<p>If you could go back to 8th grade (when you probably thought college was far, far away) what would you do differently in terms of work and studying? Do you think you could have changed your college path if you had started preparing then?</p>
<p>Of course, if i knew back then what I knew now then I would have probably not messed up my grades and tried a lot harder in school. I’m a potential 3.7-3.8 IB student that didn’t try and slacked off freshman/sophomore year and am at a 3.35 applying to colleges. It’s the only thing stopping me from getting into some of the schools i really wanted to go to.</p>
<p>I didn’t get as involved as I should have.
Mostly, I was screwed over by a benchmark test that determined where we would be placed in math back in 5th grade.
I didn’t care that much about school in 5th grade; all I did was play Pokemon. If I had studied for that test like my classmates had, I wouldn’t have had to double up to compensate for being behind on mathematics in comparison to everyone else. That’s probably my biggest regret.</p>
<p>Gotten my act together. Turn the B+s to A-s. But most of all
</p>
<p>Edit: Good point made on the post below me… Also Idk if I could bare going through all of HS again</p>
<p>I don’t think I would go back- there are things I wish I had done better, but it has all made me who I am, and I am satisfied with where I currently am. All we can do is move forward.</p>
<p>Academically, taken Spanish freshman year which would have given me more time for Spanish II, I was unaware at the time that many of the colleges I’m applying too want foreign language classes, and as I hated Spanish and was unaware, I took computers instead and was playing catch up since junior year XD lol.</p>
<p>I also wish I would have been a bit more proactive in my search for college programs, scholarships, etc… and that I hadn’t blown of Telluride and that I had finished the application :/</p>
<p>On another note, I wish I would have gone to the doctor for my social anxiety and started taking meds for it earlier, so that I wouldn’t be so socially behind now and wouldn’t be freaking out so much about how I’m going to handle 4 years away from home with no friends or support group and being constantly surrounded by people and handling a roomate (my previous experiences with roomates in a college like seating over a summer program were awefull 
lol)</p>
<p>I regret messing around Freshman year and not doing anything mildly productive until the end of Sophomore year.</p>
<p>So many things:</p>
<p>-joined more clubs
-started a sport
-continued taking a language out of school (I stopped in 8th grade)
-actually studied (I never studied until first semester this year. EVER.)</p>
<p>Ughhhh so much!</p>
<p>Ah, sports, I forgot about that one :/. Definitely should have joined one of those lol</p>
<p>^ ditto. Freshman year went all wrong. Wish I could go back every time I think about it</p>
<p>I swim in private clubs outside of school so joining swim was kind of a given for me.
There is so much I wish I had done before.
I went to Chinese school for 3 years when I was younger and didn’t learn a thing; all I wanted to do was sit in the back of the class and draw Pokemon.
Same with piano lessons. Now both of those are things that I am desperately trying to learn now.</p>
<p>Well for one, I would definitely put more effort into classes my freshman and sophomore years, so then my grades were secure enough so I wouldn’t have to always check my “chances” on CC. LOL! Joining more clubs? Sports? Probably not… If I were interested in the same colleges as I am now, ec’s still wouldn’t even matter.</p>
<p>Wouldve taken school more seriously and gotten Valedictorian instead of eighth. Easily couldve had the top spot had I tried. I wouldve stuck through and given everything my whole effort something I was too timid to do as a freshman.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would go back because then I would have to go through high school again. 
But all jokes aside I would definitely get involved during freshman and sophomore years.</p>
<p>8th grade lol, who comes up with this stuff…but since im bored here goes:</p>
<p>I would spend less time studying (shocker on cc, but honestly guys you’re only 12), more time playing basketball and piano (things I love, but which gradually took a backseat to academics/research), and just relaxing more.</p>
<p>For ethos, i got into MIT, Caltech, RSI, USAJMO, ISEF3x (yes, I know that makes no grouping sense), but in 8th grade all I needed to do was get As on Math, Science, and English…simple times</p>
<p>Joined, and taken leadership positions at, a club or two.</p>
<p>And actually taking the SAT/ACT; I wrote a story about a couple of aliens (since the story is set on another planet) studying for a test that resembled in almost every respect to the ACT, which is referred to as Form II in that book; the Form II, in that book, is an essay-free ACT. </p>
<p>And I’m currently writing another story about preparing for a SAT-like test, referred to as Form I in that other book; basically, the Form I is a SAT without the essay but which increases the number of writing questions to compensate.</p>