As a sophomore, am I on the right track?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>So, I really like Cornell. I am only a sophomore but am I on the right track to getting there.</p>

<p>White Female. Low income (about $24000 a year). </p>

<p>As of right now, I have a 3.78 GPA from now and freshman year. That can be explained, I only got 2 B's in spanish and then a B+ in math because I had pneumonia at the end of freshman year and couldn't be at school for my finals. My other teachers let me take it a little while later but my math teacher made me take it in the hospital. This year, my only B is in spanish (B+). However, I was diagnosed with dyslexia which affects my language skills. Now I am getting extra help and will have A's all this year and next. </p>

<p>My PSATs were very high, although I can't remember the exact scores.
PLAN test puts me in the 30-33 range for ACT. </p>

<p>My sophomore year I am taking:
AGS 3P (Junior level honors math)
Political and Economic systems
Honors Biology (only honors class available to 10th graders)
American Lit/Writing
Spanish II
Intro to Psychology</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calc AB (tested out of Pre-calc)
AP English (lang and lit)
AP European History (only covers half of the test so I have to self-study for the other half)
Chemistry (the honors at my school)
Honors International Relations
Honors Debate</p>

<p>Expected GPA w/ Freshman year: 3.9uw, 4.13w
w/o freshman year: 3.96 uw, 4.17 weighted</p>

<p>Class rank- something like 50/500. I know I'm in the top 12% or so but it's going way up.</p>

<p>I am self-studying for the AP Bio, Psych, and Gov test. I am expecting to get a Psych-5, Gov-5, and Bio- 4 or 5. </p>

<p>I have had to take care of my dad since 7th grade when he got into a really bad car accident so my ECs aren't great. However, I will be much more involved next year as I will have a license and car. </p>

<p>At the end of Junior year I will have: </p>

<p>Freshman Basketball (8 hrs/week)
City Sports- Basketball, Softball, and Volleyball (4 hrs/week)
Coach- 3 years Basketball (4 hrs/week)
Technical Crew for School Plays (14-15 hrs/week)
Debate (2 hrs/week)
Thespians (2 hrs/month)
Ump- 2 summers (6 hrs/week)
Ref- 1 year (6 hrs/week)
Plumbing Apprentice- (20 hrs/week/1.5 years)
Model UN- (2 hrs/week)
National Honor Society- (2 hrs/month)
CTD Program @ Northwestern (2 summers/ 3 courses)
Plumbing Apprentice (1.5 years)</p>

<p>I know it's hard to do w/o any test scores, but any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Neither of my parents went to college so they are clueless about things like this, my counselor doesn't know anything, and I don't trust randomly goggling things on the internet for advice.
Thanks.</p>

2

<p>You are only a sophmore. Its difficult to say whether or not seniors will get in...</p>

3

<p>I know. I was more looking for advice on what I should do to help my chances. Like I said, I really don't know where to start.</p>

4

<p>If you keep everything up I'd say you have a fairly good shot. Your dyslexia and taking care of your dad would look really good. You should take more than 2 years of language and more APs. If you test out of precalc you should be able to take BC. Still, its easy to predict you'll do well, its very different to actually perform. You should really put college out of your head for now. It will only torment you.</p>

5

<p>Yeah, my senior year I'll have AP Calc BC and AP World History. The summer between, I'm taking Honors Physics and AP Chem. I don't know what other classes I'll be taking yet.</p>

6

<p>Oops, sorry about the last post, I accidentally posted while my sister's name was still logged on.</p>

7

<p>You look like you are on the right track. Just make sure that when u get involved in ECs u end up doing things that u r actually passionate about. Also make sure the thought of college doesn't ruin ur highschool experience. College is amazing, but highschool is a fun time too! Best of luck, you are definitely on a great track so far!</p>

8

<p>Haha, I remember posting on these boards as a freshman/sophomore... </p>

<p>But anyway, make sure you follow an upward trend with your grades. Take lots of APs, get that class rank up (are you from a fairly competitive school?) and read the blue book for SAT help... Also apply ED if you know it's your first choice. </p>

<p>Other than that, the only advice I can give you is realize that the whole admissions process is a crapshoot... just keep working for it.</p>

9

<p>Yeah. My school's ranking sucks because... well it's a long story but the main thing is I'll never crack the top 5% because my freshman year was my first year in the district and I came from one of the worst school districts in the state to one of the best and theres the whole TAG kid thing that allows certain kids to be on accelerated classes for all years and take advance courses in high school not available to the rest of us. It's a fairly competitive school. </p>

<p>i don't do any ECs that I'm not passionate about. I am just have many dimensions of personality. Sports and kids are my passion and combing them was the most wonderful thing I've ever done. My uncle ran the Shubert (sp?)Theater in LA and my sister is an actress. I have terrible stage fright and perfer to just work backstage. =]. My sister's debate team was 1st in Michigan and she helped me and a few others start a debate team at my school (we went to different high schools) and I just love it. My dad is a plumber, and I love working with my hands.
So yeah, that rant was just to show I love what I do. By no means am I letting my aspirations of college getting in the way of having a blast in high school. We are right now in the middle of our production of Footloose and it is the most fun I've ever had.</p>