Hi,
I will likely earn a 3.83 GPA in my freshmen year of highschool. I feel bad about this because I feel I have under achieved. Moreover, I got very difficult teachers. Other kids at my school, had very easy teachers so they had very high GPAs. Therefore, my class rank will not be that high. Additionally, I was not too stellar with clubs as all I did was Marching Band and Science Olympiad. What are my chances of getting into a good college? How can I rebound from this lack luster year? What clubs do you think I should join next year?
Nobody can predict college admissions based on freshman year. Keep moving forward – do the best you can academically, get more involved in ECs, when the time comes study for standardized tests, and see how the next years play out.
To be fair though, Marching and Sci Oly were very involved clubs. I did not have much time in MP1 or MP2 however in MP3 I have a lot of time to get my work done and study.
It was you who indicated your ECs were “not stellar” – my comment was based on your assessment in the original post.
Sorry if I came off that way, I just was clarifying a bit.
I was in your spot when I was a freshman 5 years ago. I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself then, but this is what I did and it got me to where I am today. That summer, I took some time to volunteer at a summer camp and look at things I would be interested in pursuing in college. I knew that I wanted to be in the healthcare field, but I just wasn’t sure where. Come sophomore and junior year, I do so much better in my classes that I’m qualified to apply to many “good” schools. I got involved in some EC’s such as orchestra (all 4 years), Habitat for Humanity, and National Honor Society. I also had a lot of volunteering experience relevant to what I wanted to major in.
For you, spend sophomore and junior getting your grades up, studying for the SAT and ACT, and joining clubs and activities that you enjoy. From my experience, if you do the things you love, you’ll find that you’ll be much happier. I would also take the time to volunteer at a variety of places. Take a look around and see where you want to volunteer at. IMO, it is one of the most rewarding things to do. Beyond all of that, take a look at the schools you want to go to and what you might want to pursue. Visit these schools and ask yourself, “Is this where I want to be for the next 4 years? Will I be happy with my potential major?”
I hope this helped and best of luck with high school!
JMS357 TYSM for the help! I am actually taking similar measures as I applied for a teen summer doccent program at a local Science Museum and I got selected for an interview. As a fall back option if I don’t make it, I am looking to also volunteer at a Veterans home or my local YMCA.
Check out “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.
“The basic message of the book is this: Don’t wear yourself out taking as many classes as you can and being involved in every club and sport. Instead, leave yourself enough free time to explore your interests. Cultivate one interest and make it into something special that will make you stand out among the other applicants and get you into the toughest schools, even if your grades and scores aren’t stellar. Newport calls this the “relaxed superstar approach,” and he shows you how to really do this, breaking the process down into three principles, explained and illustrated with real life examples of students who got into top schools: (1) underscheduling—making sure you have copious amounts of free time to pursue interesting things, (2) focusing on one or two pursuits instead of trying to be a “jack of all trades,” and (3) innovation—developing an interesting and important activity or project in your area of interest. This fruit yielded by this strategy, an interesting life and real, meaningful achievements, is sure to help not only with college admissions, but getting a job, starting a business, or whatever your goals.”
http://www.examiner.com/review/be-a-relaxed-high-school-superstar