Hey, I’m finishing up the first half of my junior year and I’m worried because I haven’t really gotten any prestigious awards or leadership positions… I heard these are pretty important, and my GPA’s not too special either, so I was wondering what kind of things I could do at this point in time to get some credentials on my application?
As of now, I’m on the board of a fairly-lax club (we have lots of board members, if they can see that) and I’m going for a few things next year such as the board of my local youth group, president or board of a couple other clubs, and drum major of the band. I don’t have any actual awards, but after getting my PSAT scores and current GPA, it’s likely that I’ll qualify for national merit semifinalist (and almost certainly national honor society).
I want to major in computer science.
Additionally, I’m planning on taking 6 or 7 APs next year, but I want to know: how much emphasis do colleges place on a senior year workload? I’ve only taken 3 APs so far, all this year (though I’m getting pretty good grades in them) and want to up my game, but I don’t know if taking as many APs as I can actually helps me look good.
Awards can be more than medals and certificates, and leadership can be more than having a title in a club. NMF is an award, for example. Tutoring, mentoring, increased responsibilities at work or at a volunteer gig can all be examples of leadership. You are on the board of a club. So what did you accomplish on behalf of the club while you held that position that might have been above and beyond the ordinary duties of that office? That not only tells the AO you have leadership experience, but it shows it. Showing is weighted higher than telling.
Your biggest issue might be that “your GPA is not too special” but you “want to major in CS”. That could limit your options, since CS programs can be very competitive to get into, even when the college on the whole accepts a large percentage of it’s applicants. You might need to focus on schools that don’t admit by major.
So… taking those “6 or 7” AP classes senior year are only going to “help you look good” if you do very well in them, particularly in the first semester (but you need to stay solid in the second semester to keep your acceptance). For CS, my suggestion would be to focus on math and science. Take APs - and get top grades - in those, if you think that is feasible. Evaluate all the other AP classes carefully. You need to balance showing rigor and challenge with protecting your GPA. It does not look good to drop a level after transcripts go out unless there are extenuating circumstances.