I am a junior in high school right now and my grades aren’t too great. I just have two questions:
Not at all.
The only thing I remember was me finding out that AP Lit was a lot of hard work. I learned that reading and analyzing complex works of literature was a “weakness” for me. But one that I am working to improve.
I totally bombed a particular class in HS. I honestly believe that horrible grade impacted my options for college;I got denied from all my reaches and what I thought were my targets. But you know what? It ended up being OK. In college I had the ability to avoid that subject matter, and I did fabulous in all of my classes and ended up going to a top grad school, doing well there and so on. Here’s the lesson I learned. Life’s always going to give you set-backs, and the people that succeed are the ones that get up, dust themselves off, and move forward. Also, there are many paths to success, so if one path is blocked, look for another.
So to answer your specific questions:
(1) maybe. But even if a bad grade impacted you, keep going and find your work-around. These things only keep impacting you if you give up.
(2) your future family shouldn’t have any interest in your past, unless you let that define your future. Also, people generally admire folks who overcome a negative situation.
It’s sweet that you are worried about what your hypothetical future in-laws might think. I think they’ll be pretty darned happy if you have graduated from college and have the good fortune of being able to start your marriage without student loans or any other debt.
Your grades will only haunt you if you flunk or drop out. Once you have the diploma, you aren’t likely to give them another thought.
I had one really bad grade — a C (2-point) from an English teacher who hated my guts. But I graduated 5th in my class, and I won the scholar-athlete award (“most outstanding student”) at graduation. Then college, marriage and family. That C didn’t matter in the least.
You think the other side of the family when you marry will ask about your grades…in anything? I doubt that.
The issue you have is that your very poor grade in an English class might limit your college choice options. Every college requires English for admission. What colleges are you considering?
But the grades you get in HS overall will influence what college you go to.
The study habits you have now will carry over into college.
Why would you even think that?
“Wendy, will you marry me?”
“Well, John, you know that I love you and that you are a great guy, but I couldn’t ever marry a man who got a C in English Lit in High school”.
“Hi. I’m James, and I couldn’t help noticing you, would you have a coffee with me, but first, I need to know, what was your Pre-Calc grade in your Sophomore year?”
“Ummm C, I think”
“Sorry, I thought you were somebody else”.
“Dave, I don’t know what to do, he’s good looking, he’s funny, he has a well thought out plan for the future, and he loves me”
“So what’s the problem?”
“He got three B’s in his Junior Year in HS”
“I cannot believe that you even dated him, much less that you’re thinking of marrying him!”
So, no, your future in-laws won’t ask for your HS transcripts.
Once you finish your undergraduate, nobody will ever ask to see your HS grades ever again. Well, if an employer asks for them, you may want to find a different place to work.
If a potential spouse or their family cares about your HS grades, a D in Honors Physics is the least of the problems in that relationship.
Your English teacher is right. I know so many people who weren’t “stars” in high school who are now very happy adults - my own father and husband being two of them.
My H was probably a below average student in HS. Went to a state college and did very well. He is one of few people I know who really enjoys his work.
Both of my kids got married in the past 18 months, and – dang! – I completely forgot to ask about either fiance(e)'s high school grades.
My SIL did horrible in high school. Like all C’s. She got a full scholarship to a state flagship for a sport. Graduated and decided to go to nursing school. Then got her master’s and most recently her PhD. My husband and I were both solid B/B+ students in HS. Both went to good, not great, colleges but we have done very well for ourselves without any advance degrees.
So no, high school grades don’t define you forever. Although CC might make you think otherwise. ?
True. However, some employers for whatever odd reason do ask for high school SAT scores even for applicants who are college graduates or about to graduate from college.
I’m in my late 40’s. I can’t even tell you what my low grades in high school were. I was first gen female. My parents were happy with my B+/A- average. I took the ACT once, zero prep. Did ok. Sure I could have done considerably better with a little more exposure. Did much better for grad school testing.
1 - your English teacher is right. No one cares.
2 - I’m not sure my in-laws know what degree I have from college let alone anything from high school. LOL.
I think the beautiful thing about our society is there are many chances to redeem and reinvent yourself. There are higher ed options or those who completely bombed high school. I have a friend who was a college failure and drop out who became a straight A student in her early 30’s.
I wouldn’t worry about an employer asking about your SAT scores/high school grades over the long term. It says right in that linked article it’s not a common practice.
Well, yes. For awhile they did. Not the grades themselves but certainly the reason I got them followed me. I coasted in high school. If I could get B’s and never do homework, that’s just what I did for even my AP classes. I was secretive about struggles and didn’t like to ask for help. I freaked out in the face of challenge. I took my bad habits and hang-ups to college with me and made for a difficult transition and took some work to overcome. Some took longer than college to push through. My kids had some foibles, one due to anxiety that she had to address, the other due to bad organizational skills that they had to commit to fixing but they did and so can you. My take is don’t stress about the grades but pay attention to the why. And no, don’t stress about further in-laws.
The beautiful thing about education in the USA is that there is almost always a path to redemption. Bad grades in HS? Go to CC, get good grades there, transfer to a 4 year U. Bad grades in the 4 year U? Go back to school, take a few extra classes and get good grades, then go to grad school. You can do nothing about your past, but you can always change your future.
My bad grades in high school saved me a lot of money! I started at a community college and lived at home before transferring to a 4 year. So there is a silver lining 
Heck, by the time I got married I could barely even remember my college grades, let alone my high school ones :lol:
I’m in my late 20s. I got a bad grade (C- and only by the skin of my teeth) and several mediocre grades in high school.
I’m now in a top phd program in my field.
My in-laws try to be WAY over-involved in our lives and even they have no idea what my grades were like in high school.
No, no one cares about your grades once you’ve graduated and started whatever the next phase of your life is.
I have no idea what grades my son-in-law got in high school, college, or grad school. All I know is that he loves my daughter, and that makes him good enough in my eyes.
Once you graduate and are accepted at/attend a college your HS years will be ancient history. That college C in my major in college is also ancient history. So are medical school P/F grades and my board certification was for life (before they went to 10 year ones). I got my MD, and passed licensure exams. I would guess the only use of HS or college grades is that eventually your own kids can point out that slipped up when they also get a bad grade. I have discarded my old school grade reports- they can’t be held against me by my son (oh, they were excellent in general).
The importance of HS grades is showing you learned the material and know how to study in college. They count for college admissions. As above- “the next phase of your life” and what you do with it is what matters. Each step overrides the previous one. Nobody cares how you did in middle school, nor elementary either.