So I am an almost 12 year old kid with a passion for learning. I am in sixth grade but take mostly eighth grade classes. It’s pretty early to be thinking about college but for some reason I am tarting myself up. I keep worrying about how I won’t live the best life possible if I don’t get the best education possible. I am interested in Harvard’s business program and If there is any advice to be given pertaining to the admission process such as what is a good sat score, what extracurriculars, how many am classes should I take. It would really help if I got some advice here because I am just really anxious.
Try to enjoy life a little more. Sounds like you are starting off already not living the best life being nervous at such an age over things that don’t matter as much as you seem to think. Harvard doesn’t offer business as a undergraduate degree. There are many colleges that do and if you still want to study it when it comes nearer time to apply to college, you can research other colleges when you are in high school. There is no reason you have to think about SAT scores at your grade. Focusing on such mundane administrative things will keep your from the important things such as reading a good book. That is a much better use of your time if you want to get into Harvard.
“I keep worrying about how I won’t live the best life possible if I don’t get the best education possible.” Then according your rationale, 99.99% of the people around you must be suffering in agony:
That pitiful doctor (who only graduated from the God-awful public university medical school), who is forced to examine you and treat her patients. That pathetic teacher, although loved by students and faculty, is just doomed to his hellish life for having never gotten a Harvard degree either. Even your beloved friends and family: how much effort they must expend to put on a good face around you despite the abject shame they intensely feel but suppress for not being Havardians.
Your anxiety is about as mis-placed as one can imagine. Why don’t you open your eyes and see what your passion for learning can do for the community around you.
Please read what Brownparents’ advice really means for you.
@ilan6174: Please listen to @BrownParent and @T2E4 's advice. Then, take a deep breath . . .
Harvard DOES NOT have an undergraduate business program, nor does it offer business as a major. In fact, the only ivy league school to offer business as an undergraduate degree or major is the Wharton School at UPenn. So, if you think you want business, you need to look elsewhere! (FWIW: Harvard Business School is a graduate program.)
Let’s not forget about Cornell, which is ranked 11th for the best undergraduate business program (by US News & World Report).
If you’re genuinely curious, you can look at some of the decisions threads on here to see what other students have done. If you did, you’d quickly discover that there is no set of ECs or a certain SAT that will get you admitted. At your age, there’s no point in getting too caught up in it all. And like the others have said, Harvard isn’t the magical perfect college for everyone that imbues it’s graduates with perfect lives. I was actually set on Yale. The deferred me. Then I suddenly got a likely letter from Harvard, and now I’m falling in love with it. There are a ton of fantastic colleges, and they don’t even have to be Ivies. Tufts, Rice, WashU, UChicago, the list goes on and on.
Also, when I was in sixth grade, I was dreaming about MIT for computer science. I visited last summer, honestly didn’t feel like it was for me, and now I’ll be going to Harvard, probably concentrating in physics. Expect your dreams and interests to change in the next six years. Still, don’t be afraid to pursue any interests you have right now. When I was in middle school, I independently learned a lot about programming and software development, just because I was interested in it. Any top college is going to be looking for you to pursue any interests and passions you have, and it’s never too early to do that. Look at what interests and dreams you have and just follow them. You’ll stand much better odds at getting in, you’ll be happier, and you’ll have accomplished something real. Good luck!
Also, it might help your chances to learn the difference between “to” and “too.”
I give an allegedly eleven year old who is up at 2:37 AM a pass on the difference between “to” and “too”.
The one thing that seems clear to me that perhaps a majority of admitted students have in common is an ability to use their time wisely. They don’t tend to worry about what will happen six or seven years down the road, they instead focus on a love of learning, for learning’s sake. Learn to make yourself a better person, for your own sake, not just for the slim chance to get into H.
But you wanted advice. Work hard. Take the most challenging courses you can, and do well in them. Be nice. This includes being nice to yourself, and not just to others.
The best thing you can do at your age is learn how to take care of yourself properly. Pay attention to your moods - is it possible your body’s hormones are kicking in and causing you to worry about things so far down the road? If you are in 6th grade taking 8th grade level courses, you are a special child. There are lots of other students like you, although perhaps you haven’t experienced enough of life yet to notice that you are not alone.
If you are having a tough time with the worry, try not to worry so much, sometimes just focussing on something else helps. It gets better.
The single best piece of advice I can give someone your age is to read as much as possible. Go to the library and check out a bunch of books and start reading. This habit will pay untold dividends down the line, not only in terms of stretching your imagination and expanding your horizons, but also in honing your critical reading and writing skills. It will also make you a more interesting person.
Don’t start obsessing about a school like Harvard now or you are in for a miserable six more years.
I think I may have experienced similar stress since middle school as well. Honestly, stop looking at this website, stop spending all of your energy on thinking about college. Colleges want to see passion, don’t let your passions be college confidential and SAT prep. Find what you enjoy doing and do it. You will be fine. You will get to a school that is great for you. It might not be harvard. By the time you’re eighteen you might not even want it to be harvard. Focus on being happy now rather than on making yourself suffer now in the hopes of getting into a good school in six years (six years! That’s half of your life so far, you have so much time. Don’t worry.)
