<p>I entered high school "off guard" and now my grades aren't as high as they could be and the regents are only a few months away. I have trouble remembering things and I will do better next year(sophomore).
I want to go to a good college but, can I get in if my grades aren't stellar ( I have 89s) and havent been in many clubs? I live in NY btw</p>
<p>You are only a freshman? 89s in freshman year courses will not prevent you from being accepted to a range of colleges.</p>
<p>No worries, mahn. Let your fright motivate you to improve those study skills and get better grades next year. Colleges love an upward slope in GPA.</p>
<p>OP, get off CC now. Just study and take hard courses. Come back in a year.</p>
<p>What is op?</p>
<p>original poster=you</p>
<p>Thousands of B students go to college and then on to successful careers. </p>
<p>Things I wish I knew in freshman/sophomore year:
-Try your best! Don’t make excuses
-When you join a sports team, you should stick with it throughout HS
-Make an effort to have a personal relationship with your teachers. they could potentially be your teacher again. You want to make a good impression on them just in case you ask them to write you a rec in the future.
- Join as many clubs as you want, but make sure you are truly committed to 1-2 of them. Stick with these throughout HS and get leadership positions.
- If you have time, get a job! Looks great for apps. It could be during breaks/in the summers if you don’t want to do it year round. </p>
<p>Things to keep in mind for the future:
-Studying for the SAT isn’t fun, but try your hardest! Again, don’t make excuses and say you’ll study later or do better the next time. Try to improve yourself in the present. Also, I strongly suggest you try to finish all your testing junior year. It may seem super early, but its for sure possible. Take SAT tests in January and March and again in June if necessary. Take SATII in May. Its great to have the summer after junior year off of SAT prep.
- In the summer after junior year, write two essays. One should be for the common app. The other can be about something you’re passionate about or an activity. These two essays will make the whole college process SO much easier. You can change them to fit most schools. I also encourage you to begin available supplements. College apps aren’t that bad!!
- When you’re making a college list, don’t get too caught up on reputation. One is someone’s ‘safety school’ is someone elses dream school. To each their own. Don’t worry about what your friends think, its your future not theirs.
- Keep your scores and college list personal from friends. Especially if you are applying to the same schools. Trust me, there’s a lot of hurt feelings and even fights that come from this. I know it seems petty, but its natural to feel jealousy if your bff gets into your dream school (especially if they don’t even want to go!). </p>
<p>You’ll be fine. Best of luck. </p>
<p>Thank you all very much!!</p>