<p>I live in Nowhere, Virginia, like I said in an earlier post. I won't give you the specifics but it does involve a lot of poultry farms and may or may not be the turkey capital of the world. I go to Small Inconspicuous High School which has a grand total of 6 AP classes available for my choosing and as far as academic extracurriculars are concerned, there is much to be desired.
I searched my community for volunteer activities in my area of interest (biology, environmental science) and found next to nothing. In fact, I looked at a map of the available places and there appeared to be a force field that extended in a 50 mile radius around my home and prevented any organization/opportunity that I might mildly be interested in from crossing. </p>
<p>Back in Small Inconspicuous High School I am first in my class and everyone expects me to go to a good college and of course I believed them and thought I would have no problem getting in to whatever preppy top-notch college I fancied. But now I get on here and see all you 16 AP class, 2000 volunteering hours, varsity captain, 7 nobel award winning applicants and realize I am a very very small fish in a very very large pond. No offense to you guys will stellar applications, I love you guys, you are all awesome. </p>
<p>But I'm curious. I feel like my location has kept me from having access to the same opportunities as some of the rest of you (no, sadly, I do not live next to an Ivy-league university and was not able to research cancer over my summer). I'm wondering if admissions officers will account for this, or if I even want them to account for this. So what are your thoughts? Any body else out there in the same boat as me?</p>
<p>You have to remember that CC only represents a small minority of high-achieving students. I live in a big city (Pittsburgh), with two universities that are extremely strong in STEM related things/four hospitals and have never had the opportunity to do research or even be involved at a lab, same with my friends who are into STEM, I am applying to be a lab assistant, if I even get that it will be the closet I get to research… Also even if you live in the city does not mean you have a lot of APs, I am currently taking 2, I will take 4 next year, my school never offers more then 9-10 in any given year (we are a small school, only 500 students).</p>
<p>So basically don’t worry so much. Living in the city does not mean that you automatically will have the best ECs in the world. As long as you don’t just go home and watch TV as opposed to doing something I see no problem!</p>
<p>I dont know how Virginia schools operate, but I know that University of California does this thing called Eligibility in a Local Context, where they would give somebody like you who performs well at your small high school a shot against top high school kids. </p>
<p>I’m in an odd situation, where I went to a school in the middle of nowhere for 9th and 10th grade, then my family moved to San Diego and now I go to one of the top high schools in the country. I went from number one to number 56 in my class. I know a guy at my new school who competed on the United States Chemistry Olympics, and medaled. At my old school I knew a guy who broke his hand because he wanted to punch the ground. My old school had 5 APs, my new school offers almost every AP there is. There were 10 people out of the last sitting of the SAT who got 2400s. So trust me, I know the feeling. But there is hope for you because they will see that you have done all you can do, so don’t fret!</p>
<p>I live very near Cambridge and know a lot of Harvard/MIT students socially, and they are impressive. But they, on average, are nowhere near as impressive as you seem to think. They tended to be amazing students who have passions. A few did some crazy things, like run a medium sized company ect, but most did not. You can calm down, simply being first in your class makes you very very competitive at all schools outside of a few, and even at those schools, if everything else is good, you have a shot.</p>
<p>You have got me beat, we only have 2 APs! But colleges do receive a high school profile about your school and will get a good idea about the limited opportunities that you had. Each student is looked at individually and what they did with what they were given so do not stress! My little school has sent a kid to UPenn and MIT, being in a small town does have its disadvantages but it does give you the time to focus on a few activities rather than having a laundry list of activities which colleges do NOT like.
Is there an option for you to do dual-enrollment? I drive 40 minutes each day to get to a college to take all my courses there, but trust me it is worth it. Not only am I more challenged than I ever was at my high school but colleges will also see that. No took the most rigorous option available.</p>
<p>Just keep up your grades and keep searching for opportunities, or bette yet, make them! Start a club or a volunteering project, not only does that show leadership but it also shows community involvement!</p>
<p>I have ONE AP at my school! I’m from very rural New York, and my school is extremely out of it. I was the only kid to take sat ii’s at my school (guidance counselors don’t even know what they are and neither do any other students) and also guidance counselors don’t know how SAT and ACT are scored. Basically had no help from my counselors with the application process. I was all alone. Hopefully colleges will see that we did as much as we could in our schools and we simply didn’t receive the same opportunities.</p>