High School Senior Looking for Help/Motivation

Off Topic
1

just finished junior year last month and now i am officially a high school senior.its summer and im freaking out about senior year before its even started. i finished my junior year with a 2.763 gpa and an sat score of a 1200.i am going to retake it in october, and i will also be taking the act in september. i want to go to a university after high school but i feel that my gpa is too low.

i messed up freshman year and ever since then i been trying to bring myself up. no one in my family has gone to a university before and i really want to be the first.many of my friends all ready decided that they will go to a community college after hs and transfer after two years. i don’t want to do that.i live in texas and most of the schools i will be applying to have an acceptance rate of 65% and above.

have any of you guys gotten accepted to a university with a low gpa.i have until november to raise my gpa to atleast a 3.0. i will start applying to some colleges around september. once i get my new transcript in november i will apply to the rest of the colleges i like. is that a good idea.i will also be taking ap and dual credit courses

2

Now, over here a lot of my generation got a degree that really should not have.

Not because they could not do it, though that was true for some, but because they got some useless degree in something that is a dime a dozend that they really were not interested in one bit.

Meanwhile, plumbers, electricians, car mechanics and whatnot are reeeeaaaallly doing alright, because with what they can make off the books, they are easily making twice as much as the average academic schlub.

But, if it has to be so, at least go into a STEM field.

3

You can always start at a community college. I’m pretty sure they take everyone and it’s a cheap way to complete gen ed requirements. You should decide what 4 year college you want to finish at and make sure the credits will transfer. No point in wasting time on classes that won’t count towards a BA or BS.

4

I’m the first person in my family in multiple generations NOT to have a college degree, yet I make more money than 90 percent of my family members. My brother went to school for 13 years, has a PhD and only makes 65K a year (Liberal Arts major). I cleared that by the end of April (Union Electrician). My son has outstanding grades and is a state champion athlete, but he has decided not to go to college and become an electrician. After doing the math and comparing saleries, benefits, pension, etc… the trades actually make more than MOST people with degrees (outside of your “professionals” i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc…).

Apply for college, if you get in, great go that route. If you don’t get in, apply for a trade school. Texas has a HUGE oil/gas industry that will pay well and give you a stable future. If that oil platform is down and YOU are the guy that can get it going again, you’ll be making $$$. And that’s not something that they teach you in school.

5

A few points.

  1. I will second what orion said. I’m not saying you are not college material. I don’t know you. I’m saying that you can make a very, very good living by doing something like learning to weld and moving to North Dakota. Make sure you explore your options thoroughly.

  2. I hope you put more effort into your writing for school than you put into that post. I did not see a single capitalized letter. Kids your age may not mind that style of communication, but the adults who are the gatekeepers to your future will most certainly take note.

  3. In the meantime, man up and make sure you are giving it your best effort.

Good luck to you.

6

First, start using proper capitalization, spaces, and grammar.

Second, if your dream is to go to college, go to college. It’s true you can be successful without a college degree, but it does not hurt to try.

Third, you can get into a school with a GPA of 3.0. For example, the University of Arizona accepted 46% of it’s freshman with GPA’s below 3.24 (6% were under 2.4). As a side benefit, Arizona has some seriously hot bitches. Focus on improving your SAT/ACT scores. In my experience, the ACT’s are a bit easier than the SAT’s (at least they used to be), and are widely accepted. You can also think about attending a Junior College which will help prepare you for the next step and knock some credits out.

Fourth, get involved. Join clubs, sports, volunteer, be active, etc. These will help with your application.

Best of luck.

Additional resources:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/college-admissions/the-gpa-problem-what-grades-yo.html
http://www.getintocollegeblog.com/2009/07/reasons-not-discouraged-low-gpa.html

7

[quote]libanbolt wrote:
once i get my new transcript in november i will apply to the rest of the colleges i like. is that a good idea.i will also be taking ap and dual credit courses [/quote]

You sound like my 1/2 brother.

Assuming, you want to go to school in the fall, you really have only one semester to bring up your GPA, so there are two strategies:

  1. Take a lot of really easy classes where you know if you bust your ass you will get A+s.

  2. Bust your ass in quality classes, preferably dual credit with a local community college, make sure you do well in those, then go to the community college for a couple years and transfer after your freshman or sophomore year to a 4 year school. Focus on classes that will transfer to your college of choice.

