How to motivate myself to study?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>It seems like I've lost any motivation I've had to do anything. I just can't get myself to open a book. I think it's mainly because I've learned how unpredictable college admissions and kind of gave up hope. I mean there are tons of kids who do everything "right" and still get rejected.</p>

<p>Right now according to my train of thought "I can do a million things and still not get into a "good enough college" so why bother doing anything". I know this is a logical fallacy, but I don't know.</p>

<p>I'm sure many of you found yourselves in similar positions, how did you do it?</p>

<p>One other thing that annoys me is the fact that I have a 3.6 UW (it really went up 4th Quarter but since I screwed up in the first 3 Quarters, it's still 3.6), 4.3 W, 690 SAT II Bio, 170 PSAT. I think these are OK stats (I'm only a Freshmen).</p>

<p>I know I can improve, it's just that there's like a mental block. Our unfair grading system doesn't help either (Anything - Honors, AP, IB is a +1. IB is significantly harder than Honors - Sorry).</p>

<p>How did you get out of similar situations?</p>

2

<p>a) If you're a freshman, stop worrying.
b) The fact that you've already taken an SATII freshman year, is kind of insane. Slow down. A 690 with most likely a freshman bio/bio honors class? That is pretty good in my book.
c) Stop thinking in terms of college admissions. Do what you like to do and meet people and gain friends, because in the end the friends you meet in high school are going to be the only things that'll be of true worth.
d) Enjoy life and enjoy high school. Stop worrying about something you don't have to worry about right now.</p>

3

<p>i agree with gracie, and don't have a defeatistic attitude! for your age you're doing extremely well, and every high school year will be invaluable in terms odf education and personal growth. stop worrying about tests, and take classes that will challenge you, but only if you enjoy them. nothing you do should solely be to "get in"></p>

4

<p>a) Ok.
b) No it was Pre-IB Class. The Class' historical average is 780+ (not kidding), but our class did bad overall for some reason (The second highest was 680). Our teachers and counselors kind of make us do it. We have special SAT II review days.
c) I kind of gave that style of thinking up. But GPA and Test Scores are definitely in context on college admissions in my mind.
d) Ok but it's sooo close.</p>

<p>ali, I know that there's nothing I can do that would "get me in" so I'm in the process giving up altogether. I kind of want to stop thinking in that manner and attempt to give my best effort!</p>

5

<p>Push yourself. I know you may not feel like moving, but use your head. Don't let your body lead you. Your brain controls all the systems of your body. If you really want to stop, then you will stop. Remember to always STOP and THINK. Life goes by quickly.</p>

6

<p>milki:</p>

<p>I think you're doing fine. If you want more brownie points with less effort, improve your PSAT/SAT scores, but since you're only a freshman, you still have plenty of time to go through the <em>Up Your Score</em> and <em>Cracking The System</em> books and to take real practice exams (the ones from the College Board, not the bogus ones from Barron's and Arco's).</p>

<p>You're actually on to something - there is a Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns when it comes to academic achievement. Going from being a 90th percentile student to a 99th percentile students requires MUCH more work for a modest reward, so it's not worth it.</p>

<p>CC is just as kooky as freerepublic.com . You are right to resist drinking the Academic Performance Cult Kool-Aid. I was one of the biggest drinkers of the Kool-Aid when I was your age back in the late 1980s. Although I've since defected from the Academic Performance Cult, my high achiever counterparts of today make my old high school self look like Ferris Bueller or Zack Morris in comparison.</p>

<p>Remember: Your mission in school is to learn. It's easy to forget that. I have on a number of occasions, and I regret those times.</p>

7

<p>get this thing called updog...it really works</p>

8

<p>Thanks jhsu, ChamilitaryMaybe can you clarify a bit? I found too many references to Updog on Google...</p>

9

<p>crack cocaine works.</p>

10

<p>Hey Milki -</p>

<p>I am a rising sophomore, too. </p>

<p>It can be a little bit discouraging, but we've got a couple of years to go before we have to write our essays and ask for our chances.</p>

<p>Don't worry too much about your freshman GPA - it's ignored a lot of places. What are your main interests? I am super-excited about most all of the classes that I have planned. </p>

<p>Is your school burning you out?</p>

<p>Are you doing anything really fun this summer? I'm counting the days till I get to go on a trip with my friends.</p>

<p>Hang in there. Take a little break. Go away from CC for awhile to get a better perspective if you think it might help. After all, it is understandably discouraging to read the multitudes of posts about people getting 9 fives on their APs, 36s on their ACT, . . . when we aren't quite there yet.</p>

11

<p>Well kollegkid I want to start my own Biotech company (and eventually branch out into other industries) or at least become the CEO of a company (I'm incredibly serious btw).</p>

<p>I'm doing Policy Research right now (it's really my idea of fun).</p>

<p>The school isn't burning me out, it's the "system" in general.</p>

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

12

<p>I believe you - - biotech is a great goal . . . I have relatives in biotech.</p>

