How Can I Finish the 2020-21 School Year Strong?

Hi!

I think it's important to change your perspective here. Of course, everyone wants to please their parents, but it's important to know what YOU want. You still have time to improve your grades. Junior year is critical. Since only the first half of the second semester of sophomore year is over, you can work hard to improve your grades by putting in a lot of effort. It's ok if you don't have perfect grades. If you show that you are continuously working to improve your grades, then that's more than enough. Colleges want to know what your motive is. They want to know that you are interested in learning, so you should be taking classes that interest you. If you show a trend in improving your grades from now on, you'll be fine. Also, grades aren't everything. Make sure you're involved in extracurriculars. Anything outside of school that demonstrated leadership and determination. To improve your understanding of your AP classes, I recommend watching videos relating to the unit you are on and working on problems from previous exams. They're all available online.

Good luck! :)

Hello!

First of all, I just want to say that having a C- doesn't mean no college will want you. There are so many other factors that go into admissions decisions. You've still got good chances of getting into a school you'll love.

As for how to motivate yourself, try making a study schedule. It might seems a bit silly, but when you know exactly what you need to study or work on that day it makes it easier to focus.

Try setting up specific times each day to work on a specific topic or subject. Also don't forge to set up time to do things you love. With Covid-19 and quarantine it can definitely be hard to motivate yourself to work and organizing your time can make a huge difference.

If your teachers offer student hours, try going to those, even if you don't have specific questions, just to hear other's questions or watch the teacher work through problems.

Another huge thing is doing a lot of practice problems, especially for math and science classes. For AP courses, I highly recommend the Princeton review books and the 5 Steps to A 5 "500 questions to know by test day " books. Working through as many problems as you can help you get a lot better at a subject, and for AP tests, it's super important to make sure you've practiced the material as much as you possibly can. I'd also recommend working through all the past AP tests available on the collegeboard website

Just keep trying your best, and most of all, don't stress too much!

Hope this helped, and best of luck!

B's are still a good grade! I know that there is this idea that you need all A's to get into college, but you don't at all! I wouldn't stress too much; you still have a shot at getting into tons of great schools with your grades. :)

Hi!

First of all, you did not 'flunk' first semester because of a few B's. It is likely that your mindset is what is detrimental to your grades. I want you to believe in yourself as much as I do!

Next, when applying to colleges, admissions officers look at a combination of your grades and the rigor of the class. AP classes are amongst the most difficult classes available to high school students. Therefore, a C- in an AP is not nearly as bad as a C- in a regular class. I recommend prioritizing this class and preparing for the AP test (if you are taking it). Maybe you learn best in a way that is different than the way your teacher teaches the class. Therefore, check out YouTube. From my experience, you can find AP teachers review the course content for almost all of the classes. It is very much possible that you will find a teacher on YouTube who provides good supplemental materials to your current teacher. After, I recommend creating a study schedule using the videos you find. YouTube helped me get a 5 on AP US History, and I don't know what I would've done without it.

College admissions officers look at the entire applicant, not just their grades. Do you have strong extracurriculars? Are you friendly with teachers that can write you a good recommendation letter? Can you write a good essay? Admissions officers look at all of these aspects.

Holistically, you also have strong academics. You are an AP student with mostly A's and B's who is already planning for college. That is incredible! Look around your school at your peers because I bet most of them can't say that. Yet, many of them will be accepted to college. If you are a stronger applicant than them, then you will definitely be accepted somewhere. Don't sell yourself short!

Good luck in school and have a nice night!