Regarding college of choice, if you are not a millionaire or on full scholarship because you are a complete academnic stud, go wherever is cheapest that is accredited. No employers gives a shit about your college, unless it is one of the top tier schools, presuming it is accredited and in-person, not one of those stupid online schools. (Grad school quality matters, in contrast.) As an employer, I look at GPA to weed out people for interview.

So cheap, cheap, cheap.

And get a real degree: engineer, accounting, business, economics, whatever. All the soft degrees (English, Women’s studies, whatever) go in the garbage.

8

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
And get a real degree: engineer, accounting, business, economics, whatever. All the soft degrees (English, Women’s studies, whatever) go in the garbage.[/quote]

This

9

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
And get a real degree: engineer, accounting, business, economics, whatever. All the soft degrees (English, Women’s studies, whatever) go in the garbage.[/quote]

This[/quote]

X2…

I would personally also avoid an Education major (nothing against teachers).

10

[quote]AliveAgain36 wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
And get a real degree: engineer, accounting, business, economics, whatever. All the soft degrees (English, Women’s studies, whatever) go in the garbage.[/quote]

This[/quote]

X2…

I would personally also avoid an Education major (nothing against teachers).[/quote]

And avoid business administration. Any job you can get with that degree you could get without it. Or at the very least a different degree (finance, marketing, accounting) would look better.

11

Also don’t knock the community colleges. As many have said, its a cheap way to get some classes in and figure out what interests you. To AC’s statement, the top 5 earners in my class didn’t go to college or went to community college to get a trade degree (welding, electrical). All 5 went to work on drilling or production rigs offshore. Being in Texas opens that opportunity up really wide for you.

12
13

Lots of good advice, especially about not ruling out a local CC. Also, don’t pay up to go to an out-of-state public school if you have schools of equal or better reputation in state.

14

Go to a university. The courses, material, and even professors may be on par with community college, but the academic atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated. If you take your education seriously, you will meet people that will motivate you to go in ways you never thought of. A university education will help you find your path. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun.

As mentioned above, get a real degree if you want a job when you graduate - Accounting, Finance, Engineering.

As for getting in with a lower than average GPA… You need to sell yourself as more than just a student. They will want to see you are passionate about something and have been successful with it. Do you play varsity sports, compete in powerlifting, do community service, play in a band, build model planes, whatever…

If you haven’t gotten yourself involved in something outside of school, then do something this summer. Start a business, start a charity, join a charity, or take college credit courses at local community college. Admissions offices look for leaders, not GPA nerds.

15

[quote]broyourmybro wrote:
Go to a university. The courses, material, and even professors may be on par with community college, but the academic atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated. If you take your education seriously, you will meet people that will motivate you to go in ways you never thought of. A university education will help you find your path. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun.

[/quote]
Honestly, I thought the people at community college were more about taking their education seriously than the people at the university I went to. There was a lot of people interested in partying and fucking around in the university.

16

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]broyourmybro wrote:
Go to a university. The courses, material, and even professors may be on par with community college, but the academic atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated. If you take your education seriously, you will meet people that will motivate you to go in ways you never thought of. A university education will help you find your path. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun.

[/quote]
Honestly, I thought the people at community college were more about taking their education seriously than the people at the university I went to. There was a lot of people interested in partying and fucking around in the university.[/quote]

I’ll admit that I have never attended a community college so I can’t discount your opinion. I based my statements off of the experience of three of my friends who attended both universities as well as community college. All three gave the same feedback. They said the atmosphere was different and somewhat depressing. Students, like you said, were very focused on their schoolwork, however the goal was finish school, whereas the focus of university seemed to be more long term.

I took my coursework seriously, but also found the social aspect of a university invaluable. For both securing a job and achieving career success, building networks is absolutely necessary.

There are some people that are only there to party and that’s obviously not a route you want to take. However, from my observation the most successful guys post graduation are the ones who had a ton of fun and still got A’s.

17

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]broyourmybro wrote:
Go to a university. The courses, material, and even professors may be on par with community college, but the academic atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated. If you take your education seriously, you will meet people that will motivate you to go in ways you never thought of. A university education will help you find your path. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun.

