't fond of community service, so I didn't do any.</p>
<p>As for teachers, it ranges. I've had some pretty terrible ones and some of the best I can think of. The better ones were also ap test graders though lol.</p>
<p>I would consider myself a high achiever where I'm from, but by no means on CC.</p>
<p>Although I'm no Ivy genius compared to most on here it seems, for me at least, it all comes from self-motivation. I absolutely love learning and I always strive to improve myself no matter what. All of the courses and ECs I do are all geared towards my interests. I think it's dumb to waste 4 yrs of HS just to cater towards a certain college and more or less become a "transcript whore."</p>
<p>I'm by no means an overachieving student, but am certainly a motivated one. Unlike others here, I'm motivated by my personal success (i.e money). I'm poor as hell and it's my duty to move up in society. Yesssir.</p>
<p>I'm with you on the money. Just not living with my parents would be cool too. I could deal with poor, just not living with parents till I'm 40. No thanks.</p>
<p>Frankly, after I found out what I want to do, studying came natural.</p>
<p>I just do the bare minimum necessary to maintain a 4.0 'cause I know I'm capable of it.</p>
<p>edit: I also love learning, but come on, anyone who says that their grades are entirely due to a passion for knowledge is BSing. Grades are also about bothering to do the busy work.</p>
<p>The passion for knowledge can allow you to get through all that busy work. And my main point on that was that I'm willing to sacrifice a "4.0" so that I can learn a lot more. I'm willing to go the extra mile even if it hurts my GPA.</p>
<p>Well, at about age 2 my mom started teaching me things because she thought I was bright. Also, I was a troublemaker and the teaching/learning kept me out of trouble. By the beginning of 1st grade my teacher wanted to skip me to 3rd. . </p>
<p>My parents never really pressured me, but they did always push me towards excellence. It was more like a rewards system type deal. I kick <em>butt</em> on exams and standardized tests, get into the best city schools, be a star student and I get whatever I want, anytime I want. My parents never presented it that way, but when I was younger, we were well off & I saw that as long as I produced --I could get whatever I wanted. I pushed myself and after a while.. the grades and work ethic were really just a part of me, no rewards necessary. In fact, I find that I don't even need an incentive for success anymore..I really do get a rush when I do well. . it's like an addiction lol. I also tend to be a bit of a perfectionist about my studies ...so yeah. </p>
<p>It's funny, because my parents are very lax about school and even the college process, not at all overbearing...it's great.</p>
<p>Most of what I know has been learned on my own. My teachers sucked for the most part, with a few exceptional ones along the way, but I think I can mostly attribute my success to my parents and myself, honestly.</p>
<p>Competition and getting into a good college are a large part of it. I wouldn't say that my parents pressure me, but they have instilled in me the idea of doing the best that I can. I'm the valedictorian because there was never any good reason not to get an A in a class or to take a class that was any less than the most difficult.</p>
<p>I would say that my teachers have been pretty good. In math and science my teachers have generally done a good job explaining and demonstrating concepts. In history, I think the teachers did a good job getting out of the way and just making sure people read the textbook (which is really the only way to learn in those classes). In English though I've found that they focus too much on literature over writing skills. I've only had one teacher that consistently tried to teach grammar. When it comes to analyzing literature, I've found that the teachers don't do a very good job explaining how-to. Usually when we read a book, the teacher goes over themes and symbols, but they never say how to find/interpret them accurately.</p>
<p>I think it's just the fact that the power of knowledge is extremely fascinating and intriguing. I actually came out of the "straight A" student mode sophomore year. I mainly got Bs because I chose not to get As. I would disagree with the idea of changing my philosophy to fit the needs to ace my class. I wasn't taking the class to get an A from the teacher; partially, yes. I wanted to be a better and more knowledgeable girl. I think that's why it as a bit difficult for some of the students in English 2 Honors (straight A students, 2300 SAT) to come out of that mold--the mold past teachers created for them and actually have their own unique style/voice. If I got Bs, it's probably because I didn't try enough, and I know it since I would always drop to borderline for those classes. </p>
<p>I think my "good" teachers were those who explored beyond their boundaries and were passionate about their teaching. My AP Chem was probably the most horrible teacher not because of her teaching skills but because she lacked that passion. The former AP teacher had to leave due to her son's critical illness, and thus, my teacher resented the administration for making her teach an extra class.
However, I really enjoyed World History, AP Environmental, English 3 Honors, Chem Honors, AP Calculus AB, English 1 Honors and currently enjoying AP English Lit and AP Calc BC. That ounce of passion and their willingness to actually teach you PRACTICAL skills while trying to show the fun side of things was just great. </p>
<p>Is it surprising to hear this from an Asian?</p>
<p>I'm self-motivated to get into a good college. Competition and parents aren't a part of the equation in my case.
I also just plain like learning, but the above is what makes me take classes I don't really like (see:French) and do busywork homework and the like.</p>