<p>Hi,
I think I am leaning toward biology as my passion, heres what I have in this field:
Last summer I did a cancer bio program with EPGY at Stanford
I started a Science Olympiad team at my school. We aren't very good though and probably wont win until after I graduate.
I am trying to get a mentor and start working on a science fair project for the county fair this April (on DNA methylation in bacteria)
I am going to volunteer at my local hospital starting May
I am VP of key club and secretary of Pink Ribbon Club
This summer I am going to do an internship at a cancer research lab at UCI
I also might do a pre-med program at UCI for 2 weeks.
I want to start taking a biology olympiad prep class, so I can do that next year. I just don't know if that will get me anywhere in 2 years. (I am a sophomore).
I am on quizbowl for my school and specialize in the science category.
So basically, my question is that I have all these really good ECs: sci oly, and doing the science fair, but will just entering or saying I am doing these things get me anywhere if I dont win? Should I even bother with Bio olympiad if I probably wont win?
I also am taking 3 APs as a sophomore and i am doing the full IB program next year (so equal to 6 AP's junior and senior year).
I am also in orchestra and on JV tennis.
Where do I stand compared to all the genius kids who are winning all these competitions and have been studying since elementary school?
HELPPP
THanks so much for reading this. </p>
<p>What do you mean by “where do I stand”? What is your actual goal? You don’t need to accomplish all your goals in biology in high school, it is a long haul through undergrad and likely grad school or med school. Basics that are more important are what are your grades and standardized test scores, that is more important for college admissions and merit aid. And there are tons of colleges that are strong in biology, so it isn’t like you must go to one of only a few colleges to study it and go on to grad school or med school.</p>
<p>My advice is to continue some strong science oriented ECs like you already have, but don’t overload so much it hurts your grades and test scores. One of my kids self studied for Biology Olympiad. She never made it past the first round, it is hard to study by yourself IMHO. She put in a lot of time… You have a nice mix of ECs (Quiz Bowl is so much fun :)) now without it. And it seems like enough to me for most colleges if you have strong academics. Adding Bio Olympiad isn’t going to tip you over the top for HPYS if that is your goal unless you can really rock the test, which isn’t very likely given your other obligations. So my advice is to skip it.</p>
<p>Also, don’t be freaked out by the students who are single note focused on one things. You have some balance with music, a sport, Quiz Bowl. I think colleges are looking for “real people” – they want a pattern/consistent story and something you are passionate about, but that does NOT mean everything you do has to revolve around one thing like biology. Your biology passion definitely shows through even if you don’t do Bio Olympiad.</p>
<p>OMG! DNA methylation, that is really cool. I thought no one would research that! You can work with nanoparticles, hint***. It’s great that you are competing in these. I would focus on one though. My research took a lot time and I wasn’t able to do Science Olympiad.</p>
<p>Also, I am in the IB program too! Graduating soon. The IB is worth is if your school let’s you choose your IB higher level courses. At my school, I was required to choose English HL and History HL, while most IB students are interested in the sciences and mathematics. I had to choose between HL Math and HL Chemistry. I chose HL Chemistry. </p>
<p>I think you are good compared to the other students. I think you need to focus on one comp that you are really interested in (science fair on your DNA methylation topic). Showing that you did well in one science fair is pretty good.</p>