Perhaps you don’t have to return to middle school. Go see your guidance counselor. Ask if you can drop 2 of these AP classes without it appearing on your transcript. Ask for advice, explain you’re feeling high school doesn’t match you socially but middle school doesn’t match you academically what do they suggest?
Plano is super competitive. It’s not a good environment due to the 10% rule that pushes many overachievers to "game the system " at the expense of curiosity or their health. Be careful when you choose a school next year.
I have to say that this entire thread baffles me. You are young and you are taking on an ambitious course load for any freshman. You are entitled to grow throughout your years in high school. When it comes time to apply, you will have taken the most difficult courses available at a much earlier age than the rest. Your application will reflect all of that more than you not getting 100’s on your math tests. More importantly, you will have a story to go along with it. You are talking about going back to middle school? Don’t be ridiculous. You should stay where they feel you belong. At the end of the day and at the end of your high school years you will have an amazing story of how you were pushed forward, you overcame trying to adjust to high school all while entering puberty and the challenges that this presented. You will be able to apply with essays about your experiences as a child in a home with English as a second language, a child in a school of young adults and how you learned to overcome the obstacles that came along with being pushed two grades ahead.
You would be bored in middle school. On paper you may have perfect scores but you lose your story. That is what makes you special. The schools will have plenty of students applying with perfect grades- that is not what they are truly looking for. They want special representatives that will go out into the world as an ambassador of their institution.
I suggest sticking with what you have and buckle down- that is part of growing up. Take responsibility for the things you are not doing because as a mom- in your posts, I hear the words of a 12/13 year old (I have one at home) and know that sometimes priorities may be a little immature. Its not you, its the age.
Next year lighten the course load and show growth, maturity and you can get that gpa back up. Pass the AP classes and study hard to do well on the tests. Just keep in mind that when you apply to schools that your grades/scores will not be the only things they look at when they evaluate your whole package. You also need to keep in mind that you have yet to grow up- you may be wanting an entirely different school by the time you graduate. You still have so much more to learn.
If you have visited your guidance counselor a bazillion times, chances are that she’s tired of telling you the very same thing a bazillion times. Which I am guessing is something along the lines of calming down and accepting that you don’t need to get 100 on every single test. You have been skipped two grades. Chances are that you are now at the appropriate academic level and can expect to struggle a bit on occasion. In other words, you are now, finally, a “normal” student.
If you are in a public school, they are legally obligated to provide your mother with appropriate translation services so that she can understand what the guidance counselor/principal/teacher/etc. have to say. So ask to set up a meeting with your mom, yourself, and whoever at the school is appropriate for that meeting, have them line up the translation service.
@Memmsmom , I really think you are sending the wrong message to a 12 year old. Clearly this child is,struggling and is unhappy. Yes, it is possible going back to middle school isn’t right for him/her, but it is more likely that this student has Britten off more than he can chew and isn’t doing himself any favors by clinging to his “special story.” You say “it’s not you, it’s the age.” Aren’t they one in the same in this case? Read the original post. The student is basically saying “is it okay for me to take more time? I need more time.” Telling him to persevere isn’t doing him any favors at the age of 12. This student is clearly going to be an attractive applicsnt in a few years time, but right now, the student is depriving himself of much needed time to be a child, to relax a little, to socialize, and to try to avoid getting too stressed out. Your suggestion to keep punishing himself so he can stand out to admissions in four years time are simply another way of,saying to a 12 year old that he had better keep up this brutal regimen or he will compromise his chances. That is simply not true.
Thank you everyone that contributed to this post. @Memmsmom, thank you. After talking with friends and family, I decided that a bit of a story (:3 with some bad grades) wouldn’t hurt my chances to college, as long as I work on raising it from now on.
@Lindagaf, thank you so much. Indeed I think I bit off more than I can chew, but I am starting to get used to the schedule and is starting to overcome my terrible grades (from the start of the year). As for correcting to your previous post, I am female…
@Lindagaf I did no such thing. You are not talking about an average 12 year old that was pushed into classes above their head. You are talking about a student that was promoted up by two grades by the teachers that work with her each day. You are talking about a student who thinks that getting less than 100 on a math test is going to prohibit her from attending an exclusive college. A good school is more likely to want a kid that tried to take the AP classes as a 12 year old in 9th grade over a kid that went back to 8th grade so that they could get perfect scores. The OP is not looking to have “time” but more like a do over so that they can have an easier time at perfection. I suspect that the GC is not as responsive because the student is not “struggling” but is more like being challenged and that it is uncomfortable.
Put it this way- would this same college in question prefer a kid that takes level 1 classes so that they can have a perfect 4.0 or a student that gets B’s in AP or honor classes? I am saying that a college is more likely to be impressed by a 13 year old in 9th grade taking AP classes and a challenging course load, then showing over the next 4 years how they improved over a student that was getting perfect grades at an age appropriate level because they took the easier path. There will be plenty of those kind of students applying.
To tell such a gifted child who’s education system felt was capable of being where she is that its better to go back and take the easy road in order to achieve perfection is in my book a much greater disservice.
Who said anything about the easy road? This student is going to excel in high school. Being more deveoplementally ready is not going to be disadvantageous in anyway, and may in fact be very advantageous. This student is ONLY 12 years old. And I do wonder about the emotional maturity of a student who is that worried about getting less than 100 on a test. This student reached out, so she MUST be worried. We didn’t contact her, right?
The last bullet point states that acceleration should be done on a trial basis so that if the child moves back, they don’t feel like a failure. It is possible that this student is going to be perfectly fine skipping two grades and starting college as a 15 or 16 year old. But I have to wonder if all the points in the article I linked have been considered. Interetsing that the student seems to have come to a conclusion in just two days. There are pros and cons, and I really think it would be wise for the student, her parents, and her counselors to all sit down together to figure out what is best for her. I wish her all luck.
If you really want to go back to middle school and have a do over, do that. Don't worry about embarrassment. Keep your eyes on bigger goal.
You don't have to go back, you can manage it.
Most public school counselors are like that, don't take it personally and request to see her if needed or go to principals office and request for another counselor on account of current counselor not having time to see you. If she gets upset then so be it, stay courteous.
Do your best, attend tutorials if your school offers it. You can raise your grades.
Start working on getting perfect SAT to minimize effect of non perfect GPA.
If it's a top school then you'll be better prepared for college. Lots of people feel lost in college and get very bad freshman GPA because they are used to easy schools, low level peers and easy grades. Just getting into college isn't the goal, doing good there is more important. Unlike school,college courses cost money to retake.
If you are in Texas then all public and private colleges admit good students with rigorous load and good SAT scores even if they aren't into top 10% of their school. That's only a condition for auto admit. I know several kids from Austin area who weren't top 10% but they received AE scholarship from UTD because adcoms knew their schools were very competitive and their course load was very heavy. Universities know that these kids have a way higher chance to graduate in 4years than top 10% kids with easy course load and from non competitive schools.
You got it. Don't let a little setback change course of your life, there are pros and cons in both approaches.