<p>Hi guys. School just ended a few weeks ago, and I have just finished my sophomore year (its going by so fast..). And I find myself at somewhat of a crossroads. I know this is a decently long post, but any help will be greatly appreciated. First off, let me give you some background information, I play three sports at a predominantly sports oriented high school, but also is highly regarded as a tough high school curriculum wise (possibly because sports take up so much time). My freshmen year, I transitioned pretty well I thought, besides my math class. In elementary school I received all A+ and my teachers would set me aside with a few other students to learn lessons ahead, and other math topics. Freshmen year however, in Honors Geometry, I unfortunately had a poor teacher and saw my math grade drop, and finished with a B- for the class (I know..pretty bad). However, other three sport athletes had trouble with this class as well because it required an hour and a half or two hours of homework a night, which is time we just did not have, that other non sport students did. My GPA freshmen year was 3.85, and I finished with an A+ in Honors Biology. Sophomore year, I took Honors Algebra 2, and Honors Chem (Ap not offered yet). In Honors Algebra 2, its regarded as the hardest math class offered in my high school due to the teacher, and the fact that our Honors Precalc, and Calc BC teacher is awesome. I encountered much of the same as my freshmen year with time restraints, but I was more determined this year and got a B+ in math, and A in Honors Chem (regarded as 3rd hardest science class in my school). The first three marking periods I did relatively well, but could not reach my full potential with sports being involved. But during the 4th marking period, I had no sports after school for the first time in my life for a full marking period, and not just a week or two between sports. In this marking period, I got an A+ in chem and math, when I actually had time to study and practice the problems. For the final exams for these classes, I was one of two kids to get an A+ on the math final, and one of five to get a A+ on my chemistry final. So my ultimate question is, although I have the aptitude to more than excel in these classes, I don't always have the time, and with college admissions looming overhead, I am struggling with how i can present myself as a capable engineering student, who did not have the time other students had to study, but once I did, I did very, very well. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, I am just searching for some guidance as I am feeling rather discouraged and disappointed with my performance in high school thus far. Thank you.</p>
<p>Should I just really focus on ACT and SAT 2’? How will that look to colleges if I score well on those?</p>
<p>Maybe you could try studying for the math and science coarses you’ll take the next year over the summer. That may alleviate some time during the school year. </p>
<p>“I am feeling rather discouraged and disappointed with my performance in high school thus far.”</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong…but you received 2 B’s freshman year, and 1 B sophomore year? You should not feel discouraged by this. </p>
<p>“Should I just really focus on ACT and SAT 2’? How will that look to colleges if I score well on those?”</p>
<p>You should focus on both academics and tests. Good test scores will look great, but they will not make up for poor grades if you choose to primarily focus on test scores.</p>
<p>Ok, thank you guys for the replies. I will try to work on those courses over the summer, as I have just ordered PreCalc Demystified by McGraw Hill.</p>
<p>And yes that is correct, my frosh year I got a B- in math and B+ Spanish, and only a B in math soph year, but it was a B+.</p>
<p>But thanks once again for the replies, it is much appreciated.</p>
<p>Don’t over due athletics to the detriment of grades. Grades on challenging courses in the Jr. Yr is critical.</p>
<p>1) blaming the Honors Geometry teacher is a sign of immaturity. At least be smart enough not to try to “explain” the grade that way in any essay or interview. </p>
<p>2) nobody in the world knows or cares that your Honors Algebra 2 is the hardest in the school. Do you know how many HS’s there are in the country? Do you think adcoms try to learn the pecking order in each department in each school?</p>
<p>3) colleges are about, believe it or not, education. So they look to see how you’ve performed in school so far. You have a choice to make unless you think you play at a level that will get you recruited for college athletics. You can pour your time into having fun playing HS sports, even thought ECs are a factor taken into account only at a small percentage of colleges and even then only to decide between students that already have strong scores and grades. Or you can devote yourself to doing well in HS in order to show your potential to the colleges, taking part in HS sports as time allows. </p>
