Hello there! New poster here! Im asking this question mostly to try and ease my intense feelings of regret and anxiety I’ve been having lately regarding college. Last year, my sister graduated high school, and got into Yale, where she attends now. Obviously, this is a rather high bar she set.
I’m a high school Sophomore right now, and it is currently second semester, and the fact that I’m getting B’s in some classes is honestly terrifying me. I know I may sound condescending, but I really aim high and want to go to a top school like UC Berkeley, U Chicago, or Columbia, which would be my top 3. Freshman year I got a B in Honors algebra 2 both semesters, and this year I got a B in Biochemistry and Honors precalculus first semester, and am currently on track to get a B in Honors precalculus second semester as well (Noticing a pattern here?). I’m not particularly fond of math, nor am I very good at it, but I can find some solace in the fact that the math classes I’m taking are particularly hard. I have had As (90+) in all other classes up to this point. Have I squandered any chance I have at getting into my dream school at this point? I have extracurriculars as well, but my grades are lackluster in my opinion. Thanks!
Are you trying your best? During high school, I would infrequently get B’s in classes due to either lack of interest or some major last-minute screw-ups. If you’re not trying hard and you’re not getting A’s, of course just try harder and try to compensate for the bad ones. Although colleges DO look at your grades as a trend, I feel like a bigger factor lies in your actual GPA. Ask your counselor what your current GPA is, and if it’s above a 3.8 unweighted, you can get into a great school yet if you can compensate with EC’s and scores.
DO NOT get overly attached to any of those schools, although I encourage you to strive for them and definitely apply if you love them so much. Columbia and Chicago are both lottery schools for any candidate, and UCB is getting to be quite a reach with a pretty random acceptance streak recently. Shoot for the sky, but don’t let it kill you.
I will give you fair warning about math; if you get B’s in Algebra 2 and Pre-Cal AND you’re trying your best, you will probably struggle in Calculus, as those are essentially the main content of Calculus (along with Trig and a bit of Geometry). As they say, a porous foundation can topple a tower, or whatever they say in the states.
Over all, try to get a great standardized score, keep up with your EC’s, try to keep your GPA above 3.75 UW (3.9+ is preferred), take the most advanced courses, and perform the miracles of Jesus in a second coming, and you’ll have an ok shot at these schools. Remember that the chances of you getting into any of those three is minuscule no matter your stats, if it garners any solace. Good luck!
Think more about finding a college that matches your grades, not that your grades dont’ match the collges you are thinking of.
Precalculus is a hard class that covers a lot of material, no shame getting a B there. Just keep trying hard, get your As, Bs, whatever. You won’t be thinking about your math grades in 10 years.
You don’t have to go to a top school to have a successful career. I would stop stressing about colleges for now, and at the end of junior year, begin looking for schools that fit your grades (not where you wish your grades would be).
Have you tried tutoring for math? Extra help? Do you have to be in the honors track?
Totally understandable. My D2 went through this because D1 was an academic superstar.
Here are a few tidbits of advice
- Like yourself. You are the prize, not the college. Don’t have a dream college - they should have a dream student - you.
- There are good colleges for everybody, so do your best, have no regrets and try to be the person you want to be. Nobody else is relevant. What will be will be
- Make sure that you have some joy in your life always. Being happy is learned behavior. It doesn’t always come naturally. You need to figure out what it is that would make you happy. This is important. If you can’t learn how to be happy in HS when do you expect to learn how to be happy. Try things. Experiment. Take some risk socially.
- Take school one day at a time. Focus on the material that you need to learn today. Focus on the work you have today. Do the best you can and when it’s time for bed, shut it down and go to bed. The next day, repeat. Win today. As a sophomore, don’t concern yourself with college. Not at all. You will go to college, there will be time for that.
- Make sure you get 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep deprivation is epidemic in HS. Your developing brain needs sufficient sleep. Failure to get it will damage your cognitive function, which makes learning more difficult, which makes assignments take longer, which causes you to lose more sleep. This is a vicious cycle with a bad ending. Don’t get into this cycle. Put sleep and health first, and then do your best. You will still get into college.
- Choose to spend the time outside of school on activities that you enjoy. Don’t live for college admissions, but figure out how you want to live, who you want to be and do things that lead you there that you enjoy. It’s not a race. It’s about the quality of your life.
- By spring of junior year, you will have stats. They will be what they will be. You will have no regrets, because you did your best under the constraints of good health. It will be good enough by definition. You will not beat yourself up. You own your life. You will make a list of colleges with varying degrees of difficulty and include 2 safeties.
- When you get your results, only the schools that accepted you have a chance to get such a great individual. The others have forfeited that golden opportunity. Choose among your acceptances carefully learning about yourself as you go along. Disappoint the losers.
-You are the prize, not the colleges.