Inherently, everyone in high school has the chance to reach greater heights. While there are other things that you should focus on rather than just school, as one focuses on classes and work, the top 10% can be reached without notice. These students have reached the top 10% using their work ethic and academic performances to reach a GPA that is consistently a 3.9+.
Jack Doner, A senior who worked exceptionally hard to get where he is, but also meaning that he had to endure 4 years of high school and had to keep a 4.0 GPA throughout those years is an achievement on its own. Then we have Madison Huynh, a Junior who has also reached new heights and has dedicated her life to her education, all in devotion to make her parents proud. And finally, Rina Pawel, another senior who specifically picked classes to keep a good GPA. Now these classes that she picked weren’t easy at all, but Rina picked these classes on a 6.0 scale to achieve the highest consistency of GPA.
At the beginning of Doners high school life, he was in a state of depression and his grades began to slip at the start of his high school. But with preservation and the people around him he found a peaceful place inside his heart where he managed to climb the ladder of success and reach a GPA of 4.0 at the end of his high school career. This shows how even though you might not do well at the start of something, things will only get better from here on out.
“Whenever I started high school, I was in a deeply bad state of my life. My grades were on an average 60 but I met people and learned to look for the good in the bad and now I’m a 4.0 GPA student in my senior year,” Doner said.
Huynh, even though less experienced than Pawel and Doner, is still a talented student when it comes to her studies. All in the name of proving to her parents that she will get a strong college application.
“I’ve worked nonstop to achieve a consistent 4.0 GPA throughout high school. My parents are always nagging that if I slip up I won’t be able to have a future, so even though I have a lot of stressful classes, I will continue to work even harder,” Huynh said.
For Pawel, who chose classes on the 6.0 scale. As a result, now for this weighted scale this gives her more leeway to make mistakes, unlike a 4.0 where if you fail a class it brings GPA standing down to a 3.9. ButPawel utilizes the 6.0 scale to where she would always be at an unweighted 4.0 GPA.
“Yeah, getting a 4.0 GPA is cool, but I didn’t want to work really hard to get it, I mainly just picked classes on a 6.0 scale and just got good grades on those classes,” said Pawell.
While Huynh’s parents have put a lot of weight on Huynh’s shoulders, she tries to make the most of it by making studying slightly more rewarding and fun. Huynh uses a time efficient schedule to have all her work on time or to study for upcoming tests, which equates to time for her personal hobbies.
“Not every time of the day is spent studying. You don’t want to overwork yourself. Usually when I do get home, I take this time for a nap or eating so that way I can feel rejuvenated for studying or doing homework later. If I do my daily task, then I reward myself with playing video games or going out shopping,” Huynh said.
As a senior about to head off to college, Pawel still wants to keep her grades on point until she gets accepted into a college she wants to commit to. She uses afterschool time studying for an hour and two and also finding scholarships to help with her financial burden.
“I’d like to apply for a lot of scholarships. Even the tiniest ones can help and a bunch of those could even pay tuition. I [submit an application] almost every single day,” Pawel said.
This year, Doner wants to take things easy, as being his last year he wants to relax and fully engage in the Senioritis and flow through the year with no stress. But he still has to keep his grades up so he’ll pick up the pencil here and there.
“Yeah for senior year I’m just trying to chill for the whole school year. I mean I already got accepted into Penn State, so why do I even have to keep good grades anymore?” Doner said.
For now, Doner wants to spend time with his friends and focus on having fun for this school year. The connections made along academic journeys are there to support.
“Whenever I got my acceptance letter, so many people congratulated me as well as my family, and it made me realize how much I appreciate them and how important they mean to me,” Doner said.
