Help with freshman year bad grades & how to fix/ advice

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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Hi everyone,

I just finished my freshman year in the IB program today. Overall, I ended up with 2 high Cs, 4 Bs, and 1 A(semester 2). Semester 1, I got B, B+, A-, A, B+, A. I’m a bit worried because those Cs are definitely going to bring my GPA down. The classes I got Cs in were AP World History and Honors Algebra II with Trig. I also haven’t started any extracurricular activities yet, as I was planning to begin those next year. Right now, I’m in the IA level (freshman/sophomore). Does anyone have advice on how I can improve my grades or GPA moving forward?

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You improve your grades moving forward by addressing the cause(s) of the poorer than desired 9th grade grades. For example, if you did poorly first semester because you failed to turn in assignments, perhaps you need to note any assignments and due dates in a planner before you leave class. Then when you get home, break long-term assignments into weekly segments. Add those self-imposed deadlines to your planner. As you complete each assignment (or segment), put it in your class folder. Make sure all class folders are in your school bag each evening before you go to bed. That way you will have them when you get to class.

On the other hand, if you have always excelled in the past and now have struggle to master the materials, work on study skills. You need to study smarter not necessarily longer or harder. One way to study smarter is to ask for help as soon as you realize you are struggling. Many schools offer peer tutoring. That is a good place to start. If no peer tutors are available ask your teacher for help.

Algebra 2, honors or not, is advanced for 9th grade. What math will you be taking in 10th? I suggest you spend some time this summer using Khan Academy to review. Do the diagnostic tests for Algebra 1 and work your way up.

If you cannot handle schoolwork plus an extracurricular activity or two, either you are taking coursework that is too advanced for you or you have poor time management skills. If the former, it is better to take regular-level high school coursework and have a few activities you enjoy than to do poorly in advanced courses because you took them too soon. If the later, work on that this summer.

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Why are you in the IB program?

To me it looks like you have jumped ahead too far too quickly. There really are many classes that you are not ready to take, yet. You need to learn what the right pace is for you.

I am not all that worried about the C in AP World History. On the one hand a freshman in high school should not be taking AP classes. If I were the head of education for the world (I’m not, of course), I would probably outlaw any high school freshman taking any AP class, and AP world history is more difficult than some other AP classes. Also, while having an understanding of world history is in general a good idea, it is not going to be all that necessary of a foundation for other classes that you are about to take.

I am more concerned about the C in Algebra II with trig. Algebra and trig are MAJOR cornerstones for a LOT of mathematics that you will be taking in the future. This is stuff that you are going to need to understand very well. This is stuff that you will use over, and over, and over, and over again.

I think that you need to do two things.

One is to stop taking IB program and at least for the immediate future stop taking AP classes. Take classes that you are ready to take. There are a LOT of very good universities in the US. Your freshman year of high school might have made most of the highest ranked 10 or 20 universities very unlikely to happen for your undergraduate education (a small number won’t even care at all about freshman year), but there are still hundreds and hundreds of very good universities and colleges left to be realistic options. You do not need IB classes and you do not need to take AP classes in your first two years of high school to attend a very good university.

My second advice is that you need to find a way to move forward in mathematics that somehow allows you to compensate for the fact that your foundation in algebra is shaky. Algebra II as a freshman in high school is way, way ahead of normal, but this is also a class that when you take it is something worth learning very well. You probably should talk to your math teacher and figure out what to do about this. This might include some work over the summer. You need to make sure that you are solid on everything that should have come before algebra II.

Finally, I would not worry about ECs. If there is an EC that you want to do then fine, do it. However, ECs are really only important for a tiny handful of the very most selective universities, and you do not need to worry about any of them at this point. ECs should be something that you do for fun, and not something that you do to prepare for any possible university application.

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One piece of advice that worked for my daughter in HS:

If you feel your grades starting to slip in a class and you are not sure how to improve, talk to the teacher and ask for advice on how you can improve your performance in their class. They might be able to give you additional practice problems or help you figure out what is blocking you.

Teachers want you to succeed, and usually respond well to a student sincerely wanting to improve (not just wanting a better grade).

Extracurriculars aren’t limited to structured activities like robotics team or model UN. Other than your classes at school, everything that you do is an extracurricular activity. This might include making art or music, playing sports, volunteering in your community, helping your family, playing games with friends, working at a part-time job, you name it.

