<p>Ok with Freshmen year coming to an end (only 2 months left) I was wondering if I should change my take on academics and stuff and be like the rest (at my school of course).</p>
<p>Right now I have ~3.5 GPA (UW) (Most Rigorous available, Pre-IB + 1 AP). I manage to pull this off with a fair amount of studying (spend around 2-3 hours a day on school work). I'm wondering if I should be like the rest of my classmates and study like 6 hours and attempt for a 4.0.</p>
<p>I study till I understand the concept, I don't cram it all into my hand to score an A+ on a test. I'm passionate about all my ECs. I don't play any sports (although I'm pretty good at Track and Volleyball).</p>
<p>Should I change my attitude towards learning ? Should I go for more studying and shoot for a 4.0 or just take it easy and try to improve upon that 3.5 and enjoy High School. I'll be applying for admission in 2010 (Undeniably the most competitive year for admissions). With people around me getting anywhere between 3.7 - 4.0, my rank will suffer (not to mention that my schools weighs everything Non-Regular class equally, meaning people with Honors will be ranked alongside IB students equally). Mine is a relatively large (2000 students) High School with a partial Magnet IB Program (100 in each grade, they're literally the best of the best - Acceptance rate into the program is like 11%) (For clarification, I'm part of the IB program).</p>
<p>I don't want to find out come March (2010) that I screwed up and I should've done nothing by study.</p>
<p>I'm currently an International (Applied for Greencard, don't know when I'll get it).</p>
<p>I don't want the Ivies, but just want some good (Read: excellent) engineering schools.</p>
<p>My parents are blue-collar and I work about 20-30 hours a week (my dad met with an accident and was unable to work for quite some time, that plus insurance went up etc.) and help out around the house (taking care of brother etc). (So I just "chill out" by watching TV or being on the computer).</p>
<p>I know admissions to Internationals (with Aid) are very competitive, so I want to do everything "right".</p>
<p>Can anyone offer any tips to what I should do ?</p>
<p>Also I have a question, for summer should I Intern at a Lobbying Firm (for the Middle Class - it's not evil or anything) ? (I need Volunteer Hours for IB and the school) or go to one of those summer programs (National Youth Leader or something) ?</p>
<p>I personally want to intern, but my parents think the Youth Leader will look better on my application.</p>
<p>Anyone ?</p>
<p>Just trying to fill the 10 character limit.</p>
<p>You don't need to study non-stop to get top grades. Even if you decided that it was for best, do you honestly think you would stick to it? I know I couldn't just tell myself "Study more; make better grades." Trust me, I've tried :p</p>
<p>I think it's lovely what you do to help out your family, and it would make a nice admissions essay. Maybe you could write about how your father's accident affected your life or something.</p>
<p>I don't really know anything about that stuff, but I'd say go with interning if it's what you like. Experience+fun > summer program</p>
<p>And I'm freaked out about admissions too ;) Class 2010 also...</p>
<p>Thanks Serendipity. Just imagine our luck, applications are supposed to drop starting from 2011.</p>
<p>I don't know but if that 4.0 will help as opposed to a 3.5, I'm willing to give it a shot. I would probably save a couple of hours if I stop watching TV etc., but I don't know if I can handle non-stop work.</p>
<p>Because I get a lot of homework ? I'm not whining, I'm just interested if I should sacrifice the only amount of free time I get for a better GPA.</p>
<p>No, just procrastinate.</p>
<p>If you study all through high school and you don't end up getting into the colleges you want, you'll at least have the knowledge and satisfaction of having done your best. Plus you can blame everyone else for it (like Jane Schmane who applied to a million colleges and put you on waitlist).
But if you don't study and don't get into the colleges you want, there's only yourself to blame.
But don't sweat freshman yr, it doesn't count really.</p>
<p>Try your best. But, don't get crazy. Like, example. You have a test on like US capitals. A great student says: Crap. I have to study a lot for that test. Good student: I'm going to study 2-3 hours at my hardest-no matter how hard or easy the subject is. A bad student says, What test? In the same vein, don't OVER-study. My friend suffers from this-she will study like a billion zillion hours and get so nervous about getting perfect she'll blow the whole test. I feel like if I give myself SOME slack to get one or two wrong, I'm relaxed and do better than crazy "NEED 4.0!!!" (At least with a 4.0 system you have wiggle room-it's not pretty in a school with 0-100 averages. Then people are going crazy over 98's!!!)</p>
<p>The thing I've noticed with a lot of hs, especially freshman, is not knowing how to 1) prioritize-A health test for me barely requires the 20 minutes I take at lunch-while a chemistry test I can study for 9 hours.
or 2) time manage (search for thread: how do you do it? about time management tips) Basic tips: Utilize wasted time-even just reading for pleasure is more productive than being a zombie in a study hall coloring in a planner, looking at clock.</p>
<p>dont underestimate time spent looking at a clock
you learn more by making good excuses for not doing the homework than you do by actually doing it, so take that into account</p>
<p>being a skilled procrastinator is much more effective and enjoyable than being a hard worker
take the time to learn how to work less, don't work more</p>
<p>ok this is the one thing you need to learn. Always try your hardest without going overboard. If you want to waste your time making val and still probably fail, go right ahead. I'm a freshmen taking the most rigorious courses with a 3.73 GPA and I learned to not stress. I would have a higher GPA if I didn't miss an equivalent 7 days of school2nd quarter. Ok this is not supposed to be a rant. I'm just telling you that sometimes things are more important. Academics will fade away but memories with friends and family won't. I saw enjoy the time you have and if you need to, lower your course load.</p>
<p>don't always try your hardest...
try your hardest to try the least ;)</p>
<p>Ah. The true words of a professional procrastinator.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. The thing is I study only for the knowledge (and the pleasure of learning) and not really for the test or a 4.0. (I'm planning on changing this to improve my class rank. As I said my school is very rigorous and I'll probably be in the Top 20% now). Is this advisable ?</p>