Life after school

[sinkoman]

I've allways been a slacker. I'm not stupid, but my procrastination drive has allways been immense, to almost amotivational levels. If I can overcome that though, I can get straight A's and B's in all my classes (as i've done a few times, but it's HARD).

Now, I maintain straight C's and B's most quarters. I've never failed, and i've only gotten lower than a C in a class once. I usually keep a GPA of about 2.6-3.0, not because I don't know the material (I get A's and B's on tests), but because I don't do my homework.

My laziness has allways troubled me. I'm in high level classes, so if I pull together and get good grades, they'll REALLY count after highschool. But, i've allways been worried about what I am to do after highschool. I've allways worried that i'll be stuck in a construction job, manual labor, or a low end white collar job, not because I wouldn't be able to handle the higher level jobs mentally, but because I wouldn't be able to handle them motivationally.

But today, I finally realized that school isn't about getting good grades. Sure, getting good grades will definetly come in handy after school, but there's more to your schooling than your grades. I'm a student, and I don't mean to sound all "omg i've never even been in this position so I don't know what i'm talking about BUT HERE'S SOMETHING CORNY ANYWAY LOL!", but, I think that school is more about having a plan more than anything. I think that it's possible to get straight C's and D's all across the board, but that so long as you have a plan for getting a job you can maintain and enjoy after school, then your grades won't matter (too much).

I realized today that the only class I really want to do well in, is my AP Computer Science class (programming basically). If I can get A's and B's in that class, then I can not only prove that i'm not stupid, and that i'm good at something, but then I can use that to get into a fair level state college (SF state or sommat), even if I don't want to major in Computer Sciences, and then use my credits in that fair level college to work my way up to a college that I REALLY want to go to (University of California at Berkelly), and then major in what I REALLY want to. Not saying that I don't want to pursue a career in programming, but my thinking is that getting into a high level college is half the battle, and once you're actually in, you just major in whatever you want to.

I know this doesn't really benefit any of you guys directly, but I just figured i'd share

 

[Moto]

If you plan on going to a California State University like SFSU, remember applications are due November 30th of your senior year. If you've done well on the SAT 1 and have a 3.0 or better, you're in good shape for most Cal State schools except Cal Poly SLO which is pretty selective. UC Berkeley is an awesome school for sure, but is probably one of the most selective schools in the nation and very difficult to get into from high school. There are many applicants for certain majors and since the school cannot allow them all in, the applicants basically compete in a battle of who has the highest high school GPA, best SAT scores, most extra-curriculars, etc. (computer science is a competitive major.)

Good luck man - college sneaks up on you pretty quick.

 

[sinkoman]

If you plan on going to a California State University like SFSU, remember applications are due November 30th of your senior year. If you've done well on the SAT 1 and have a 3.0 or better, you're in good shape for most Cal State schools except Cal Poly SLO which is pretty selective. UC Berkeley is an awesome school for sure, but is probably one of the most selective schools in the nation and very difficult to get into from high school. There are many applicants for certain majors and since the school cannot allow them all in, the applicants basically compete in a battle of who has the highest high school GPA, best SAT scores, most extra-curriculars, etc. (computer science is a competitive major.)

Good luck man - college sneaks up on you pretty quick.

Well, i'm only a sophomore, but for the past 2 or 3 years i've constantly panicked about what I was going to do after highschool.

Thankyou for the info though . I'll DEFINETLY keep what youv'e said in mind.

 

[Krynn72]

Since you arnt even out of high school yet, I wouldnt sweat it too much. A lot will happen once you get out of highschool.

This is going to sound like the opposite of what a lot of people say, but dont get 100% set on anything yet. Not a school, not a career, not a major. I strongly suggest you take the first year of your college life as a sampler. I know many people who did have a plan like you are talking about. They knew what school they were going to, what major they were taking, and what career they were going to get. It seems a lot of people (including myself at one point) think that is a great idea to have that kind of plan. However, many of those people I know dont really enjoy what they do but they are so dead set on this plan of theirs that they will just grit their teeth and go through with it.

I have seen the aftermath of this also. My uncle (who's talks with me are what made me realize this) is stuck in a job he doesnt like. He told me that he took the job, because it is what made logical sense at the time. He was good at crunching numbers, and thus he went to school and got a job doing finances for large corporations. However, this isnt what he wants to do.

At first I too thought I would be a programmer, so I enrolled in a 4 year school with their bachlor's degree in CS. 2 years into it, it finally struck me that this isnt really fun. I was good at it, and I didnt mind it, but this is the REST OF MY LIFE we are talking about here. I want a job that is fun, and very interesting for me. So thus I completely abandoned my plan I had set for myself. I jumped ship, and knowing that I loved computer animation, I (almost whimsically) enrolled in a school that has a computer animation program. Now I am learning something I love doing, and I have ZERO regrets about quitting on computer science. I think it was the greatest thing I could ever have done for myself.

What I am trying to say is this...

Dont buy into this "you MUST have a plan!!!" bull shit that teachers and parents throw at you. Because in reality, you will find new things that interest you, and you might find yourself not as happy as you could have been. Things change, and you shouldnt let a "plan" stop that change from improving the rest of your life.

Take a year to test out new waters, try out anything that you think could even remotely be interesting to you. You might find a dream job that was hidden away from you all this time, but you will miss it if you never look past your plan. Im not saying slack off, and be completely without any idea of what you want to do. You should have an idea of what you are going to do when you get out of HS... but STAY FLEXIBLE. Work hard now, get good grades so you have all your options open.

