Getting into college after a bad first year of high school -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: My GPA in ninth grade was 1.2. I was wondering, if I get a 4.0 for the rest of my high-school years, what chances do I have of getting into college?

The A: You've got plenty of time to recover from that rough freshman year of high school and still make it into college. The main thing I suggest you concentrate on now is figuring out why things went so badly for you in ninth grade. Ideally, you'd do this with someone like a guidance counselor or even a therapist -- a person who's trained to help people through any rough spots they might hit on their way through school. Once you feel you understand the reasons behind that bad year, then you and your guidance counselor can work out a plan to help ensure that next year goes much more smoothly.

Which brings me to my last point: Don't think about how well you need to do for the next three years. Focus on each class, each assignment, each project, and do the best you can. You have more than enough time to right the ship, so there's no reason for you to feel overwhelmed by a need to bang out 4.0's for the rest of your high-school career. What's most important now is that you steady yourself for the school year to come.

Hope this helps,

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor

This response was written on Sept. 2, 2006.