Marisa's Accpt. Essay

            Many teachers and parents expect kids to mature immediately on the first day of ninth grade that did not happen for me. I never fully realized in the earlier grades how important high school success, as measured by GPA, would be to my future life, and as a result I am applying to college with seemingly contradictory measures of my ability to perform college-level work. If I had worked and studied hard instead of hanging out with friends and viewing high school as an opportunity to socialize my grades would be more of a reflection of my ability. I also over committed myself in many clubs, sports, school activities, and community service. Now I find myself having to apply to colleges with an 840 SAT and a Cum Unwtd 2.77 GPA. Had I taken my grades seriously, I could have been a college's dream candidate. This year I have made an earnest effort to improve my work ethic. My grade point average is rising and my study habits are improving. However, after performing poorly for three years, my GPA cannot reflect the transformation I underwent at the start of last year. My junior year I tried to challenge myself and take an AP class, I struggled but I passed successfully. I was very happy to have taken the challenge and to accomplish my goal. I am dedicated to making something of myself; I've finally matured and I am now trying to lessen the consequences of my past actions. Armed with my new attitude and my understanding of the extreme importance of earning good grades to signal my capacity to work responsibly, I"m confident that I will never revert to the student I once was. In retrospect, I believe that it was my inability to choose my classes and that resulted in my lack of enthusiasm on the ride to school each morning. I enjoy the freedom to pursue my own interests and anxiously anticipate the ability to choose my own class schedule in college. While I understand that college will be significantly more challenging than high school, I have !.