<p>Hello, I am a sophomore in high school and I have a few general questions to ask...mainly because I am very concerned about my current situation regarding grades and such. In my freshman year, I aimed to attend top schools like Princeton, UPenn, Columbia, Cornell, and NYU Stern. However, sophomore year has been rough with the move from the midwest to Massachusetts and what not. I plan to major in Economics with a possible double major in piano performance.</p>
<p>1) Will a total of 6 B's throughout all of high school (each trimester grade goes on the transcript) hurt?
2) How much do E.C.'s factor into admissions? I have nothing special really, except I am very passionate about piano and have won several awards/honors and performed at Carnegie Hall. I hold leadership positions in three clubs, and I volunteer weekly.
3) How much does the rigor of your schedule affect you? I am taking the most demanding schedule possible (AP Euro, Music Theory, and Calc BC as sophomore)
4) Is it possible to "make up" for my grades? Through SATs, EC's, extremely good essay, improvement in my junior year, etc
5) To what extent does ethnicity play a role? I am an asian female, and first generation to attend college in the U.S.</p>
<p>Any information/advice is appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Please dial down the “desperation”. Will the Earth split if in 6 years you don’t receive a diploma from Princeton, UPenn, Columbia, Cornell, or NYU?</p>
<p>It’s perfectly fine to aim high – but you need some perspective. </p>
<p>1) GPA – one of the primary evaluative criteria. Obviously the higher the better. Maybe your already low chances at “top” colleges are lessened. So what?</p>
<p>2) ECs can matter in schools that evaluate holistically. What’s your story? Why are you unique? What will you contribute to campus? BTW: I don’t know if it’s a humblebrag but your piano achievement isn’t commonplace. " I have nothing special " Uhh, yeah.</p>
<p>3) Transcript evaluation is very important. Stay on that path. What did you really think the answer would be?</p>
<p>4) “Make up for” it? GPA is one component but not the whole thing. </p>
<p>5) Ethnicity: Asian won’t give you any unique advantages.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input. And yes, to be quite frank, my parents are very Asian and I’ve been planning on going to a top tier college my entire life. It’s kinda bad. And by “not special”, I meant I didn’t want colleges to think that I’m just another Asian who plays piano. I am very privileged to be learning from my mom, and we have come a long journey together.</p>
<p>I have heard that Asians need higher SAT scores to be seen as equal to a white person with a lower score. Is this true, and does this also apply to gpa?</p>