I am a junior in high school. I have my ACTs tomorrow but I'm scared I will fail them. I have a 2.0 GPA and I'm just exhausted. I want to give up and just not go to college. I want to be a middle school or elementary school teacher and I am taking 2 AP classes next year. Should I give up my dream of college now? I want to go but I'm just so worried that the University I wish to go to wont accept me (University of Wisconsin Stevens Point). For my college classes I have been trying to take English classes as well as Psychology classes. Is this enough? Should I do more my senior year? I'm just so confused.
I know you hear this a lot, but please DON'T ever give up. Find a way of learning, or studying, that makes you feel comfortable. Please remember that your education does not define you as a person. You can also take more classes over the summer to prepare for your college ventures.
Best of luck :) !!
Don't worry too much about failing your ACT! The ACT is a college-readiness diagnostic test; you can't fail it. Sure, you could get a low score, but taking it and trying your best is way better than just giving up. It shows dedication and willingness to try. Even if you're not sure that you will be accepted by your university of choice, don't completely give up on college if it's your dream. There are other paths to achieving your goal of becoming a teacher. Community colleges often have early childhood education training programs that you could look into if you really don't like your chances at university. There's always the option of taking a gap year after your graduation to save up some money or take remedial courses if your GPA is low because of some failed classes. Other than that, English and Psychology seem like good classes to take for your intended major! AP classes might be too much on your workload, though. It might be a better idea to take standard-level classes and do your best in those to boost your unweighted GPA. There's always a way, though. Don't give up!
No. You should not give up. What good can come out of it? you need to work hard to achieve your dreams rather than quit to get nowhere. Think of coming home and getting an acceptance letter to your dream school. It will be so worth it. If you think it is not enough you can work harder but if you cannot do anyone, take a small break and live. Go for your dreams, but make sure you live a little too. Just try to calm your nerves (bananas help) and kick that ACTs' butt. Apply to many colleges, look at what people who got in did. compare to see if it works. Just do not give up. Think of giving up and the future... not great. But think of your future if you keep working... could work out really nicely. Just keep working and it will pay off for sure!
It's ok to feel overwhelmed! Just whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP! Junior year is always the hardest, but I have complete faith that if you can raise your GPA just a bit more, you'll definitely get into UWSP. UWSP is a test-optional school, and say you totally fail your ACT, just do it again, you can take it 12 times. I'm not sure if you're taking APs right now, but if you're not feeling good about your classes now, it may be wise to switch to a regular class for next year with one of your APs. Your dream of college is absolutely achievable, and if all goes wrong, community college is always a great pathway into college. No matter what happens, there are always ways to achieve your goals, I believe in you!
Hi @froghat.
No, you should not give up. You can still get into college, and even if you didn't you would still have other options.
The first thing I would do is start setting up a personalized school list. Our Chancing Engine (link on the sidebar) will give you an accurate prediction of your chances at various schools, and it will also help you find safeties (or "backups") that you are more likely than not to get accepted to. Having a list of safety schools ready should at least give you some assurance as you work through the rest of high school.
From there I would work on improving your grades and test scores. You can start by reconsidering your class schedule — it sounds like you're overstretched, and it might be worth switching out the dual credit and AP courses for something that gives you a little bit of breathing room. I would also recommend you keep taking the ACT, since you can always improve your score in the future (and delete old ones if needed).
As your grades and test scores improve, you'll see that reflected in our Chancing Engine. Keep in mind that colleges weigh junior and senior year more, so this is actually the best time to improve your transcript — they'll be impressed so long as there's some upward trajectory.
And finally, even if you don't get into a school you like, there's always other options. You can take a gap year, or attend community college for a bit and transfer to another school later. In short, there are always more options than giving up.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions.
Never give up and try to believe in yourself even when times are rough! I think if you can manage to bring your 2.0 gpa up you can manage to get to a good college as long as you show an upward trend with your academics. Don't push yourself to do too much if you can't maintain it. Some AP classes may not be as hard but can overload you with work, but do what you think is best and try to challenge yourself maybe! Plus you can use recommendation letters from your teacher to explain you as a student so just try different approaches! A GPA of 2.0 or anything above that is considered a "passing" GPA, and so therefore a 2.5 is good for college. I think there's still hope since you have time, it may not have a significant rise but I believe you can still do something with it.
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