<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I REALLY want to get my GPA up, and I have set a few goals for myself before I send in college admissions. I am not in the top 10 percent (I'm in top 20), and I want to get up in there. I also want to get a higher weighted GPA of at least a 3.9, *I have a cumulative weighted gpa of 3.78. I also need to get my scores up (1740 on PSAT, I want to get at least a 1900, maybe into the 2000s. I want to get at least a 30 on the ACT as well.</p>
<p>Swimming is a sport that I love so much too. I have been committed to the high school team for three years, but unfortunately I didn't get voted as captain for next year. But that's NOT the reason I am not sure for next year. </p>
<p>I have no idea how much colleges look at your senior year. But if I quit swimming, I would have SO MUCH more time to study, but then I wonder if it would look bad that I quit. Also, the swim team is a lot to me, in that I have made so many friends. Senior year is especially important to me, and I want to make the most of it.</p>
<p>What do you guys think I should do?</p>
<p>Keep swimming, as colleges won’t really see most of senior year, it’s actually too late, whichever way things happen, especially if you do early decision somewhere. That being said, swimming also looks excellent on a resume, something many students cannot put. You definitely should focus on standardized testing and make time for it, because that really matters now</p>
<p>People that quit a sport to boost their academic stats do not usually see a drastic improvement. The time that they would have normally dedicated to the sport, in your case swimming, is usually devoted to another non-productive activity (obviously there are some exceptions, but I’m talking for the majority of people.) Unless you have something lined up that would look better than swimming, keep swimming, especially if you enjoy it. You’re already adapted to the time constraints, so it shouldn’t be too strenuous to improve your grades/scores during swim season.</p>
<p>Personally, I’ve been doing track for more than 8 years. I’m in love with the sport and always considered myself fairly good. This year decided to quit track to focus on academics, the rationalization being that my academics were going to get me into college, not my athletics.
Since then, I’ve been using the hours i’d normally be at track to study for the SAT and my
regular classes. After this, my SAT score has risen almost 200 points and my GPA about .2.
Additionally, I’ve been able to use that free weekend time to pursue other ECs and have
now been elected president of many of my school’s major clubs.</p>
<p>As the Frostyy stated, many people do not see a drastic improvement after quitting a sport, but if you go in with the right mindset, the benefits (In my opinion) are worth it.</p>