Help I did nothing my freshman year

Hi! I hope everyone reading is doing very well.

In the fall, I will be going to a boarding school in NOVA as a freshman reclass. I am moving from an all-girls day school in CT, as I have not had the easiest time there (socially and emotionally, not academically), and my family is planning a move to South VA.

This past year (my first freshman year) I spent most of my time and energy applying to and working to get into boarding schools, and I didn’t get very involved in my past school, as I knew I was most likely leaving (I applied to 8 schools). I did not do many structured ECs, and focused all my energy into leaving.

I ended my first freshman year with these stats and ECs.:

3.8uw/4.0w gpa
High Honor Roll both semesters
Silver Medal National Latin exam

church choir (3x week, continuing choral at new school)
Alpine ski (obv not continuing in Va)
Club Field Hockey (playing at new school)

I am very much prepared for next year (my next freshman year) and I intend to immediately jump into the community. I have a plan for extracurriculars and awards to attempt, etc

I do have a dream school (or two: Dartmouth/UVA), but I also recognize that I am only a freshman, and that college admissions is not a straight path, and to not get hooked on such hard schools

Sorry for all the rambling, but my question is just: have I screwed myself over, having done so little my first freshman year? Should I be worried about it, and if so, what should I do to fix it? How much do colleges look at freshman year anyways, especially if you do it twice? Does reclassing help or hurt with college?

Thank you!

No. You did plenty. And being involved alone does not get you in.

Do a thing or two you enjoy, gain tenure and depth, make an impact. Don’t do things simply because you think they look good. Do meaningful things - meaningful to you.

Good luck.

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You’re fine. Even if your “first freshman year” were weaker than it actually was, you’d be fine. And you actually had a fine GPA and a reasonable slate of activities. Literally nobody is going to be reading your applications three years from now and saying, “these past three years have been great, but that first 9th grade year four years ago ruins it.”

Even if last year were going to hurt you, it’s in the past and there would be no point dwelling on it. But it won’t. What will matter is what you do from now on. There may be some curiosity about why you repeated 9th grade after doing quite well the first time, but I don’t see it being a problem.

You haven’t screwed yourself over. There’s nothing to fix. Don’t even stress about college admissions for now - that’s way too much buildup. Just jump in at your new school, as you already intend to do, and make the most of the experience.

The life experience you’re about to have is just as important as the life experience you’ll have at college. It’s good to have goals, but don’t have your head in the future all the time. Get the most out of the present and the future will fall into place.

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You are fine. Relax.

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Your family’s move to Virginia should help. Both the University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary are outstanding schools and will be much more affordable as a resident of Virginia. Virginia’s in-state public colleges & universities are strong.

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Deep breaths. Plenty of time to get involved in what is personally inspiring. If the school is small, there is a good chance you can rise to leadership positions in your chosen EC. Enjoy the ride!

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You’re fine!

My only advice to you is to do things because they speak to your interests, not to build a resume. If you like to play field hockey, want to be active, and want to meet people in your new school - play field hockey. But if only the last two apply, try a new sport.

It’s great to have goals and to understand the lay of the land to avoid those “if only I had known” situations, but it’s also important to be open to the opportunities that you might not know about now.

My kid did things in BS because friends talked him into it , including a new sport (which he could have played in college!) and several clubs - some of which he decided he didn’t love but a few he did. The key here is that he could articulate what attracted him and what didn’t.

If you have a few minutes, scribble a few bullet points in a journal about why you are making the choices you are, and after the fact, how it matches and didn’t. It may end up as good source material for a college essay!

Good luck at your new school. I hope it’s the start of 4 great years!

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You have gotten some fantastic advice here.
I’m going to add that one of my daughters did “nothing” her freshman year locally at the public school too. Fantastic school and great social experience for her for lots of reasons (her sisters were all away at BS and she just loved being an “only child” for a year of high school). So NO regrets at all that she took that year just to hang with friends and her parents. We had a wonderful year!
Then, she decided to join her sisters at BS for 10th grade. (did not reclass).
Boarding school CHANGED HER LIFE. :). Again, nothing “wrong” with how she did freshman year, but it was not at all the “recommended” college track that many people feel is “necessary.” (Spoiler: in case you cannot tell, we are NOT the type of family who believes in doing things for the sake of a resume-build or a chance at an “elite” college admission.) Anyway – her BS had SO many opportunities and the close-knit community offered her so much support for the things she found out she loved naturally. She loves crocheting, for example – well that turned into a major hobby of hers. Then, she discovered she loved lit theory and feminist theory in one of her classes at BS. She ended up doing an artistic installation of full-sized crochet art pieces that celebrated feminism and a French female impressionist as a senior project. She also was able to spend her junior year abroad in France through her boarding school - another great example of the boarding school having the support to help nudge her along her organic interests and turn them into a really interesting way to learn and live.
She just graduated and is off to UC Berkeley, and got into a number of very competitive schools, and with doing “nothing” her freshman year. And never, not once, was there any conversation or impulse to do an activity to fill a resume for college. (I won’t get into it all here, but she DID do lots of things in high school, but they were not done with a mind toward “oh this will be good for college apps.”)
My point is: I think you will find your BS will have so much community around you and willingness to see you for who you are and support that human. And THAT will result in some really cool activities and an interesting narrative to share once you hit senior year and are considering colleges. All that to say: you are FINE. more than fine. Please keep us posted on what you do over the next four years. Amazing things are to come. My suggestion: leave behind the college worries for now and just follow your curiosities, and keep digging and digging and showing up for them and putting in the work of making you an interesting and engaged human in this world. The “strategic” part of applying to college, in our family’s approach, comes into play at the end of junior year when they get strategic about identifying their life themes, and deciding how they will talk about themselves. Strategic selection of activities for the purposes of college apps to me feels like the tail wagging the dog. (there are many who would disagree with me on that for sure, however).
You have an amazing experience that awaits!

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Thank you so much for this response, and for sharing your daughter’s story. By the way, she sounds really amazing:

thank you for this. the general vibe in the town I live in is very college-obsessed, and very occasionally do we get the “do it cause you like it” message, it’s nice to hear it.

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Thank you. I am really grateful for your response, and this quote really makes a lot of sense

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