<p>You missed my point. My suggestion: choose one and stick to it. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you devote yourself to it. All of them will work equally well in adcoms' views.</p>
<p>And as for ECs that apply after college, I was referring to music, religious activities, chess, and community service, not to mention ECs that evolve into work, such as journalism or drama.</p>
<p>"i have already devoted myself to doing what is necessary to get in. if i need to bust my ass the next 4 years, i will."</p>
<p>In other words, you have decided to see high school as a means to an end. A lot of people do this, and the vast majority of them regret it later in life. I'm not saying this to upset you, but rather to caution you against this track. You can enjoy high school AND get into a good college afterwards, so long as you aren't too caught up in either the present or the future.</p>
<p>It doesn't necessarily take 4 years of working your butt off to get into a top school. I made it into Stanford, and I didn't even start thinking about college until junior year.</p>
<p>do 2-3, but focus on 1 (unless you really like 2 or 3 of them)</p>
<p>Olympiads are very difficult...do not belittle them...they are used for the US to select a team to compete internationally, and the US takes this very seriously.</p>
<p>No animosity intended, but I'm pretty sure the students that ultimately end up getting into Harvard didn't request random strangers to tell them exactly what they needed to do to get that acceptance letter. They just did what they loved, kept themselves active, and hoped for the best. That being said, I think the best you, the OP, can do is create your own circumstances, do whatever excites you the most, which is likely to be something others haven't done and are unwilling to do. Persistent dedication is key.</p>
<p>Many of you are terrible...this is a motivated freshman who wants to go to Harvard because it is the biggest name out there. Now there are very few freshman in this world that are interested in what atmosphere, location, size, etc they are looking for in a college as a 9th grader. of course he/she wants to go to Harvard...it is the most prestigious name there is. honestly, probably most of you people wanted to go to harvard in 9th grade for no better reason.</p>
<p>That being said, much of what has been said on here is valid. Top grades are necessary, and it seems like that more than 1-2 B's is all it takes to take you out of the running. To get into Harvard, you pretty much need to have everything -- top grades, top SATI/II, & at least one extracurricular that will make you truly stand out. You might be surprised that all-state band, debate, etc are often not enough to make the cut. </p>
<p>Take a hard schedule, get your A's, and do what you enjoy. What do you like to do that no one else does? What will you add to Harvard that someone else can't? Nobody should be too worried about colleges as a 9th grader, but at the same time, I wish somebody told me how important it is to be involved in your activities for a consistent time period. </p>
<p>The last thing to remember is Harvard is never a sure thing. It is a shot in the dark for just about everybody. But certainly do your best. I have brilliant friends that were rejected from Harvard, Stanford...but if you really work hard in high school you will end up somewhere great for sure.</p>
<p>thats probably one of, if not the best advice i got.
you and kitkattail helped alot. and thanks for supporting me.
thanks to everyone who imputted their opinions.</p>
<p>so from what i've learned.. harvard is completely unpredictable.
but the only things i can do are try and get the highest grades possible in school and on the sat1/2s, and join debate & science olympiad.. and hope to get to a top level on one of those teams.
i dont think its impossible, because my school has a big rep in academia.. and it's won national competitions in the past. mabye we can do it.</p>
<p>lol u took my comments too seriously. i said to just LOOK at a couple other colleges. sure u can set ur goals high, but just have a backup since hyp is always unpredictable. if u took offense about the shrink, im sorry :( im not one of the guys who try to attack you because they have no life. i'm just being honest. just... dont get too obsessed (now dont take this personally) </p>
<p>you can also volunteer at a medcenter if ur interested in the medical field. shows dedication in the field ur interested in. always do ec's or do something to show that youre committed to. since i want to be in the medical field/musician, i volunteer, interned at hospitals/kaiser, performed at concerts, my schedule reflects my interest in science/music (exhausted all sciences and music courses already), and organized some music groups and performed around the community. it seems like u like science, so try to do research or help a professor at a local university if its around. </p>
<p>and stambliark41, although everything you said was right, the 1-2 b thing can be negotiable. by random chance, i have some friends who got in with 5-6 b's. that still give me some hope to get in this year :D</p>
<p>id love to get into an ivy but i didnt do a few thing that i regret not doing so my suggestions are to make sure to take the SAT2s right after you completed a course on that subject matter. as far as EC do something unique that you are passionate about. initiate something. study for SAT and/or ACT early. take hard classes, and college classes in subjects that interest you. find an internship junior year. be involved in the community. and read a ton to become more intelligent. dont suck up to teachers be you and be real but be interested and respectful and social.</p>
<p>^ His mom? Northstarmom is a name you will learn if you are in this forum for long. She knows about Duke, as do I, by looking at the OP’s post history.</p>