Burnt...out (parents please give your opinion)

Parent Cafe
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<p>Just to start this off, I do not have senioritis</p>

<p>I have worked diligently through out my whole HS life. I am ranked 1-5 in both Track/XC in my state, I do sports throughout the year, and in that regard am well rounded.</p>

<p>I have the most rigorous schedule for anyone in my school (competitive private) and am a .3 gpa ahead of the Salutatorian. </p>

<p>As you can tell I am burnt out, ever since the first week of HS I have stayed up later than 12:00/1:00 polishing off every bit of my hw to the best of my ability. I speak four languages, three of which I have received a "5" on the AP test. I am the AP Scholar with Distinction, State AP scholar, National AP scholar. </p>

<p>At night I have headaches when I sit down to do multivariable... I get a headache when I hear "calculus". Unlike other cases of "senioritis" I really want to do my best. I have looked at the grading for all my classes and even if I ace all tests and not do any HW/projects the highest GPA I can get is a 3.46 for this semester and "Summa Cum Laude" for my school requires me to have no less than a 3.8 in any semester. </p>

<p>I have a 2400 ACT and a 36 SAT. </p>

<p>Now for my question</p>

<p>I recently received a "letter of likelihood" from Harvard and one of the top LACs. My parents don't care about what I do, all interaction between us ceased when I told them I was not going to be able to keep Summa Cum Laude status if I keep going like this. Basically the thing is if I want some extra money I better keep up my grades. </p>

<p>I can't, I am trying so hard. Val. is a given the Sal. is way to far behind to catch up. </p>

<p>I have not had a good time in HS... I am great at academics, sports, ECs, Class pres and all but I just have not had fun.</p>

<p>Parents please tell me how I can get my brown parents to support me, give me your opinion too. </p>

<p>Please help me, I do not want to go into college without parental support.</p>

<p>I'm also "freaking out" that colleges may revoke an acceptance.</p>

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<p>i smell ■■■■■…oh and nice btw “a 2400 ACT” Wow you that’s really good…but your “36 SAT” really sucked.</p>

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<p>It’s epistemology.</p>

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<p>wow, a Harvard likely letter. Cool. I hope my kids can get one, too. Can you share some tips? Can you tell me the size of envelope it came in so that we know what to look for? Thanks.</p>

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<p>Sorry if you smell ■■■■■…</p>

<p>epistomology is my username for many things, the first time I registered for anything the correct spelling of the word was taken. </p>

<p>Harvard Likely Letters don’t mean much though, it seems they have sent it to quite a few people (check out Harvard forums on CC). </p>

<p>Honestly? I’m asking for help, my GC thinks because I’m Asian I need to continue (I know what you are thinking…), my parents are even worse…</p>

<p>Can someone PLEASE give me some advice?</p>

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<p>Do the best you can. While I was never smart as you are, I took the hardest course load, stressed, and really didn’t have the most fun I could have in high school either. But now as I am a freshman in college, I do have some advice for you =)</p>

<p>High School and the college admission process is almost over, so work your hardest till the very end. At this point, all the college apps are in, and colleges probably have already made a decision, so your job is pretty much over, now you just have to remain consistent.</p>

<p>The only advice I have for you is that you choose a college that you truly enjoy. You have an amazing opportunity to go WHEREVER your heart desires, few people in the world could ever dream of that opportunity. You have the chance to start over, and although you always will be successful because you are obviously a smart individual, you will get to a top unviersity and realize that you don’t and can’t stress out about being number one anymore, because everyone around you is just as smart. So Please look at the colleges social life, surroundings, environment, etc. and not just its stupid ranking. Have FUN in college =)</p>

<p>Also, consider a gap year…I know several kids who took one before college, and they said it was an amazing experience…but remember that it may be hard to get remotivated when you return…but if you are as burnt out as you make it seem, it may not be a bad idea.</p>

<p>Hopefully this helps you out a little bit…</p>

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<p>Top schools, many schools, don’t mind if you want to defer for a year to “recover” because they know that even excellent students like you get burned out and are just reaching to the boiling point when they graduate. They don’t want them to crack when they come in as a freshmen and end up with a bad start to college. If you feel like you WILL crack by June, consider taking a gap year. If you get into Harvard, show your parents the acceptance letter (I think there’s a part encouraging the acceptee to take a year off) that it’s an acceptable practice.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for the advice! </p>

<p>momof3sons the likely (I don’t think so) doesn’t mean much. It may differ based on where you live but I am currently on a local research trip abroad and I have all my mail redirected to the hotel here. It came in a big one for me, but again it could be because of the area.</p>

<p>Good luck to your children.</p>

<p>As for the wonderful advice I received, taking a gap year would be wonderful but there is a problem. My parents (though ******* rich, they will not pay for any luxury expenses)… I have enough merit aid so that I can afford any 200k (4 year) school without incurring too much debt (stressful time applying to some scholarships too, I knew that I would not qualify for any need based help). A gap year may be expensive, staying home with parents is NOT relaxing and going elsewhere is expensive. </p>

<p>As the second semester starts soon I have changed my classes slightly. Rather than learning core classes at their pace I will test out of it (need a 96%min but I think I can do it for all of them, not sure). I decided on taking a few philosophy, epistemology, and other “theoretical” courses.</p>

<p>Thanks guys :)</p>

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<p>Here is an RX for stressed students- Take deep breathes, in and out, and repeat to your self daily as many times as needed-like a mantra- “only a few more months and I’ll be in college!! only a few more months and I’ll be in college!” And don’t sweat the VAL, SAL crap. It won’t mean anything a few months from now. Congratulations on doing so well in HS! You should be very proud of your efforts, so give yourself a big pat on the back everyday. Repeat as needed.</p>