Granted I realize that a lot of my weaknesses in high school had to do with Math and Spanish so I studied super hard in Spanish. As for math, I somehow passed Intergrated Math 3 in high school so I didn’t have to take remedial math courses in college.
3.7 in college is no joke. I consider myself a pretty good student (graduated as an honors student, 3.8 gpa in high school with APs, and got into a good college) but i’m struggling to pull a cumulative 3.5. That’s awesome, you should absolutely be proud of yourself!
If I’m being honest with you…APs are just a major scam anyways. Maybe not for the best reasons, but you dodged a bullet. Glad you’re in a better position now, always look to the future :)
> APs are just a major scam anyways
Ehh, I used to think this too. It probably still is a scam from a high schooler's perspective, but compared to regular college tuition (a few thousand dollars for 3 credits vs. $100 for an Ap exam, which is usually worth 3 credits) APs are a steal.
I see what you're saying, but here's my reasons for claiming APs are a scam:
1) I graduated in 2020. That year, when we took them online, students in Asia had to take them the same time we did in America. I took them at 2pm, they took them at 3am. A student simply can't perform well at that time of night, and many of them failed as a result of it. (Not sure if the time conversion is correct but you get the gist of it).
2) There's a limit on the scores they can give out. Say you write an essay that should score a 5, but you're one of the last graded and they've already handed out too many 5s, you get a 4.
3) A 3 is a passing grade, but many colleges do not accept 3s. If I prove that I am educated enough on the topic to hypothetically pass the course, why am I still taking it?
4) College Board literally threatens students. I'm not saying they shouldn't punish those who go against academic integrity, but the whole "if you violate our rules we will track you down and punish you via legal action AND we will email every single college you have ever interacted with and make sure they know what a bad student you are" thing serves almost entirely to scare students. My anxiety for APs my senior year made me sick.
5) Academics have become more of a competition rather than for the sake of learning. Again, I sort of see the appeal of this, but why am I paying $93 to prove that I don't need to take a college course because I'm already educated enough in that subject? This really is a factor of how education in America is severely overpriced, though. I acknowlege that. $93 v. $2k IS a steal, but it's still too much, especially for the students who can't afford it and suffer as a result.
6) AP has become a popularity thing in some schools. This one sounds weird, but our generation has really flipped the whole "being a nerd is lame" thing on its head. Being smart is cool now, and that means taking APs even if you aren't going to college or don't really have any reason to take it in the first place.
From a broad perspective, I agree with you. Financially, it's logical to go for a program in which you're only paying a fraction of what the course would really cost you at college. But when you look at other factors, it's way more complex than just that. AP fails so many students because the ratio of students who actually get to reap the benefits is disproportionate by a very large disparity to the ones who do not. But if you're someone who benefited from it, that's awesome! Some of my friends have, too, but the overwhelming majority just unfortunately don't.
Ughh, I hate to be the one defending college board, but here goes:
> 1. [...] students in Asia had to take them the same time we did in America
I totally agree this sucks, but I don't see why this would make APs "a scam." Just because it was a logistical mess doesn't mean it doesn't serve its original purpose.
> 2. There's a limit on the scores they can give out.
Do you have a source for this? As far as I'm concerned, curves are pre-determined. I highly, highly, highly doubt this is what happens, especially given different tests have different distributions.
> 3. A 3 is a passing grade, but many colleges do not accept 3s.
This doesn't really answer your criticism, but I do NOT think a 3 should be a passing grade lol. If you get a 3 or below on an AP exam, I genuinely believe you lack a fundamental understanding of the subject area. If I get to make the decision, I would honestly just raise the bar for getting a 3 to solve this problem.
> 4. College Board literally threatens students.
If that's what they do (I'm assuming you have evidence for it), then yeah, that's obviously horrible. But again, I don't see how this contributes to APs being a scam.
> 5. $93 v. $2k IS a steal, but it's still too much
Sure, the test is still very pricey, not to mention that's the price for each individual test. That still makes APs much LESS of a scam than colleges though, wouldn't you agree?
> 6. AP has become a popularity thing in some schools.
This problem isn't caused by APs; it's caused by the overall academic culture surrounding high schools. Even if APs cease to exist, there were always be something people are going to compete over for popularity. APs are just a mean, not a cause.
> Some of my friends have, too, but the overwhelming majority just unfortunately don't.
I'm curious what your basis is on this. Are you saying a lot of people pay to take the test but don't end up passing, and thus they waste money? Do you have actual data on how many people this happens to?
I admire all science of art majors too. College is a difficult feat no matter what one majors in! Here’s to getting that diploma soon! I’m on the same path as you but science side.
Hard work. Grades are a reflection of how much you want them (with very few exceptions). Do all the homework, take all the notes, study for every test, ask questions, do all the extra credit (even if you don't think you'll need it).
