I screwed up freshman year of high school. I took all honors courses (except for French) and I ended up with a 3.43 GPA with only one A in AP World History. I got a B+ in Geometry, although I am very interested in maths and would like to major in maths. As well as B+'s in English, Biology, and French. I messed up on the Regents as well as I got a 90 on Geometry and a 94 on Biology (although I heard these don’t matter in terms of colleges). I also took the SAT II for biology (even though I hate the class, my teacher recommended it), and due to my lack of studying I got a 610. I told my parents to cancel the score but they wouldn’t let me. I feel stupid as all my friends got amazing scores like 800, 790, and even people who don’t even take the honors biology course got higher scores than me. I was really bummed out because I feel as if I just lost my shot at an Ivy league or at least a top college. I keep telling myself I will change but it never happens, I just can’t find motivation to study anymore. I barely studied for a single test this year, I just sit in front of my notes and stare. I don’t even get that much sleep each night. I don’t get how all my friends are able to hangout almost every weekend (even before finals and SAT IIs) and still get amazing grades. My parents put in their own money to me into a summer course to prep me for the school year, but I still get these grades. I feel terrible of what I done but I won’t change no matter what. If I can pull myself together for the next few years will I be able to have a good chance at an ivy league or at least a top college, or is it too late? (sorry for this being so long)
Maybe stop comparing yourself with others. You’re not stupid. You just have to study more. I’m like you, my friends always hangout and sometimes I wonder why and how. Honestly I don’t care if my friends don’t hangout with me.
The Ivy League is either a very high reach or impossible for pretty much everyone. However, there are thousands of universities and colleges in the US and hundreds of very good universities and colleges. Definitely it is not too late at all for you to get into a very good university.
I don’t think that taking all honors and AP classes is a good idea. Taking a SAT 2 your freshman year is also probably not a good idea. Ditto for Regents. There is a limit to how much any one person can do, and you need to find your limit and not try to exceed it. It sounds to me as if you are pushing yourself way too hard. This is very common in US high schools. There are a lot of very stressed out students in the US, and you need to somehow avoid continuing to be one of them. Being highly stressed makes studying VERY difficult and makes concentrating on ANYTHING very difficult. This will of course increase the amount of stress that you feel because you will feel bad that you aren’t actually studying.
There are by the way some posts on CC of kids who pushed themselves too hard in freshman or sophomore year of high school and did a lot worse than you did.
Life is not a competition. You don’t have to beat out your friends for the limited spots at an Ivy League university. You can do very well at one of the large number of spots that exist at a very large number of very good schools (and your friends and acquaintances can too, there is room for all of you).
I also think that you need some counseling. You should talk to a psychologist or social worker or counselor about your concerns and about how you feel.