<p>Ok so for some reason this quarter in honors pre-calc I've been doing terrible. I understand all the material and know what I am doing but then come test time, I do stupid little mistakes which result in getting an average of 3-4 points off and the tests are worth 25 points so therefore on my last two tests I have gotten an 87% and an 84% with the last test I took which I predict I will get an 85-92% on and so I am completely freaking out. I've done the math and I need at least a 90 on this last test and 100 on the next one so I can barely get an A minus. I'm so disappointed I've been crying and worrying myself sick as I've never gotten a B. I understand it's no big deal but then I need to get an A on the final exam in order to get an A for the year and if I don't, then my A first semester doesn't even matter. I've never gotten a B before and I'm wondering what if I get a B for the year? How will it affect my chances at these schools:
Reaches:
Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Vassar, NYU
and my matches:
BC, BU, Fordham, American, Northeastern, Syracuse, Rochester</p>
<p>considering the following:
-4.8 weighted gpa [4.0 uw]
-28/29 ACT [hopefully will get higher next time]
-ranked in the top 10 in my class
-All honors/AP [8 APs total when I graduate]
-weak outside ECs however since my parents worked weird shifts/lots of overtime so I had to take take care of my brother and the house, but what ECs I do have I hold leadership positions in but are pretty generic- Spanish club, orchestra, freshman mentor, office/teacher aide but I will hopefully be selected as a zoo volunteer this summer/find a job somewhere and will being volunteering/researching at my local historical society.
-I think I'll have a good essay
-great recommendations
-will be a first generation college student and trilingual</p>
<p>I understand that people get into HYPS and other top schools who have received Bs, but I'm worried because of my ACT/ECs in combination with the possible B for the year. Sorry for all the info. thrown at you. I appreciate your time if you're read this far! So, should I just forget about my reaches?</p>
<p>Lol no, I am not a troll. You can look at my past posts and clearly see I am not one. And I don't think this is troll-ish of me, I have seen more troll-esque threads than mine that were real. I don't find my thread surprising, it IS CC after all. :)</p>
<p>I think you need to get some rest, it is OK to get a B. The more important thing is your ACT score which needs to be increased by at least 4 more points, work on that. You are a great student but you are too number driven to the point where it is taking over your life i think, sometimes i worry for the people on this forums geesh.</p>
<p>sblogblah- I hear ya. I think it's the way I was brought up. My parents yell at me for A minuses, so bringing home a B will be the apocalypse. Then they try to pull a guilt trip since they were immigrants, "You know, we came here so you could have a better life and education and more opportunities and you get a B!?!?" They just put so much pressure on me and basically they will look at me like I'm a failure if I don't get into a top 10 school, at least my mom will.</p>
<p>just breathe. I was having trouble with pre-calc first quarter and didn't do that great..i went to the teacher for help and now have a very high A..
all that truly matters are your final grades.
So relax, get some help, and do your best
that's all you can do anyways</p>
<p>sblogblah- Hah yeah, believe me, I've tried. I just think that since they are unfamiliar with the whole system and procedure, they are a bit naive about it. First off, they think school here is easier than it was in "the old country" and my mom doesn't realize how competitive it is. She thinks that if you have straight As with the hardest course load and are val you automatically get into HYPS which is obviously not the case, there is so much more to it and I've tried telling her that to no avail. I guess old habits die hard.</p>
<p>BigG- Any tips on how I would go about doing that? I'm going to include how I had to look after my brother and the house while they were at work (from the time I got home until 1 a.m. which is when my mom would come home) and that's why I couldn't become deeply involved in anything in the "other info" section of my application. I will also write my essay (most likely) about how I was in a bad car accident (the car flipped twice) and I was miraculously 100% unscathed and how it was a very spiritual experience for me and has caused me to reevaluate my relationship with my brother since before we would do our own thing when home alone taking care of him but now we always spend time together and I will possibly throw in there how I want to make the most of my life by going into public service since I was spared compared to the thousands of others teens who die in car accidents. Sorry, that was a bit run-onish. Am I missing anything?</p>
<p>rocket6louise- Thanks for the encouragement! I get the material it's just that come test time I'm crunched for time and I forget negatives here and there or add instead of subtract. It was never a problem before but since the tests have been worth so little points lately with so much work involved where you can easily mess things up like that (we're doing vectors), it's taken a huge hit on my grade. I'm just freaking out because I have only one more opportunity and very little time to POSSIBLY/BARELY bring it up to an A minus (like I said, I'd need to get 100% on the next test, and even then it would be a 91.something which would round up to an A-) so it's very stressful. Plus it's an ego blow since math is my favorite subject and often times my best. It always came easy to me and I would even get pumped for tests (lol, loserish, I know).</p>
<p>ok. If time is your issue, i would suggest using your book for a practice test (or even asking your teacher for one) then allot yourself the amount of time you'd get on a test (if you have25 questions in 50 minutes, allow two minutes per practice problem) then see how well you do..It should help with the time issue(i do it for physics)
Math was my favorite, and i felt betrayed by not doing as well as i was used to...
another thing, sometimes it is a teacher. Not that they are bad, they just don't teach you in the best way. If you have a good relationship with last year's math teacher, or even two years ago, go to them and see if they have any tricks to get your through a test</p>