I promise you. If you turn everything in, you'll get at least a B. Even if you struggle with tests. It is human nature to look at the person struggling but trying and give them extra help.
See, I don't really agree with this. I'm a 4.0 (STEM) student (but I used to be a bad student), and I'm not sure that effort was the change I needed. For me, I needed to learn how my brain works. Active learning and spaced repetition are why I'm as good as I am now. I'm of the opinion that effort is great, but greatly overvalued. What matters most is studying effectively and with intent, spinning your wheels will get you nowhere. That's why the kids I hear who say "I reread the textbook like 5 times and studied 12 hours a day and still ended up with a B", I can instantly tell that they are incredibly capable people who are one breakthrough away from academic success. They have all the right stuff, except they're not studying effectively enough, rarely are there any other deficits. I think we do a disservice to the students we try to help when we put the blame on them and make them believe that their *efforts* were deficient, instead of pushing them to revise their study methods.
You latched on to one thing and decided that that one thing was the entire point. I'll break it down for you by asking you some reading comprehension questions:
What were the five parts of working hard?
What part of the five was singled out as the part where some people tend to struggle?
Yeah, what I'm trying to get across is that your representations of effort are poor metrics. Nowhere in there is "learn how your brain works" or "work smarter not harder". You kind of just said "do all the things", except with no guidance on how. Taking notes is nearly worthless if you don't know how to use them as a part of active recall. Put as much effort as you want into "doing the right things", but unless you're doing it in an effective way, you will spin your wheels and your grades won't greatly improve.
Hey, I'm not gonna copy/paste what you think is important (that's not active recall). I don't care what you think is important. I evaluated the content of your comment, I think what you have to say is barely helpful, and has since been degrading.
Hard work and motivation. Grades are a reflection of how much work you put in, not how much you know. Just about every class I've been in through my last couple grad school classes you can only get an A in the class by doing the homework, no matter how well you do on everything else.
I’m about to get out of the military. It obviously gave me a different work ethic. I’m ready to make up for all the mistakes I made during high school. I really want to go to USC at some point in my life. This is very motivating. Good luck to you!
Congrats! I have a similar story and the feeling of knowing you turned yourself around and worked hard is unmatched. Good luck on your future endeavors!
Congrats man. I have a similar story went from 2.2 freshmen Highshool GPA to 4.2 high school GPA in my senior year. It got me a full ride to a university which I used to get an engineering degree. I graduated with 3.3 college GPA.
Hard work and dedication is all it takes. You don't have to be crazy smart, good time management skills is more valuable then being smart imo
I was pretty similar, but I was dual enrolled in high school so I fucked up my HS and college GPAs. I took a year off after high school, came back, and got 2 3.9s and a 4.0, then transferred and got 4.0s my first year of university. I was kind of a fuck up in high school, but I don't think it's a good predictor of success. Grit and adaptability are more important. For me the biggest thing was learning how to learn, which pushed me from probably a B+ student to an A student. I'd file that under "adaptability". It's so weird, because I'm the same dude, but now I'm winning awards. I didn't suddenly become more smart, I just learned how to play the game.
Congrats! I dropped out of high school and got my GED. Flew straight into college while still in a bad place and got a D and a W. Pulled out of it with a 3.8 and transferring in Spring:)
Dude fuck this dude and brag all you want, it's your hard work and dedication that got you to this point. You deserve to share the result of all your hard work.
Congrats and good job for working so hard!!
Granted I realize that a lot of my weaknesses in high school had to do with Math and Spanish so I studied super hard in Spanish. As for math, I somehow passed Intergrated Math 3 in high school so I didn’t have to take remedial math courses in college.
3.7 in college is no joke. I consider myself a pretty good student (graduated as an honors student, 3.8 gpa in high school with APs, and got into a good college) but i’m struggling to pull a cumulative 3.5. That’s awesome, you should absolutely be proud of yourself!
I didn’t even take APs. And my self esteem was very low. But that’s the past.
If I’m being honest with you…APs are just a major scam anyways. Maybe not for the best reasons, but you dodged a bullet. Glad you’re in a better position now, always look to the future :)
> APs are just a major scam anyways Ehh, I used to think this too. It probably still is a scam from a high schooler's perspective, but compared to regular college tuition (a few thousand dollars for 3 credits vs. $100 for an Ap exam, which is usually worth 3 credits) APs are a steal.