If I might quote the famous philosopher Publius Statius:
"It is a bad plan that cannot be altered."

 

[Tyguy]

All I can tell you from personally going to college is.....do the work. You have your whole life to party, dont go there and get caught up in the "freedom". You have to find a way to balance your fun side with your serious side. The real world gets a little more real when your out on your own, and depending on how serious you took school, you may or may not like that position.

Haha, anyway, ill stop sounding like your dad now and just say do your best and you wont be sorry.

Oh ya, and work your arse off your last few months of HS. (Dont remember if you mentioned your grade) Schools can check your progress after accepting you and if you slack off, they might reconsider.

and for god sakes, dont waste your money on keystone like i did

 

[sinkoman]

Since you arnt even out of high school yet, I wouldnt sweat it too much. A lot will happen once you get out of highschool.

This is going to sound like the opposite of what a lot of people say, but dont get 100% set on anything yet. Not a school, not a career, not a major. I strongly suggest you take the first year of your college life as a sampler. I know many people who did have a plan like you are talking about. They knew what school they were going to, what major they were taking, and what career they were going to get. It seems a lot of people (including myself at one point) think that is a great idea to have that kind of plan. However, many of those people I know dont really enjoy what they do. However, they are so dead set on this plan of theirs that they will just grit their teeth and go through with it

What i've allways been most worried about, is that i'll end up a highschool burn out and not even go to college.

My PLAN (lol), is to at least figure out which of my classes every year that i'm good at (APCS this year), and try to get A's and B's in that class at the very least.

That way, i'll at least be able to get into a fair college, and then once i'm in, i'll hopefully know what I want to do and start pursuing that.

Btw, i've done quite a bit of programming, just for fun, since I was around 10-11. I figure I may as well TRY to pursue it through AP classes, and extra caricular stuffs )

But thanks a bunch for the advice. I was allways under the impression that the people without plans were the people who failed at life.

 

[Krynn72]

Well, in my case my plan was really just this...

"go to college"

Beyond that I didnt really know what I wanted to study. I figured it would be somthing with computers, so I signed up for computer science. However, instead of taking the recommended curriculum... I took a bunch of random classes that I thought sounded interesting. A couple art course, a couple history courses, computer courses, financing courses, psychology, etc.

Thats when I realized that art was what I really liked out of all of them. I still liked working with computers though, so I thought of how to make art using a computer, and thats when I came across the wonderful world of 3D animation. I was hooked after a month or so of screwing around in Maya PLE.

So I really would have missed out if I went headlong into Computer Science because I wouldnt have taken those art classes and wouldnt have realized that there were better things for me elsewhere.

So just go to school, eventually you will find what you really like, and then run with that.

 

[tehsolace]

Don't screw up on the SAT and keep your GPA up. The higher those are at the end of high school, the better your chances of getting into the college you want to go to. You don't have to get straight A's (although it helps) to get into most colleges. I suggest asking teachers about which colleges in the state they suggest you should go for and asking them what kind of grades you would need to get there.

And for gods sake, have a good idea what you want to major in when you finish high school. Nothing is worse than wasting time in college because you've changed majors. Focus on which major interests you the most, and schedule out the required classes as much as you can. I already have my classes for the next year and a half scheduled out on paper...

 

[Mattigus]

I'm a CS major, and the biggest slacker I know. Trust me, you'll do just fine in college with a CS major. If you get into college, I think you will be solid as a CS major, if that is what you chose.

Sorry if my post doesn't help you. I kinda didn't read it all. Remember how I said I was a slacker?

 

[Azner]

Man you sound just like me.

 

[StardogChampion]

I'm a major slacker too. I have all the qualifications I need to be a Graphic Designer, but I'm thinking about going to art school for 3 more years to waste some more time .

I think at 15 you should pretty much know what you want to do.

 

[jondy]

I think at 15 you should pretty much know what you want to do.

Is that not a little early? My father didn't figure out what he wanted to do until years out of uni- and now he's in a well-paid job that he enjoys. Hell, I've no idea what I want to do, and I'm a year into uni already :O

 

[tehsolace]

At 15, I didn't know what I wanted to do... at ALL. I did just fine... I got into computers and now I'm a programmer!

 

[Qonfused]

I'm 16 and I have no idea what I want to do.

 

[StardogChampion]

Is that not a little early? My father didn't figure out what he wanted to do until years out of uni- and now he's in a well-paid job that he enjoys. Hell, I've no idea what I want to do, and I'm a year into uni already :O

Isn't 15 the 3rd/4th year of highschool? In 3rd/4th year we had to choose the subjects we wanted to study. By 5th year it's wasn't compulsory to choose English/Maths, so knowing what you wanted to be in the future was helpful, so you'd know what subjects you needed to study.

Maybe that's just Scotland though.

How are you supposed to know what to study in Uni if you don't know what you want to do?

 

[jondy]

How are you supposed to know what to study in Uni if you don't know what you want to do?

I know what I like studying. Could be that I'll just carry on studying until I start lecturing

 

[B.Calhoun]

How are you supposed to know what to study in Uni if you don't know what you want to do?

i got that problem

 

[Azner]

How old are you? By 15 you should know what you want to do.

 

[jondy]

How old are you? By 15 you should know what you want to do.

No, really not. You should know your strengths, certainly, your areas of ability, and you should know how to study, but I really don't think you need a profession in mind at 15.