I will be a senior this upcoming school year and I would appreciate advice on how to improve my chances of getting into a good college (UC Berkeley, Georgetown University, etc.).
I know it’s pretty last minute and I will be applying to colleges this fall, however, I realized recently that my junior year courseload was not as competitive as other users on here. I switched schools midyear due to health issues and I went from an IB program to AP. The school I moved to only allowed me to take two AP classes and limited it to AP Language and Comp and AP Environmental Science (because those were the only APs that aligned with my previous school’s courses).
Is there anything I should do over the summer or this upcoming senior year to help improve my chances of getting into a good college? I have a 4.0 UW (with consistent grades from freshman-current year) and only a 4.2 W from junior year. For senior year, I am planning to take AP Literature, AP Calc and APUSH.
How are your SAT/ACT scores? You could study for them over the summer and take them again. Raising your scores will always be helpful.
This summer, do something productive. That can be working or volunteering or going to a camp or taking a class.
When your GC writes your recommendation, have them mention that you had health issues and that is why you switched programs.
This summer, find and visit (if possible) some safety schools. Make sure they are affordable and somewhere you would like to attend.
Check on Naviance for what scores/gpa got into UC Berkeley/Georgetown.
Talk to your parents about what is affordable…if you are out of state UC B is very expensive. If you live in CA then Gtown is far away and cost $$ for travel.
Also this is what I suggest in general:
Make a list of all your ECs, when you did them, about how many hours a week, and descriptions.
You only get 10 slots for ECs on common app, so start categorizing them. Like you may want to categorize all music ECs together, or split them up somewhat.
Make sure to mention what leadership you have in those ECs, even if not a formal position…and talk about what you did as a leader.
Choose a Common App essay prompt
Write a draft of your essay this summer. Give it to your GC/English teacher to review in the fall.
If you haven’t already, choose who you want to ask to write recommendations for you. If your major is STEM, ask a Math and a science teacher.
See what your HS Guidance office wants you to do for college apps…(look on their website)…Do they want you to complete a brag sheet or something else to help the GC?
Visit some local colleges…like your State flagship, a smaller private school…see what you like and don’t like about them. Or take a trip and visit more schools.
Come up with a list of what you want in a college…major, location, urban/rural, size, etc etc
Based on that, use Naviance, Supermatch (here on CC), Fiske Guide, etc to come up with a list of colleges
Find out from your parents how much they can spend on college each year
Run the Net Price Calculator on those colleges to see if they are affordable
Try to visit some of those colleges over the summer if possible if you haven’t already
DO NOT APPLY TO A SCHOOL YOU WOULDN’T ATTEND. Also known as “Love thy Safety”. Pick your Safety first. I don’t know how many stories I read about people who didn’t get into an of their reaches and what they thought were matches and are only accepted to the safety and have a fit…find one that you like.
Yes this seems like a lot of work…but imagine doing it when you have classes and ECs too!