Am I on track for Vanderbilt University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>Am I on track for acceptance to the Vanderbilt 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 at my school): C+</li>
<li>Geometry Honors: 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>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+/B</li>
<li>Algebra II Honors: B/B-</li>
<li>World History AP: B/B-</li>
<li>English II: B+</li>
<li>Spanish II: B-</li>
<li>Computer Science: A/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>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Executive Council Secretary (Highest Student Council Position Available to a Sophomore; Planning to run for Executive Council Vice President next year)</li>
<li>Elected Tenth Grade Class Council Officer (served until elected Executive Council Secretary)</li>
<li>Member of the Cross Country team</li>
<li>Member of the Swim team</li>
<li>Member of the Tennis team</li>
<li>Weekly Volunteer 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>
</ul>

<p>Summer Plans </p>

<ul>
<li>Teen Leadership Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
<li>Mission Trip in Nicaragua for one week during the summer</li>
<li>(Hopefully) Attending the Junior State of America Northeast Institute on Leadership and National Security at Princeton University in the summer</li>
<li>(Hopefully) Attending the National Student Leadership Conference in Law & Advocacy or Intelligence & National Security</li>
<li>Attending the U.S. Naval Academy Swim Camp</li>
</ul>

<p>My overall goal is to enter the U.S. Navy as an Officer after graduation, serve for a few years, then transition to the U.S. Navy Reserve and attend a top law school.</p>

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

2

<p>to be honest, i think your gpa is going to hurt you. it is good that you are talking challenging courses, but you also have to do well in them! the majority of vandy kids take most of the hardest classes at their school, but they also are in the top percent of their class. </p>

<p>it seems like you have a lot of ecs, but you might just want to focus on a few. colleges/universities know that “Attending the Junior State of America Northeast Institute on Leadership and National Security at Princeton University in the summer” or “Attending the National Student Leadership Conference in Law & Advocacy or Intelligence & National Security” are just resume builders. keep working hard, taking hard classes, and score well on the sat. junior year is definitely the most important of all the years for colleges to look at (if you apply early, anyways), so make sure you sign up for the most challenging classes you can handle, and do well in them. GOOD LUCK! you still have time haha</p>

3

<p>you have really great extracurriculars so you could definitely play that up. however just know that on the common app you can only choose 10 ECs. in theory you could attach a resume, but thats not usually “good” per se. the only thing that might hurt you is your GPA. honors courses are great to take, but you have to be able to handle them and get solid grades in those as well.</p>