Every year, 14 and 15 year-olds across the nation embark on the beginning of their high school journeys, many not understanding the seriousness or importance behind creating a strong foundation for oneself.

Currently, schools across Seminole County are five weeks into the 2016-2017 school year, just around the time when middle and high schools issue progress reports, indicating that the nine-weeks term is halfway over. After having relaxed and “chilled,” the entire quarter up until now, many students find themselves in a panic, with below average grades, and sometimes even worse – failing several classes.

Often times, upperclassmen, and even sophomores, realize that playing time is over and understand that in order to pull their grades up in time for report cards, they must buckle down and get on top of things. But what happens to high school freshman who find themselves at the fall of such a situation and do not understand just how imperative it is to build their grade point average – even during their freshman year?

First, it is important to understand why a strong foundation is necessary in the first place. After each year of high school, all of the grades from the previous year are added to a student’s high school transcripts, which are eventually submitted to colleges during the application period of the student’s junior and senior year.

In addition to grades being added to a student’s transcripts, a strong foundation also weighs in importance considering it entirely helps compose the student’s cumulative grade point average. Grade point averages show the student’s average grade while in high school, ranging from 0 to 5 when properly weighted. This is important because many colleges and universities, as well as clubs, societies, and even armed force organizations, require a minimum GPA. What happens when a student who chose to perform carelessly their freshman year is struggling to get accepted into their dream college or university because their GPA does not meet that minimum requirement? That student is out of luck and is forced to look into alternate options.

When asked why she felt it was so important to build a strong foundation for oneself academically freshman year, senior, Jelena Dragoljevic believes that “the work ethic you start high school with usually follows you throughout the rest of high school. [This],” continued Dragoljevic, “has helped me because when you get into the habit of putting in effort, it gets easier not to make excuses and to just get your work done.”

Low grades halfway through the end of the term certainly aren’t the end of the world. Not only does the school offer connections to affordable tutoring, but most teachers are willing to accept students before and after school, as well as during lunch periods.

If you find yourself in a panic due to these various reasons, going the extra mile to improve your grades and heighten your academic success becomes a necessity. This will take studying a little longer, asking a few more questions, and even reaching out to your teachers to identify extra credit options, or even ways you can improve past assignments.

The beauty of it all lies in that even though your first quarter may have been rocky, you still have three more in your freshman year to prove yourself academically and receive the grades you are capable of attaining.