<p>Hi guys, I just finished sophomore year and would like to know what I should do this summer and Junior year to improve my chances of being accepted into good colleges. Should I do scientific lab research or get a summer job?</p>
<p>IMO, lab research looks more impressive than a summer job, but you should state in your college application and resume what you actually did (just saying that you completed an internship at a university doesn’t say much).</p>
<p>A summer job’s also great (I’ll be at one teaching at a math camp, but I’m entering college next year anyway) as long as it shows that you are responsible and mature.</p>
<p>Thanks @rspence</p>
<p>Also how should I study for the SAT? Do I use review books now and maybe take classes later?</p>
<p>A review book is fine. If you can easily study on your own, I would skip the classes, mainly b/c they’re usually quite expensive (anywhere from $400 to over $2000).</p>
<p>Take the hardest schedule you can, and get the best grades possible. I know that might seem obvious, but you want to push yourself as much as you can to show colleges you’re dedicated. </p>
<p>Buying a review book is sufficient for the SAT. Personally I took the SAT in September this year to see what I should really work on, and then just took it again yesterday so I won’t have to next year. </p>
<p>Keep in the back of your mind how you can impress teachers you plan on getting recommendations from. For example, my school has a graduation requirement where we have to do service for the school, and so any time my math teacher needed help I always offered. In addition I would go to her office to ask questions or go over the homework, and this gave me opportunities to develop a relationship outside of class. </p>
<p>Lastly, get involved in some ECs if you aren’t already. And you don’t to get involved in a ton, either. Just focus on ones that actually interest you, shoot for leadership positions, and do things that are noteworthy enough to mention on college apps. Quality over quantity!</p>
<p>How about getting a job doing research! That’s what I’m doing this summer. </p>
<p>Also, about the SAT–definitely buy a review book first and self-study. I saved myself more than 2000 bucks, and I got a 2390. Could I have gotten perfect if I took the class? =| You can then take a prep course if you still want to improve your scores. </p>
<p>I recommend buying several prep books on a used book website, such a thriftbooks, and ripping through them as fast as possible so you can get more repetition. </p>
<p>However, this is only a good strategy for studying the critical reading section, since you want to develop the “intuition” that helps you determine the right multiple choice answer. (sorry, I have to brag again. I think that doing so much critical reading practice really helped me on my “critical analysis” skills, since on an APENG multiple choice test this year, I only got one question wrong) </p>
<p>For writing, brush up on your rules, and get a lot of practice. ESPECIALLY for writing, you need to take a lot of practice tests. YOU WILL SEE THE SAME QUESTIONS OVER AND OVER if you take enough tests. The questions on the writing section are very standard.</p>
<p>I am not too sure about math–are you good at math? I didn’t do much studying on math, and I often skipped those sections. For me, I only needed to concentrate on eliminating my easy mistakes. Because I did a lot of practice tests, I also shaved the time it took me to finish a math section from around 20 minutes, to 12 minutes. This gave me a LOT of time to double, triple, quadruple check and cut out my math mistakes. The concepts covered on the SAT math section are all doable–it’s the time limit that makes it difficult.</p>
<p>Long ramble ended, GOOD LUCK! I wish I could redo my junior year, not because I failed, but because college apps, decisions, and high school graduation are scary and sad…Make sure you have fun in your junior year! I cannot stress this enough.</p>
<p>Research is more impressive. Students seem to do well in college admissions with research experience. If you can get a paper out of it that would be great.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the advice! Do colleges like to see students take dual enrollment college level classes at their local community college or is that looked down upon because many kids in my school do it just to boost their GPA?</p>