In my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I did really well. I ended up with a 4.92/5. This wasn’t extremely hard for me as I was always a studious person who tried to do their absolute best in school. I did have some bad studying habits with procrastination which prevented me from getting a 5.0 but I still did okay. I expected junior year to be as simple as my academic life previously was. It wasn’t. It was so damn difficult and when I didn’t get the results I wanted I completely shut down. I was “done” in EVERY sense of the word. Everybody around me was confused because I was the girl who everyone assumed would go to an Ivy League school (which was a possibility before I ruined it). That’s not even a remote possibility for me anymore. I have Fs in all my classes except one (a class I dropped down to a lower level because I was failing the higher one). I didn’t study, do homework, and work on projects and essays and I still have several essays and labs that I’m yet to turn in. I did this for several months till now, where I’m at a point I don’t even know I could come back from. I had done this for so long because I held the mentality that if I couldn’t be at the top then I’d be at the bottom, there was no in between for me. I assumed I would just not go to college or even graduate high school due to the massive hole I’d dug myself. My chances of going to a good college are slim to none at this point. The mistake that I made was having a fixed mindset and not forcing myself to do what I needed to do academically. Knowing this, I plan on doing my absolute best in my senior year. I won’t expect automatic success and subsequently fall down the hole I did this year because I want to salvage whatever I can and try to go to a good school. I also haven’t set my expectations unrealistically high for college acceptances. I’ve come to accept my decisions and their consequences, and I will not make the mistake of letting them consume me once again (as they did SEVERAL times before) even though it seems like it’s too late. I will try. I’m just glad this happened in my junior year of high school in lieu of my junior year in college because looking back, a break like this was bound to happen to someone like me. I’ve certainly learned my lesson.
I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions or opinions for me when it comes to college acceptances because I still want to apply to competitive schools (not that I’m expecting to get in), but I don’t really know what to expect at this point.
I think you need to stop beating yourself up and start becoming emotionally zen like - it is what it is, what will be will be. It will all be ok.
You likely have some mental illness that it keeping you from doing your work. If your parents are rational, have them get you a psychiatrist evaluation for potential drug intervention, and a psychologist for talk therapy. You will get a diagnosis, and have your parents take that to your guidance office to ask for accommodations such as turning work in late, etc. It may or may not be too late to make up all of the work you’ve missed.
If you fail all of your classes junior year, then you will not make any progress toward your high school graduation requirements, and will likely have another junior year. This is fine, those grades will likely replace your current junior grades, and as far as the colleges are concerned, you had a medical condition your first junior year that caused you to repeat the year. The details are private.
Once you have a record in the latter part of your “real” junior year, then you can work with your GC or come on here, and find a suitable set of colleges.
Are you still in your junior year? Have you talked to a psychologist at school? This sounds like depression.
You need to get your depression treated. Also, the school may be willing to void your Junior year. This might mean that you would need to redo it, but one year really isn’t a big deal at all in the grand scheme of a lifetime.
A lot of very smart people have dealt with depression. Many very famous people with great accomplishments have suffered from depression. It is something that the medical profession has gotten a lot better at treating over time. You do however have to talk to the medical professionals (psychologist or psychiatrist) and start getting help. After appropriate treatment I have seen students come back from debilitating depression and do very well.
I agree - it sounds like there’s a mental health or behavioral issue involved. Not saying that it’s a cause in your case, but ADHD can often cause some of these symptoms and it can also lead to depression, so you should have yourself evaluated medically and probably seek out some therapy to help you sort out these issues.
It’s definitely not the end of the world. Just focus on you and the rest will come.
This sounds like me. I was in your shoes. A 4.0 freshman and sophomore year, then junior year major depression hit and I got all C- grades. My 4.0 dropped to below a 3.0, and I was devastated. I didn’t turn in a majority of my work, the C- was begging because I didn’t want to fail. . Your post was hard to read because it was so similar.
Now here’s what you need to do. You need to look at the advice on this thread, it’s really good. Don’t make my mistakes and continue settling for unhappiness. I went to a school that I hated just to go and be done. I put zero thought into college or what was right for me. Reaching out is very important. You are not alone and you will get through this. We’re here to support you.
Seems like you hit depression junior year. I would suggest that you see a psychologist or psychiatrist ASAP.
If you are diagnosed with depression, your GC can mention that as a reason for the junior grades.
Or, talk to your GC…do you need to repeat Junior year? Can you take summer courses to make up the work?
Set yourself up for success for senior year. Challenge yourself a bit (not all college prep classes) but not too much (not all APs).
There are 3000 colleges in the USA>…you will find one that will admit you. You have the ability to shine and will do so !
You have been given excellent advice! Once you get yourself back on track, I want to try to convince you to stop categorizing colleges as “good” school or “bad” school. Forget about all the rankings. Forget about prestige and what other people will think of you. A great education and a great future can be launched from many different types of schools. This board is full of stories of students who accomplished amazing things from lower ranked schools. And I’m not talking about NYU instead of Harvard. I’m talking about really lower ranked colleges or colleges that aren’t even ranked at all.
When you are ready, look for schools where you will be comfortable, where you won’t always feel like you can’t keep up because every student around you is the smartest person you’ve ever met. This probably sounds unconvincing, but being unable to shoot for Ivy league schools might end up being a huge blessing for you. Read the threads here about students with perfect stats and grades being shut out. You don’t need that kind of stress. When all of your friends are going crazy reaching for schools that no one gets into, you will be having a lovely time visiting schools that fit you. I don’t know what your interests are, but don’t underestimate the benefit of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. I know this is true because my D1 is having a marvelous and successful time attending her safety school. It is NOT high ranked, but she has already had an internship (as a sophomore) and has made excellent connections with professionals in her field.