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The first portion of my freshman year is a poor reflection on who I am as a student. An incorrect choice in major, inadequate use of college resources, and poor mental health led to my GPA to plummet lower than it had during my entire career as a student. The second half of my freshman year does a better job at portraying who I am as an individual and as a student. I am dedicated, ambitious, and willing to learn from my failures rather than let them define me. During that second semester I was willing to do whatever it took to turn my academic status around and once again become the best student I could possibly be. This included speaking with numerous counselors, meeting regularly with teachers, and every single resource made available to
When I first came to college, I did not have a solid idea of what the experience would be like, but I was excited for this new chapter in my life. I enrolled in courses I though I would excel in but a couple of weeks into the quarter, I felt unprepared for the fast-paced courses that I seemed to be struggling in but that my peers seem to of been excelling in. Early on this cause me some hardships suddenly I did not feel that I was as smart or accomplished as they were. As a result of this my grades in my courses suffered early on. As time progressed, I became friends with a group of people who were also in my similar situation, they were first-generation college students, students, this great support network of students allowed me to gain more confidence in my academic ability and with the help of my lab work, I began to see that I could excel in college.
During my early education, meaning elementary school and middle school, I was a very average student. I gave an average amount of effort to my grades, and I received above average results. This did not bother me, until the end of my 8th-grade year. At this point in the year, I was filling out what classes I desired to take the following year, my freshman year. I realized that from this point forward, I had to take my education much more serious, in order to get accepted to whichever college I desired. therefore, when planning my classes, I decided to challenge myself more than I ever have in the past, and take multiple honors courses. I assumed because of my grades, that I had what it took to be an honors-level student, but I was very wrong. One teacher, Mrs. Johnson, made me realize the kind of effort, time and energy needed to be devoted to my education.
During my years in high school, I have learned many valuable lessons. I’m proud of the person I am becoming. Life has not been easy, but thankfully I’m a strong hard worker. I started high school with a high GPA, and never intended for it to drop throughout my years. Within the last three years, I’ve moved around, participated in sports, and got a job.
High school is a strange time. After three years of trying to develop identity and friends in middle school, students are expected to mature immediately on the first day of ninth grade, but I never did this. I never fully realized in the earlier grades how important high school success, as measured by GPA, would be to my future life, and as a result I am applying to college with seemingly contradictory measures of my ability to perform college-level work. If I had worked and studied hard rather than hanging out with friends and viewing high school as an opportunity to socialize, I would not have to apply to school with a 1300 SAT and a 2.7 GPA. Had I taken my grades in my earlier years seriously, I could have been a college's dream candidate.
My transition to college was successful, but it was nonetheless one of the most stressful times in my life. Unlike many of my peers at Saint Louis University, my rural high school experience did not truly prepare me for the academic rigors of college. Despite extensive preparation, I performed rather poorly on the first round of exams. While I didn’t fail any particular exam, my performance was seriously lacking. I knew that getting C’s on exams would not serve me well in the pursuit of my dream of becoming a physician. I remember feeling, for the first time in my life, that I was unintelligent and incompetent. I was also heavily fatigued from the excessive hours of studying, which I felt were necessary to reconcile the problem. I managed to
When I was young they used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and until six years ago I never knew. It took me exactly eleven years until I figured out the one thing I wanted to do with my life. The very first show I performed in was Guys and Dolls, and from then on my devotion to acting only grew. I feel as though the Early Middle College Program is a good opportunity to further myself in my future goal of a Master’s Degree in Musical Theatre, as well as saving money while doing so. The Early Middle College Program is a very large stepping stone on my way to a Master’s Degree, and is the most effective way to get where I want to be.
Cliffside Park High School has offered me numerous opportunities. I took honors courses in English, mathematics, and science ever year. In addition, I have taken three years of Spanish as a third language and an advanced placement class for U.S. history. Throughout the past couple years; I have been able to sustain a high grade point average of about a 4.4 (based on calculations made at the end of sophomore year) and make High Honor Roll for almost every marking period. However, my journey to where I am now was not a perfect yellow brick road. Instead, it was a path with many twists and turns that led me through many dark and awful experiences. Juggling all these courses was something I had adapted ...
