If I can do this, anyone can.

Applying to College
1

<p>I've always dreamed big, but came up short. Always saying, "I would do anything to become a doctor." But never coming through.</p>

<p>Freshman year rolls around. I think I'm hot because I was in the advanced classes in middle school. So I enrolled in 4 honors, 2 regulars, to start it off. 2 weeks go by, dropped 3 honors, so I'm left with 1 honors and 5 regulars. Ouch. And to top it off, I couldn't even manage to get As in these classes. Was it because I was not smart? No. It was because my work ethic was a piece of crap. At the end of freshman year, I had a pretty ol' 3.206 weighted GPA. Wow, what a let down from the 3.75+ I had been expecting. </p>

<p>So then sophomore year comes around. I get the big "step it up" speech from the parents. I get excited, thinking that I will do great this year, since I know what I did wrong last year. WRONG. I did just as bad--wait--worse than last year. I ended the first semester with a 3.1 weighted GPA. Every single one of my dreams shot out the window. Looking at college freshman profiles that accept mainly people in the 3.6-3.9 range, I believed I had no chance. </p>

<p>But then, I really started to dig down and figure out how to improve. I took it upon myself to rid myself of distractions. Had my dad change my facebook password so only he could sign me on, tv taken out of the room, computer was downstairs so I couldn't mess around on it in my room, and I made a rule for myself to do my homework before ANYTHING else. </p>

<p>So second semester of sophomore year comes around. I start of hot. Really hot! I mean straight As in my honors class and 5 regulars. But then the middle of the semester came; and somehow I dropped below an A in every class but 2. Ouch. So I dedicated the rest of my sophomore year social life to get my GPA up as high as I possibly could. I turned in missed work for partial credit, did every extra credit opportunity possible, and studied my arse off for everything. Two days before finals rolled around, I had 4 As and 2 Bs, that were mathematically impossible to raise to an A, regardless of the amount of extra work I did. To shorten this part, I killed the finals and ended sophomore year second semester with a 3.75</p>

<p>Junior year comes now. The most important year of all. I knew what I had to do, and how to do it. I knew how hard I needed to work, considering that now I was actually in 2 APs, an honors, and three other moderately difficult classes. I capitalized on this work ethic all year, all the time. Never dropping below a 92% in any class. I really had more time than ever for a social life as well. By getting rid of the procrastinating side of me, I got my work done more efficiently and done better, since I had no distractions. I ended Junior year with a 4.416. Now, DAMN! From a 3.2, to a 3.4, to a 4.416!? Hell of an increase! </p>

<p>With Junior year finished as great as it was, I also scored a 32 on the ACT. </p>

<p>Senior year comes by. Listening to my friends talk about which blow offs they're taking, I felt like a loser loading up on classes like AP Stat, AP Econ, AP Gov, and others. To say the least, these were actually easier than I expected, getting As in all my classes, and 5s on the AP tests. Ended first semester of senior year with a solid 4.5.</p>

<p>So 3.2 + 3.4 + 4.416 + 4.5 = 3.879. Not too shabby, eh?</p>

<p>I ended my record with a 3.88 GPA, 32 ACT, and a lot of volunteer work. </p>

<p>I applied to my previous dream colleges: UMichigan, USC, Boston University, UIllinois, UWisconsin-Madison, and NYU. </p>

<p>Got into every, single, school. Not one rejection letter came into my mailbox. </p>

<p>Coming from the biggest slacker I know, ME, if you don't think you have what it takes, think again. It'll take a while for your new work ethic to settle in, but once it does, make sure to keep it going. </p>

<p>Here's the quote I have sitting in front of my desk, so any time I look up, I have to read it</p>

<p>"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit" Aristotle</p>

2

<p>GREAT STORY!!! Definitely going to show my friends!</p>

<p>You worked hard, and it paid off! Congratulations! :)</p>

3

<p>haha, just noticed I forgot to add in the /4 part in my GPA calculation. Whatever though, common sense should kick in around there.</p>

