<p>Ok, so I've always been one of the "smarter" kids...always in the advanced classes, always in the gifted programs, etc...blah blah..but now that I'm in high school (a junior) I've realized that doesn't mean anything...am i still smart? I don't even know how to define 'smart' anymore. I don't know if I'm going to get into any of the "good colleges". I got a 3.3, and a 3.5 freshman year (with a C in honors geometry). I got a 3.5 and a 3.8 last year, and this year, I got a 3.8 first semester. Should I stop wishing for Berkeley? any other kids in my boat? i feeel so dumb.</p>
<p>You can still hope for Berkeley. Stop being so hard on yourself, and certainly stop comparing yourself to the CC'ers. Are you doing the best you can? Then there. It is what it is. Do well on the SATs, have fun doing ECs and enjoy your time in high school.</p>
<p>Same here...I felt a lot smarter when I was in elementary and middle school. I was one of the top 3 students in my class. I had such pride and confidence in my academic classes. Now that I'm a junior and seeing myself in the midst of a wide range of even smarter and seemingly well accomplished kids, I feel like I'm not as great as before, certainly a lot worse. I'm no longer great at math, as I used to think I was (with other kids asking me for help). My grades are now around 87-89 range and despite the fact that I'm taking two honors and AP classes, I feel like I wouldn't be able to get into a great college. What really hits me for the past two years and a half is the forceful acceptance of the fact that no matter how hard I try sometimes, I can't always get what I want. I've tried the best I could on some classes. I studied so hard and long but I couldn't get the grades I wanted. I've come to accept that I'm just not good at those subjects and that I'm not really as smart as I used to think I was.
Depressing? Not really, I find my highschool years a little too bitter.</p>
<p>same here. until i got into highschool & talked to my friends at other schools.</p>
<p>CC also changed my view, haha. does CC reflect how most students applying to schools like berkeley are? or is it just CC that has the top students? :(</p>
<p>EXACTLY, dragonreborn....I have no idea what to do. Plus, I forgot to mention, that last semester, i got a C in us history ap....so now, i have TWO C's so far on my report card for high school (one in freshman year, and one now...).</p>
<p>I WANT berkeley so bad.</p>
<p>The purpose of CC is to make you feel worthless :(</p>
<p>I thought I was decently smart in the context of my high school (not so much elementary and middle), but then I come here and it is... woah...</p>
<p>Berkeley will not look at your C as a freshman and even if they did your chances would not be ruined at all. Yeah, I totally get what you are saying about feeling less intelligent as school progresses. I'm assuming we will feel even LESS smart as we go to good colleges.</p>
<p>About the smart thing-I used to think I was some sort of hyper genius and hated people I thought were smarter than me. But really who cares. What does smart mean? There is no way to quantify intelligence. I can't say I'm 100 points smarter than sigurros but Serendipity is 1000 points smarter than me. The way the mind works is not completely understood. There are different kinds of mental functions, different kinds of thought processes. The old saying that there is "street smart" and "book smart" is true to an extent, there are different kinds of brain functions different people are better at.
So what does it matter</p>
<p>Me too!</p>
<p>All through elementary school, I was in really accelerated programs and at the top of my class. I'm sure anyone who knew me then figured I'd go to Harvard or Yale.</p>
<p>Then...we moved and I started going to a really sucky middle school. Basically, I didn't do any work at all (and still got As) and delt with a lot of personal stuff. I fell really far behind in math and such.</p>
<p>Then...I went to a really prestigious high school, and was so unused to working that I got two C's freshman year. Now, I'm getting almost all A's, but my GPA is still screwed up from that. I'm most likely not looking at any Ivies.</p>
<p>CC hasn't made me feel to stupid because my school is basically full of CC type people, so I'm used to it.</p>
<p>Ohhh well. At least I'm still happy.</p>
<p>CCers aren't normal. </p>
<p>A 3.5? 3.8? ohno. Go ahead and buy the used Volvo.</p>
<p>i hope that's sarcasm...</p>
<p>:) please?</p>
<p>volvos are good cars :) lol</p>
<p>Sarcasm... Whoooosh over your head.</p>
<p>All the "smart" kids knew that your academic performance in elementary and middle school plays no role in the college admissions process.</p>
<p>how you do in middle school tells a lot about how you will do in high school...you don't usually see slackers in middle school automatically turn into straight A students in high school. performance in elementary and middle school obviously has no effect on college admissions, but how you do during those years is a foreshadow to how you do in high school. or else K-8 wouldn't exist.</p>
<p>I don't know...I pretty much haven't changed how I feel about how smart I am-though there are times when I'm like, CAN I DO THIS?!??! I'm such a retard! But I try to pull it out/work through. I can only do my best-there will always be people taking ap calc in like 3rd grade...I can only do what I can do.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a lot of people in my classes seem to think they are total brainiacs. They really should see CC. "Well, I'm in Math 3, which is an accelerated honors program for extremely gifted students of the highschool variety". When, in reality, they're only one year above in a regular, college-prep course. So yeah.</p>
<p>Calculus in the 3rd Grade? :p</p>
<p>Now if it's the 6th or 7th grade then you're talking. :)</p>
<p>I disagree drsarah. I was a slaxx0r to the maxx0r in middle school with a B, C average. I transferred to a new school for 9th grade, and for some reason they gave me honors classes (whereas I would've been regular at my old school). I seized this new opportunity, and actually put effort into my schoolwork. If you had told me when I was in 8th grade that I would be accepted to Cornell University, I would not have believed you. Many people in the top ten at my school haven't gotten less than an A on their report cards since 5th grade, whereas I got Bs and Cs in 8th grade. I guess some people mature faster than others.</p>
<p>same story... damn you valedvictorians ....</p>
<p>Im glad I slacked. If I had cared about school all my life, I would've burned out a long time ago</p>