My first half of Freshman year just ended. It’s been a rough year so far to say the least. I entered high school convincing myself that these next four years are dedicated to achieving and getting good grades to be accepted into my dream college (which is currently Georgetown University, I stopped dreaming about Harvard long ago).
For the first term, I had three B+'s (in Spanish, Biology, and History). My confidence shattered for a while. But then I convinced myself I was going to try harder in the next term. And that term just ended. The plan worked for a while; I got better grades, studied a lot harder. However, I had so many setbacks. For the first half of Freshman year, I am supposed to have a substitute for a biology teacher, then our ‘real’ bio teacher comes. Honestly, I can barely understand what my bio teacher’s saying in class because English is not her native language. Plus, her teaching methods are not efficient. I’m aware of the fact that I should be self motivated (and I am!), but it’s always impossible for me to do well on her tests (that she makes). Another major setback is how I’m taking Journalism for one semester of my Freshman year. When I was choosing my courses, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I’ve come quick to realize that this course is extremely hard for Freshman (it’s combined with sophomores, juniors, and seniors!). I spend all of my time and energy writing papers, and articles for this course so that I don’t put as much time in my other homework and studying. The sad thing is, college admissions officers have NO sympathy for these kinds of things.
I have pretty awful term two grades as well: two B+'s. One in History, and one in Biology. Currently, I feel so done. I’m trying to keep myself together and I’m not ready to give up. Next term, I won’t be taking journalism as it is a semester long course so I’ll have more time to study for other subjects. Other than those two awful B+'s, I believe I have all A’s.
So, graduates or seniors applying to colleges, what advice do you have for me? And I know I probably sound annoying with all this venting, but I would really appreciate it if someone could step into my shoes.
First, two B+, and all A’s is not horrendous. Before you start signing up for classes, check around and talk to other kids about the class. Obviously, the higher your GPA, the better. But, not everyone has perfect grades. You need to be well rounded. Community service, leadership, extra curricula’s (EC), are all important. Along with the SAT or ACT scores, so study for those. Good luck!
The best advice anybody can give you right now is to take a deep breath and relax. You’re still a freshman and you have a long way to go; it’s WAY too early to “feel so done”! Colleges like to see students challenging themselves with an upward trend in grades. Your current grades are by no means terrible and you have more than enough time to work on improving them.
Keep everything in perspective; you don’t need to have perfect grades to gain admission to Georgetown. As stated by ZBD5421, Georgetown wants well-rounded students who are academically able to handle the work, but will also contribute to the school community in other ways. Grades, test scores, EC’s, and recommendations are all part of the admission equation.
Take some time to actually enjoy high school! You are going to be spending the next 3 1/2 years of your life there, so you might as well have some fun too. A proper balance between work and play is essential for your own personal health and happiness. The journey is as important as the destination.
Whether you wind up at Georgetown or not is impossible to predict, but it is obvious you are serious about school and doing well. Remember that there is a college for everybody, and by the time you are ready to make your decision you may very well have a different top choice. Take the time to research and visit other schools so that you have several top choices. It’s never a good idea to be so singularly focused on one school as the complexity of the admissions process virtually assures that there are no guarantees at any of the top schools.
You seem bright. What kind of a HS do you attend?