[tmogavero]

Hi Everyone, Thanksgiving passed and do people really appreciate allt hat they have i am a high school student who is in average classes getting a's and b's. I would like to start by saying my SAT score was a 1570 and was really upset because where i got to school alot of kids score from 1700 to 2200 and nothing it really is hard to cope with being below my standard. I would love to hear from people in college or recently graduated and how they felt in high school to how their life formed in college. My interests are in the hard sciences and psychology. Its just i feel like half of a person and it scares me to realize that the people i am being compared to knwo are gonna be the same people in the future do i still have time to make a life for myself i mean they say high school is not your whole life but when does everyone think is the most important time. Because i am not in the highest classes in my school and getting all a's can i still try to fight for job possisions in the medical field with med school and just the competition it seems like what i enjoy may not be realistic. i REALLy would like to hear about people with what college they graduated from if it was a county, state or private college ivy league or what and how their lives formed from their high school life to college life and then their life. I really enjoy this website and thank you for reading my thread it means alot and is greatly appreciated.

Tyler Mogavero Junior in high school

[Sannah]

Tmo, I went to one of the world's worst high schools and was only a B student because no one pushed me and it never ocurred to me to work harder. I then went to a local technical college and got an associates degree and a 3.7. This got me into the university of MI where my mind was opened wide and I drank in all the oh so interesting knowledge there and graduated with a 3. something, I really can't remember. Went on to get my Master's degree and did fine with that. So, high school didn't add up to that much for me.......

My husband is a professor on the admissions committee for his dept where the students get PhD's. He puts most of his admissions emphasis on the interview. He can tell if the candidate is bright and how passionate/interested they are about this work. This is what I think counts too.

A study was done a few/several years ago and the 4.0's are not the folks who are most successful. Social skills and the ability to work with others, etc. seems to carry weight too.

[pachyderm]

Went to a small private college many years ago when it was still affordable. Very different atmosphere than high school: a place where learning was valued instead of making you seem strange. But colleges are very different from each other. And mine was lots of hard work, too. Doing what you want even if your grades are not the greatest can be hard, too -- you have to have some confidence and stick to your guns in spite of criticisms.

[Biggs]

Originally Posted by tmogavero

Hi Everyone, Thanksgiving passed and do people really appreciate allt hat they have i am a high school student who is in average classes getting a's and b's. I would like to start by saying my SAT score was a 1570 and was really upset because where i got to school alot of kids score from 1700 to 2200 and nothing it really is hard to cope with being below my standard. I would love to hear from people in college or recently graduated and how they felt in high school to how their life formed in college. My interests are in the hard sciences and psychology. Its just i feel like half of a person and it scares me to realize that the people i am being compared to knwo are gonna be the same people in the future do i still have time to make a life for myself i mean they say high school is not your whole life but when does everyone think is the most important time. Because i am not in the highest classes in my school and getting all a's can i still try to fight for job possisions in the medical field with med school and just the competition it seems like what i enjoy may not be realistic. i REALLy would like to hear about people with what college they graduated from if it was a county, state or private college ivy league or what and how their lives formed from their high school life to college life and then their life. I really enjoy this website and thank you for reading my thread it means alot and is greatly appreciated.

Tyler Mogavero Junior in high school

Hey Tyler,

No more than 3 years ago I was in your same shoes. I'm a Sophomore in College now, going to be transferring to a 4 year school next year.

High school is FILLED with drama, conflict, emotions, stress, and much more. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Luckily for me, I decided to forgo the entire college decision fiasco and go straight into a JC, Junior College.

A lot of people talk about JCs as being inferior to 4-year institutions, but fortunately again that perspective is changing. With the recent economic downfall, JCs are the best economic option. They also, academically, are comparable and equitable to 4-year institutions.

I've found that I am more prepared now for next year, than I was when I was in high school. I have gotten through that shift from high school to college and feel very confident about my choice in my 4 year. Its been shown that a large percentage of freshman students drop out of their 4-year because of a myriad of reasons.

Don't let the pressure of getting into a "good school" get to you. Certainly apply all over and see what happens, you may be pleasantly surprised, but also don't discount the value of a Junior College. Its certainly not something to scoff at, especially when you can get the same education at a cheaper price with the added benefit of getting some more time to make your 4-year decision.

