I can see my dreams of going to college are fading. Since stepping foot into kindergarten I’ve tried to be atop of my class, the smartest dude, the perfectionist type. I was like that all through elementary straight to junior high. Got into my dream high school, Brooklyn Tech. As I started 9th grade I thought I would make it, until one day I caught the Flu. Stayed out a few days. Then, went back to school. But I didnt go back the same. When i went, I was bored hell. So one day , I decided to chill at home for once. Take another break from school. People would think the Flu flared up in me again. But the next day I didnt go. Two days turned to three days. Days into weeks etc. My Guidance Counselor tried to help me but I turned away like a fool. Another guidance counselor tried to help me but like a dumbass I turned away again. Now its May 11, 2005. This school year is over and I’m two years in the hole going into eleventh grade.Now I’ve read other threads so I know you guys are all knowledgeable and creative. All advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Please guys, I could really use a game plan on getting my record back on track and into college because I dont want to spend my life flipping burgers at mcdonalds.
<p>Prepare this summer for 11th grade--ask your teachers about books or other resources for "catching up" . Discipline yourself and show what you can really do in the next three semesters--re-enlist the help of your guidance counselor like a returning Prodigal Son. Study for the SATs. Follow the good advice bouncing around on CC and you will be able to find a college that will accept you-- a good essay on "how I turned my life around" would help you with college apps. Also ask the GC whether additional counseling might be a good idea and where to find it.</p>
<p>is summer school a possibility? Between this summer and next, you might be able to make up at least a semester of the work you missed.</p>
<p>Now is the time to take the counselor's help (grovel if need be). Go back to him/her & ask for advice. I agree with beachy - summer school seems like a great option. Even if your school doesn't offer it other local schools might so don't forget to look into it from that angle too. Are you sure you aren't/weren't suffering from depression? Not a medical doctor here but it is also an avenue you might think about. I wish you the best of luck!</p>
<p>if you gotta money, get a private tutor, if you are not, then try to work on your own(working on your own is difficult, i often get distracted, but try your best, grade 9 and 10 are jokes!)</p>
<p>Remember that you still have a future!!! You faltered a bit, but you are not out of your options for life. You can go to college. You can do well. Its gonna take commitment and work.</p>
<p>Set goals for yourself, find as many people as you can to help- study buddies, counselors, teachers. Get involved with clubs. That can make school less boring. Don't get discourgaged if you pull somes C's to start. Thats okay. Just keep working. Hang around with kids who have goals and plans. Don't hang out all the time with your old friends. You want to be around people who care. </p>
<p>Just know there is a college for you. Figure out what you want to do. My husband is a contractor. Maybe learning an honest trade- electrician, carpentry, those people can make some bucks. Not everyone is PhD material and that is just fine. If you can't do summer school, get a job. There is work out that that isn't jsut flipping burgers. If no job, volunteer. There is a lot of stuff out there that isn't lame, I promise.</p>
<p>You want to get busy NOW. Set a schedule, make committments, get a couple of SAT books and start practicing. Learn a new word a day. Read the paper. Don't watch tv so much. Play a sport. Jog. </p>
<p>Today, start with something small. Your room. Seriouslly, Take out the distractions. Make it comfy, but a place you can work. Or set up a study area somewhere.</p>
<p>What concerns me an you havene't talked about it is your parents. Are they involved at all? If so, have a talk. If not, then find another relative or adult that you can gt advice from. </p>
<p>You have taken the first step. That is good. Learn from your past, but don't wallow in your mistakes. Start today. Don't wait till fall. </p>
<p>Congrats on learning about yourself and stepping up for yourself. You will be fine.</p>
<p>As well, it wouldn't hurt to speak to a counselor about depression. It is really very common and nothing to be ashmaed of or worry about. it will just teach ou a little more about yourself, if indeed that is the case.</p>
<p>But no matter what, start something TODAY. Even if its cleaning your locker and backpack.</p>
<p>hmm..do you think you might have some kind of condition that is keeping you unmotivated? go see a doctor and explain to him your situation..ask for a full check up. you never know if you have some kind of mental condition that can be easily treated...</p>
<p>Yes, I do have a condition. Its calle dlaziness. But I have seen my mistakes and I am trying to rectify them. I always told my mom I would buy her dream house. How can I do that sitting at home and oding nothing. The time is now to take action. The fate of my future depends on what I do now and I dont want to end up sleeping on carboard</p>