<p>If you hit on something or if you have a good story, Wall Street is good to biotech.</p>

13

<p>Stop thinking. Start studying, or at least doing something other than thinking.
Thinking too hard will probably convince you that studying hard isn't worth it. Which it probably isn't. Or worse yet, that life has no purpose whatsoever. In which case you'll end up depressed and buried knee-deep in obscure philosophy. That happened to me sophomore year, in between my "studying" phase and my "nethack" phase. And then you'll be spending your studying time moping on your bed.</p>

<p>If you want to be a stellar student, self-delusion helps. Don't think about your life -- just live from day to day, and try to understand the material that's at your fingertips.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
I believe you - - biotech is a great goal . . . I have relatives in biotech.</p>

<p>If you hit on something or if you have a good story, Wall Street is good to biotech.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Thanks and Lucky you!!! What do you mean Wall Street is good to biotech, like biotech companies perform great on Wall Street. Ya, it's kind of amazing.</p>

<p>fizix2, THAT'S GREAT ADVICE! Thanks, you're right only yesterday I was questioning if god really exists and I got super depressed because we're all irrelevant little creatures created by a series of great accidents. Maybe I should stop thinking too much. That's exactly the mindset I need. Thank you. Have fun at CalTech (I apologize if you detect any sarcasm, I'm sincere)</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
Thanks, you're right only yesterday I was questioning if god really exists and I got super depressed because we're all irrelevant little creatures created by a series of great accidents. Maybe I should stop thinking too much.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>lol - sometimes not thinking too much can hurt you later on - if you think the same thoughts again.</p>

<p>sometimes it's more rewarding to actually come to terms with the fact that you're an useless animal doomed to die. </p>

<p>it's called existentialism. :p</p>

<p>(although in my case I just read books and realized that eh what the hell - I'll do as my biological drives dictate and in my case, it's pursuing my inherent curiosity). Don't do something that will provide you short-term happiness as according to biological drives - do something that will provide you with long-term happiness.</p>

<p>also some thought experiments do alleviate the thought of death. for example, the "eternal comatose" thought experiment. :p Seriously, I'd take an eternal coma.</p>

16

<p>God! Don't get me started with existentialism. It's seems weird you know...the human civilisation has accomplished so much and we humans are greatly from other animals, we have something we call "humanity", some of us help out their fellow humans.</p>

<p>I don't care about death, it's the bigger picture that's scaring me a bit :)</p>

17

<p>Well, if the big picture includes An Inconvenient Truth and the projected death of the sun, why should any of us try? Then again, we don't want to end up in jail for speeding in a Prius, either. </p>

<p>It's all about day to day choices. Reward yourself for doing unpleasant tasks and you'll feel better about what you are accomplishing.</p>

18

<p>hey milki! </p>

<p>I might know you! I too go to a MoCo school that's actually pretty close (in relation - not necessarily location) to yours AND we're in the same grade. </p>

<p>Anyways as for your academic burnout, do anything to get yourself motivated. You could:</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Go volunteer at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital "down the street" if you're in to medicine. Or go talk with some people at NIH/NIST if you're interested in science. Or go build your network by campaigning for someone for the upcoming elections (Go ask David Shou about some good ones) if you're interested in politics (AND if you haven't noticed, Washington DC is a 30-40 minute drive). As for business, you could go find an internship shadowing an executive or start up an ebay business or something. </p>

<p>Study:
Self-explanatory. If I know RM kids (and I do), then most of them will be studying for the SATs/ACTs right now. I even know a couple kids that are studying for the MCAT and LSAT, RIGHT NOW. Yes, RIGHT NOW. (That should motivate you). Competition is always a good motivator. </p>

<p>Go on a college campus visit:
This one motivated me a LOT. Our family went out and visited JHU, Georgetown, Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Yale, MIT and Harvard over the course of spring break and summer. Try to picture yourself there and it should motivate you to start studying. </p>

<p>Go do something, ANYTHING:
Yes, I have run out of things to say. BUT, you could always start up something. An instrument, perhaps? (Ask around for a Blair kid who apparently started saxaphone and got into County honors Jazz Band in one year - not me (kid's initials S.Y.), which should ring some bells). Or just go out and learn a language like us CC nerds. Latin would be nice, especially if you're into bio or the languages.</p>

<p>Bottom Line: You shouldn't think so much about college. Do what you like, and if you pursue it, it will look good on college apps because of the amount of passion you put in it. </p>

<p>3.6 isn't bad. Not many kids this year got 4.0s because of the amount of APs some of the kids take in freshman year. I know tons of kids who don't get 4.0s and go on to Harvard from our county.</p>

19

<p>Stop overanalyzing everything. Just do it.</p>

20

<p>freshman? haha if you can't motivate yourself to study now then you are screwed for later on</p>