I go to a boarding school (read my other thread for more information) and have just completed my first year. I am really stressed out because of my grades, this term half of my grades were Bs and B+, the rest were A-s and As. It makes me upset and really scared about my future. It doesn’t help when some people say some colleges are ruled out. I used to never get below an A (I am being honest) and now I just hope for an A-. I think that the fact that I am also struggling socially is impacting my grades, as well as adjusting to the boarding school environment. Also, some people are motivated to work harder by lower grades, but when I get bad grades I get really depressed and just feel like giving up, resulting in worse grades. However if I’m doing well, I feel motivated. Otherwise, I feel hopeless. Anything to make me feel better would be greatly appreciated as well as advice for me to improve next year and improve my chances.
Don’t get grades for college admissions. Get grades by learning the most you can (and jumping through the educational hoops). Do it to have more knowledge. Grades are just a letter, but knowledge is power.
You just finished your freshman year, right? There is plenty of time for improvement.
Did you struggle with work ethic (motivation) or did you not understand the material?
Thanks. I think it was a pretty even mix of motivation and not understanding the material. I know that my motivation greatly decreased whenever I got a lower grade, on a test for example. Hopefully I will do better next year.
This may sound dumb, but have you tried “pretty-fying” your notes/work? I know when my grades aren’t too pretty I like to highlight/color code/make a review book to motivate myself. Also, we live in the Information Age- so if understanding material is part of the problem, make sure to seek out resources.
Best of luck! (:
Thanks, I’ll try that. In the end, I feel like I need more motivation. People put so much weight on grades and make it seem like it determines our future, which really stressed me out. I tried figuring out my GPA and I really don’t know how accuarte this is but I think it’s around a 3.5? How is that for freshman year? Will I be able to bring it up? Is it above average? I know you said not to worry about grades and I’ll try my best not too… But I just can’t help it, with everyone making them seem so important.
I totally get it.
Your GPA is probably around 3.5, which is definitely solid (and leave room for improvement)! And if you go to boarding school, I assume it’s college prep, so it’s probably pretty rigorous? 3.5 is fine. I don’t know what “average” your referring to, but try and remember that a lot of people are regretting/regretted their freshman year with a much, much lower GPA and turned out just dandy.
Yes, it’s college prep. Thanks 