What Can I Do With My Future?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a 17 year old high school senior. And I honestly have no idea of what to do with my future. Or rather, what I <em>can</em> do, given my current records. I am what I believe to be a fairly average student, with last year's GPA being a 2.75. The lowest I've ever gotten in my academic career. And, to be fair, I didn't have the best circumstances to work with. Last year, I switched to an online school that seemed to have a better ranking on the school system in my state (Arizona), than my previous school. I took mostly AP courses this year, but didn't take any of the tests. It was my worst year ever, since I guess I simply wasn't prepared for the responsibility, nor the amount of work, since my previous school had been very relaxed. The year prior to that, my sophomore year, I took three AP tests, and earned a couple of 3s. But again, that school wasn't the most demanding nor enforcing in terms of academic performance. I went to that school for two of my high school years, and the three AP courses I mentioned took two years to cover, with various teacher and curriculum changes, low student morale (it was abysmal. Only myself and another student seemed to be concerned about our grades, and we're not exactly the most hard-working out there), and a generally inconsistent and blunt academic environment. I was also unable to take advantage of the dual-credit opportunities offered by that school, and I missed out on quite a bit of credit opportunities. I took the AIMS test in my sophomore year and passed it on the first try, but I've yet to take the SATs or any other college admission tests, since my current school has done nothing to help prepare or guide me for them. Now, I'm definitely not gonna just excuse myself from all of my past hardships, since I'm honestly not a very hard working student. I'm awfully lazy, but I like to learn and take on challenging courses. I just don't feel like I've had the proper environment to motivate my personal growth. If I seem like a sub-par student with few hopes for the future, then I feel worse for my former classmates who'd sit and slack off worse than I did. So, now with just my senior year of high school left, average (if not worse) grades, no SAT experience, and overall unpreparedness, and completely clueless of what I want to work with in college, what am I to do? Are there any chances for me to enter any good or decent colleges outside the state? How bad of a condition am I in? Any advice? Anything is welcome, really. This whole two years have been pretty demoralizing. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>What is your overall GPA, though? Since you said 2.75 was the lowest, I am guessing your previous GPA’s were about 3.0+? What state are you in… maybe you can consider your state school? </p>

<p>You should also take the SAT ASAP and report your scores here so we can better match you with a school. Just buy a test prep book, study for a bit, and do that.</p>

<p>Just letting you know, not all hope is lost. There are many options for students who slack off during high school but end up getting their stuff together in time for college. You should consider staying in-state for a few years and then transferring (community colege is the cheapest way to go).</p>

<p>Since I don’t know your overall GPA, I can’t really tell you if ‘good/decent’ colleges OOS are out of your range. Probably ‘good’ (though this is quite subjective) might be, if your GPA is below 3.5 UW and if you definitely don’t take the SAT.</p>

<p>There are plenty of colleges OOS that will most likely accept you with below a 3.5, but above a 3.0, but it would come down to if you would be able to afford it or not and your SAT scores (if you even take them). Since a lot of students who go OOS have to pay significantly more, you’d have to consider if your stats would even get you any aid/scholarships considering we don’t even know your SAT score yet. You may be a sub-par student but you could possibly be a genius test taker. We don’t know yet. There are some schools with optional SAT/ACT score reporting, but your GPA would need to be strong for you to be considered for a lot of them.</p>

<p>I would definitely urge you to take the next SAT, or as soon as you feel comfortable, and look for schools with rolling admissions. Deadlines usually come in December for most colleges, but there are some less selective schools or state schools that have rolling admissions.</p>

<p>Also, to add on, a lot of students go into college having no idea what to do. College is an experience and a pathway to ‘find yourself’ and what you enjoy doing. Don’t worry about a major or a career right now… just worrying about getting in first.</p>