i’m a freshman and my first semester of high school hasn’t been the most ideal. i have a gpa of 3.76 (5 a-, 2 a, and my school doesn’t have a +. is this bad??
also, what are some good extracurriculars colleges (such as boston uni, ucla, ucd, brown, and nyu) like?
It’s really good that you’re thinking of college so early. Most 15 yr olds I know can’t think past Saturday night 
My advice to you…get the best grades you can and take lots of AP courses. AP courses will boost your GPA. Get a good score on your SAT/ACT also.
Don’t stress about getting into a prestigious college. They’re very very overrated and EXPENSIVE! Work on getting a good scholarship, even if it’s a smaller regional university. Most entry level jobs don’t pay particularly well anyway, until you build experience. You’re much better off starting a career without large amounts of student loan debt hanging around your neck.
@happybunny101 There’s a not a secret formula for ECs that schools use. From what I’ve experienced and heard, they love leadership and passion. If you’re a member of the Math Club, but hate math and are only a member, that is very transparent. I have to disagree with @coolguy40. Going to a higher level school can open a lot of doors for internship opportunities and meeting people that may be alumni who could help you in your career. Not to say going to a local school decreases your chances of being successful, but going to a higher level school can just give you a lot of opportunities. Your statement about entry pay is also untrue. The starting salary for a Princeton grad is 60k on average while a mid-career salary for CSU is 45k, there’s most definitely a trend.
UC doesn’t consider +/- so your grade could be the perfect 4.0, except UC doesn’t count freshman grade so you got nothing Just keep the good work and you will be fine.
Make sure you enjoy high school. That’s really important too. Trust me, you can be quite successful regardless of where (or if) you attend college.
ur a freshman,
JUST CHILL
thats great already, try to do better each successive year, improvement is good
what kind of school do you want to attend?
for EC, do somehting you really like or are good at
spend a lot of time, try to get recognized in it, get leadership, hopefully your major will relate to any activities
My friend, a CS major, started a thing called Cyberpatriots, and got many regional and few national awards, was president, and everything.
Do what you like,like what you do
hahaha thank you so muh :)) i currently have dance, boxing, piano, volunteering at an animal shelter, and teaching english at a migrant school down for my ECs, and since colleges typically require six (i think??), i was thinking of starting a HFH club. as for APs, i was thinking of APUSH next year, and AP lit and bio in junior year. tysm once again!! @coolguy40 // right, i also heard that leadership is a trait that colleges look for, so i really do want to start a HFH club. however, seeing as i’m only a freshman, i am kind of scared that no one will join HAHAHA, not to mention there is already an existing Jacaranda club sooo:(( but yesyes ofc, thank you! @ab2002 // i heard that UCLA and UCI don’t really look at freshman year grades but the rest of them do… but i really hope UCD doesn’t either haha! also, they don’t consider +/-?? that is SUCH great news oh my god THANK YOU @SculptorDad // that is very true!! thank you for your input @rickle1 // haha thanks but i’m asian so my parents have VERY high expectations for me LOL as of rn, i’m leaning heavily to a liberal arts uni. i’m also quite interested in animal science, hence UCD, so i can maybe dual major animal science and english. also, oh my damn good for your friend man!! that honestly seems so cool. and i totally agree with the love what you do, do what you love statement. thank you. @SREE33
UC’s consider only 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation, but they look at Freshman grades to make sure you meet the a-g course requirements. You are doing fine so keep up the good work. Do not worry about college, enjoy your time in HS.
At the end of Junior year, you can calculate your UC GPA (capped weighted and fully weighted) using this calculator:
@happybunny101 - Colleges don’t require (or recommend) six EC’s. One or two activities with commitment and achievement is better than six where you’re just going through the motions.