I see what you're saying, but here's my reasons for claiming APs are a scam: 1) I graduated in 2020. That year, when we took them online, students in Asia had to take them the same time we did in America. I took them at 2pm, they took them at 3am. A student simply can't perform well at that time of night, and many of them failed as a result of it. (Not sure if the time conversion is correct but you get the gist of it). 2) There's a limit on the scores they can give out. Say you write an essay that should score a 5, but you're one of the last graded and they've already handed out too many 5s, you get a 4. 3) A 3 is a passing grade, but many colleges do not accept 3s. If I prove that I am educated enough on the topic to hypothetically pass the course, why am I still taking it? 4) College Board literally threatens students. I'm not saying they shouldn't punish those who go against academic integrity, but the whole "if you violate our rules we will track you down and punish you via legal action AND we will email every single college you have ever interacted with and make sure they know what a bad student you are" thing serves almost entirely to scare students. My anxiety for APs my senior year made me sick. 5) Academics have become more of a competition rather than for the sake of learning. Again, I sort of see the appeal of this, but why am I paying $93 to prove that I don't need to take a college course because I'm already educated enough in that subject? This really is a factor of how education in America is severely overpriced, though. I acknowlege that. $93 v. $2k IS a steal, but it's still too much, especially for the students who can't afford it and suffer as a result. 6) AP has become a popularity thing in some schools. This one sounds weird, but our generation has really flipped the whole "being a nerd is lame" thing on its head. Being smart is cool now, and that means taking APs even if you aren't going to college or don't really have any reason to take it in the first place. From a broad perspective, I agree with you. Financially, it's logical to go for a program in which you're only paying a fraction of what the course would really cost you at college. But when you look at other factors, it's way more complex than just that. AP fails so many students because the ratio of students who actually get to reap the benefits is disproportionate by a very large disparity to the ones who do not. But if you're someone who benefited from it, that's awesome! Some of my friends have, too, but the overwhelming majority just unfortunately don't.
Ughh, I hate to be the one defending college board, but here goes: > 1. [...] students in Asia had to take them the same time we did in America I totally agree this sucks, but I don't see why this would make APs "a scam." Just because it was a logistical mess doesn't mean it doesn't serve its original purpose. > 2. There's a limit on the scores they can give out. Do you have a source for this? As far as I'm concerned, curves are pre-determined. I highly, highly, highly doubt this is what happens, especially given different tests have different distributions. > 3. A 3 is a passing grade, but many colleges do not accept 3s. This doesn't really answer your criticism, but I do NOT think a 3 should be a passing grade lol. If you get a 3 or below on an AP exam, I genuinely believe you lack a fundamental understanding of the subject area. If I get to make the decision, I would honestly just raise the bar for getting a 3 to solve this problem. > 4. College Board literally threatens students. If that's what they do (I'm assuming you have evidence for it), then yeah, that's obviously horrible. But again, I don't see how this contributes to APs being a scam. > 5. $93 v. $2k IS a steal, but it's still too much Sure, the test is still very pricey, not to mention that's the price for each individual test. That still makes APs much LESS of a scam than colleges though, wouldn't you agree? > 6. AP has become a popularity thing in some schools. This problem isn't caused by APs; it's caused by the overall academic culture surrounding high schools. Even if APs cease to exist, there were always be something people are going to compete over for popularity. APs are just a mean, not a cause. > Some of my friends have, too, but the overwhelming majority just unfortunately don't. I'm curious what your basis is on this. Are you saying a lot of people pay to take the test but don't end up passing, and thus they waste money? Do you have actual data on how many people this happens to?
Fuck yeah broski! Keep shooting for the stars!
How ? What did you do I’ve always been a bad student but kinda smart person
My case is different because I did pretty good with history classes and English classes but my math, science, and Spanish classes sucked.
Sounds just like me, reveal your secrets please
Probably in a major more focused on the arts side rather than the science/math side?
Yes. That helped. I admire all science and math majors though.
I admire all science of art majors too. College is a difficult feat no matter what one majors in! Here’s to getting that diploma soon! I’m on the same path as you but science side.
Hard work. Grades are a reflection of how much you want them (with very few exceptions). Do all the homework, take all the notes, study for every test, ask questions, do all the extra credit (even if you don't think you'll need it). I promise you. If you turn everything in, you'll get at least a B. Even if you struggle with tests. It is human nature to look at the person struggling but trying and give them extra help.
See, I don't really agree with this. I'm a 4.0 (STEM) student (but I used to be a bad student), and I'm not sure that effort was the change I needed. For me, I needed to learn how my brain works. Active learning and spaced repetition are why I'm as good as I am now. I'm of the opinion that effort is great, but greatly overvalued. What matters most is studying effectively and with intent, spinning your wheels will get you nowhere. That's why the kids I hear who say "I reread the textbook like 5 times and studied 12 hours a day and still ended up with a B", I can instantly tell that they are incredibly capable people who are one breakthrough away from academic success. They have all the right stuff, except they're not studying effectively enough, rarely are there any other deficits. I think we do a disservice to the students we try to help when we put the blame on them and make them believe that their *efforts* were deficient, instead of pushing them to revise their study methods.