My education has always been a top priority of mine. Not only is it important for my future, but I also enjoy learning new information. In order to maximize my education, I actively participate in class. If I have any questions, I will ask the teacher for any clarification. Moreover, I have taken many AP classes: European History, Biology, Calculus, U.S. History, Chemistry, and Chinese. I took the prior two classes in sophomore year and the other four in junior year. I performed well in all those classes and taken all the corresponding AP tests. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA all throughout my educational career and have never failed to achieve anything less than an A. Moreover, I haven taken the following electives: Art I, Art II, Sculpture, Digital Photo, Construction (for two years), Ceramics, and Introduction to Business. Many of these classes are very hands-on because I enjoy using my imagination to inspire original creations. When I study, I generally avoid procrastinating, to ensure that I have enough
As a senior, my past is full of things that I wish I had done differently. My past years in high school weren’t always the best, but they make me who I am today. Problems that I dealt with were that I had trouble keeping my grades and GPA up because, I was more focused on socializing and being a class clown than I was on my school work. Because I wanted to be a class clown it also caused a lot of behavioral issues. I ended up being kicked out of my ninth-grade math class because of it, damaging my GPA even more. Having behavioral issues is never a good thing it caused me to be suspended out of school, which are reflected poorly on my attendance. So, when I was in school, I was so far behind that it made it nearly impossible to catch up. I feel as if these were some of the worst decisions I could have made, because it’s made it so much harder for me going into my senior year.
Academics have always been an experience for me. I would always start the semester with a positive attitude, determined in making strides, constantly telling myself that this will be the semester I’d bounce back. However, this wasn’t always the case, I would let my doubts and barriers, in the form of excuses, hold me back from my full potential; always worried that the next semester would be my last. It wasn’t until the university requested that I take a semester off of school to reevaluate my standing, which served as a wakeup call. I was no longer a student and no longer myself. I remember thinking I could dwell on my situation and be content as a college drop out or wake-up and do something about it. Education has always determined my fate and I wanted to do everything and anything necessary to get it back. I suddenly realized how a positive and hopeful environment could transform even the direst conditions.
I would only attended close friends’ birthday parties and I believe I only had two of them, Alex’s and Lyssa’s. My freshman year of high school looks like a 5’1ft me and surrounded by piled and piled of worksheets and books, maybe my core teachers standing in each corners. Each time I got hit by a water balloon, I felt I could finally yet slowly breath again. As I was picking up the broken balloon on the grass, I came to a realization that I could make my high school feel like this water balloon fight. There is part that I get to have fun, yet there is still time to clean; it was all about balance. I promised myself, in three months I needed to make up all the fun I have missed during my freshman year. Sporting events, participating in clubs, meeting friends in the morning, socializing outside of school, etc. Although, my sophomore GPA was not as high as my freshman year, I did not regret any of it. I still have decent grades and I have a life. I realized how much free of stress I was compared to the exact same time last year. I never admitted that I’m a perfectionist, because nothing was ever good enough for
My teachers, who knew me and knew that I could do better, were concerned about me, but I wasn’t concerned about anything but , what I then saw as my road to acceptance , and a rebellion. After my second quarter report card came I realized that I couldn’t keep sabotaging myself to prove what I now saw as a ridiculous point, though my grades weren’t necessarily bad, I knew that I could have done way better had I tried; I was a smart, determined, self-oriented girl and anyone who couldn’t see that was missing out on someone amazing so I did what I had to do. I did all make-up work that the teachers allowed me to and resumed doing homework and studying, and by the end of that school year my grades were up to par
My first semester at Michigan State University was filled with many challenges that have made me a better student. It tested my ability to work under pressure, as well as encouraging me to properly plan out a healthy work schedule. Most importantly, it put the responsibility solely on my shoulders. Not only did this require me to stay on top of my work, but it encouraged me to find value in the work I was doing. All of this allowed me to look back at the semester and see drastic changes in my abilities. This was especially noticeable in my writing course, a subject that I have struggled with my whole life. Throughout the semester, with the proper resources, I was becoming an experienced writer, and learned many skills that I struggled with in the past.
Being proactive is key in the success of any venture. “But all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40 ESV). When planning for the new school year, creating a filing system to store policy handbooks, school communications, and other pertinent documents is ideal. Proactively developing classroom procedures that are simple and easily followed is essential, as consistency will aid in a positive classroom environment. Becoming familiar with school policies and procedures is another integral part of being prepared prior to the start of school. With an array of students in today’s classroom celebrating their cultures can be fun. Therefore, knowing what is permitted is definitely essential. Starting school can be overwhelming
Living up to my resolution, I joined several clubs, both in and out of school and academic and recreational. I also met some of my very best friends in high school. Achieving all of this, friends, memberships to academic clubs and good grades, made up my first successful experience in high school. I was driven by the years in middle school and the promise that I made to myself at the end of eighth grade. Throughout my under classmen years I exceled in all subjects and thoroughly enjoyed the clubs I had joined. I think my downfall for the last two years of school was that I took for granted my good grades and as my classes got more rigorous I didn’t change the way I learned the material, but continued on the same path that I had been following my entire academic career, even when my grades were slipping slightly. Halfway through my senior year, I realized I needed to change the way I was learning the curriculum my instructors were teaching. I’ve always been the type of student to take good notes or listen to a lecture and understand everything the first time around, as was the case in elementary school and middle school. But my more rigorous classes proved to be a challenge for me and I did not know the proper way of learning the material on my own. I started by asking more questions in class and then going to my friends for help on subjects I didn’t understand. After many questions and after school tutor