Am I the only one who doesn't feel up to par?

Applying to College
1

<p>WARNING: I also posted this in the high school life forum. </p>

<p>Compared to a lot of CC students up here, I feel like I've been lagging behind. Everyday I see posts referring to 2200+ SAT scores, 3.9 UW GPAs, 15+ AP, DE, and honors courses, 800+ volunteer hours, and an insane amount of ECs and sports. The most discouraging thing though is how they actually call into question their chances of being accepted in to college when most of the time they're amply qualified for most Honors programs within several universities. If these students are actually questioning their stats, then I can only imagine what MY meager stats will look like stacked up to theirs (not to mention the stats that these CC high achievers think will one up them) Here are my stats so far (I'm a sophomore by the way):</p>

<p>GPA: 3.9, so far #1 in my class of let's say near 100 (a lot can happen in two years though)</p>

<p>SAT: N/A</p>

<p>ACT: N/A</p>

<p>Number of APs: none so far</p>

<p>Number of Honors: Two- Honors Eng. 10 and 11</p>

<p>ECs- Drama, JROTC, Academic Challenge/Scholastic Bowl, PTSA</p>

<p>Sports- Volleyball and Track</p>

<p>Leadership- Cadet Cpt, S-4, SGA, plan on running for PTSA office.</p>

<p>Clubs/Societies: National Beta club, STEM</p>

<p>Awards: various in school academic achievement awards, Distinguished Honor Cadet 3rd place 2011 JCLC Mountain (go Delta! ;D), Miss JROTC 2011 and 2012, Superior Cadet 2012</p>

<p>Volunteering- No hours to speak of. I've volunteered for Ukrop's 10k this past year as a service learning project for JROTC and I've sang in choir performances for seniors (although much of that was in middle school)</p>

<p>That's all I can list off the top of my head, but it's still small compared to some of the stuff I see up here. I think my junior year schedule will improve it by some because I'm signed up for one AP (Calculus AB, which is iffy given that this year my teacher decided to focus on her other two classes instead of teaching trig. School budget cut = severe shortage in teachers) and for college level english which I qualify for through PSAT.</p>

<p>Anyway. . .</p>

<p>So clearly, I'm not exactly top knotch overachiever material although I do my best with what I can in my school and community. My top choice is VT (Virginia Tech) and my goals include getting into Honors (housing would be nice too) and to do multiple Majors/minors out of the following fields:</p>

<p>Biology/molecular Biology- possible major
Biochemistry- possible major
Theatre- minor
Classical Language- minor
English/creative writing- minor</p>

<p>Of course I probably won't do them all (unless I find a way possible but without the help of a ton of DE and AP credits, it isn't looking too good) but I want to do as many as possible.</p>

<p>Now my question is does anyone else feel the same? Having big dreams, coming from a not so impressive place, wanting more? If so, I think we all need a little reassurance. So if you feel like you're in that spot now, go ahead and vent it out here or message me. It's nice to know you're not alone. And if you were in this situation before, give some advice, words of encouragement, or tell your own success story! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s your problem. Quit comparing yourself to CCers. This forum is not at all a representative sample of the applicant pool anywhere. And people tend to embellish things online.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Read the responses that tear them apart for doing this. The experienced posters around here tend to put people crying over a single B in their place. A lot of people are either fishing for compliments or feeling absolutely unnecessarily insecure. They have absolutely no reason to be questioning their stats. At least not with the level of drama that some do. I’ve legit seen people saying they were suicidal over a single B.</p>

<p>As far as Honors and AP courses, you’re not lagging behind unless your fellow sophomores have been taking many more of those courses than you have. The rigor of your high school curriculum is determined in the context of your high school based both on what you’re doing in comparison to your fellow students and what you’re doing in comparison to what your high school offers.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Hours are another one of my favorite absurdities on here. The number of hours of community service is largely irrelevant. What’s more important is making a substantial commitment to a particular cause or organization. While that’s not necessary–and community service isn’t necessary–it’s definitely a nice feature to have on an application because colleges expect students to give back to their community.</p>

<p>It sounds like you’re in great shape, especially in the context of your high school. A huge part of the admissions process is about context. There has been at least one study that found students who excelled at high schools with limited opportunities actually fare better in the admissions process than students at competitive high schools.</p>

3

<p>You do have some really good points. I know I seem really insecure but I was just blown away by all these stat profiles -___- Thanks for your post though :)</p>

4

<p>Best advice for this forum is to take everything with a grain of salt :)</p>

<p>But yeah, it’s definitely mental overload seeing all these people with epic stats freaking out. Stay away from the decision threads at the top schools where people with epic stats post saying they’ve been rejected until you’re acclimated.</p>