Well semester ended at my school today. Disappointed

[Ki Man]

Well... semester ended at my school today. I haven't gotten my report card yet but i can be pretty sure i have a 3.1 gpa which doesn't put me much higher than where I was at last year in 8th grade. The thing that really bothers me the most is that I came so close to having an A in half my classes, like my biology grade. I once had a 2 but it slowly went down 4 percent over the course of 4 months, so slowly I didnt notice until today when It was at B level. If i stayed on top of things i could have easily had a 3.8

So right now I need some help on what to do to make up for this, because right now I think my future is very dim unlesss i miraculously get a 4.0 next semester. Advice is deeply needed.

 

[CPL.Luke]

DON'T WORRY ABOUT ITyour in your freshman year of high school, no college will look very critically at that part of your academic career. And a 3.0 gpa will get you into most schools as long as you write a good essay and have decent SAT scores.

But I know from personl experience that if your motivated nothing you do in high school (short of killing someone/ other fellonies) will haunt you later in life. I personally dropped out of high school at the end of my junior year with a gpa below 1.0 and at the bottom of my class. I went and got a GED scored in the top 3% of high school graduates (because I was intelligent, and the test isn't that hard if you know the basics ie algebra, some science, and proper sentence structure). I then went to a community college for a single semester to build a transcript and get some more physics/math courses under my belt, and was then able to transfer into UMASS.

if your motivated and passionate about your education (at least some parts) you will get into college and you will be successful, it just takes a different path sometimes.

 

[Ki Man]

And a 3.0 gpa will get you into most schools as long as you write a good essay and have decent SAT scores.

but probably not stanford

do you think getting straight A's for the rest of high school would be enough to make people 'forget' this ever happened

 

[Sojourner01]

Absolutely. In fact, you probably wouldn't have to do that. Getting into top schools IS ABOUT MORE THAN GRADES.

Ponder on the term 'university'. What does the name imply? A 'universal-ness' of experience, perhaps?

Exactly. A robot that does science doesn't interest them. Keep your grades up in a wide variety of subjects, certainly. But also, work on showing off. The key to impressing potential schools isn't to do things you feel are valuable, but things that you can SHOW THEM are valuable. GPA is a big part of that but it won't stand on its own. Do well - but don't obsess.

 

[las3rjock]

but probably not stanford

do you think getting straight A's for the rest of high school would be enough to make people 'forget' this ever happened

It is not the end of the world if you don't get into the undergraduate school of your choice. There's always graduate school, if you choose, and once you get out of school, people don't care about what your grades were or where you went to school--they care about what you do.

 

[mathwonk]

hey stanford is not the only good school out there. and it is a bad move to go to a school where you would not do well. it is better to go where you are challenged but not blown away.

 

[Ki Man]

Its not the actual materials that we are learning that hold me back, its the way i do things. I'm always forgetting things and leaving out details. Is there any way i can improve my brain in the sense of attentivness.

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

Hey dude, I finished high school with a 1.2 cumulative gpa, in the bottom ten of my class. Now, I go to community college (which is much cheaper) and I have a transfer contract, which guarantees my acceptance into UCSD, which is a pretty good public university. I will graduate from UCSD and continue on to graduate school.

Work hard in high school but DO NOT BURN OUT. There are PLENTY of options after high school if you don't do as well as you had hoped. Save your energy for undergrad and graduate work, that's where you can start to get stressed.

I had a few friends study all the time in high school and finished with 4.1-4.3 gpas, went on to university (Johns Hopkins, Yale, Va Tech and UVA) and completely burned-out and dropped out or did poorly.

I am definitely not saying this is the norm, however, high school is a unique experience and you don't want to burn yourself out on academics because of high school.

University is nothing like high school!

Good luck buddy and keep asking for advice, we are here to support you.

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

Its not the actual materials that we are learning that hold me back, its the way i do things. I'm always forgetting things and leaving out details. Is there any way i can improve my brain in the sense of attentivness.

Start trying to consciously organize and compartmentalize information through out the day. I started doing this about a year ago when I really had to start remembering concepts and definitions because they were the foundation for more complex tiers. At first your head will be chaotic and lots of different things will emerge in your thoughts. After a while, you will consistently review information in the background. I can sit and have social conversations with my girlfriend while going over some math theorem or physics concept in the back of my head. Once you get good at doing it, your concentration and critical thinking skills really start to emerge and you will start to understand what I mean. You will eventually always have something going on in your head, whether you want to or not. It starts to become a really visual experience as well and you will start to notice that you remember pictures of things you have seen more vividly.

If this is hard to understand, send me a PM and I can better to explain it. It might sound really really weird but it seriously works for me.

 

[^_^physicist]

Posted by Ki Man: but probably not stanford

do you think getting straight A's for the rest of high school would be enough to make people 'forget' this ever happened

Ok I hate to have to say it but, it has to be said...you could have a 4.0 and a perfect SAT and still not get into Stanford for a slew of reasons. Yes your GPA being lower than what you hoped hurts, but it isn't going to stop you in your effort of going to Stanford, if you develop yourself for that school.

Let me tell you a little story about a friend of mine:

My friend was the in the top of the class, competed in sports, played in three bands and two orcrasta, and was consistered to be the resident math genius of the area. Additionally, he was active in the community, and was an Eagle Scout.

My friend applied to Cal Tech to study mathematics, or physics (he wasn't sure). By all standards he should have gotten in; however, Cal Tech didn't find him that appealing. He was put on the waiting list with very little chance of getting into his top school.

My friend did not get in.

You see you can have everything right, and it won't work. Where as I have seen others from my high school class get into Havard, without a rich mommy or daddy, with very poor grades.

