Thank you for the suggestions, but I am going to make the call here. I am not going to ask her to take qualified students to states. You can say I’m making excuses all you like. I know her very well, and I know how she would take a suggestion like that. She has taken students to states in the past, and thoroughly disliked the experience, and I am not going to force the issue. And anyway, this isn’t even what this thread is supposed to be about.
I feel like we’re spinning a very fragile web here.
OP, you’ve just begun soph year right? You’ve been putting a lot of pressure on yourself, have mentioned stress and depression, have already asked about test prep, are trying too soon to move mountains for a top tier college.
It doesn’t look like you’ve yet taken any AP classes? If so, you can’t predict how that goes. If the hs decided not to offer a level of math for one person, that’s something adcoms will take into consideration, in your sequence. At this point, none of us know how you’d fare in summer school or whether two strenuous courses in one summer will be too much.
At one point, you said the science sequence is earth sci, bio, chem, then 12th AP bio. At another, you said you could do either “AP bio or college credit physics, or I can do both at the same time.” I don’t know why the push to take AP bio by 11th. If your school doesn’t have physics in the usual in-school curriculum, that’s something adcoms will consider, also.
Not sure why sociology and public speaking DE is there. Why didn’t you fit a standard history course in, at your high school, instead? Or why the plan for DE enviro and the career and financial mgt course next year.
Debate is fine as it is. Not everyone goes off to larger competitions. HOBY is fine. Is this a hs where most kids don’t go to college, maybe go into trades or tech training? Does your hs offer any math-sci activities? Academic competition, math or science teams, or others? You want to " start a group that will teach kids about healthy living in my underserved community," but we have no idea if you’re qualified to take a major role in this, with only a semester of bio behind you. Or is someone else going to do that?
So, I think you need to take a breath, be sure you aren’t complicating much of this, with all that you want to stuff in.
And, it’s far too soon to know if you will be a viable candidate for a tippy top.
(@MYOS1634, it feels like all these plans on top of plans needs some simplifying.)
It’s not about planning to move those mountains too prematurely. One step at a time.
Oh. My. Gosh. I never thought about why I would take the most rigorous course load my school offers.
YES, I have a standard history course: Global 10. Some kids don’t go to college, but most do.
All we have is Science Olympiad and whiz quiz, but those bearly exist in terms of participation.
And the point isn’t even about how much bio I know (what gave you that impression…?) It’s about helping kids get access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. And I’m going to be working with people obviously. I’m not going to be sitting in my recliner letting my minions do all the work for me. What was that even supposed to mean? You think I’m lazy? Can’t stick with things?
Physics IS in the school curriculum.(and it’s a Regents, so you basically have to take it??) It’s a high school class but you can also get a college credit from it. READ: the dual enrollment classes I’m talking about (physics, sociology, pub. speaking, enviro, career&fin. mgmt (which is a graduation requirement, might I add), etc, are all taught at my high school, by high school teachers. Students who take the class have the option to get a college credit from it. Yes, it’s technically college-level work, but it’s not a college class.
Look, at this point, I don’t even care so much about going to a “tippy top”. Yes, I would die from happiness and I would feel incredibly proud of myself for achieving one of the hardest things there is to achieve, but in the words of literally everyone ever: “you can get a good education no matter where you go”.
If you can believe it, my plans have been simplified and this is the least complicated version yet. Example: I WAS considering self-studying for every AP class that my school didn’t offer, but I realized that it would probably be too much for me to handle and that colleges care more about being in the class, interacting with people, more than the 5, but look! I’m just going to take what my school offers, except for a couple classes to get ahead. (and yes, I am self-studying APWH, but that’s only because I spent a small fortune on books before I learned better, so now I might as well stick with it.)
Edit: Most kids either go to college or trade schools/certificate programs. I think very few actually do nothing after HS.
Is everyone purposefully ignoring me? Am I being boycotted or something?
What else do you want us to say?
Well, I have no idea if my response was read if nobody replies with at least an “Ok, that makes sense” or a “You’re really bad at explaining things” or an “Oh! Sorry. I didn’t see that you wrote that.”