<p>I had laziness. Heres how u cure it. U work HARD!!! GRIND YOUR NOSE INTO YOUR BOOKS AND STUDY!!! I was messing around sophomore year and got a 3.4 (come on u didnt have a lower GPA than that did u?) I turned my life around over the summer and vowed to work hard as a junior . I got a 4.3 last semester and aiming for a 4.5 this semester. It doesnt matter if your friends make fun of you and call u a nerd with no life etc... They are not your friends. Your real friends would encourage you along the way.</p>
<p>Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying that all if hopeless and that you should make the most of it. However, the fate of your future doesn't depend on getting into the most prestigious college. I give you a lot of credit for admitting your mistake, and you sound totally determined to do better. It ain't over.</p>
<p>There have been statistical surveys showing that people graduating from Ivy League schools make more money in life than people who don't. There are more recent studies showing that people who were accepted to Ivy League schools and decided to go somewhere else are just as successful as people who went to the Ivy League and graduated. The point is that people who are going to be successful are successful no matter where they go to school.</p>
<p>A lot of schools (not Ivy League schools) ignore freshman year. Also, schools look for a rising trend. If you have bad grades in 9 and 10; but improve dramatically in 11 and 12, that is very good. Your whole situation with studying could be turned into a nice essay response for your college application. </p>
<p>The main point, however, is that your success in life depends on what you do in the future. It doesn't depend on what you did when you were 13 and 14 years old. If you end up going to a less prestigious undergraduate college, your local State U, or even a community college; you can still go to Harvard for grad school.</p>
<p>Some of the people on this message board are high school dropouts and now like powerful attorneys and doctors. Just get your GED, quit messing around with HS. Then go to a local community college and get a 4.0 for a couple semesters (not terribly hard) then transfer to a nice state school or an ivy. Colleges love to have students in your situation.</p>
<p>no offense but this sounds like a joke. and if its not I have a serious question for you..</p>
<p>Where were your parents when all this happened?</p>
<p>Some parents just dont care. I had a friend whos parents were so busy making money that they spent only about 10hrs /week with him. (They work on weekends) He was diagonised with clinical depression and that finally jolted the parents to their senses and they started spending more time with him.</p>
<p>My husband totally blew his high school career. He turned down a chance to go to a top private school because he wanted to keep hanging out with his friends in public school, all of whom (like him) quickly got into the habit of cutting class and slacking off. It was a good public school, but he didn't get much out of it because he didn't try.</p>
<p>When it came time to go to college, he couldn't follow in his brother's footsteps and go to Michigan. So he went to a much less selective state school. For awhile he was the same sort of student, but then he realized that he wanted a good future. He straightened out, pulled his grades up, transferred to Michigan, and ended up getting a grad degree there too. </p>
<p>You've figuring this out years before he did. It's not over for you, you've got a good head start because you care already about where you end up and what you do with yourself.</p>
<p>I agree with joev's advice - go to night school and just get your GED. Go to a community college and get at least a year under your belt and good grades ... (and don't underrate the community college experience -- I went to ours for a semester and out of six colleges I attended on my way to a Ph.D. - including a semester at an Ivy - I discovered my two best professors there...) If it's academics you want, yiou can try to transfer out after a year or (to save a year of big time tuition) stick around for one more year, get an AA, then transfer.</p>
<p>But again -- what motivates you? What interests you? How do you like to spend your time? Perhaps the academic track isn't for you - maybe more technical work or as citygirlsmom says, contracting, small business development, landscaping. Think about this.</p>
<p>Also what did you do all those days that you sat home not going to school? Are you into video and comupter games? If so, give up the addiction. I swear, they are the kiss of death to an inquiring mind.</p>
<p>I agree with everything said, but the OP didn't really indicate how bad things are. He could just be worried about not getting into Duke because he messed up his freshman and sophmore years. I would add that not all colleges are that competitive. A lot of colleges consider the application process to be a formality since they take everybody. It might be discouraging for him/her to be hearing about community college or GED's when he/she has to do is pull things out in 11th and 12th grades.</p>