I’ve given this same answer to many people:
Do your very best in whatever you do, and discover and pursue your passions. School will fall into place.
I worked as hard as humanly possible and got the best grades and test scores that I could, more driven by fear of failure than anything else. Then when I was applying to schools, I hoped for the best, but I never, ever imagined where I’d end up: Harvard.
So, in short: focus on doing your very best, rather than focusing on getting into a particular program, and doors will open for you and everything will work out just fine.
Congratulations. May I ask what you majored in.
okay okay, once I heard that you’re 12, this is what I have to tell you.
Read.
Write.
Have fun.
Do some extra curricular activities.
When you get to high school, we’ll talk again.
@ilan6174 if you’re stressed and already on CC (which my senior has never perused), then no amount of messages telling u to chill will calm you. So, here’s some info to synthesize. Early testing: there are talent search programs that enable you take the ACT, SAT and Explore early. Ask your guidance counselor, or search online. SE has Duke, Midwest has NUMATS. Find the one for your area. DO NOT prepare. Just sit it cold. The scores for SAT are deleted from your permanent file – so you can take it through 8th grade with no fear of colleges seeing it. ACT is “hidden” through 9th. Ideally the analysis u receive back will identify areas of strength and other areas of opportunity for improvement. SECOND, admissions and scholarships are about more than numbers. Academic rigor is good, but really should carry a theme of exploring a passion or passions. It’s more than pushing a pencil. It’s advanced analytical thinking, and depth of learning. Intellectual curiosity is valued. Are you into science? Start a science project. Contact your JH or HS science dept and ask if there is a teacher or student who would collaborate with you to explore opportunities. My freshman, for example, didn’t have time for a science project this year, but linked up with a senior as a helper, together they worked on A fascinating biology project at a really advanced level that she would have never experienced had she not done that and ended up doing some really cool stuff. She doesn’t have a science project to put on her resume, but she has the experience and furthered her interests. That’s what’s significant. This will help you develop team work since it seems you are in classes without your age group peers. Understanding collaborative learning is useful.
Are you a math kid? Does your school compete in competitions? MathCounts? Can u take the AMC-8 next Nov? Check out the Art if Problem Solving. Yale, for example, wants scores on AMC, and asks about AIME scores.
Then there is service learning and community. Does your community (school, neighborhood, city) have a need? Do you have a passion which you could pursue connected to that need?. For example, if you are a dancer, and there are kids in your area who cannot afford lessons, can u work with your church, temple or rec center to start a free program you run. You are young now to be taken seriously by some adults, so solicit an older volunteer to help navigate that bias. Start small. If you are passionate about your cause, others will become passionate too. Overtime, work towards sustainability.
As you think about colleges, if you are determined to start exploring programs now, see if you can purchase or borrow from the library the Fiske guide to colleges. Ultimately Rankings are irrelevant, and your fit is everything. This book does a great job of describing many aspects of 100s of schools.
Finally, if you are already in classes two years ahead of your grade level, have you considered single grade acceleration? Does your high school offer programming such that you will not run out of classes when you get there? Wisdom speaks that it is extremely difficult to get into top college programs if you graduate from high school early. It is definitely possible, but can be more difficult to build a complete portfolio that makes you as competitive as possible, especially for significant merit scholarships. So if you are academically accelerated now, plan out your path so there are no surprises later.
Good luck. Hope this helps. But remember, this is just ONE opinion.
Finally- explore!!! The world around you, and not just books.
@ilan6174 I couldn’t edit the last paragraph, and wanted to add……
Does your high school offer dual enrollment? is there an IB program (be sure, however, you really want that level of stress at high school)? can you take college courses for simultaneous HS credit? and how will that impact your GPA?
I also water to revise the statement about early graduation to more accurately state……
It is said that it is extremely difficult to get into top college programs if you graduate from high school in 3 years, so acceleration should be before hs - just one thought. We did NOT accelerate any of our kids, even though our district pushed us to with one. So their is truly a personal preference and decision to consider heavily. It depends on many factors, such as sports, peer group, age and maturity. It is definitely possible, but can be more difficult to build in 3 years a complete portfolio that makes you as competitive as possible, especially for significant merit scholarships. So if you are academically accelerated now, plan out your path with good guidance (does your district have a gifted coordinator?) so there are no surprises later.
Again, good luck!
I agree completely. You might want to put this on your reading list:
http://www.amazon.com/How-High-School-Superstar-Revolutionary/dp/0767932587
“Any advice before it’s to late!”
You’re 11 years old. Almost by definition, it can’t yet be too late.
^^ Agreed. Additionally, this article was written especially for you OP: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-s-doctoroff/college-interviews_b_1288106.html