If I could change one thing.... - Page 12

ihateCA · 02-11-2006, 12:36 AM

1. Higher GPA
2. That I took AP Euro instead of Honors Chem, because I ended up dropping out of honors chem anyways.
3. That I took AP Bio(I don't like bio, but like it better than any other science) instead of regular physics (I abhor physics).
4. Change my school's curriculum to offer more social science/humanities APs.
5. More Extracurriculars. Wish I did better on the interview for an appointed Student Council position.
6. Higher SAT/ACT.

ihateCA · 02-11-2006, 12:41 AM

and2006, I'm right with you. I'm taking regular physics, and hate it. I took chem honors last year, and after watching my grades go from a B to an F (86-57) despite my best efforts of course, I dropped down to regular chem out of pure trauma and depression. I've grown to hate chem too. Now, I'm starting to hate all science.

mariopuzo · 02-11-2006, 12:21 PM

my freshman year....

i completely screwed that up.

cheated · 02-11-2006, 12:41 PM

If I could change one thing, it would be my decision to have gone to college. I bought into the lie that "you can't get ahead without a degree". Like many people I know, I swallowed academia's perennial sales pitch. Please, before you decide to make a commitment of thousands of dollars and 4 years of your youth, check out the other options. Please take a look at the U.S. Labor Department's projections of where the jobs are. Compare the percentage that will require a degree to the percentage of people who will receive a degree. The numbers won't be stacked in your favor when you graduate. I hope that many of you will check out careers in the building trades and other skilled trades that actually pay more than most jobs that actually do require a degree. Instead of paying for 4 years of education, you'll be in a payed training program for about a year. Then you'll have a a job that pays real money.

Academia won't tell you about this. It can't. My experience, like that of many who majored in fields that were marketable only according to an academic advisor, is that most of these people will lie very convincingly about job prospects and earnings potential. They have to in order to get you into their classrooms, so that their jobs (cushy, well-paying ones), will continue. Please don't ever kid yourself about academia's bottom line motives. It is a business. And it needs your tuition dollars to survive. And it will do what it has to do to get those dollars.

Please, before you make the decision to go to college, do your homework.

Best of luck.
Scott

amhso · 02-14-2006, 08:49 PM

if i could, i would have liked to have not ruined my personal record. im not even in highschool yet and my record is inches thick.

ksanders · 02-15-2006, 08:33 AM

If you're not in high school yet, that means you'll get a clean slate when you start high school

danielh15 · 02-22-2006, 09:09 PM

I transferred from a small private school (400 students) in which I was number 2 in my class, to a public high school (1500 students, almost 400 in my class-junior as of 2006). I thought I would still maintain high grades, but my grades in Pre-AP Chemistry and Pre-AP algebra II have hindered chances at several elite colleges. I am now ranked 68/384, which is in the top 20% I think. I don't have a calculator handy. However, if I give all high school students it is this: don't throw away 2 years of hard work with one semester of partying and slacking off. I am paying the price now of what happened last year. I still hope to perform well in college, and hopefully attend Duke for medical school. Guys, you can ruin in weeks what took a school career to build. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Thankfully, I am back on the right track with school, but I do not want to explain to an admissions officer why there is such a vast change in my grades.

Good luck with all your college planning!

Daniel

flashmaster · 02-24-2006, 08:20 AM

of course GPA.

AiLove · 03-04-2006, 07:42 PM

I regret...
1. Not forcing my parents to let me switch into Japanese
2. Not taking Chemistry over the summer
3. Not sucking up to teachers more ... haha ... but true
4. Not choosing my extracurriculars wisely freshman year ... + giving up certain extracurriculars

Bill_h_pike · 03-11-2006, 09:47 PM

I wouldn't have done something stupid and than had to explain to every college why I got suspended.

sasha99 · 03-15-2006, 11:31 PM

my unnamed-ivy-league-school interviewer answered several phone calls during the interview. On one of them she said "hey, I'm doing an alumni interview, can you believe it!" and giggled loudly for about 10 minutes.

Ella123 · 03-17-2006, 05:02 PM

Briefly, high school.

More specifically, I wish I hadn't gotten a horrible GPA, had almost no extracurriculars, not retaken the SATs, and SAT II writing. I wish my college ECs had more depth, and that I hadn't let spring racing season bring down my GPA last year. I wish I'd done something more meaningful that work at Peet's coffee last semester.

I also wish I could change my second essay to Colby; I ended the third paragraph in a preposition.

javabytes87 · 03-18-2006, 08:32 PM

Apply early decision. My #1 choice had a 40% acceptance rate for ED, and now I'm down to a 10% chance. Even though my stats are good - Chances for Admission - Amherst, Williams, etc. - I'm still worried.

calvinnnnn · 03-19-2006, 06:57 PM

im a junior..but def my essays. i cant write essays if my life depended on it. i mean i got a 610 (6 on essay) on the writing portion of the sat!