<p>Hi! I'm a sophomore and this year, I really want to focus on applying to college. (Hardly anyone took me seriously freshman year...). The school I really really reeaaallly want to go to is UC Berkeley. I heard their science program is good, and a UC sounds more reasonable to me than….. the other schools (ahem, Stanford... Oxford...). Plus, I read that their environment is very friendly.</p>
<p>Grades: 4.0, because there weren't any AP courses freshman year (I took Honors, though), but so far I'm getting A's (but then again, a lot of people do...). I’m also taking two languages (Chinese and Spanish). Regarding class rank, I’m not at like… the very peak. I’m more about the middle of the top 25% of my class. </p>
<p>Clubs: I'm in California Scholarship Federation, Math Club, American Heart Association, NHS, and Red Cross. I'm in charge of Publicity in Red Cross, and I'm going to go for a higher position next year (Vice-President or Secretary). Next year, I’m aiming for Science Olympiad as well. </p>
<p>Extracurricular: I do the usual Certificate of Merit (CM) with piano and music theory... nothing special there. I'm also in Yearbook, Jazz Choir, and I got in to a regional Honors Choir last year and this year. I'm also taking Tae Kwon Do, but I doubt I'm going to get a black belt by senior year. This year, I also collected money for a local homeless shelter. </p>
<p>Volunteer: For clubs, I’ve volunteered for Red Cross and American Heart Association. In addition club volunteering, I help out every Sunday at a Chinese school since Freshman year (mainly translating and accompanying for the children’s choir). I’ve also done some volunteering in the library, but I found that very dull. </p>
<p>SAT: I took SAT classes over the summer, and my highest score on a practice was a 2010 (terrible), I want to get for a 2100-2150 by the end of the school year, and improve from there. The highest I might get on the actual SAT might be around 2200 (the practice tests I take are harder than the real ones). </p>
<p>Interests (If this even helps): Music, art, and helping out those in need. I'm not just saying those, those are subjects I'm very passionate and inspired about ever since I was little. </p>
<p>So, I’m doing all these activities… what else should I do?
Will taking classes at community college help?
What areas should I improve on?
Is UC Berkeley even realistic for me?</p>