I'm SO SCARED ANY ADVICE?

Question

STRESS KILL'S RIGHT well it's been 4 weeks since my freshman year started and I already have two B's and two A's and one C- in ART CLASS, I hate art. I feel like I have no chances of getting into Harvard or Johns Hopkins. I study for 4 hours everyday and on top of that I've joined , make a diffrencence, Debate, and Varsity choir. I swear I feel like dying I cant tell my parents because they both went to harvard perfect grade perfect athletes and that's what the expect of me too, AND I HAVE TO GET INTO AN IVY LEAGUE NOT JUST BECUASE OF THEM I REALLY WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, help I feel like I'm going to fail and all I can do is watch my dreams go down THE TOILET and how all of my parents friends children will be going to Cambridge and Princton and I'll be stuck somwere in Mcdonalds, AAH I'M GOING TO CRY, I HAVE , two B's and ONE C-, I've never gotten a B or a C- before WHY NOW GOD, WHY IN HIGH SCHOOL. Why doesnt HE JUST KILL ME NOW.

Alright people Glad I got that out of my system fewww! SPAZ ATTACK thanks for all the advince and my parents are doctors to the person that was asking.

Answer 1

Oh for fks sake! It doesn't matter what school you go to. Ivy league undergraduate degrees are the biggest rip off in the educational world. Face the facts, your grades indicate that you are a mediocre student. Not a bad student, but certainly not much of a scholar.

I've got an idea... instead of obsessing about a degree from a "prestigious" university, enjoy your life. Take up some activities that you enjoy - do you like choir, or do you do it to help you get into Harvard?

{edit} So your parents are doctors... is that what you want to do? Is that what they want you to do? Again, you don't need to go to Harvard or Johns Hopkins to become a doctor. There are plenty of good med schools around.

Answer 2

You are 4 weeks into the freshman year. High school IS harder than junior high, so yes, there will be some Bs in your career. It's not a big deal. I'm sure you will average out later.

Think about it: were the grades on homework assignments or semester papers? Were they the grades for classroom work or for your report card? These grades at the beginning of the year will be averaged with the rest of your work. There is still plenty of time to bring them up.

Don't be so alarmed by a grade lower than an A. Those Bs and Cs tell you there is something that eludes you. You will need to look at it from a different direction to understand it. That's good. That's a challenge. It makes it interesting to show up in class and learn something new. If you knew everything there was to know and always got As, you wouldn't need to go to high school. You could skip it and go straight to college.

You may have done very well your last few years of junior high because it was a repeat of what you learned in earlier years. You had it mastered. Now you will be stretching yourself and learning new things. No one learns to ride a bicycle the first time he sits on one. There is some trial and error. By the same token, as you are learning new things, there will be some ups and downs in your grades. Don't panic. Acknowledge that you are learning, and work to understand more. The grades will improve.

The C in art class can be a reflection of your dislike. You either don't understand what is being taught or are not applying yourself to the assignments. That can be ok, too. It may just mean you don't do well in courses that require a certain level of motor skills. (My C's in high school were always in PE because I was a klutz. No motor skills and no interest. I still finished 7th in my class.)

Take a deep breath, let it out and relax. Now, lets look at this. You want to go to an Ivy League school like your parents did. Do you know what you are going to study there? If you are going to study science, who cares about your art grade? You won't be drawing molecules.

Different courses sometimes weigh differently in how they are valued by a college. Like I said, if you are going into science, art isn't as necessary. Find out what emphasis Harvard and other Ivy League schools put on certain classes. Concentrate on doing well in those areas and don't sweat the rest. A 3.5 GPA might be just as good as a 4.0 GPA if all of the As are in the field you want to study.

Talk to your folks. You might find out they weren't 100% 4.0 students either. They were just 4.0 where it mattered.

Most of all, don't be so hard on yourself. You are smart. You care and you have four years to get the grades you need to get into Harvard. I'm sure you will make it. If you don't, there are a lot of other good schools that can prepare you for a life career. Maybe you will be the first in your family to start a new tradition.

Answer 3

Will you just calm down? Art is not everyone's forte, so I think you will be forgiven the fact that you have certain talents that are good in some areas and not so good in other areas.
Colleges look for well-rounded students.

Stop thinking of the schools you want to get into and start thinking of where your natural talents lie and how you can make your own personal mark on the world. Stop thinking of yourself and start thinking of others. This will impress the admissions counselors more than straight A's.

Answer 4

Odds are that the teaching style in high school has changed from all of your past experience and this new teaching style does not mesh with the way you've learned to learn.

Most high school classes rely on memory of what you've read, rather than what the teacher says in class or the projects you've done.

Odds are that your parents are super good at learning from this exact teaching style -- so it is time to ask them for help. [They'll also get the cold water bucket in the face experience, if they need it, of you NOT learning automatically and naturally the way they probably do.]

GL

Answer 5

I hate to shoot you down... but ummm, if you're having trouble getting As in your freshman year of high school, you're not cut out for an Ivy League...