So don't sweat it. If you get in, you get it, if you don't...just have a back up.

(Also you could always consister my favorite school: Reed College).

 

[jtbell]

Getting into a top-level school like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, etc., is something of a crap-shoot, no matter how good you are. They get so many applications from outstanding students, they can't possibly accept all the ones who are good enough for them in an academic sense. So they select on other factors, to achieve a "well-rounded" and "diverse" student body.

 

[moose]

Umm, my freshmen year gpa was a 2.low or so.

Did you know that Princeton and UMich don't even consider freshmen year grades when they recalculate your gpa? (There are many schools that do this other than those mentioned) Universities place the most importance on the difficulty and success in your Junior year courses, then Sophomore year, and then they mostly barely consider Freshmen year (especially if you had a B average, it will be a mere spec on your college apps).

Just work slightly harder and forget about this semester, heh.

I just hope that after four years of high school, you will realize that you can get a hell of a deal going to any of your state colleges.

 

[Ki Man]

Ok... maybe a teeny bit over reacting

Would sitting around with a rubix cube all day solve inatentiveness?

 

[trajan22]

If you want to go to stanford just have your parents donate a building. This is basically how they choose a lot of applicants. Its actually based more on your financial status, because this increases the chances of them receiving large donations from your family.

I'm not saying don't get good grades, but the chances of getting into a school like Stanford if you have good grades still isn't that great. For the majority of applicants its based on how much money they have or if their family previously attended the school. These big universities are really overrated.

 

[d_leet]

If you want to go to stanford just have your parents donate a building. This is basically how they choose a lot of applicants. Its actually based more on your financial status, because this increases the chances of them receiving large donations from your family.

I'm not saying don't get good grades, but the chances of getting into a school like Stanford if you have good grades still isn't that great. For the majority of applicants its based on how much money they have or if their family previously attended the school. These big universities are really overrated.

This is a terribly pessemistic point of view, one that although may be true in very special situations it certainly cannot be true in general. That said, of course good grades alone won't get you into college.

 

[Ki Man]

what's considered well roundedness changes from place to place doesn't it?

 

[kdinser]

I'm always amused by people who think that if they can't get into their top school, their lives are over or somehow ruined. Everyone I've talked to about the subject agrees that 99% of employers won't give a damn where you went to school 1 year after you graduate. Yes, it "might" a make a difference in where you are able to get your first job and at what rate of pay, and there are no doubts that you "might" make valuable connections with powerful people by going to a top notch school. In the larger view, the odds are, if you are talented and work hard, you will achieve a measure of success, and if you are lazy and expect that where you went to school will allow you to get easy, do nothing, jobs, you are in for a rude awakening.

 

[Ki Man]

In the larger view, the odds are, if you are talented and work hard, you will achieve a measure of success, and if you are lazy and expect that where you went to school will allow you to get easy, do nothing, jobs, you are in for a rude awakening.

does being a theorist count?

is there any way to 'train' your brain to be more attentive to details

 

[Kalimaa23]

Ok... maybe a teeny bit over reacting

Would sitting around with a rubix cube all day solve inatentiveness?

You're what, 15? Not being focussed on "the important things" is what being a teenager is all about. It will pass when the hormones level out

 

[Sojourner01]

is there any way to 'train' your brain to be more attentive to details

Age and experience. Right now, just do your homework, indulge in a little more background reading than is required, and don't stress about it. Put your effort into scoring some illicit booze or something.

 

[Ki Man]

Put your effort into scoring some illicit booze or something.

 

[mathwonk]

your brain is prety much set, but you can train your mind. This is the purpose of various typoes of yoga, not physical exercises (hatha yoga), but things like raja yoga.

the idea is to learn which things you are allowing to attract your attention. whatever gets your attention gets you, as they say. advertising is a study in this science. since most people think only abut sex, most advertising is oriented to this part of the mind.

humor is another appealing area, but for more intelligent people. there is a reason there is no differential geometry channel on cable.

once you learn, by observing yourself, which things occupy your attention, you may be able to increase your ability to control your own attention, to thinik about what you wish to think about, instead of what advertisers and hustlers are trying to get you to pay attention to.

sometimes watch people's eyes. when you enter a store, normally the person who catches your eyes first is the one who will help you, not the pretty one you may automatically prefer to go up to.

the students who are watching while you lecture are the ones paying attention, the ones you can get through to.

but if you are a young kid, do not worry too much about studying all the time. have fun now, when people expect it to be normal. you will not be penalized for being a kid while you actually are a kid.

 

[gravenewworld]

You are putting too much emphasis on the US News rankings of colleges in the US. At the undergraduate level the education at every university is pretty much the same. Your state school probably has an excellent education. Where do you think all those Phds that are trained from places like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc. are teaching? They aren't all teaching at those schools because there simply aren't enough spots, they can be found teaching at plenty of other univsersities that aren't in the ivy leagues.

 

[Ki Man]

your brain is prety much set, but you can train your mind. This is the purpose of various typoes of yoga, not physical exercises (hatha yoga), but things like raja yoga.

so raja yoga is more of a mental meditation than physical exercise

ok, maybe i aim a bit high. realistically I know the chances are pretty slim, but it gives me the motivation I want

 

[kdinser]

Mathwonk, that was one of the more interesting posts I've ever read.

Ki man, there is nothing wrong with setting a high goal and working very hard to obtain it. Keep in mind though, hard work does not insure that you will reach that lofty goal; nothing can, well maybe being rich and having great connections, but...

The bottom line is, work hard for your goals, but have a backup plan ready just in case. If you have to fall back on your back up plan, you will still be farther ahead then most because of your extra work.