[/quote]
Honestly, I thought the people at community college were more about taking their education seriously than the people at the university I went to. There was a lot of people interested in partying and fucking around in the university.[/quote]

I concur. I went to a community college while still in high school (branch of Eastern New Mexico University – go Hounds!). I had been getting straight As in what passed for AP courses in my HS.

I was in a total shock. The people were total grinders, most a lot older. Full of people who were smart, studied, read, prepared, etc. They were there for one purpose — education.

It was a huge prep for when I ultimately went to college (and even for the military), where most really didn’t apply themselves.

18

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:

[quote]broyourmybro wrote:
Go to a university. The courses, material, and even professors may be on par with community college, but the academic atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated. If you take your education seriously, you will meet people that will motivate you to go in ways you never thought of. A university education will help you find your path. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun.

[/quote]
Honestly, I thought the people at community college were more about taking their education seriously than the people at the university I went to. There was a lot of people interested in partying and fucking around in the university.[/quote]

I concur. I went to a community college while still in high school (branch of Eastern New Mexico University – go Hounds!). I had been getting straight As in what passed for AP courses in my HS.

I was in a total shock. The people were total grinders, most a lot older. Full of people who were smart, studied, read, prepared, etc. They were there for one purpose — education.

It was a huge prep for when I ultimately went to college (and even for the military), where most really didn’t apply themselves.
[/quote]
Exactly. The older students don’t fuck around. They know what they want and are there to work hard to achieve it.

19

1.) With an SAT score of 1200, you can certainly get in to college. A lower GPA is not ideal, but community college is a great place to start. Its less expensive, you can get the basic crap out of the way (English 101 is the same everywhere), and you can raise your GPA. All of this is, of course, assuming that college is the path you want to take and that is right for you.

2.) I will second the person who talked about useful vs. crap degrees. The idea of ?just get the degree? is total bullshit. Not all degrees are the same. A bachelors degree in psychology or communications or 15th century Russian pastry making is not the same as a degree in engineering, accounting, computer science, physics, etc. There is such a thing as ?value.? Speaking of value?

3.) Your ability to make a living and provide for yourself and your family has absolutely NOTHING to do with a degree, or your passion, or your love, or where your heart is, or anything Oprah tells you. It has to do with the VALUE you can bring to other people. Maybe that value is in the form of providing value to a company so that they will hire you. Maybe it is in the form of bringing value to others through a business you start on your own. Maybe it is in the form of bringing value to the needy by starting or working for a non-profit. Whatever it is, it is about bringing value to others.

4.) I?m not saying your passion doesn?t count. I?m just saying that if you can?t find a way to bring value to others via your passion, maybe its not a good idea to try to make a living at it.

5.) Also, don?t try to fight reality. If you want to be an accountant, get an accounting degree and do what you have to do. Don?t complain about the fact that you have to go through all the crap. If you want to be a teacher, get a degree and get your certification. If you want to be a pharmacist go through the schooling without complaining and get it done. Too many people say they want to do something, but then bitch and moan and complain about all of the stuff they have to do to get there. If you want to be lean and strong, you have to eat right and exercise. If you want to be a doctor you have to go to medical school. It is what it is.

6.) There are very few problems that can?t be overcome with hard work. 40 hours a week? Bullshit. More like 50 ? 60. 80 when it gets crazy.

7.) Make your decisions with purpose toward an end. Don?t spend the money on college ?just because.? Decide where you want to be and make a plan to get there. If college is part of the plan, great. If not, don?t do it.

8.) Learn to be CRAZY organized, responsible, and trustworthy. If you can track and manage and complete multiple projects at a time, you have tremendous value. Read the book Getting Things Done by David Allen.

9.) No credit card debt. Credit cards are fine if you pay them off in full every month. Never carry a balance from month to month. If you can?t do that, don?t use credit cards.

End of my “old guy rant” for now.

20

my goal is to work in federal law enforcement and to do that i need a degree. i want to major in computer science instead of criminal justice because just in case something happens to me in law enforcement i can find another job with my computer science degree. my first year of college i want to try my best so i can try to win a 3 year rotc scholarship for either the army or airforce. after college i want to join the military for a couple years and after i want to join federal law enforcement.

to accomplish my goals getting a degree is mandatory. the schools i want to apply to are some of the cheapest schools in texas.