Advice for current HS sophomore?

<p>My S toured JMU this week. Have an older child and decided this was a school he had mentionned hence he should come along for this visit. Like many boys he was not thrilled but didn't argue. Once there, he fell in love. Would have bought out the bookstore in JMU attire. I'm hoping this encourages greater devotion to his school work. My question is, how many AP/ honors classes seem to be 'average' among current students? He gets mainly As and Bs with the ever- present one C+ ( hence my hope for improvement). We are in NOVA and he could choose from 20 or so AP classes, though he certainly won't come even close. I'm guessing he will have 6 with some honors in there as well. Thoughts on what we should encourage now, while he has a good bit of time left to amend/ improve his odds? (to my point about the love of JMU, he just wandered through wearing both JMU shorts and a bright gold JMU hoodie...) current GPA should be 3.4 or so (sigh).</p>

<p>What kind of ECs is he in? That can make or break him because of his GPA.</p>

<p>His main ECs are sports and guitar (thru the school not in the basement!). Hoping he can elevate the GPA some too… The idea was to motivate the boy by taking him on visits now, in 10th grade, while there is still some time.</p>

<p>Definately make sure he fits the “well rounded” category.
I’m finishing up my freshman year now, and the stats are only rising as the years progress. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see 3.8-4.0 be the norm by the time his turn comes around. 3.7ish was about average when I applied. I had a 3.56 and I’m pretty confident I got in with football, eagle scout, national honor society, history honor society, etc.</p>

<p>I know quite a few 3.4’s that we’re turned down, one in particular was pretty well rounded in that he played lacrosse and such.</p>

<p>I only had 2 ap’s total, but several honors. Definately work on that gpa, because to be blunt a 3.4 won’t cut it.</p>

<p>I’m also in NoVA, by the way.</p>

<p>History: My S will be a summer 2012 transfer admit. He was not accepted to JMU coming out of HS. He decided not to go for a safe school but instead went into the VCCS. He is graduating with an Associates degree (2.3 years). Along the way, he was accepted into the Disney College program (Fortune100 company). He loved working for Disney and being a Disney CP opens opportunities for a Disney professional internship. In short, if your S does get in to JMU from HS. There are other (and maybe) better alternatives.</p>

<p>My S is currently a JMU student and my D was accepted EA this year for Fall 2012. For excellent info regarding the JMU admission process, visit [JMU</a> Admissions](<a href=“http://jmuadmissions.■■■■■■■■■■■■■%5DJMU”>http://jmuadmissions.■■■■■■■■■■■■■) and read the entry “Dealing with Being Deferred.” It gives an overview not just on the EA round but also on what JMU is looking for in the RD round.</p>