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Good luck with that. Ask any adcom about the tradeoff you have freely chosen. The reply always is that if your outside comittments are getting in the way of your education then you need to cut back on those outside activities if you care to be considered for admission to their school. </p>
<p>I don’t view your post so harshly. </p>
<p>Not everybody can play 3 sports at a high level. Someday you won’t be able to play them anymore. I can’t and I wish I could. </p>
<p>The goal in life is not to get into competitive colleges. </p>
<p>Your life is long. You have some difficult decisions to make. It’s your life and there is no right answer other than the one you choose. </p>
<p>You’ve demonstrated to yourself that you can ace your math classes if you spend enough time on them. If you want to be an engineer, you need to ace the math classes because it’s all cumulative… Maybe backoff a little on some of the other classes. </p>
<p>The other thing is that you need to learn the math whether the teacher is good or bad. You need to learn how to teach yourself the material. You’ve demonstrated that you’re capable of learning it, demonstrate that you’re capable of learning it with a bad teacher. </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck to you. I don’t know what the right answer is. </p>
<p>CRD, I endorse your sentiments. And yet I’d say I probably wasn’t blunt enough. The OP just finished 10th grade and is just a kid. Should we expect seasoned adult judgement? No. And yet I believe its still worth pointing out the OP has choices about attitudes and actions, and in showing where his current ones are leading.</p>
<p>Having fun in HS, making friends on the team and enjoying the competition, who can say that isn’t a cool thing? But there’s more to it than just that. The OP says he wants to be an engineer, seemingly thinking “I’ve got talent and when the day comes I’ll turn it on”. Maybe, but I’d bet not. As books such as “Predictably Irrational” point out we can be quite rational about goals in the future (lose weight, find a better job, remodel the kitchen) and yet when making those decisions we ignore the distractions and pulls we will face when the time finally comes to act.</p>
<p>Maybe we should tell the OP how many fun and distracting things he’ll have available in college, but he’ll find out in time. The point being that his actions now may be a fair barometer of how he’ll act then. Turns out that except at a handful of colleges, between 1/2 and 2/3 of all entering engineers leave the major. Its so selective to get in that just about all of them <em>could</em> have made it thru; they had the potential, just like our OP feels he does. For some they find out it isn’t the right fit, but I think many just can’t make themselves do the 40+ hours of study week after week when they see friends in other majors having a lot more fun. Adcoms have an interest in identifying those kids if they can before they make admission decisions.</p>
<p>As a 16-year-old kid its worth pointing out that the OP has choices. Worth pointing out, especially, because the OP seems so <em>insistent</em> on denying that he <em>is</em> making choices. As you point out, he could have owned the responsibility to learn the math but chose not to. And listen to this: “I am struggling with how i can present myself as a capable engineering student, who did not have the time other students had to study.” Does he even recognize that spending all that time on sports was his choice?</p>
<p>So that’s why I think adcoms are going to care about his record. It really <em>does</em> give insight into the kind of student they will get. Is it harsh to say that? I don’t think so, especially since there are still 2 years ahead of the OP where he could choose to act differently and build not just a strong record but one that shows improvement.</p>
<p>Mikemac, I understand what you are saying, but your premise is that what adcom’s think really matters. </p>
<p>I suspect that the OP will do well enough on his standardized tests to get into a decent engineering program. The math will be his livelihood, so I recommend focusing on that more than any other subject. </p>
<p>If I could turn back the clock 35 years, if I was born with the athletic gifts of the OP, would I have given up MIT to play serious football, hockey and baseball but ended up at Stony Brook, Buffalo, or City College ? It’s hard to say. I had to settle for touch football from stop-sign to stop-sign, D-league ice hockey, where scoring the one goal of my life off of a rebound in front of the goalie is a memory I cherish to this day, and I play softball, not baseball because when I tried out in HS as an infielder, they made me play shortstop, but my arm was that of a second baseman, and I was cut before I got to hit. </p>
<p>For me, math was my gift. It was the one thing that I could excel at a really high level and it gave me great satisfaction to pursue my career the way I did. I would not be so quick to judge a kid with other gifts for making the choices he makes. Also, it’s not obvious to an 11th grader that you can and should learn math on your own if you have to because his whole life he’s been taught. I don’t think it’s a question of character, I think it’s a question of understanding what one has to do. I think that he’s asking the right questions. </p>
