I've messed up, and I don't know if I can still go to college

Parents Forum
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<p>Alright, so this is how it is. My username is what it is because this discussion will most likely lead me to the inevitable truth... that I have dug myself too deep and won't get into college. Before you read, please understand that I have punished myself enough for my actions, and came to this website because I felt I needed some sort of reassurance. (A good thing to keep in mind is that my school is on trimesters) Here it goes...</p>

<p>My freshman year of high school was average.. mostly A's and B's, and the occasional C. </p>

<p>My sophomore year grade wise was good. Mostly A's and B's, as well as one C. However, this is where the downhill spiral began. I was in a class that I was good at. In fact, I ended that class with a 95. It was also a class I enjoyed. However, it all began with my friend being the TA. She randomly texted me an answer key to a test, which I did not ask for. I did not use it, but did not tell on her because she was my friend. And then, throughout the trimester, she began to raise my grade, ever so slightly on tests and assignments. At this point, I liked the idea. I was stupid, and power hungry because my friend could assure my A. In the end we were caught. I was suspended for a day, and all the manipulated grades were taken out. However, like I said, I finished the class with an A.</p>

<p>Junior year I told myself was going to be different. I was going to try harder, and never cheat again. Within the first few weeks, we had an essay in my AP English class. This incident however was an accident. I had misunderstood and assumed that I could write a rough draft and use it on the essay. Call me stupid, but I genuinely thought that I could. My teacher asked me what it was, and she wrote a referral for cheating. We had yet another meeting with the vice-principal, and I ended up dropping the class to get a fresh start. Flash forward a few months, and first trimester of junior year has ended... with me receiving a 2.75 GPA, and I hate myself. And now here I am, convinced that I won't go anywhere in life. And I was wondering, could I still go to college? </p>

<p>If this helps, I'm looking into majoring in writing, journalism and communications (I don't have it all worked out yet). The schools I have been looking at are NAU (Northern Arizona University) and University of Montana. Of course I have looked at others, but those are the main ones. Also, here are some things I have done that are good.
[ul][<em>]Field hockey all 3 years of high school
[</em>]Swim all three years of high school
[<em>]Newspaper all 3 years- currently sports editor
[</em>]Volunteer every Sunday for 3 hours tutoring children in Hebrew.
[<em>]Took Hebrew outside of school, currently in 7-8.
[</em>]Co-President and Co-Founder of the "Jewish Culture Club" at my school.[/ul]
So please, without any harsh judgments, someone convince me that I can still get into a college somewhere. If you read all this, bless you, and I am grateful to any responses.</p>

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<p>I skimmed but I can’t find the gpa and the SAT.</p>

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<p>Sure. The reason your school allowed you a fresh start is for you to have a fresh start. If you do not continue academic dishonesty, you can continue on from this day forward. Let go of the past- your school has. Resolve to be the best version of yourself.</p>

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<p>You can still go to college!!! You’re a Junior, right? DON’T screw up any more in class. Work hard in all your classes and take the SAT’s, at least 2-3 times for the best out come. Good EC’s, just stay on the straight and narrow. (At least until you get into college!) :)</p>

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You have TAs in high school? Was this another student? If so, students enter grades for other students? What happened to the TA? </p>

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<p>She was suspended for 2 days and removed as the TA from the class. She also got a written up for cheating. She was a junior when this happened.</p>

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<p>I have not taken the SAT and my unweighted GPA is 3.4375</p>

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<p>Yes, yes, yes, you can still go to college. In fact, it looks to me like you can probably go directly to a university without having to go to community college first (which would still be an option even if you were expelled from high school).</p>

<p>I screwed up much worse than you, and I ended up at Harvard. Now I work with lots of kids who are suspended, expelled, in criminal trouble, etc. There is almost always a way back. A felony conviction is the toughest thing to overcome, but even they can often get into college. Stay straight now, and you should be fine.</p>

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<p>None of this sounds like a life ending tragedy. Just don’t do any of this again in college – if someone offers to ‘help’ you in a way that might be dishonest, make it clear that you don’t want thier help and possibly even threaten to report them if they pressure you. Don’t be shy about clarifying the restrictions and requirements of assignments with college professors to make sure that you don’t accidentally do something prohibited. Other than that, you seem like a reasonably sober person.</p>

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<p>I must be dense…I don’t understand why writing a rough draft and then using it would be cheating. What am I not getting? (need coffee)</p>

<p>What state are you in?
How much will your parents pay (this will largely determine where you should apply).
Finish STRONG this year!!!
Take the SAT and ACT after the New Year.</p>

<p>Note to others…In HS, TA’s are not what we think. They are literally just “teacher helpers” (making xerox copies, etc), and these aides usually get a grade for this “job.”</p>

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<p>OP, don’t let your past mistakes hold you back. Go forward. </p>

<p>Side discussion on TAs- mom2collegekids, I think it depends on the school too. My oldest has TA’d for both regular and advanced pre-calc and advanced calc at his school. He never made copies. He taught a lesson at least once a week and otherwise floated around the room helping students with concepts. When a sub took over for part of the week, ds did the lessons. </p>

<p>My youngest is TA’ing an advanced pre-Calc class this term. He helps create and solve the honors homework problems, and mostly just walks around helping the kids (though the class size is less than 12 this term.) </p>

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<p>I didn’t think fellow students could record grades, though, and that is what OP said this high school student TA did. How could FERPA allow for that? </p>

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<p>Why don’t you think, with an unweighted GPA of 3.4, that you wouldn’t be able to go to college? Or are you talking about a specific type of university?</p>

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<p>I’m currently looking at NAU and University of Montana</p>

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<p>Montana admits 95.7% of applicants, and NAU admits 91.4% of applicants. I’m sure you’ll get in. As long as there are no other disciplinary issues and you keep your overall GPA above 3.0, you’ll do fine applying to colleges. These are both in beautiful locations. Are they affordable? Make sure wherever you apply is also a financial safety for you.</p>

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<p>Discuss your college options with your guidance counselor. That person will be writing one of your recommendations and should know you and the person you have become, not just the person you were. You may want more than just the usual yearly guidance visit- the job is guiding students and s/he may help you more than you think if you seek out the help.</p>

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<p>I didn’t get it either, mom2ck. Also just now starting to sip on my coffee. :)</p>

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<p>It sounds like the OP was to write the essay during the class period as an in-class essay exam but he or she wrote a draft in advance and brought it to the exam.</p>