Am I on track for Carnegie Mellon University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<p>Am I on track for acceptance to Carnegie Mellon University looking at my first two years of high school? Here is a list of things I have done in my freshman and sophomore years of high school:</p>

<p>Freshman Year</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Chemistry Honors and Geometry Honors) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Multimedia Design and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - 2.957</li>
<li>Chemistry Honors (usually taken by strong juniors): C+</li>
<li>Geometry Honors (usually taken by strong freshmen or sophomores): C-</li>
<li>World Civilizations: A-</li>
<li>English I: B</li>
<li>Spanish I: B-</li>
<li>Multimedia Design: A</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
</ul>

<p>School Sports</p>

<ul>
<li>None</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Ninth Grade Class Council Officer</li>
<li>Volunteer at the Children's Section of a local library </li>
<li>Judge in the Elementary School Science Fair</li>
<li>Performed in the School Spring Drama Production</li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Host at a School Open House</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Member of the Chess Team</li>
<li>Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
</ul>

<p>Sophomore Year (so far)</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Biology Honors and Algebra II Honors) </li>
<li>One AP Course (World History AP) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Computer Science and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - ? </li>
<li>Biology Honors: B</li>
<li>Algebra II Honors: B-</li>
<li>World History AP: B-</li>
<li>English II: B+</li>
<li>Spanish II: B-</li>
<li>Computer Science: B+</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
<li>PSAT - 184 (without prior preparation)</li>
<li>PLAN - 22 (without prior preparation)</li>
</ul>

<p>School Sports</p>

<ul>
<li>Cross Country</li>
<li>Swimming</li>
<li>Tennis</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Executive Council Secretary (Highest Student Council Position Available to a Sophomore)</li>
<li>Elected Tenth Grade Class Council Officer (served until elected Executive Council Secretary)</li>
<li>Volunteering at the Children's Section of a local library</li>
<li>Performed in the Fall and Spring Drama Productions</li>
<li>Member of the Set Construction/Technical Crews for the Fall and Spring Drama Productions </li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Founding Member of a Junior State of America chapter (Appointed to the position of Chapter Secretary & Director of Debate for next year)</li>
<li>Appointed to lead the chapter at the JSA Spring State Conference</li>
<li>Model United Nations delegate</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Newspaper</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Literary Magazine</li>
<li>Member of the Community Service Board </li>
<li>Member of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter </li>
<li>Founding Officer of the 30 Hour Famine Chapter </li>
<li>Member of the Chess Club </li>
<li>Host at School Open Houses and School Orientation</li>
<li>Vice President of the Sports Writing Club</li>
<li>Teen Leadership Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
</ul>

<p>Thank you for your time.</p>

2

<p>Doesn’t look like it. CMU doesn’t look at freshman year grades and you have a B- in Algebra II honors and a B in Biology, which indicates to me that you aren’t a particularly strong math and science student, which is key for getting into Carnegie Mellon. But I don’t know how your school’s grading works and how rigorous your classes are so it’s hard to tell.</p>

3

<p>I think that you are taking the right classes and working hard so you are on track to go to a good 4 year college. CMU? well, it seems early to be setting your heart on a particular college. Which school are you interested in? Engineering or HSS? CIT or SCS are going to be tough except for kids with the highest scores and grades in math and science, but HSS is less selective.</p>

<p>Having watched kids going through admissions I have learned, sadly, that test scores and high and/or improving grades are the most important factors. Your grades are OK but will need to improve in math and science for the more competitive programs. Have you taken the PSAT or the PLAN? IF the scores are not very high, I would start studying now and organizing a schedule to start doing practice tests etc. OK grades are trumped by AP and SAT II scores because they are more easily comparable than grades across schools.</p>

4

<p>you seem on the track but you really need to boost your GPA. and make sure you prepare well for the ACT’s during you junior year. all your ectra curriculars count but a school also needs to keep their frosh gpa’s and ACT/SAT scores up for comparison. so make sure you work on that. but honestly don’t stress out his early about school , just boost your grades up and keep doing what you’re doing.</p>