First Semester Of High School Fail

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paintwithlightcolor

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So I'm a Freshman in high school currently and I've been really worrying about my first semester grades. I ended with 2 A's 4 B's and 1 C. I'm taking 5 weighted/honors classes and the other two are orchestra and JROTC. I was just wondering how much these grades have hurt my chances. I could've done much better and it was just me being lazy. I'm doing much better this semester and currently have all A's. I'm doing a lot of volunteer and extra-curricular/sports and have no plans to stop. Anyways does anybody know how much it's going to hurt me?

Also this forum has given me so much help and insight and I'm so glad this place exists. Thank you all for the help I've received while reading!
 
Continue to work hard. Show improvement ... you are currently at pi!

A few years of solid improvement will make you competitive.
 
Imagine you are a senior...you are waiting to hear if you are nominated/accepted/qualified. You might think "I would do ANYTHING to get in!"
Now is the time to do that anything.

For any college, GPA and SAT/ACT are the most important factors to getting admitted. So those are more important than ECs.

Think about what caused you to get those grades you don't like.
Are you spending too much time on ECs? If so, focus on which ones are the most important.

What are you spending your time on instead of studying? Are you playing video games/watching youtube videos/hanging with friends?
Set up an environment where you have to do your homework before you do any of those things. For example, put your computer in the kitchen and tell your mom/dad to make sure you aren't watching videos until after your homework.

Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.

Plan your time. Basketball at 3:00-5:00...then shower/dinner and I will do homework 8-11:00. Or you have a long ride on a bus to a game? Use that time to read your English book.


Here are other thoughts on changing how you study:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...en-you-arent-doing-well-in-a-hs-class-p1.html

Maybe you need a tutor. You may think "i should be able to do this on my own". Actually, it is important that you learn the material...use the tools offered to do that.
 
1st semester freshman grades shouldn't hurt too much, provided you kick it in gear the rest of the way.
 
usna1985 said:
1st semester freshman grades shouldn't hurt too much, provided you kick it in gear the rest of the way.
Click to expand...
I agree. Know people who went from your GPA to top 10% with your freshman year grades... takes work, but not impossible.
 
paintwithlightcolor said:
So I'm a Freshman in high school currently and I've been really worrying about my first semester grades. I ended with 2 A's 4 B's and 1 C. I'm taking 5 weighted/honors classes and the other two are orchestra and JROTC. I was just wondering how much these grades have hurt my chances. I could've done much better and it was just me being lazy. I'm doing much better this semester and currently have all A's. I'm doing a lot of volunteer and extra-curricular/sports and have no plans to stop. Anyways does anybody know how much it's going to hurt me?

Also this forum has given me so much help and insight and I'm so glad this place exists. Thank you all for the help I've received while reading!
Click to expand...

The fact that you are even asking this question as a freshman is a good sign. Says a lot about you. It also tells me that you can achieve better than these grades. If you really want something you have to work for it and trust the process. Academics, leadership AND athletics. Need a plan for all three. You have plenty of time if you focus and apply yourself.
 
DS was in the same position at the end of his first high school semester. He brought his grades up the rest of his high school years. During his BG interview, his first semester grades were brought up and he was asked why those grades? Be prepared to explain during an interview why, what you learned from it, and how you would do things differently if you could have a do-over.
 
Yup you are pretty early Avg a 3.70 the rest of the way and first semester 9th grade becomes a rounding error.

As long as you are listening, remember this when the time comes. You can study the ACT and you can study the SAT. Not the content, the tests itself, take so many practice tests that the real one becomes "just a day at the office" and you can see the patterns in questions. Take a prep course the best one budget allows.

You have 3 years, learn to talk to adults, you will have to in your Nom board and with your B&G. Talk with adults who think you are nuts want USNA, (probably your teachers). Defending your USNA goal will require you to explore whats at the base of your desire to become a Mid and Naval Officer. It will also make you a smooth advocate for yourself thru the SA application process and every other interview you do for schools your senior year.

Good luck, and BTW....."playing video games/watching youtube videos/hanging with friends"..... sounds like a big part of my day.
 
bopper said:
For any college, GPA and SAT/ACT are the most important factors to getting admitted. So those are more important than ECs.
Click to expand...

This is not exactly the case at a SA. The most important part of the Academic Component is test scores and the academic profile which is basically how difficult of a course load did you take based on what is available and how did you perform in relation to others who took similar classes, ie class rank. Having a 3.5 and being ranked in the top 3% of your class is better than having a 3.9 and being ranked in the top 20% of your class.
 
USMA 1994 said:
bopper said:
For any college, GPA and SAT/ACT are the most important factors to getting admitted. So those are more important than ECs.
Click to expand...

This is not exactly the case at a SA. The most important part of the Academic Component is test scores and the academic profile which is basically how difficult of a course load did you take based on what is available and how did you perform in relation to others who took similar classes, ie class rank. Having a 3.5 and being ranked in the top 3% of your class is better than having a 3.9 and being ranked in the top 20% of your class.
Click to expand...

I don’t understand class rank. What if you are taking more advanced classes than a lot of students that are within the top 10% of your class, but you are ranked lower because you chose to take more advanced classes and received a B in those tougher classes. Do the SA look into this? Do they base class rank on weighted or unweighted GPA?
 
SenseiLuke said:
USMA 1994 said:
bopper said:
For any college, GPA and SAT/ACT are the most important factors to getting admitted. So those are more important than ECs.
Click to expand...

This is not exactly the case at a SA. The most important part of the Academic Component is test scores and the academic profile which is basically how difficult of a course load did you take based on what is available and how did you perform in relation to others who took similar classes, ie class rank. Having a 3.5 and being ranked in the top 3% of your class is better than having a 3.9 and being ranked in the top 20% of your class.
Click to expand...

I don’t understand class rank. What if you are taking more advanced classes than a lot of students that are within the top 10% of your class, but you are ranked lower because you chose to take more advanced classes and received a B in those tougher classes. Do the SA look into this? Do they base class rank on weighted or unweighted GPA?
Click to expand...

In my son’s school, his class rank was always like 2 or 3. Every year he would win the award for best avareage in his class though. We finally figured out the people that were ahead of him were special needs and didn’t count.

They use weighted average in my school for class rank.
 
My class rank is pretty dismal, 180/364. But I also go to a pretty insane school (number one in the state, top 50 in the country) Navy should consider that, right?
 
They evaluate the academic profile and will develop what they will use as a GPA for WCS evaluation.

It is a black box to those outside of admissions but rest assured they take into account all the factors to develop a rating.

If your school doesn't rank, they will still use the school's profile, your schedule and your ACT/SAT scores to develop a rating.

They have been doing this a long time and know how to tell if someone is gaming the system.
 
Hashbrowns and eggs said:
My class rank is pretty dismal, 180/364. But I also go to a pretty insane school (number one in the state, top 50 in the country) Navy should consider that, right?
Click to expand...
To be honest, you will have to excel in other areas to overcome a only a top 50% class rank no matter what your school profile looks like. While your school may be competitive, the SA are still looking for the best and brightest. Appointees will be joining 1250 members at another insane type school.
 
USMA 1994 said:
Hashbrowns and eggs said:
My class rank is pretty dismal, 180/364. But I also go to a pretty insane school (number one in the state, top 50 in the country) Navy should consider that, right?
Click to expand...
To be honest, you will have to excel in other areas to overcome a only a top 50% class rank no matter what your school profile looks like. While your school may be competitive, the SA are still looking for the best and brightest. Appointees will be joining 1250 members at another insane type school.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I am able to overcome my class rank. My BGO feels pretty confident. But who knows? I’m still waiting
 
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