<p>I actually think you are both right. OP has an athletic gift that has a time limit on it, but he’s also got to realize that it comes with a cost, and that is a less than ideal academic output. There are trade-offs in life, finding a balance is part of growing up. He’s probably got the gift to do engineering, but without dialing back on the sports, he may be headed to Stony Brook and not MIT - that is a choice, it may be worth it, it may not, but the two may be mutually exclusive. MIT might be overrated or maybe sports will get him in? Again, we don’t know, but the one thing he shouldn’t do is blame his teachers for his choices. They are not there to pour knowledge in any more than a coach is there to pour talent in. I doubt the OP goes around blaming his coaches for his on-field failures, he shouldn’t do it to his teachers either.</p>
<p>Thank you guys for your responses. I did not mean to come across as a complainer about my teachers, but I definitely head where you guys are coming from. The balance between sports and school has been tough for me as I have gotten older with the sports becoming more intensive, and requiring more time. </p>
<p>My kid had a rookie Geometry teacher who gave a test from one on of those test generators the textbook companies provide and didn’t even look at the test first to make sure she had covered the material. The whole class failed because the test went beyond what they had covered. The next class period, she taught stuff that was on the test. No amount of complaining to the teacher or the department head had any effect and no kid’s grade was changed. She had taught the material to her other 4 sections, but there was an all school event that pushed my daughters section back a day. My mild mannered wife called to discuss it and the 22 yr old teacher laid into her. Huh?</p>
<p>My kid eventually started studying a week ahead. It was on her own, but the teacher wasn’t teaching anything anyway. At least the school didn’t renew this teacher’s contract.</p>
<p>The lesson? Life is not fair, get over it. </p>
<p>There are some god awful teachers out there. I sympathize with the OP. </p>
<p>Thank you, I appreciate that someone else understands my frustration. </p>
<p>And I understand that playing sports is my choice, but at this point in time I would be letting down my friends and coaches who are relying on me to be integral parts of the team this year and the following one. Who knows, maybe it will help me get into college? But if it doesn’t, I will go once in my life have ample time to study, and reach my fill potential. </p>
<p>OP, you proved to yourself that you can do math. Now see if you can figure out a way to do well in math when you are playing your sports. It sounds like a time management issue. Can you cut out screen time? Work during lunch? Work on the bus going to games? My kids played sports, too, and struggled to do well during the season. One of them missed lots of class, which made it even harder. He started watching Khan Academy videos to supplement his math and science classes when he would miss. He would also go in early and stay late to get the homework and get a quick explanation of what he would miss. Those quick overviews were never good enough, but I have to believe that his putting in the effort helped him gain good will so if there was ever an issue about turning something in a little late it would be resolved in his favor. Kids on his team would work together on homework assignments when they were waiting to play. </p>
<p>I think you should try to play sports AND do well in school. Figure out how to best use your time. I agree that just studying and worrying about grades isn’t the right answer, nor is just focusing on sports. Finding the balance would be best and that is what you are trying to do. It will serve you well in college admissions, but more importantly in life. </p>
<p>Since you plan on being an engineer, be sure you are really mastering the concepts taught in math, whatever grade you make. </p>
<p>Thank you, I will try to budget time more efficiently.</p>
<p>As a recent high school athlete at a competitive magnet school I kinda want to jump in here.
YOU as a student must ask yourself what your goals are for high school. What is your endgame? Do you want to be recruited to play football at a decent engineering school or do you want to drop athletics -play intermural/club sports- in your free time? What type (tier) of school do you want to go to?
Playing spots in high school is fine. However you do have to make sacrifices. And those sacrifices have consequences -potentially long term consequences- both good and bad. Maybe you can drop one sport and get more time to study. Maybe you’ll drop all your sports and focus only on school. Maybe you’ll keep all your spots and struggle to study in your free time. Whatever you choose keep in mind your endgame. </p>