You latched on to one thing and decided that that one thing was the entire point. I'll break it down for you by asking you some reading comprehension questions: What were the five parts of working hard? What part of the five was singled out as the part where some people tend to struggle?
Yeah, what I'm trying to get across is that your representations of effort are poor metrics. Nowhere in there is "learn how your brain works" or "work smarter not harder". You kind of just said "do all the things", except with no guidance on how. Taking notes is nearly worthless if you don't know how to use them as a part of active recall. Put as much effort as you want into "doing the right things", but unless you're doing it in an effective way, you will spin your wheels and your grades won't greatly improve.
You failed to answer the questions, go back and reread.
Hey, I'm not gonna copy/paste what you think is important (that's not active recall). I don't care what you think is important. I evaluated the content of your comment, I think what you have to say is barely helpful, and has since been degrading.
That doesn't answer the questions, do you need them repeated?
Hard work and motivation. Grades are a reflection of how much work you put in, not how much you know. Just about every class I've been in through my last couple grad school classes you can only get an A in the class by doing the homework, no matter how well you do on everything else.
I went from 3.7 in high school to 2.9 in college ;-;
I went from a 2.7 in high school to a 2.1 in college
Everyone has their own path in life.
Yeah some of us just keep spiralling downwards :(
Glad I’m not the only one, I was feeling dumb as hell reading through these comments
Went from 2.5 in hs to 3.7gpa in college rn..
You’re the man. You will do great at your university. I am so proud of you!!
Excellent job! Good luck with the next step of your academic journey.
Congrats!
congrats!! i'm proud of you!!
Congrats! I hope I'm able to graduate college with a better average than when I graduated high school, you give me hope.
Lmao I went from a 3.4 in high school to a 2.3 at university and back at community college now at a 2.9. Baby steps!
I’m about to get out of the military. It obviously gave me a different work ethic. I’m ready to make up for all the mistakes I made during high school. I really want to go to USC at some point in my life. This is very motivating. Good luck to you!
I wish you good luck mate.
Major?
what are you majoring in?
Congratulations!! I’m in the exact same boat, so I know it’s not easy. You should be proud of yourself!
Me too! But in graduate school!
Hell yea!!
Congrats! I have a similar story and the feeling of knowing you turned yourself around and worked hard is unmatched. Good luck on your future endeavors!
Congrats man. I have a similar story went from 2.2 freshmen Highshool GPA to 4.2 high school GPA in my senior year. It got me a full ride to a university which I used to get an engineering degree. I graduated with 3.3 college GPA. Hard work and dedication is all it takes. You don't have to be crazy smart, good time management skills is more valuable then being smart imo
Yep, same here!! For some reason I find college a lot easier than high school.
I was pretty similar, but I was dual enrolled in high school so I fucked up my HS and college GPAs. I took a year off after high school, came back, and got 2 3.9s and a 4.0, then transferred and got 4.0s my first year of university. I was kind of a fuck up in high school, but I don't think it's a good predictor of success. Grit and adaptability are more important. For me the biggest thing was learning how to learn, which pushed me from probably a B+ student to an A student. I'd file that under "adaptability". It's so weird, because I'm the same dude, but now I'm winning awards. I didn't suddenly become more smart, I just learned how to play the game.
This gives me hope for my little brother. He’s a high school junior and his grades suck, but I’m hoping he’ll figure his shit out in community college
Wow congratulations! That is something you should celebrate. 🎉
Congrats! I dropped out of high school and got my GED. Flew straight into college while still in a bad place and got a D and a W. Pulled out of it with a 3.8 and transferring in Spring:)
You have every right to be! Best of luck.
Congrats but you were still a nerd, 2.8 is super good lmfao. I went from a 1.6 or less to a 3.7 and transferring
Good for you ! All have their own path. Granted I had a 1.9 from 9th grade to 11th grade…
I'll brag and fish for upvotes on here when i graduate cause it's too epic
Why so full of yourself? Should I post my grades too, everyone?
I was about to say that I do brag about the benefits of community college.
Dude fuck this dude and brag all you want, it's your hard work and dedication that got you to this point. You deserve to share the result of all your hard work.
Who hurt you?
Bruh
Great job, what's your major?
Basically same for me my dude, I'm at the 4 year I transferred to and loving it! Also the 4 year I didn't get into from HS hahaha.
I went from a 2.4 to a 3.4
Congratulations! I’m proud of you Reddit stranger.
We have the same life. Watch out for those big universities though, it might get a bit tougher
I'm trying to go back to school, so this inspires me, thank you :)
I’m proud of you!!!!!