Hello guys my name is Yassin and I’m a sophomore in high school. I have always had a goal to get into texas a&m to major in computer science and to hopefully start a successful company with a friend of mine. I am a big thinker and I always try to find different solutions to problems rather than the obvious approach. This is why computer science is at the top of my interest. I am intelligent, if I do say so myself. The only problem is that I don’t care about school too much and slack has gotten the better of me. At the beginning of freshman year I never knew that there was such thing as a GPA ranking, because I am the first of my family to attend an American high school. I recently checked my GPA and it’s a 87.4761 or 291/680 students. I was expecting this because I myself know that I had the potential to reach top 10% but I didn’t have my life together. I am taking AP computer science at school right now and am doing relatively well. I am also in JV tennis and will maybe hit Varsity next year. I am in the AVID program at school also. Right now it is the 2nd semester and the 1st six weeks of the semester is pretty much done. The problem that i have is that…I’m addicted to video games. I hate to say it but video games have changed me. The second I get back home I game until 10:00 without noticing it, giving me a limited amount of time to work on homework. Most of the time I am lazy enough to leave homework and do it at school or not even turn it in at all. Now that I look back at my life and what I could have fixed and my current GPA, I almost shed a tear. I still have time junior and senior year but I hope it isn’t too late. I have always been a big dreamer and have always had critical thinking that differed from other kids. My AP comp sci teacher is the person that I look up to when I have a bad day. He actually believes that I am different from others, he believes that I have the potential to be very successful in life. It’s just that I don’t believe. I’m sorry for taking up all your time, but I just ask for some advice on how to clean up my life. I want to change, I want to use my potential, I want to get into A&M. I’m sorry, this is my first post, and I have to get these words out because I can’t keep them contained anymore. Any help would be gladly appreciated! Thank you so much and have an amazing day.
I took the PSAT recently and scored a 163. I also plan on joining boy scouts next year.
Wanting to change is the first step to change. You can absolutely achieve your dreams of studying computer science one day, whether at Texas A&M or elsewhere, and starting your own business. But you’ll need to learn the rules of the Game of Life, and how to win. Caring about learning is a start. If classes at school bore you that much, try getting some inspiration for learning by checking out the free computer courses on www.Coursera.org – sometimes people don’t realize how fun it is to learn until they are studying something they’re truly interested in. Realize that achieving dreams involves sacrifice and perseverance, and having optimism and applying yourself. Also, you will need to address your addiction to gaming, to create the time, energy and focus to achieve your goals. Here is a start: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Overcome-Video-Game-Addiction and http://www.olganon.org/?q=forum/2
@yassin537 You may need to set your immediate sights a little lower, perhaps one of the other TAMU campuses or your local community college. If you have good grades your last two years of high school and two years at another college, then you should have a good chance of transferring to the College Station campus for your junior year.
You will also need to work on getting your SAT or ACT scores higher than the PSAT predicts. A 163 on the PSAT is about a 1630 on the full SAT, or around a 1200 on the combined Math and Critical Reading sections. That’s middle of the pack at TAMU and likely well below the average for Computer Science.
if i were you I would volunteer through an organization such as NJHS or Key Club. And for the Video Game thing I would get a job or something of that nature. Once you start to take on more responsibility video games seem pointless. It would also be good to do a summer program at a&m and when you apply APPLY THE FIRST DAY AVAILABLE. Texas A&M gives a huuuuuuuuge advantage to people who apply early because it shows interest in the school. There are people with 1800 SAT scores beating out 2100 SAT score people for spots because they applied early admission.
Addictions are very, very difficult to overcome without help. Make an appointment with your school psychologist to find out the most effective first steps to take. Good luck, and I hope you achieve your goal of getting into A&M.
Do you know any website that has very good online computer courses?
@chicagobulls232 Is only partially correct. Since you’re applying for Computer Science, if you are not an auto/academic admit, you will have to go through engineering review in which you will be reviewed again for admission into the college of engineering. If you are an automatic/academic admit, you need to apply early to guarantee your spot, if you apply late then you’ll have to sit in engineering review with the rest of the review admits. If you are a normal review admit, you need to have something that makes you stand out, there are people with 2100+ SAT’s who didn’t get into the College of engineering and there are students with 1800’s who did.
I recommend sending your application in early anyways, but in the COE its less important unless you are an auto admit.
On a side note, I used to be addicted. There were days I wouldn’t sleep just so I could play more LoL. I wasn’t the kid that had to try on his school work(I have a 100.23 GPA) but my lack of studying for my SAT showed it. I got an 1800 without studying, but I had hopes of doing better. I still got into the main campus but didn’t get into the college of engineering.
Best of luck on your journey.
Yassin, you cannot dwell on the past and I have good news. If you really do have the ability I think you do you can raise your GPA and Class Rank significantly by graduation. So your GPA is lets say an 87 right now. You have completed 3 semesters out of 8 in your high school career. That means if you really put in some effort These next five and lets say you average a 94 average you could have your GPA up to 92 average ( a bit higher, but just rounded off) a 92 GPA is a solid GPA. That is something to be proud of, furthermore, schools will pick up on the fact you have straight a’s your final two years. You can even put it in your resume, which I recommend doing. As others were saying above, key club, NHS, all these clubs are very important. I myself should have done more, luckily I am apart of NHS and did I few more groups. The other big step is ACT and SAT. Take them each 4 times if you need, I would take one starting this semester for sure! Do not wait until your Jr year and especially your Sr year to take your first test. Sr year has way to much going on. You will do just fine, if you believe you can do something you can, but if you don’t you never will. One other thing, advanced classes!! I almost forgot. These inflate your weighted GPA, class rank, and they are very important for colleges to see. Some can be very time consuming and difficult but you really need them. I would take as many as you can, especially to get your GPA up. So… to sum it up- good grades, clubs, test scores, advances classes, killer resume and essays, and community service as well. Best of luck to you, and if you need any more assistance just ask, I think you can message on this site. You can do it!!!