Plus, transferring is LOADS easier and less stressful than the initial application period because there are so many dropouts in the first and second years at 4-years.

I wish you luck, man, and I'm sure you'll do just fine. Be who you are, and don't stress the small stuff. Because, guess what, in 5 years, you won't care about all of this. You'll have your Bachelors and you'll be moving on to something you are definitely happy about, be it a grad degree in Psychology or another Science, maybe a great career. You definitely have plenty of time, enjoy it.

[kim_johnson]

i didn't do so well at high school but i really blossomed at college (especially with respect to my grades). i just... clicked into it somehow. found a good group of friends doing the same classes (psychology) and we would hang out and devise the nastiest multi-guess questions we could for one another and really crammed that material down and had a little fun at the same time.

i wouldn't rule anything out of your future just yet ;-)

lots of people fall apart a little when they get to college. discover the joys of a social life and don't work very hard in their subjects. if you are serious about trying to get into med school or getting into a competitive graduate school program then you will need to work hard and do well. but it surely is possible :-) just see how you find it. sure it will work out.

i went to my local university (which is reasonably good but definitely not amazing). from there... my grades got me entry to a world-class PhD program (that ranks favorably with some of the best in the USA). so... tis possible. otherwise... there is always canada ;-)

[tmogavero]

Ohhhh my god i can mingle and have just a much more mature personality i volunteer at the hospital and have had multiple jobs and really have gotten alot of compliments the most when i caddy people can tell i am there for them not stuck up and looking to earn every dollar with talking to them knowing when to do my job and when to give them space. I really LOVED that you dsaid that i want you to know i am typing so fast because i am all cheery inside this year i have felt a number will decide my fate with my gpa sat's i just wish we can be who we are and not have to worry about what we are THANK YOu so much if you have anything else like more experiences or more in depth i would love to hear it THanks again

[Raynaadi]

Hi there Y sorry in advance for typos. Hi Tyler. I went to a really bad high school. I took honors my junior and senior years as well as academic decathlon just to feel i could compete with other high schools.I too wanted to go to med school. My dream was Vanderbilt but I didn't apply because my sat's were in the thirteen hundreds and I thought I wasn't good enough. I got accepted to the honors program at the u of arizona on a regents waiver. Thought my dreams ouwould come true but you just never know. Mom got sick and I had to drop out. Years later went to a local medical tech school for phlebotomy. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was in the med field but not dictated by my career. I was good at what I did but didn't worry about prestige like I did in college. Now the sky is the limit for me because I recently went blind and can go to school for whatever I want. Scary l o o l. I feel like a senior in college again. I'll be starting at the community college level like a lot of my young twenties friends are doing. Smaller classes, less money, easy trandfer. Wish I had started with comm college before....the trans to univ was really tough.

Above all though, don't compare yourself to others. You are your own person, and as long as you are true to yourself and like yourself, are proud of your own accomplishments, you cannot fail. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hugs,
Rayna

[tmogavero]

Originally Posted by Raynaadi

Hi there Y sorry in advance for typos. Hi Tyler. I went to a really bad high school. I took honors my junior and senior years as well as academic decathlon just to feel i could compete with other high schools.I too wanted to go to med school. My dream was Vanderbilt but I didn't apply because my sat's were in the thirteen hundreds and I thought I wasn't good enough. I got accepted to the honors program at the u of arizona on a regents waiver. Thought my dreams ouwould come true but you just never know. Mom got sick and I had to drop out. Years later went to a local medical tech school for phlebotomy. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was in the med field but not dictated by my career. I was good at what I did but didn't worry about prestige like I did in college. Now the sky is the limit for me because I recently went blind and can go to school for whatever I want. Scary l o o l. I feel like a senior in college again. I'll be starting at the community college level like a lot of my young twenties friends are doing. Smaller classes, less money, easy trandfer. Wish I had started with comm college before....the trans to univ was really tough.

