<p>I would like to add that the best thing that happened to my A- student high schooler was to get into her reach (highly ranked) school. She never put out too much effort in high school but felt very deserving of her grades. Made it through freshman year with a A- type average. It all hit the fan first semester soph year and she really struggled-lots of Cs on tests and actually received her first C ever in a class. I really worried that she would redefine herself and give up surrounded by such higher achieving students. Kept my mouth shut (how hard is that!) and lo and behold she went back determined to kick it up a notch. Seems to be paying off in her grades this semester and more importantly her work ethic is 100% improved. What a great life lesson-these are the people she will be living and competing with in the "real world" so better to deal with it now than later.</p>