Dear future college student,
Congratulations on your college acceptance, and I am sure you have received plenty of scholarships for your academic excellence and extracurricular activities. You're probably thrilled to move out and start a new life as a college student. College is definitely a wonderful experience, but it is also a great wake up call. For those of you who were the straight A student who was the president of every club possible, there are still a couple lessons you need to learn before you start your journey.
The first major lesson is that you will probably not continue that 4.0 GPA in college. I know there are some of you laughing and are very certain that it will happen. For a few of you, it might. For most of you, probably not. I do not want to be harsh, but this is the real deal. College is not high school. If you have one bad test grade, it can drop you a whole letter grade. You do not get a lot of homework to be a buffer for your grade in a class. I have had many classes where my grade was only based on test scores. Not to mention that these tests are also nothing like high school tests. You will probably get your first B, C, or maybe even a D on an exam while in college. The key is to not freak out. Trust me, it is not the end of the world. Just take a deep breath, because it will be okay. It happens, and the odds are that you will probably get your grade back up. To be honest, I think the sooner you get your first B or C in college, the better. You come to the realization that your grades will not be perfect. You will still work hard and do well, but you will be more at ease. So when you get that C in organic chemistry, don't stress. You probably still did better than half the class anyways.
College is stressful, but try to enjoy the ride. It won't be perfect, and it won't be easy, but make the best of it. After all, you're only in college once, so might as well do it right.