4

<p>Similar situation here.</p>

<p>Freshman year I was pure laziness; got like 2.67 and then a 2.58. lol. Obviously I took no honors. Sophomore year I started to work harder. I got 3.67 and 4.0, but I didn’t take an honors class. Junior (this) year I took 1 AP and 2 honors, and self-studied/took outside classes for 9 other APs. I managed to maintain all As, getting a 4.416 and also 2100 on SAT. I’m expecting a 4.416 again this semester, with the worst situation of getting 1 B (4.29). Next year I’m expecting 4.86 or 4.83.</p>

<p>It’s nice to know there are other people out there who made such improvements.</p>

5

<p>Yeah, the fact that I had such a large improvement is definitely one of the reasons I got into the schools I did. Proving to them that you have matured and have developed a proper and successful work ethic is something that they really look for. What better way to demonstrate that than by having a major upward grade trend.</p>

6

<p>Dude. I think I am the past version of you lol.</p>

<p>I had a 3.6 GPA in both semesters of my freshman year, and when sophomore year came by, I got by with a 3.8 GPA weighted the first semester. Not too bad, eh? But the second semester (which I am in right now) of my sophomore I messed up, and I ended up with a 3.0 GPA weighted. </p>

<p>So right now my freshman year average is a 3.6 and my sophomore year average is a 3.4. </p>

<p>I am really going to step it up and rid myself of distractions. During my junior year, I am also taking 2 AP classes and 1 honors class (just like you lol). Could it be…? Nah, haha. I don’t wanna be a doctor.</p>

<p>I am bookmarking this thread. GREAT motivation!</p>

7

<p>Nice story. I’m the same way. I’ve always qualified for every honors class at my high school (you can’t really take many APs until senior year, so I haven’t yet), but I never get very good grades in them. My GPA was a 3.62 at the end of sophomore year, and I got straight A’s the first two trimesters this year (4.1 GPA both trimesters), leading me to a 3.74 cumulative GPA, but I have fallen into bad habits this tri and will get either a 3.0 or 3.1, bringing my cumulative GPA down to a 3.66. I suppose that’s not an awful GPA, but I got a D in a class third trimester of junior year, and I’m really worried that it’s going to be a serious negative on all of my applications. I’m hoping my resum</p>

8

<p>You’re very inspiring! :slight_smile: I’ll lead a few people I know to this thread because they’re really just down in the dumps because of their GPA.</p>

9

<p>How’d you do it? I’ve got some work ethic issues I would really like to fix for college next semester. I just can’t will myself to get up and do the work, partially because I absolutely dread the dullness of doing some of the longer assignments you get in high school. Any tips?</p>

10

<p>This is why lots of schools (like Stanford for example) don’t include freshman year in the GPA calculation, and others discount it. They know that kids mature tremendously between their first and last year of high school.</p>

<p>That alone is reason not to give up if you had a bad freshman year.</p>

11

<p>Its good you had that change in GPA in your soph year. I don’t think colleges would have been so forgiving if you had it in your junior year or (even worse, like me :frowning: ) in your senior year.</p>

12

<p>Congratulations to the OP on his spectacular turnaround and multiple acceptances.</p>

<p>But, I don’t understand how your GPA was calculated. You mixed three full-year GPAs with a semester GPA and divided by four? Shouldn’t you add up each semester and divide by seven? Unless your second semester senior year was also a 4.5, I’m confused how you were able to pull it all the way up to a 3.88.</p>

13

<p>****ing awesome</p>

14

<p>I love this story. I especially love the concrete changes you made to help you use your time better…TV out of the bedroom, computer in a family space, selective access to social websites. You are a great example of what hard work and clear thinking can do.</p>

15

<p>Sorry to be a show-off/thread hijacker, but something similar happened to me. </p>

<p>I was a wreck at the beginning of high school. I had a developmental disability and several psychiatric conditions for which I received no services, no medication, and little compassion. I was also fresh off a long stint of homeschooling, so I didn’t know how to cope with the rhythm of classes and homework. In the spring semester of my sophomore year, I failed two classes: AP Euro and regular geometry. Distressed over my loneliness (I was bullied, too) and the demise of my identity as a gifted child, as well as my college dreams, I slit my wrists. </p>

