@kidfood I have speech and math team. Speech takes up around two hrs each day and 12-14 hours on Saturdays. And then math team takes up around 4-5 hours each week- and we havent started our tournaments yet either…
IDK. I generally wake up early to finsih hw if i haven’t done it before. Ater school, I try to set time for my hw- sort of iffy tho…Used to do tennis. That was a nightmare, but it was fun 
@nickster Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I want to go is to give my parents something to not hold against me.I think especially Asians and Indians can relate to this, but our parents tend to look down upon us and not over exaggerate our accomplishments in order to not spoil us and to encourage us to keep achieving and I really want to give them something to really be proud of. Also, I want a different experience. Not to brag, but all my life I’ve been a topper in school and there was and still is not really any competition to be completely honest. I want to go to IMSA to be surrounded by better students (grade and overall wise) to be able to get rid of this feeling of superiority that I have in me because it’s a really bad trait to have. Other than that and similar to other people’s wants, it is a great atmosphere, and way more challenging, especially in English because I want to be able to get a way better SAT critical reading score when I take it legitimately as a junior for college.
Your situation is almost identical to mine. The description of your parents and competition in school is how it is for me. Amen! @AviSaxena33
This is such a cool blog, but I wish there were some 8th graders. Class of 2019
I’m Asian, too (Chinese), but my parents aren’t like traditional Eastern parents in that they want me to be self-driven and individualistic. The thing with a lot of Asian parents is that they too often stress their own idealistic views of their child’s future instead of letting him/her decide for themselves what their interests are. I actually think I put more stress on myself than my parents ever could.
@kidfood I have around three hours of track everyday and get home between 6:30 and 7:00. For me, though, there aren’t many time constraints as my math homework is always done in class and the remaining assignments never take more than two hours. Also, my bus arrives at school 50 minutes before first period starts, so I can use that extra time to cram for my morning classes (really just AP World).
@dimsumnoodles My parents are very similar. Although, my mother has little to no regard to my academic performance as she used to. 6th and 7th grade it would be utmost importance, 8th grade, she cared but not as much, 9th grade she doesn’t even look at my grades. My father just wants what is best for me, doesn’t stress grades too much, but he is just disappointed when I do not meet standards. I am definitely much harder on myself than any teacher or parent could be on me. Another strange thing is when it comes to out of school activities, most of the time she will not allow me to do them for some unknown reason our family has no idea of. My father is always on board with summer camps, sports, hanging out with friends, etc. But my mom strangely doesn’t allow me to, hence the lack of ECs on my application.
@kidfood Interesting…
How do you guys think GPA as a whole is calculated? I mean I have all As and the majority are A+s besides an A- I got in 1 semester in english in 7th grade. Do you think they they the whole year or they take all the grades of the semesters of one subject, i.e english and average it out? Also do you know if A- = 3.7 or 4.0 to them?
@AviSaxena33 I think @Daisybug or @nickster12 might have a good idea. Thoughts?
I think A- is 4.0, just like what IMSA does when calculating an unofficial GPA that goes in Naviance graphs
@AviSaxena33 - dont worry you will find truly brilliant people at IMSA.
@AviSaxena33 an A- is a 4.0. It doesn’t matter if its a B+ B- or A+ A-, all of its either a B or an A in ur GPA
@nickster12 how is IMSA’s speech team? I looked them up but, I didn’t find anything
what clubs would you recommend to join if we made it into IMSA?
@priyaluvsbooks - I sent you a PM regarding speech team. There is a club fair at the beginning of the year. I say join whatever you are truly interested in. There’s a ton of clubs.
Is there like a flyer or something online that gives us a list of clubs?
https://www.imsa.edu/studentlife/activities/clubs @priyaluvsbooks
Make sure you don’t get too involved in the clubs here at IMSA. There’s too many for you to possibly do. Keep that in mind and choose what you’re most passionate about to be involved in.
I’ve also heard that the amount of homework IMSA students get is incredulous. They say that they are sleep deprived due to the excess amount of homework- is this true? or is it just an exaggeration?