<p>I am currently a sophomore in high school and I did not become serious about college until recently. I am hoping that you guys can read this and give me your thoughts and some advice.</p>
<p>I go to a high school that runs on the block schedule. As both a freshman and sophomore I have taken all honors except for math. I have a weighted gpa of a 3.8 right now, only because I have never tried in any classes (never studied/always done homework at last minute/never made sure I fully understood everything that was going on). I have also only been in one club each year and I haven't done any sports. I am a white female. Pretty much all of my relatives on my Dad's side of the family are Chapel Hill alumni but neither of my parents attended Chapel Hill. I received a 187 on my psat without any preparation for it and I know that my real sat scores will be much higher. I have recently realized that I've spent the last year and a half being stupid and that Chapel Hill is where I NEED to go. What I would like to know is if I take the courses listed below and I actually try in these courses if it would be possible for me to become Chapel Hill material.</p>
<p>Summer '10:
Latin 2</p>
<p>Junior Year schedule:
AP English Language (year long),
AP Chemistry (year long),
AP Psychology,
Pre Calculus Honors,
US History Honors,
Latin 3 Honors</p>
<p>Senior Year:
AP English Literature (year long),
AP Biology (year long),
AP Calc or Statistics (undecided, year long),
AP Latin 4 (year long)</p>
<p>I know that I have really screwed up my freshman and sophomore years by not putting any effort in my school work and settling for B's when I could've had high A's with a little effort, but I am hoping that by taking these classes and joining 4-5 clubs next year that I will be able to redeem myself.</p>
<p>Do any of you have any thoughts on this or advice for me?</p>
<p>I am assuming that you live in NC, as you seem to be following the standard NCVPS path for Latin (I took Latin I and II in school, then did III between junior and senior year via NCVPS, and I am taking AP Latin IV/Vergil now via NCVPS.) On the Latin front, if you actually want to learn the language, and it is offered at your high school, do it at school, NCVPS is not nearly as hard, and you do not learn nearly as much as you would from a classroom teacher; however it is pretty good for bringing up your GPA.</p>
<p>As for what else you can do RELAX AND COME BACK AFTER YOUR JUNIOR YEAR! Enjoy high school, it goes by too quickly, and so long as you do well in your classes, challenge yourself, and score decent on the SAT, and you should be fine. I screwed up my sophomore year, but then worked my butt off the last two, and I got accepted.</p>
<p>Once again I am going to disagree with TB’s advice that you should not care at all about college until after your junior year. Because you wanna know something? It’s a bit late. Most people cite their biggest regret about not looking into this process until it was too late. His “only work hard junior and senior year theory” fortunately worked for him – that’s awesome – but that doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee. Good work habits and consistency never hurt anyone. and while junior and senior year are more important, messing around prior to that is not going to help you. Additionally… I never thought there was much to enjoy in high school… but that’s a different topic altogether.</p>
<p>You haven’t indicated whether you’re instate or out of state… this would make quite a big difference.</p>
<p>Regardless, given that you’ll probably be applying to some other schools besides UNCCH, keep in mind that there’s more to you as an applicant than your grades and scores. Those are what get you in the door… Activities, essays, recommendations, etc. will seal the deal. Joining as many clubs as you can fit into your schedule is a terrible way to try and redeem yourself in the extracurricular sense… it’s insincere, won’t allow you to focus on an interest, and will make it quite difficult to obtain leadership positions this late in the game. </p>
<p>I’m going to copy and paste something on clubs:
““If you think there is a “right” activity to have, or that you can’t have a good activity-resume without a certain set of skills (athleticism, artistic ability) then we need to get those ideas out of your head RIGHT NOW. There is no “right” activity. In fact, I like to think that with admissions to top schools, the more unusual, the better. (Think about how many student council presidents they see, etc. – these are GREAT activities, but don’t think that you have to stick to the norm). Consider trying things outside of school, if there’s something really weird or unusual that interests you (this could be ANYTHING, an academic, some form of collecting, some unusual sport, building things, i don’t know, ANYTHING) try pursuing it outside of school or getting a club started for it. Based on what I see (and I know I’m not right about everything) it is oftentimes better (in the eyes of admissions) to be extremely focused and successful in one area as opposed to spreading yourself out more thinly and dabbling in multiple things.””</p>
<p>Basically, given that you’re going into your junior year. Find an interest and pursue it… Take the most advanced course you can (sounds like that’s what you’re going to do)… Do the best that you can (Ahem, A’s would be preferred which it also sounds like you’re aware of :P)… Write solid essays… Explore other viable options… And there’s nothing wrong with getting a jump start on the process – just don’t let it consume you… yet…</p>
<p>I agree with TonyB in that you shouldn’t stress over college admitance as a sophmore but it is something to be aware of, which you obviously are. </p>
<p>People over think things. To get into any competative school you need a combination of: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Solid gpa (3.5 or above in challenging classes)</p></li>
<li><p>Solid SAT (in-state <1900; out-of-state <2100)</p></li>
<li><p>Good recomendations (a teacher that <em>knows</em> you anre writes well), </p></li>
<li><p>Extra carriculars that give insight to who you are (sports = committed/competative, debate = logical/organized, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Essays that fill in the gaps</p></li>
</ul>
<p>When you go to write your essays think about what the admissions won’t already know about you from your applications then write about that.</p>
<p>Just a clarification, my advice wasn’t to slack off, I simply noticed that the OP had a similar GPA to what I had after sophomore, and given his in-state status, and apparent rigorous courseload for the next two years, that so long as he does well in the classes and scores high enough on the SATS, he should be able to make up for the low weighted GPA. I deeply regret messing p my first two year, and while it worked out in the end, I would never advise anyone to do the same.</p>
<p>And as for my opinion on waiting until after your junior year to come here, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be serious about college and working in school. Before the end of a students junior year we do not have nearly enough information to give an accurate “chance.” They have no SAT/ACT scores, their GPA can change drastically, other major events can happen in their life that can change their entire game plan. It is simply too early for anyone to worry about chance for this university or any other, and the best thing that they can do is take a deep breath, relax, work hard in classes, and then come back when it is a little closer to the time they will be applying, so we can give an accurate chance. A while back there was an 8th or 9th Grader asking for a chance on here. While this case isn’t nearly as out there as that one, my point is that people have become too focused on admissions to enjoy the life they have now. Again, work hard, but don’t be too focused on admissions, do what you like, and, hopefully, you will make it into the school that is the perfect fit for you.</p>