<p>Suicide attempts are NEVER advisable, but mine did get me the help I needed. With medication and services (plus some serious effort) I could focus on my schoolwork and pull my grades up to As and Bs. I took credit recovery for geometry and the F was removed from my transcript. By the end of high school, I had a 3.3 GPA and some great ECs to my name. </p>

<p>I applied to ten colleges and got into half. Sure, Beloit isn’t Harvard, but it’s an excellent school, and an acceptance there is an accomplishment for someone with my history. I will be attending Agnes Scott College (which was my reach school) in the fall of 2010. </p>

<p>The lesson: ask for help if you need it. I was too proud of my own “giftedness” to recognize that I needed help, and it literally almost killed me. Even those of us without extraordinary circumstances cannot be entirely self-sufficient.</p>

16

<p>You are lucky to have your parents pushing you. You are also lucky to have had your head inflated that you would get a high GPA for really no good reason. You actually had a dream (to be a doctor) Basically, you are lucky that there were some forces acting upon you which cared. That is more than what some people can say they had.</p>

<p>I went through a turn around in the middle of high school (it wasn’t that simple as drastic life changes occurred at this point for me, but there is no need to get into detail here) but my better work ethic meant actually going to class this time instead of leaving school, and,hey why not, listening a bit. At this point I actually gave about ten minutes per subject instead of just showing up minimally as I did prior. I too was in advanced programs in Middle School and before I moved to NYC I was in gifted programs (moving into NYC in 7th grade means you get what is available and not the snazzy programs…) but I did not do well in Middle School for the same reasons as I didn’t earlier in HS. My HS transcript ranges from 45s (code for cut) and 55s (wow- you fail) and 99s! I was expecting to go to a Community College however my SATs were the same as what the students who were in honors in my school received and thus saved me. I was rejected by MANY colleges but accepted to just a few, too: Hampshire which was my dream school at that time (I applied again as a transfer and was rejected again; this is likely due to my EFC of zero), Lesley (rejected), Fitchburg State (rejected), U of Hartford (accepted), Antioch (rejected) and Marlboro (rejected for freshmen but accepted for transfer, should have went there!). I basically applied to schools around the Northeast that had FILM programs…which I abandoned during my freshman year of college anyway haha. What I ended up doing was traversing the CUNY and SUNY systems and I have found myself happy with things not being cemented.</p>

<p>It doesn’t really matter at this point. I’m in my 4th year of college and have quickly realized that grades and all that glitz mean very little in terms of intellectual curiosity. In the beginning of college I was an A-grabber but that style sucks. I’ve stopped comparing myself to those who I believe had more luck and had it easier. It is up to us to do what we do with the things we are given…I say that now, but it has not been so easy in the act. Now I am happily looking towards things which truly make me happy while combining that with looking passed my own desires for the sake of helping a greater scale of people who just need a little bit of guidance.</p>

<p>In the end we are the ones who make decisions, we do not have anyone else to blame.
Also, I find it a tad weak-willed of you to have your father keep your facebook password. Is this not equivalent to those child leashes?? You should try to control your impulses because your father will not be able to watch over everything you do. And I do believe it is better to harness your own impulses then having someone else check them- this is how we humans learn.</p>

17

<p>It’s nice to hear the OP’s story and to also read of others who have found ways of turning their lives around. Kudos to you all.</p>

18

<p>Yes, congrats to the Op, but I especially want to applaud Miss Pickwickian for what she had to overcome.</p>

19

<p>That’s kind of how it went for me. Except that I started off worse than you did (2.6 weighted GPA). I’ve managed to bring it up to a 3.8, which will hopefully be a 3.9 or 4.0 when these final grades go in.</p>

20

<p>Where are you going to school at?</p>

<p>It feels good when you work hard.</p>