Many colleges don’t even look at freshman grades. While it’s always a good idea to understand how to position yourself for your goals – who wants to discover when they are applying to college that they should have taken FL to a certain level or English every year when they didn’t? – you really need to do the most with where you are now.
So…
- Figure out how to do even better. How can you study more effectively? You want to be truly learning and mastering the material while still leaving time for things you enjoy outside school. Can you talk to the teacher about how to do better in Geometry? Or can you get other outside help? Are you relying too much on memorization? At this point, you really need to learn how to learn! That’s not always easy for students who are bright and for whom things have come easily.
- Think about what you like and why. Also what you don’t like and why. This is a great opportunity to learn about yourself.
- Think about balance in your life. Do you get enough sleep? What do you do outside the classroom that makes you happy or excited?
- Consider keeping a very brief journal. In it, note why you chose the classes you did and what you hoped for from them. From time to time, check in in your journal, noting what you like and don’t. Before you pick courses the next year, review the prior year. Some of this may also help with college choices and essays.
There are tons of excellent colleges out there, and your choice, when the time comes, will reflect what you want to learn, how you want to learn, and the environmental you thrive in. This is your time to be working that out.