It’s really not our job to reassure you that your posts are being read?
It’s not your job. It’s being polite.
I read that post.
Did you read mine? Apparently it’s polite to say so.
But really. That’s an unfair expectation and I don’t know why you’re insisting upon it. When someone doesn’t feel the need to respond to something, they’re not going to, and you can’t make them just because it makes you anxious to not be replied to.
Cool. In post #121 I could clearly tell that that person was somewhat confused about my plans and scheduled courses and everything, so I explained everything as best as I could, and it’s just basic politeness to say something of the variety of “ok, thanks for clearing that up”
Honestly, I’m not part of any sort of a “boycott” though I do check in.
It just seems that you’re pretty determined to do what you’re going to do, regardless of how many adults advise you otherwise. So I thought it would be more polite to stop lecturing you-- it’s not helping, and isn’t doing either of us any good. I’ve decided to back off and hope that others would have more luck.
It doesn’t seem to have helped, but that’s my explanation. Perhaps others have made the same decision.
I’m with bjkmom - I felt like you aren’t really wanting adult thoughts.
Nor do I think you cleared anything up.
This isn’t about your feelings that some protocol is mandated. Those who weigh in will not continue to advise a person who doesn’t appear to get it.
And if anyone wants a top college, listening and processing are skills that matter.
Ok, so that’s the kind of feedback I mean. I thought I explained myself pretty well but apparently, I did not. Is there any way I could explain myself better? I wouldn’t have known otherwise. This isn’t about my feelings. In a conversation, one does not just stop talking and walk away; it’s basic social courtesy. If you want to tell me “Those who weigh in will not continue to advise a person who doesn’t appear to get it”, then just tell me that and then I’ll understand instead of waiting and wondering. I would rather have someone tell me “forget it, shut up, I’m done with you” than just ignore me. Yes, that’s how I feel, but I think so do many others, and communicating politely matters for everybody.
I think you have a skewed understanding of how online communication works. This is not a physical conversation where the other person has a time limit on responding. We have lives outside of College Confidential, and reassuring one random person on the internet that there isn’t a site-wide conspiracy to ignore them isn’t high on the priority list.
I seem to recall saying to you many weeks ago that catastrophizing would make people unwilling to help because their every suggestion is met with paranoid doom and gloom.
The thing is, I’m not here as your teacher, your advisor or your mom.
So I feel no obligation at all to keep explaining the same things over and over and over and over .
Click on my name, hit “replies” and re-read everything I’ve written to you. You’ll probably find a good dozen responses or more. The vast majority have been met with something along the lines of “yeah, but…” You’re explained yourself very well. The upshot seems to be that your opinions are right and ours are wrong. You know what’s best, and you seem to think that if you continue to explain yourself, we’ll agree.
The problem isn’t that we don’t understand. We understand just fine. We simply disagree. Based on lots and lots of experience, we disagree with your opinions and your plans.
I wish you well, I really do. But I feel no obligation to hold your hand and reassure you that I can make all your dreams come true, that your school really should make an exception to their policies for you or any of the other things you seem to want. I have a husband, 3 kids, and a full time job. I come here to relax, not to add on to an already pretty full day.
I really enjoy my time here, but I’m not here to act as a personal consultant to any one person. I’ve offered my opinions–over and over. Please, take them or leave them.
But please don’t try to guilt anyone on this thread into giving you more than we choose. That doesn’t meet my definition of “polite.”
Had second thoughts. No need to add anything to my previous post.
I’m sorry. You’re right. Everyone I talk to about this stuff says something of the variety of “It’s impossible to talk to you because no matter what I say, you always have an argument for it” and it’s true. I have a hard time letting go of things and yes, I understand you all have lives outside of College Confidential. I mean, so do I! Look, I thank all of you for the time you have spent and I’m sorry it had to be just going around and around in circles. I won’t come back to College Confidential unless I have a real question anymore, ok? I hate to annoy everyone like this and it was never my intention to do so. And please don’t feel obligated to respond, because I probably won’t be back for a while.
Thanks.