<p>I'm currently a sophomore in high school, about to end my third marking period in the second semester. During my freshman and most of sophomore year, I slacked off. A lot. I did not do my homework and I just didn't care about my grades. I wanted to care, but I didn't. Now, it came to me that my GPA determines a lot of my life, and I wasted the first two years of high school. My current GPA is a 2.6, and I don't think that's going to get me into the schools that I would like (possibly a music school). I'm aiming for a 3.5, or a 3.3 at least. I do participate in a lot of musical, extracurricular activities, but I don't think that those matter much when applying. Does anyone have any advice for me?</p>
<p>Your situation isn’t perfect, but not as bad as you might think. Demonstrate remarkable improvement in the next few years and colleges will certainly acknowledge it. Also try to incorporate that change of attitude in your essay to demonstrate growth and the sense that you do now care about your grades.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>