Above all though, don't compare yourself to others. You are your own person, and as long as you are true to yourself and like yourself, are proud of your own accomplishments, you cannot fail. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hugs,
Rayna

that was really nice what you said and i wanted to say thats what i have been missing in my life than ks again and i also wanted to just say THANKs its hearing from people like you that make me thankful for what i have and who i am not what i am

[tmogavero]

Thank you to everyone that has posted but for the people who have and have not i have had another question on my mind Do you think the people who succeed to well in high school now will also in college? any friends or stories if everyone can do better do they i mean it must be nice to be the best or great great scores on your sat's i mean there is a wall posted every year in the lobby of students who have gotten a perfect score on a section of their sat's and there are ALOT we have a great average with our high school i work my *** off for my decent grades and do not even meet the requirements to get waivered into the honors curricilum which is basically college level its also known as IB international baccelorate i feel liek im behind because students are learnign things im not always improving and im not im falling behind and i need help please share or vent anything ont this subject please i just need info to hear reality not what im thinking im driving myself crazy and just want some truth thank you for the time to post and share i appreciate every comment and try to get back to everyone that took the time to pst on my thread

[e_sort]

Originally Posted by tmogavero

Thank you to everyone that has posted but for the people who have and have not i have had another question on my mind Do you think the people who succeed to well in high school now will also in college? any friends or stories if everyone can do better do they

hi tyler,
it depends on what you mean by succeed. people who study and read a lot in high school tend to go on doing so through college. i guess that must generally mean that they also still get good grades, but not always, and it's not a linear path. i used to teach college freshmen, and a lot of them did bad for a while just because they were not used to college-level requirements, and then they straightened themselves out. or they didn't, sometimes. or they did really well right away.

on the other hand, getting bad grades in high school or lower SAT scores than you want, does not mean you are doomed for life. i got ok grades in high school and pretty lousy grades in college, because I was just not that interested in what was going on, but I sorted myself out.

you can come back from almost any failure or mistake, short of a major felony. If you're willing to keep working hard, chances are good you're going to be rewarded.

esort

[Raynaadi]

just wanted to add that when you inroduce yourself to epeople, you don't stick out your hand and say hi i'm insert sat score and accomplishments...you say hi i'm tyler. just wanted to demonstrate that scores and grades don't make the peperson. maybe it would help to try and research something like "average students who made it in life or something" lol.

[kim_johnson]

Standardized testing is only really something that the USA gets into. If it turns out that you don't score well on those standardized tests (that get you entry to college or graduate school) well... That was what I meant about Canada. Alternatively: UK, Australasia, etc etc etc. Some people simply don't score well on them. I can't answer a single GRE math question in the under 30 seconds time allowed. So... That basically undermined my applying to do graduate school in the US. And there it is. You know... In the USA I wouldn't have graduated high school because of my inability to do math. And I probably wouldn't have graduated from college because of my inability to do math (with the breadth requirement on liberal arts education). So... Don't worry about the standardized testing too much, and remember that worst case: There are places in the world where you can get an education where they really don't give a **** about how you score on standardized tests and most especially on how you score on something that is simply irrelevant (what are your B's in? music?)

Do I think that there are philosophers in the world who are better than me because they score well on GRE math? Not at all. I'm really not into the 'better' or 'worse' game... When it makes the difference between who gets accepted into a program or who does not then ignoring others is tough, though.

In the USA it seems to be considered that if your parents come from a certain socio-economic class then you go to college. That is simply what you do. There are a number of individuals who are really into hanging out in the frat houses or who are really into athletics or who are really into whatever... They are at college because they really want to be cheerleaders or to join that frat or to make some friends before they start popping out babies or... Whatever. Some of the brightest (on the regular tests) go this way... Don't do their work and muddle through...

I have a couple friends who are doctors and they said there were studies where the best doctors were solid B students who worked hard for their B's. Lots of material to cram and don't think too hard about it or get too creative with it or you will get your *** sued. I know med school is a tough one... Most especially in the USA... How wedded are you to the country? Would be considerably easier (and significantly cheaper I'm sure) to do that elsewhere. But... Crossing your qualification so you are able to practice inside the US can be tricky... Still, I'd recommend your not ruling out that option. There are many quality institutions outside the US (that compare well) that have more flexible entry criteria (are often looking for something a bit different) that might be better suited to you. Just don't forget that when it comes to your sending out applications is all... The application fee tends to be less... The cost of the education tends to be less... You have less high scoring IMG's to compete against, too (I'd worry less about your american friends and more about them!)