Such an intense focus on the "grade" and getting in to college. Roll it forward 4 or 5 or 6 years and you get this problem.
http://www.macleans.ca/education/uni...pr=12707004769
Robotics and the First program are great at helping with the above problem.
Students. Companies hire stem trained people to solve problems in the "real world" not a virtual text book world. Devote some of your time to jobs - internships and gain experience solving problems in a real job setting.