<p>Thanks everybody for the input! I am currently working on my writing but it is still my weakest section. For some reason I just can’t get my head around the essays. Also I know 8th grade won’t count for my real college application, but since I only have 2 years of high school so far under my belt, I wanted to include some extra information for this post. Would you say I should bother applying/visiting to the top schools though? I don’t want to waste the money flying out there if I’m not going to have a chance :/. Also I forgot to add that I also attend the Columbia University Science Honors Program</p>