Most colleges and universities look at high school or sophomore grades very seriously. They are the key to getting admission to several colleges. For example, if a student wants to go for a medical subject like medicine, the past high school grade in science subjects like biology, physics, and chemistry are taken into account. More the grades in high school subject will in turn let the student gets admitted to top universities.
Freshman And Sophomore Year:
Freshman and sophomore grades are as equally as important as junior and senior grades. But in some colleges, their marks are not considered because they are the starting years. Even if a student score low grades in their freshman and sophomore years, they can make up by rewriting the exams or by attending the summer classes. Considering the senior year grades as the most important, some colleges and universities make admission decisions before the senior grades are out, during these times the sophomore grades are important. If sophomore grades are not taken, the colleges can even look on to the freshman grades of a student. Therefore, all four years are very important. To get a base for the junior and senior years, a student should have a proper idea of the subjects of previous years. Along with that, it is the freshman and sophomore years where students should take part in all the extracurricular activities to get a good overall grade.
Colleges look up two things from a student’s academic career; a student should either build a strong academic performance throughout the year or have an ascending achievement of grades through increasing classes. That is, the grades in your 12th and 10th should be more than your grades in the 11th and 9th standard.
The Junior Year:
The marks of the junior year are important in some college admissions. If a student had bad grades in freshman and sophomore years and yet manages to get a good grade in junior year, which is considered an academic achievement. But if a student fails to get good grades in their junior year, the good grades in freshman and sophomore years might look like a fluke. So even if a student gets an A in the sophomore year but gets a B or C in junior, the admissions officer is likely to conclude that the strong sophomore year performance is not a sign of the student’s ability. Therefore, in all conventional colleges, the grades of junior year are taken as the most important and most of the extracurricular activities start to take shape. Students also take important competitive exams like sat or act this year. But it is always to be noted that a good performance in freshman and sophomore years will result in good grades in junior years. Success will not happen within a year.
Considering junior year as the most important year, many students have a misconception that is it ok to slack off during the years before and after the junior year. It is completely wrong. Even though freshman year is considered a year to adjust the high school work, most admission officers take freshman and senior year courses into account but use the grades received in sophomore and junior year when calculating students’ GPA. In sophomore year, all colleges expect the student to be consistent or improve their grades. All the extracurricular activities should start to take a foundation in the sophomore year since it is also an important criterion when it comes to college admission.
Some ways by which a student can be consistent throughout their sophomore year are :
- Studying regularly: studying or even going through the textbooks and other study materials daily will improve the knowledge of that particular subject and also brings out a significant increase in the grade.
- Participating in all the extracurricular activities: the extracurricular activities are of great importance because most colleges value students’ achievements. Indulging in sports and other cultural events is very well appreciated, unlike in the old times.
- Take an initial step: having leadership qualities is also very important. Volunteering at the camps, and being a member of the school community are noted by many academic officers.
- Believe in yourself: a single exam cannot determine your worth. Life is all about success and failure. Getting a bad grade once should not be the end of the path. It is important to value yourself and continue fighting for success.
- Keep a track of everything: unlike middle school, high school students will have a lot of assignments to complete, seminars to do, and tests to write. Instead of approaching them all at once, always carry a to-do list so that the ending works are organized as well as their completion will be in a systematic way.
- Never compare: all are unique. Hence, each student has their way of studying. Comparing one with another and questioning their own ability to handle things is not a healthy way of educating oneself.
- Always have an aim in life: one’s life is meaningless if he or she does not have a goal in life. As high school students, they would aim to get into their favorite college or any to colleges in town. Setting a proper aim and constantly working towards it makes high school life easier and enjoyable.
Conclusion:
A high school is a place where you learn the importance of success and failure, getting low grades will not possibly affect the college admission since there is always a chance in the junior year. Failing should always be considered a stepping stone to success. One should always learn from their failures and act according to them rather than claiming it is the end of everything. The initial two years are for failing and learning, so they should be perceived in the right sense. There will be a lot of competitive exams and courses that one has to study in the future, so it will not be easy. In the end, Improving the character and learning to have a proper approach to things in life are more important than the grades.