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Absolutely agree that this is the biggest concern. If your comprehension of the AlgII/Trig material is at a C+ level, you’re not really prepared to move forward in the curriculum. What are you scheduled to take in the fall?

This I’m not as sure about; I think it depends on the school. In my area, the schools that have IB programs have a really big divide between the IB and regular programs, and few good options (such as well-taught “honors” level classes) in between. Whether letting IB go is worth considering will depend on what the alternative looks like. It may be that staying the course in IB will be okay if you don’t overload with AP classes as well.

What subjects are you most interested in? You can choose more challenging classes in some areas without having to take the hardest classes across the board.

In general, I agree with others’ advice - knowing how to improve your grades depends upon knowing what interfered with getting good grades until now. For one student, it might be that they understand the material but haven’t been organized about keeping track of assignments and avoiding careless mistakes. For another, they could be great on homework but struggling with test anxiety. Yet another might be doing everything right vis-a-vis homework and tests, but be struggling with the material itself. Talk with your teachers about how they perceive your work and what kind of support you might need to perform at your best.

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My guess is that you tested into that IB program and tested into that math class but the pace&depth of Algebra2H as part of the pre IB program (ie., preparing students for IB Math) was entirely different from the pace you knew in Middle School.
You can go over Algebra2 through Khan Academy and fill in any gap than start on the precalc units, perhaps using the AP Precalc lessons since the pre IB program is likely to make you follow that sort of curriculum.

M2 CS freshman year won’t make or break anything as long as you catch up so you can hit the ground running in any sequential subject when Sophomore starts.

What are you scheduled to take next year?

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Specifically, it is two grade levels ahead of normal.

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C grades are supposed to indicate readiness for the next course in sequence, but that often means an uphill climb to earn a higher grade in that next course, particularly if it has heavy dependence on the previous course.

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Depends on the school too. At my D’s HS, a B was necessary to continue to the next level if you were on an accelerated path.

OP - I would recommend talking to both your teacher and your guidance counselor about what they recommend you take next year.

Does your school offer any before or after school tutoring? Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are struggling.

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Yes, it may be the case that a C allows continuation to the next course, but not the honors or accelerated version.

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You need to

  1. talk to the teacher when you’re beginning to not understand something.

Do you have after school tutoring provided by the teachers? At our local high school, the teachers stayed an extra half hour to an hour with assistants to help anyone that needed extra time and explanations.

For those students in sports, the teachers arranged times before school or during school prep periods

  1. Use the online resources that have free tutoring like Khan Academy. It was mentioned above. The algebra three courses are the basics that you need. Further coursework in your math classes is contingent on you understanding the basic math principles.

  2. Use the local libraries which may provide free homework help and tutoring. If your parents can afford a tutor, find one. We found that the least expensive tutors are students from the local community colleges and universities who need extra cash.

4). Talk to the counselors and let them know what’s going on. I know the counselors are busy but if you tell them from the onset that you’re having issues, they might have additional resources.

Good luck!

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You might want to look at a book like "That Crumpled Paper was Due Yesterday ". It has a lot of suggestions for how to study, organize your material and time, deal with your phone, etc. Perhaps some will help you work better.

Many students who have learned quickly and easily through middle school find that their middle school methods are not enough to excel in high school.

IB is technically an 11th and 12th program, so your missteps were in the material leading up to that. Definitely figure out how to get mastery of the material where you had trouble-- specifically math.

And yes, make a point next year of reaching out to the teachers as soon as you feel yourself struggling to understand the material. It is so much easier to get back on track at the first wrong turn rather than after 100 miles of meandering.

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:double_exclamation_mark: :100:

And I might even make it a bit broader to say, as soon as you feel yourself struggling, to reach out to your teacher or other trusted adult. The struggle could be understanding the material, but it could be organizational issues, health issues, etc. Depending on the issue, the teacher could be the one to help you, or you may be connected with other resources that can help.

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What if I got a B+ during the first semester, but ended with a C+ in the second semester?

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Can you speak with your guidance counselor about your concerns?

You do not need to have A’s in everything to be a strong student. You do not need to be in advanced everything to be a strong student. And you shouldn’t be starting off the summer preoccupied with your grades.

But your teachers and guidance counselor who know you in real life can help you figure out the right courses for next year- and your teachers especially can give you extra support so you can feel more confident in your study skills.

You’ve got this! But please reach out to the people who see you every day, not a bunch of strangers on the internet!!!

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