Freshman and sophomore years completely trashed - is there any hope left?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Freshman year, was, well, sub-par to say the least, and I emerged with a 2.8 GPA with a wide variety of A's, B's, and C's. Things have gotten progressively worse since then, and I just ended my sophomore year today. My term three grades were the highlight of this year, with many A's and B's across the board, but by the time fourth term came around, something changed with my mindset, and I fell flat on my face. My Astronomy grade had dropped from a 90 to an 81, my Honors English grade from a 99 to an 81, and my Chemistry grade fell from an 86 to a 71. My Honors History and Geometry grades were the only ones that really sat comfortably at solid B's this entire year, but after I received a poor grade on an essay late in the year, I reverted to plagiarism and ended up receiving a zero for the assignment. My grade dropped to a 74. My Geometry grade, after a few bad tests and quizzes, went down to a 77, but my term grade remained as an 87.</p>

<p>Finals for some classes went better than others, and there were a few parts to the English and History finals that were supposed to be done at home, which well, I didn't really finish (which caused those grades to drop, among other things). I took my final for Chemistry today, and depending on how I did, that, I might have fallen to a D+, but since that test is being graded on a curve, I can't really tell for sure. My Geometry grade might end up being bumped up to a B for the same reason, but a test bringing up a grade three points just doesn't that possible.</p>

<p>By and large, I'm probably going to see at least two F's and three C's on my report card for term four, and no A's. That has never happened with me before, ever. My overall grades, as a review, look to be this:
Honors English: B-
Honors History: C to C-
Geometry: C+ to B-
Honors Astronomy: B-
Spanish III: B to B+
Chemistry: D+ at worst to C at best</p>

<p>I'm just not sure what to do now, honestly. My biggest fear is only being able to get into community college, while my twin brother, (who currently has a 3.7) has all these other options available to him. I need to know how much this is going to bring down my already pitiful GPA, and how much I can bring it up through junior and the first term of senior grades. I'm not assuming that doing well in junior year will really help it much, but at this time, when the disappointment has already sunk in, I need some reassurance. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>So, should I take the lack of responses as a “Yeah, you’re pretty much screwed” type thing?</p>

3

<p>Well junior year is the most important year. Also, colleges like to see progression with grades, so you would really need to step it up. I wouldn’t say you’re screwed in any way. Grades, although very important, are not the ony thing colleges look at. Depending on which colleges you’re applying to, the criteria they look at ranges from volunteering, extracurricular, recomendation, course load, test scores, etc. Also, most colleges do take into account that things do happen that can affect your grades. You can explain through your essay, if something did happen that affected your grades. What matters most is moving forward. What’s done is done and you have to move on. Make the difference grade wise junior year, score well on your tests, get good recommendations, etc. </p>

<p>Good luck! </p>

4

<p>It’s ok, you can still get into Iowa State</p>

5

<p>You may have the same breadth of options as your twin, but you can still get into a college and how you perform there will determine if you can transfer into a ‘better’ school. Ultimately, this may or may not have a substantial impact on your life. If you take it as a wake-up call and stay focused, it could turn out to be the catalyst to an awesome life. Or, you could get despondent and spin your life out of control. You choose. Play the cards as they are dealt and do your best.</p>

6

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<p>You should do EVERYTHING honestly, always! </p>

<p>I told my kids that it’s better to fail than to cheat. You can recover from failure, but it’s difficult to regain your integrity in someone’s eyes when you’ve lost it. </p>

<p>Ignore your brother.
Ignore college - completely! I mean this; there is nothing that can’t wait until late junior year. </p>

<p>Take one day at a time, and focus on learning and doing your best. Don’t overload on difficult classes, take a moderate load and demonstrate to yourself that you can hold it together. </p>

<p>You’ll have choices, but they are a distraction now. </p>