Q:  (Initially posted on 8/19) FROM MENTEE ALEXIS K. IN VA
...As for my actual classes, because of the advice I got
through GEMSET, I went heavy on accelerated science and math (GT Geometry,
GT Biology, GT History, GT English and gym) and for my two electives chose
French and an engineering class. I am very concerned that I have too many
GT classes but the counselor said I could do it. What if I mess up my GPA
just as I start high school? This could be bad. But I would rather do this
and learn alot than go easy. I just think that colleges don't really give
as much credit for pushing yourself as they do for the GPA. I think they
say they do, but I don't believe it. At my school, you can get an A only if
you score over 95. I don't think anyone will understand that if I had a 94
I would have gotten an A at most schools. The colleges will just see a B
and will make the wrong assumptions. Anyone out there disagree with me when
I say college admissions people won't understand that my school is tight on
A's? I honestly want to hear your view so please write. As for looking
forward to classes, I am very excited to hit the books again. I like
learning, especially when I get a good teacher. I had a great summer for
trying new things and am a little tired, but I am ready to go back. I
really want to get good at French because I really enjoy it. English, not
as much because I already know the teachers are preferential and a little
strange. Science should be great, but math also depends who one lotteried
for their teacher. Many of my math teachers have not really taught me math,
they just point alot and assign work. I want to be TAUGHT math. I hope I
get a real teacher like I had last year. History will be fine. And
Gym,well, bad, bad, bad. I could've taken journalism but the law says I
have to have gym. I will work out after school with a team anyway. Well,
no getting out of this. I am sure I will learn something. One of my other
concerns is that I will not have enough time to keep working on my novel.
This is not something the school assigns so they won't care if I have enough
time or not. But I care. Oh, I meant to ask, do any of my mentors know
where I can get my novel published? Publishing is all news to me. (I have
let a few friends read my work and they love it. My novel even inspired
them to start their own and now we talk about our stuff with each other. I
use that as a way to know there is something interesting with my novel so I
think it could get published. Can anyone help me with this?) So that's it
about my opinions about classes (and school). I'd still love feedback about
the hard classes/GPA thing.

August 22, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR KIMBERLY O'DONNELL. FOR BIO. CLICK HERE.
Alexis, what schools are you concerned about
getting into? If we are talking MIT, your GPA and
SAT/ACT scores count the most. If we are talking
Harvard, Yale, having your novel published and selling
would probably impress them the most. In most schools,
advanced courses like what you are taking get extra
grade weightings, which helps compensate for the extra
difficulty. Also, taking the harder classes will teach
you more so you can score higher on the SAT/ACT tests,
and also allow you to place out of some college classes.

August 21, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK. FOR BIO. CLICK HERE.
I agree strongly with Mary Jo Mullen - that you shouldn't be so
focused on GPA. You've heard about grade inflation running wild.
Well, so have college admissions officers. It means that they can't
just look at GPA's to find who the most talented and hard-working
students are. So they do look carefully to see whether applicants
have taken challenging courses to get those grades, or have coasted
through on easy courses. And they make it their business to know
about the standards in different schools, certainly in schools from
which they see a lot of applicants.

Also, admission officers look for improvement. I'm not saying that
it's a good tactic to _deliberately_ get low grades in your first
year of high school - but your later grades will count more heavily,
and if you do show improvement that's a plus, better than having the
same overall GPA but starting with A's and ending with C's.

But we shouldn't be emphasizing GPA at all! You should be learning
things that interest you and figuring out what you want to do with
your education. One reason that extracurricular activities matter in
admissions is that grades don't tell the whole story about any
person, and grades are so inflated that colleges couldn't use only
grades to make their decisions.

August 21, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR KRISTIN TAGHON. FOR BIO. CLICK HERE.
Alexis,
It sounds like you are very motivated and have so much going for you. I do
believe that colleges look first and foremost at GPAs, but then they look at
what you took and your involvement in extra curricular activities. Even your
novel!! Make sure you put that on your application!

Your classes freshman year will be easier than you think. I think you'll be
okay, as well. I think your counselor knows what teachers are too hard to
double up on, etc. As a freshman, you may be going over some things you already
know to make sure you are at the same level as everyone else, to continue on.
Same thing happens in the first year of college. Often the classes are easy
because you've excelled in your high school classes. And if you do badly in one
class this year, you will be able to make it up in the following years. You
will be okay. In fact, I am guessing you do very well. Let us know how it
goes.

Go into your classes with an open mind. Don't have a preconceived notion of how
all English teachers are, or Math teachers. Take what they've given you and
make the most of it. If your Math teachers have not "Taught" you, then you may
have learned some valuable lessons on how to learn things on your own!!

I am guessing that your teachers will care about your novel - more than you
would think. Talk to an english teacher. You are approaching writing your
novel as you should. Getting feedback is the way that writers of all kinds
work. There are screenplay writers meetings that I've heard about where people
go and have everyone at the meeting read and provide feedback.
As far as publishing, I remember seeing an ad once where Barnes and Noble would
help you get published for 99 dollars. I couldn't find anything on their
website, tho. Here is a site that may help you, Fiction Writer's Connection.

http://www.fictionwriters.com/index.html

Good Luck!
Kristin

August 20, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR MARY JO MULLEN. For bio. click here.
Alexis, don't worry about your GPA before you even get into High School! If you feel overwhelmed by all your classes once you are taking them, then you can switch around your schedule next semester and you have 7 semesters to work on your GPA if this semester isn't all you hoped for. More than likely you will get into those classes and enjoy the challenge and do very well. And my experience in applying to colleges was that the admittance counselors were pretty knowledgable about various schools. At least 2 of the schools I applied to had counselors in charge of small regions of the country and they became familiar with various school districts and schools. This would be especially true if you go to a state school, admittance people will probably be very familiar with your school. If your school and/or district is known for being tough, they will know. And if you are still worried, you can ask your high school counselor to enclose a letter with your college applications explaining the grading system. But for now, don't worry! That is still a couple years away. Work hard, get involved and most importantly HAVE FUN! If yearbook won't let you on without journalism, join other activities, maybe sports or academic teams, or student council. Enjoy this time, and don't stress about college yet!! I was *so* nervous going into high school, but the classes turned out to be much easier than I had feared, the teachers were helpful and I really loved my extracurricular activities (band, volleyball and badminton).