Can I get some advice?

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skr002

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As I head into my first year of High school , I have on thought in mind, keep the GPA up and find AP classes that you can take. Does anyone have tips or extremities they took to keep up their GPA and course selections? I was looking at the stats and they have a really high GPA, an average of 3.9, from the sources that I looked at. And also looking at the past class profiles, those are some really hard stats to look at and realize I have four years to mess it all up. Anything that I should focus particularly on, both academically, and non-academically?

Thanks in advance! :)
 
4 years to mess it up? I never looked at it that way. Instead I took it one semester at a time, one quarter at a time, and one week at a time. Small goals that fit into the overall goal is what worked for me. I suggest set you take this approach.
 
Be the BEST you that you can be! Take the most challenging classes you can handle. It doesn't make sense to take classes beyond your abilities. But you also can’t take easy ones just to help the GPA.

Share your goals with you counselor. At our school, we have a regular counsel and also a college counselor. So make sure you are meeting with the proper person to guide you and help you towards your goal. Preferably someone familiar with a SA admissions process.
 
To build off of usmaismygoal‘s points above... there are some interesting studies out there that say that successful people focus on process and system as opposed to goals. Both successful and unsuccessful future candidates have the goal right now of getting an appointment to an academy just like there are 8th grade baseball players who have the shared goal of playing in the MLB. At least in sports evidence suggests that it is daily process that matters.
 
skr002 said:
As I head into my first year of High school , I have on thought in mind, keep the GPA up and find AP classes that you can take. Does anyone have tips or extremities they took to keep up their GPA and course selections? I was looking at the stats and they have a really high GPA, an average of 3.9, from the sources that I looked at. And also looking at the past class profiles, those are some really hard stats to look at and realize I have four years to mess it all up. Anything that I should focus particularly on, both academically, and non-academically?

Thanks in advance! :)
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Change your attitude.
If you expect negative outcomes, you will likely experience negative outcomes.
Take a positive approach instead. Look at the stats for example as goals and put together a plan to achieve those goals, and then stick to executing the plan. Don’t look at it as a mountain to climb or try to go around.

If you should happen to “fail” along the way, that’s ok. You need to reevaluate, prepare yourself, seek help as needed, do the work and you will get there!
The challenges at an SA will be difficult and you will fail at something. That is how they teach you to overcome failure and give you the tools for success. It’s still up to the individual to bring their heart, inner drive and perseverance to the game.
So start now by getting your mindset to not accept failure and develop a plan with your guidance counselor to achieve your academic goals.
 
Hit the ground running when you get to 9th grade. Almost like the first year of college is not the 13th grade, entering high school is different than being in middle school. Don't get behind. Ask for help if needed. The difference in the maturity and behavior between freshmen and sophomores is huge. Sophomores are still a pain but thankfully I don't have freshmen in any of my classes. Grow in your maturity. Develop and learn study skills and work ethic. Don't be a crowd follower. Resist peer pressure. Stand above the noise of the first few months of high school. Before you know it, you'll be an upper classman and your GPA will be what it is. A high GPA and developing the relationships that result in great recommendation letters starts early. Early as in the first week of high school.
 
Great advice from all above. Our DS is a 2024 Plebe to be and he knew from 6th grade what he wanted his end game to be. As @justdoit19 said, sit down with your counselor, if at all possible plan out all 4 years of courses. Our DS met with counselor, she was aware of his goals and they reviewed the recommended course work for SA's. They plotted out 4 years and together reevaluated it at the end of each semester.
As @Devil Doc said, do not be a follower. The kind of young men and women who get into academies are not followers, rather they are leaders. I won't say our son had a whole 'lotta fun in high school, he was working hard and had little to no time for social life. But he chose that, and made peace with it.
When his 8th grade friends started making poor decisions during that summer, he cut all ties. There is not room for using, abusing, partying, making social game more of a priority than your grades and your future. It may have felt lonely at times, but he says it was worth it. He and others on this forum had many incredible options on the table because they put in the work.

Don't look at how you manage four years. Think of it this way...how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You have a big picture goal but a one bite at a time mentality (never would I actually suggest consumption of a real elephant).
Manage your time, keep a list of to do's. Maybe a white board with meeting dates and times, assignment due dates. Seek teachers and others who are positive mentors.
Write down your goal. Revisit that page. Have a positive attitude. Expect success because you can do the work and keep your head down and pushing forward.
You have an advantage of starting early in this process, good luck to you!
 
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Try out for sports and look to get leadership positions within those sports. Preferably team sports. Find clubs that you are actually interested in and have a dedicated passion for. Then get leadership positions in those clubs. Study for ACT and SAT now. There's plenty of free resources and if money is an issue, talk to your guidance counselor about getting a fee waiver for when you take the tests. Plan your Plan A, B, and C. At least think about the worst case, but don't get consumed by it. Look into ROTC, Direct Commission, Green to Gold, OCS. Look into other branches as well. Talk to any ROTC graduates or academy graduates in your area. Set an appointment or establish an email correspondence with any local college ROTC instructor. Try JROTC instructors as well. Don't be shy and make that phone call or email. Most would be more than happy to give you advice in the next coming years. Be involved in your community. Ethic groups, church groups, environment groups, really anything you want to be a part of. Make sure to actually put time and effort into it though.

Just some other tips from a graduating senior.

Befriend all your teachers. Don't be a brown nose, but tell them good morning or good afternoon. Be honest and truthful with them. Act like yourself around them. (if you can't act like yourself around them, reevaluate your character.) These are people who will eventually write your evaluations, recommendation letter, and etc. They're also in charge of your grade. Within those teachers or other adult figures in school, find role models. People who you would like to resemble when you're an adult. Learn their good characteristics. Compete with your peers by all means, but I strongly recommend not making any of your peers your role model. Surround yourself with people who not only understand what and who you want to become but motivate you to do better.
 
Thank you all for this advice, I'm really looking forward to next year, and last night I reached out to my advisor, I still don't know who my counselor will be so he and I are trying to figure out who it'll be so I can start talking with them. Thanks again, all of you! :)
 
Getting a high GPA has a lot to do with stress management. Recognize when you procrastinate and get back to what you were doing before, even if it's stressful. So that means knowing whenever an assignment is due, knowing if you have time to do it, knowing if you have time to study, studying two or three days before the assessment, and that'll get you pretty high up there. SATs are going to be always lingering over your head. You'll worry about not scoring high enough now so what's the point? At some point you just gotta set a date. Once you set a date you'll be in deadline mode. Deadline mode is important for being much more intense with accomplishing work than you'd otherwise be. You've looked at the class profile. Try to follow it as much as possible.
 
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