I think I'm screwed

<p>I feel like such a failure.
So the last year (freshman year) I did sooooo bad in school.I was the only freshman in algebra 2 and i failed it >.> That teacher didnt know how to teach and when I asked the counselor to change, she said "It doesn't matter if you don't learn from that teacher, you cannot change classes." (quoted!)So my gpa first semester:(out of 4.0) 3.5 and second semester: 2.5 (lowest I have EVER gotten and lowest I ever plan to get)this year I am retaking algebra 2 and I got a 3.8 last semester (all A's except a B in chemistry) THis semester I plan to get the same gpa: 3.8. Anyway, I have no community service hours, and no summer programs planned.Well, maybe I'll get into Oasis For Girls if that helps at all.I am however planning to volunteer like crazy over the summer.I just really need a good college enrichment program which I cannot seem to find!So my questions:</p>

<p>1-With this info...what colleges do you think I should aim for? (In California and I'm interested in STEM so I'm going towards engineering)
2-Do you know any college enrichment classes by any chance? (looked everywhere, asked everyone, created threads and still nothing)
3-Is there still time you think, to turn my situation around?
4-How else can I get involved or what should I do?
5-I feel like such a failure and I feel like I've set myself up to such.Any other advice?
6- I NEED HELP!!! I am so lost and I feel like a loser!
Thanks alot and have a good day! :)</p>

<p>woah haha that was a lot to take in. i can say from experience that having a lower frosh year GPA isnt a death sentence. i got a 3.4 my freshy year and pulled up my cumulative to a 3.89 by the end. study hard for the SATs and you will be fine</p>

<p>Here’s some good news: for the UCs, your freshman grades don’t count.
It sounds like the academic advising at your school is not very helpful. You may want to make sure that your course plan for the next two years meets the UC requirements. The UC admissions website is very helpful, and you can use it to check the class list at your HS.
There are many STEM summer programs, although at this point in May, you may find most to be filled. Two places to start in looking for summer programs: Hoagies and cogito.</p>

<p>Most schools don’t look at frosh year grades so you’ll be fine there. </p>

<p>But I do want to point out that life offered you a chance to learn a lesson that you seem to have missed. In a better world everyone gets a fair shake. In school they have good teachers, later in their working life they have capable bosses and coworkers. But as you have seen, life isn’t always fair. The lesson is that you can take responsibility for getting things done instead of expecting life to serve up the means to do so.</p>

<p>I know someone that went to a lower-middle-class junior high back in the day. They cancelled Algebra II because not enough kids signed up for it. So he arranged with the teacher to do the class on his own; he signed up for a period with that teacher and sat in the back working thru the chapters the class would have covered. When kids were working on math problems in class he had a chance to talk with the teacher. You could have taught yourself from the book just like that, plus you have friends in the class taught by the better teacher who you could ask for help on concepts that had you stuck. And these days with the internet you can find entire algebra classes on iTunesU, websites with lots of info, forums where you can ask questions, etc.</p>

<p>Is it fair that you got stuck with a bad teacher? No. But rather than subscribing to the belief that you can only learn if you get a good teacher, you could have taken on your shoulders the challenge of teaching it to yourself. Most of us never use algebra outside of a math class, and odds are you won’t either. But you had the chance to take away something more important, the belief that you have the drive and strength to get things done even if the path isn’t easy. And that’s a belief that will serve you well in college and the years to come.</p>