Poor highschool grades

[Atmm]

I'm currently in my junior year of highschool. However due to devoting most of my time towards exercising and lacrosse, my grades have suffered. And as far as my mother is concerned, she says I won't be able to become a surgeon, or even a doctor, with how I've been doing in highschool (I'm the first in my family to even consider medical school, my siblings are all engineers/programmers) Should I drop my exercising and sports and focus on school? Or could I spend my last 1.5 years at highschool playing sports, exercising, and studying when possible and really focus on my studies in college? Or is it too late to learn the necessary material in college? Or am I already on the wrong path and its too late to become a doctor?

I want to be a doctor, and I want it bad but at the same time I want to maintain in really good shape too
I'll appreciate any advice anyone has to give, don't hesitate to be harsh and give me the honest truth.

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[CoolDoctor1234]

When you say poor grades like how bad? GPA? ACT/SAT scores? Im a senior in HS and have been rather successful in my college searches/acceptances.

 

[Atmm]

When you say poor grades like how bad? GPA? ACT/SAT scores? Im a senior in HS and have been rather successful in my college searches/acceptances.

My cumulative GPA from freshman and sophomore year is 3.8; however, this junior year, I'm struggling in IB Bio as I have been between a D+ to a C. My GPA is still at around 3.6 for this year alone. But my lacrosse season is starting in about a month and I'm afraid my grades will suffer more.
I have not yet taken the SAT due to the fact that the new one is being released in March so I'm taking that
And I have not taken the ACT yet either (am I behind on those?)

 

[CoolDoctor1234]

My cumulative GPA from freshman and sophomore year is 3.8; My GPA is still at around 3.6 for this year alone. But my lacrosse season is starting in about a month and I'm afraid my grades will suffer more.
I have not yet taken the SAT due to the fact that the new one is being released in March so I'm taking that
And I have not taken the ACT yet either (am I behind on those?)

I know how you feel being a student athlete, Im going on my 4th year as a varsity wrestler. Is 3.6-3.8 your weighted or unweighted GPA? Also what colleges are you looking at? Balancing sports and high school has been a struggle definitely for me too, try to work with your coaches about practice times and such. Focus on finishing your homework the day it's assigned too. Time management is a huge factor in being a student athlete. I didnt start taking the ACT/SAT until October of my junior year, I really wish I had my sophomore year though. It's not too late to start. I'd recommend taking one as a baseline to see how you stand. It's kind of hard to study for tests like that even with prep books, just focus on answering each question fully and utilizing your time alotted for sections. I recommend you sign up to take them and see which one you like more, I prefer the ACT.

 

[Atmm]

I know how you feel being a student athlete, Im going on my 4th year as a varsity wrestler. Is 3.6-3.8 your weighted or unweighted GPA? Also what colleges are you looking at? Balancing sports and high school has been a struggle definitely for me too, try to work with your coaches about practice times and such. Focus on finishing your homework the day it's assigned too. Time management is a huge factor in being a student athlete. I didnt start taking the ACT/SAT until October of my junior year, I really wish I had my sophomore year though. It's not too late to start. I'd recommend taking one as a baseline to see how you stand. It's kind of hard to study for tests like that even with prep books, just focus on answering each question fully and utilizing your time alotted for sections. I recommend you sign up to take them and see which one you like more, I prefer the ACT.

Sadly, that's my weighted GPA. But that's what colleges consider, no?

I haven't calculated my unweighted GPA but I'm guessing it's pretty low because I always took all honors classes and this year I'm taking three IB's which are all weighted.

I definitely need practice with time management, that's something I've always struggled with. I always find myself too exhausted to study and comprehend anything after workouts.
And thank you for the tips for SATs/ACTs
I'll look into taking them asap

 

[CoolDoctor1234]

Sadly, that's my weighted GPA. But that's what colleges consider, no?

You'll do great and some colleges require both just to see. They'll also see you took honor courses & IB through your transcripts.

 

[Dreamstoo]

One of my college friends was mostly an A/B student with quite a few Cs in high school. Didn't take a gap year and is at a upper mid tier MD school. You're fine...

