<p>maybe this has been posted before, but seniors or whoever could make a list of things that they've did wrong/things that they did right about futures and colleges etc, lol, for the freshmen and sophmores (and even juniors like me!). </p>
<p>lol like i said i'm just a junior, but i know a LOT of things i'll do if i could start over. i don't know much about actually applying to college, but i know what i'll do if i was a freshman againn.</p>
<p>so i guess i'll start:
1. you have a lot of time before junior year, in between studying and taking all your AP classes. take your sophmore year and freshman year to also study for outside tests like the USAMO and usa whatever. they take a few years to study and would be quite phenomenal if you do well! hopefully it'll be a subject that you like!!
2. Don't freak about A-s and B+s. It's more important to be extracurricularly involved and get a less-than-perfect transcript than to get straight As and have nothing cuz..well..you've spent too much time being "perfect." get started with your extracurriculars in freshman year, cuz if you just have a bunch of clubs that you've joined junior year, it'll seriously look like padding your resume.
3. don't think about "getting into college" when you're doing activities. that just gets you stressed for no reason, and is quite depressing. college will come in time...a few years....
4. BE AGGRESSIVE! fight for club leadership positions, take initiative and start a new club, be very very active in the clubs that you've joined and in the volunteering that you do. not just for clubs, but for teams and other things too. it's good to take initiative.
5. get rid of all nasty procrastinating habits. NOW! so in your junior year you won't be half as stressed. in fact, get off of CC now!
6. take the hardest classes possible! it's better to get a few B's in AP and Honors classes than to get A's in standard classes. and don't be too GPA-oriented. take the harder classes, even if it means that the person taking the easier classes will have a higher GPA. weighted GPA and class rank isn't as important as it seems to be. a rigorous course schedule always looks better!</p>
<p>okay that's all that i've learned so far. i will add more. do any seniors/ppl in college have anything to add?</p>
<p>Definitely, as Narcissa said, take the hardest courseload possible, especially if you aspire to be val/sal. Challenge yourself - not only will you learn more, you will develop a valuable work ethic early on. Make yourself aware of the opportunities available to you. But, seeing as how you're a freshman reading CC, you probably don't need this advice.</p>
<p>Don't kill yourself if you get a B or not your favorable grade. Life will go on. It will be okay. You will still get into college. Life is fool of mistakes... live them well. But, at least learn from them.</p>
<p>Have fun if you can. Yes, grades and school are incredibly important. But, try to have fun. You would hate to look back and see that you spent all your time worrying about grades or colleges or on CC.</p>
<p>Stop worrying about college. You will get into college. You are on CC. You will get into college. Don't worry about it really till your junior spring/senior year. Visit colleges, but don't freak out. It is not worth it at all.</p>
<p>Instead of studying SAT books for hours upon end, READ, READ, READ in your spare time. In the end, it will help you. It will greatly improve both your verbal and writing SAT scores. Try your best in that way and occasional study SAT. Don't freak out or stress so much in your freshman year.</p>
<p>If you think that you might like something, TRY IT. I mean seriously try it. Crew? Football? Theatre? try it, test it out. You might love it. Take risks, well educational ones.</p>
<p>Have at least 1 "good" class your spring of senior year. You will need it. </p>
<p>Suck up to teachers especially junior teachers.</p>
<p>Be pretentious your whole high school career. Do some kind of self-study or research very early on whether it is for AP State Scholar, RSI, or IMO/IBO/etc.</p>
<p>Definitly try things out. Maybe join the swimming team if you have an interest. Don't think to join the clubs that you think would appear great on an application. If you don't like existing clubs, make one. Or, join something outside of school. But make sure it's something your passionate about.</p>
<p>Definitly be aware of college plans, meaning, know what you have to do/get when you apply. Especially applies to testing. Some seniors at my school wanted to apply to Harvard but didn't know they had to take 3 SAT Subject Tests and now they have very low scores and will most likely be rejected.</p>
<p>If you go so a horrible public school, try to get out. OMG this is what I regret!! I could have gotten accepted to IMSA, but no, I didn't know about it. Definitly go to the best place you can. If not, make the best out of the situation.</p>
<p>Kiss teachers' as*** like crazy. Seriously, an amazing glowing rec are definite pluses. </p>
<p>Take leadership to the next level. Become the first in your school to do something.</p>
<p>Have something to do EVERY summer in high school. I had the unfortunate problem of having nothing to do for one, and believe me, it wasn't fun. </p>
<p>Of course, stay off of CC!! I've wasted like 30+ hours in the past three days.</p>
<p>oh yes. suck up to teachers. unfortunately i failed to do that >__<
oh yeah and the summer advice is good too; there are many great summer programs that you can apply to that are actually stimulating. stuff like those leadership camps that always send you mail? they're basically out to get $$. if you realkly want to go...go...but if you're looking for a stimulating and selective environment, go to RSI or TASP or SSP! (oh, and of course the bio/physics/chem/math camps!)</p>
<p>"Kiss teachers' as*** like crazy. Seriously, an amazing glowing rec are definite pluses."</p>
<p>here's a tip: don't take your teachers for idiots. they see right through your ****, and so does the rest of the class. instead of "kissing ass like crazy," show genuine interest, and work hard.</p>
<p>Don't kiss any bottoms. It's unhealthy. Also, decide what your top choice college is, and design your high school life to exceed that college's requirements by a lot. I wish I did that but oh well.</p>
<p>Don't buy a Celeron based laptop your freshman year, get frustrated, try to overclock it, learn every other way that your CPU DOES NOT work, and take your frustration out one day on your freshman Bio teacher, especially when that teacher is your current AP Bio teacher.</p>
<p>Make some friends with people in your grade. I was always with people in older grades and I didn't get to know many people in my grade and that is making senior year sucky.</p>