<p>Hello! Sorry if this feels like a rant but I have to get it off my chest. I'm currently a high school junior. My unweighted GPA is a 3.87 and my weighted is 4.8(I hope to have a 3.9 UW and 5.0 W by the end of the year) When I entered high school, I wasn't put in very challenging classes because my counselor didn't trust me to do well(she had her reasons but I can't list them online). I still took a few honors classes. In my sophomore year, I took all honors classes. This year I'm taking 3 AP classes and 1 DE and the rest are honors while taking some interesting classes online. However, most people at my school took AP classes since freshman year since they offer over 30 AP classes. Now that they are juniors, they are in the IB program. I think that is not fair they get extra points for being in IB since this is the academy they chose and they don't give people in any other academies the chance to surpass them. Anyways, let me just say that I have been inside these classes and they are nothing out of this world.
This makes me unsure of whether or not I could be in the top 5% next year(this late in the game, I learned they ranked in senior year) Well, I honestly feel there are not many differences between honors and AP, or IB for that matter, but the teachers at my school treat IB kiddies like gods. I think this might be due to the fact that they are usually popular because they are great public speakers but not very studious. I know I sound like an attention seeker but I have always been a good student and now I feel like I won't be able to compete with the others because they knew exactly what to do since the beginning. I honestly feel like school is becoming all about the credits and not about whether you learn or not. Like for example, I want to take two languages(they are regular for beginners) but today I heard regular classes bring down your weighted! I admit that there are some people that deserve their grades but most do not because they flatter the teachers or they are popular, etc. I have a few great ECs but I just feel like I'm not awesome enough, I never win anything like a scholarship or a competition(won only one on regional level) and I wish teachers admired me like they admire others and talk about how great they are because they have high SAT scores, etc. Do you think I could still bring up my weighted to like a 6.5 by senior year and beat them(hehehe)? Any tips? I'm going to take all AP and DE classes next year and I'm hoping to take 3 AP classes during the summer but it's not like my competition is going to stop. I'm not snobbish or anything but I just like feeling that I am being the best I can be(and this involves being better than the rest, however, I do think GPA is rubbish) I'm not very smart but I do take my work seriously. Thank you.</p>
<p>Before you do anything else: take a deep breath. You will be okay. Hundreds of thousands of students would love to be in your position right now. </p>
<p>Teachers: If they’re being biased towards students without reason, pay them no mind and keep doing what you want to do. That’s all you can, just be yourself and do your best. Although teachers are important contacts, if you stick to your guns it’ll pay off in the end, don’t just try and kiss up.</p>
<p>Language: You do NOT need to take a class to learn a language. I’ve found I learn better independently, perhaps you will too; there are TONS of free resources.</p>
<p>I totally know what you mean by treating the IB kids like they’re rockstars. It’s borderline ridiculous. I chose the AP route at my school, which none of the “smart” kids ever do. I have never once regretted it, and none of the IB kids are going to a “better” or more prestgious school than I am.</p>
<p>My advice to you is to do the best you can in your classes, and don’t try to compete with anyone else. I never worried about what other kids were taking or how they were doing, I just did my thing. NEVER feel like you aren’t good enough. EVER. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, nobody else will. I promise you, you can take the AP route at an IB school and do well (at least in admissions, I haven’t gotten any farther than that yet, haha).</p>
<p>This will probably sound a little mean or insensitive, and I would never wish that someone would get rejected from their top choice school, but seeing lots of IB kids get rejected from my school after I was told I would NEVER be able to get in without IB (by the IB coordinator) did make me smile a bit. :)</p>
<p>Paragraphs please…</p>
<p>Hello guys, thanks for the replies!
KoovyG- Thanks, I will follow your advice. I have been trying to learn languages on my own but it is difficult to find good sites, although I do use some like busuu.com and talkirish.com. Also, I have bought books but I’m very impatient(I’m not proud of this and must change) and don’t finish them. I agree with you, I will start to ignore some things and be more disciplined!
UNCCH94- Wow thanks! That’s exactly how I feel! The IB coordinators at my school always talk about how IB kids are more successful than the rest. I went to a college presentation with them and they told the representative that IB is like a requirement to get into top schools to which she laughed at. I think AP classes are better too. I also find it funny that most of them end up going to state schools or community colleges(which I don’t think it’s bad at all). It just bothers me that they make fun of people in ‘‘lower’’ classes or in different financial situations or simply different from them while they pretend to be humanitarian and open-minded. 
Thank you and good luck!
CollectivSynergy- Hello, I was going to do that but I was running out of time so I just split it into two, hehe… :D</p>