My Academic Feat by Crystal

My Academic Feat by Crystal - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

Every student has weak and strong subjects. Some students may breeze through an advanced math course, but fall flat in their history class. Others may write brilliant essays, only to fail their biology exam. For me, the class that caused me the most academic frustration was Advanced Placement Chemistry.

I took this class my junior year of high school, and it was by far the hardest class I have ever taken. The workload, subject matter, and rigorous testing schedule caused me more stress than I have ever had before. Throughout the year, I did my best to study when I could (even with six other Advanced Placement/AICE courses under my belt), and that got me by with a ‘B’ average for the first three quarters of the year. However, in the third quarter, the class became even more difficult. Quizzes were given everyday, and my lack of knowledge became very evident. By the time fourth quarter came around, I felt as though I was drowning. With only quizzes to decide my class grade, the stress increased and so did the difficulty of the class. I started to feel hopeless about passing the AP exam at the end of the year, and that is when my self motivation kicked in.

I do not consider failure to be an option, and if it is, then I want to do everything in my power so I know that even if I do not succeed, I gave my best effort. So I picked up my review book and got to work. Everyday I read and practiced the difficult math problems until I felt comfortable with the topic. This became my routine up until my final exam was given to me and my classmates to take a few days before the AP test. While the test was being graded, my teacher would send out texts to the class announcing who got the highest grade on each question. I was rendered speechless when I saw my name appear on one of those texts. Shocked and thrilled, I allowed myself to acknowledge my own hard work. I passed the final, and that was an extremely rewarding feeling, because a month before, I would have never believed I could earn anything higher than a ‘D’ on the test.

After studying a few more days, the big AP exam rolled around, and after taking that test, I had comes to terms with the fact I did not pass. The test was extremely difficult and my hopes were low; however, I still felt proud, for I put in my best effort in order to prepare myself for this exam. Months later, I received the news that I did in fact pass the AP exam with a three. I couldn’t believe the score I saw before my eyes or help the smile that tugged on the ends of my lips. I had done it. I had passed AP Chemistry.

Though the year was tough and I had to endure a heavy amount of stress, I do not regret taking this class. I learned that hard work does pay off in the end, and that things will not always come easily to me. Some things require more work and attention than others, and when you put in that extra effort, the results will show it. I know that if I want success, I must go the extra mile to compensate for what I don’t know. Excuses will not help me, but effort will, and I intend to put effort into everything I do.