 

[addy]

I'm currently in my junior year of highschool. However due to devoting most of my time towards exercising and lacrosse, my grades have suffered. And as far as my mother is concerned, she says I won't be able to become a surgeon, or even a doctor, with how I've been doing in highschool (I'm the first in my family to even consider medical school, my siblings are all engineers/programmers) Should I drop my exercising and sports and focus on school? Or could I spend my last 1.5 years at highschool playing sports, exercising, and studying when possible and really focus on my studies in college? Or is it too late to learn the necessary material in college? Or am I already on the wrong path and its too late to become a doctor?

I want to be a doctor, and I want it bad but at the same time I want to maintain in really good shape too
I'll appreciate any advice anyone has to give, don't hesitate to be harsh and give me the honest truth.

Hey dude-- I was like, 110th in my high school class. Focused on maturing as a person in high school, as weird as that sounds. My parents said the same stuff to me about not making anything of myself, let alone a doctor. Went to the best state school I could get into coming out of HS, wasn't the best or worst school but yeah...

Once college came, I saw it as a clean slate to strut my stuff. Barely partied, but had a ton of what I call "responsible fun" that prioritized school/extra-curricular stuff. I ended up near-top of my major and got so many awards in my senior year that all I remember of my last semester in college is the banquets. I had 5-6 job offers coming out of college, too-- 2 in I-banking and 1 in private equity, all 3 had a base pay of over $120k. Then I decided to go to medical school after taking 2-3 years off to do some soul searching abroad.

This is not meant to gloat, but rather, to demonstrate that just bc high school isn't going well doesn't mean that it's the end. Now, if college doesn't go well, that's a different thing. Especially if you want to go to medical school. Just keep your eye on the prize and don't let your past hold you back (harder said than done). Holler at me if you need to talk things out.

 

[cyang55]

Grades from high school doesn't matter too much. Just make sure that your grade will get you into a good college, and then really focus on that GPA. Med school won't ask or see your high school grades. Your university gpa is really important though

 

[DrPatriot]

I'm currently in my junior year of highschool. However due to devoting most of my time towards exercising and lacrosse, my grades have suffered. And as far as my mother is concerned, she says I won't be able to become a surgeon, or even a doctor, with how I've been doing in highschool (I'm the first in my family to even consider medical school, my siblings are all engineers/programmers) Should I drop my exercising and sports and focus on school? Or could I spend my last 1.5 years at highschool playing sports, exercising, and studying when possible and really focus on my studies in college? Or is it too late to learn the necessary material in college? Or am I already on the wrong path and its too late to become a doctor?

I want to be a doctor, and I want it bad but at the same time I want to maintain in really good shape too
I'll appreciate any advice anyone has to give, don't hesitate to be harsh and give me the honest truth.

As a junior and senior in high school I focused heavily on lacrosse (all state bro lol) so I can directly relate to you. I maintained a mid 3.~ gpa during high school so I definitely wasn't the top tier student in my private HS. I went to a small private local university and worked my butt off in class...just got multiple acceptances to med schools this year.

Have fun in HS! You definitely need to hit the books and maintain the grades to get into college but you also don't want to regret missing the fun experiences you are supposed to have in HS. Take it from my story, you'll be alright!

 

[grapp]

I'm currently in my junior year of highschool. However due to devoting most of my time towards exercising and lacrosse, my grades have suffered. And as far as my mother is concerned, she says I won't be able to become a surgeon, or even a doctor, with how I've been doing in highschool (I'm the first in my family to even consider medical school, my siblings are all engineers/programmers) Should I drop my exercising and sports and focus on school? Or could I spend my last 1.5 years at highschool playing sports, exercising, and studying when possible and really focus on my studies in college? Or is it too late to learn the necessary material in college? Or am I already on the wrong path and its too late to become a doctor?

I want to be a doctor, and I want it bad but at the same time I want to maintain in really good shape too
I'll appreciate any advice anyone has to give, don't hesitate to be harsh and give me the honest truth.

