<p>I’m a kid that really got lucky…I was #20 in a class of 530 without really trying. My class was split into two afer freshman year, then I was 16/~300, but this year I’m 10. My class isn’t competitive at all. Current GPA is a 3.91/4.0, 4.8/5.0.
I’ve been incredibly lazy, doing the least to get the most. There are no classes that are intellectually stimulating (I’m taking all AP/Pre-AP offered), and the courses that I have the most difficulty in (Pre-cal & Physics) are the subjects I’m weakest at (math/sciences), have the least interest in, and the worst teachers. I rarely do my homework at home, except for projects + major assignments, and even those, I’ll wait until 11 pm or so the night before they’re due to begin. I study for tests during other class periods, fall asleep in class often, and rarely read my textbooks. I do all the work, but never to the best of my ability, really because I feel my Texas public HS is one big joke. When we should be studying for AP Tests, we’re being forced to prep for TAKS.
I haven’t always been this way, though. I’m an international transplant, and my schooling was very rigorous and I enjoyed it. I love learning. I read a ton, and I’ve been self-learning Swedish/French. I had straight 100 report cards when I started school in the US but then I realized just how bored I was and how empty school is to me. My study habits have been enough to pass myself off as a “good” student in HS, but I’m afraid I’ll carry them with me to college and screw myself over. -.-</p>
<p>Sounds just like me, minus the international bit.</p>
<p>Find something that motivates you. For me, I couldn’t care less about school, but I like to read about local history, technology, architecture, and current events. I then write articles about specific topics and post them on the Internet. I don’t like paleontology, but I’ve written a pretty comprehensive article on a local dinosaur because I thought the notion of such a designation was fascinating. I do some freelance journalism work and educate myself about current events; I buy books about state parks and my city’s history to read; I do some web- and graphic design on the side–things that won’t really help me in college but will allow me to be an independent learner.</p>
<p>I plan to enter a career that interests me just as these other subjects do, and then I’ll be motivated because I’ll enjoy the work. I’m good at mathematics, but I don’t try in class because it bores me (and my current teacher has a radically different teaching style than my learning style).</p>