I've reviewed the chats it appears you will do just fine. Personally? I've struggled in high school with a 3.0, but guess what? By applying myself truly to what I can do, my college GPA is a 4.0, and I will have 15 credits then be able to apply as a transfer student. Understand that college will be much more different. I recently became a published author of SDN, it's different. You will do good in any non-ivy-league school. For the most part, I wouldn't worry about acceptances. It looks good for you.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Finish high school, go to a low ranked state school like Uconn or FIU or Utah State. Get a 4.0 or near to it. It isn't hard to do at these schools. look at options for transferring after a year at 3.8+ but people place in good MD programs even from these low ranked schools.

I had a 2.1 in high school. I bounced around a bit, but wound up graduating from a top 50 with a 3.6 in a hard major.

High school really is maybe the most innane thing on the planet - just ****ing totally pointless, and you're chained in with all these pricks who hate being there for the next 10k hours who wanna entertain themselves by making others' lives hard If I could do it all over again, I'd do stuff to keep getting suspended until I was old enough to drop out, take the GED, and start community college work in my mid teens.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Grades from high school doesn't matter too much. Just make sure that your grade will get you into a good college, and then really focus on that GPA. Med school won't ask or see your high school grades. Your university gpa is really important though

High school tells you nothing except how willing a person is to do ridiculous quantities of repetition of low-abstraction material. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend 6 months reading a separate peace, only to write a 10 page exegesis on it, or who doesn't want to spend unending hours taking apart a gas lawn mower, or - PE! - almost forgot how important dodgeball and ultimate frisbee were to your fitness as an applicant to medical school.

 

[QueenJames]

High school performance doesn't tell you ****.

Go to community college, the first two years of any undergrad are the same. Gain some maturity and ace all of your classes. Transfer to any 4 year you want and keep up the hard work. Do extra curricular stuff on the side. Take your MCAT. Apply early. Boom. You'll be in med school.

I wish I could go back to high school to take more time and actually enjoy being in high school. Hell.. I wish I played a sport or two as well.

AP classes don't mean crap. A 4.7 GPA doesn't mean crap. SAT and ACT scores don't mean crap.

Gaining maturity and not comparing yourself to your other friends is something that high school doesn't teach you which will benefit you immensely.

Just work hard! That's it!

 

[grapp]

High school performance doesn't tell you ****.

Go to community college, the first two years of any undergrad are the same. Gain some maturity and ace all of your classes. Transfer to any 4 year you want and keep up the hard work. Do extra curricular stuff on the side. Take your MCAT. Apply early. Boom. You'll be in med school.

I wish I could go back to high school to take more time and actually enjoy being in high school. Hell.. I wish I played a sport or two as well.

AP classes don't mean crap. A 4.7 GPA doesn't mean crap. SAT and ACT scores don't mean crap.

Gaining maturity and not comparing yourself to your other friends is something that high school doesn't teach you which will benefit you immensely.

Just work hard! That's it!

Very very well put.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Gaining maturity and not comparing yourself to your other friends is something that high school doesn't teach you which will benefit you immensely.

Yes! High school social environments are very often toxic places. I don't see how in the world people benefit from it.

Drop out, get a GED, get a 4.0 at a community college for one or two semesters (note: this is not hard to do, go to class and do the assignments) and you're set.

 

[MachoDOAndySavage]

Yes! High school social environments are very often toxic places. I don't see how in the world people benefit from it.

Drop out, get a GED, get a 4.0 at a community college for one or two semesters (note: this is not hard to do, go to class and do the assignments) and you're set.

That's a way too far there. Focus on getting a good act/sat and make sure you take them a few times, colleges focus on act quite a bit and a 3.6 is still a good gpa for highschool. none of it will matter after you get into college anyway

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

That's a way too far there. Focus on getting a good act/sat and make sure you take them a few times, colleges focus on act quite a bit and a 3.6 is still a good gpa for highschool. none of it will matter after you get into college anyway

Nope, high school was a complete, utter, and total waste of time. I benefited much more from athletics than I did academics, and in comparing the life outcomes of fellow athletes against the nerds who actually wrote that 10 page paper about a separate peace, the athletes are outdoing the nerds by a considerable margin.

There were kids who probably put 8k hours into homework and outside of class studying in HS. I don't recall cracking a book and had like 60% attendance. To my knowledge I graduated from the best university of my senior class, and probably have one of the better GPAs. I'm not that smart, its just that high school is that pointless.