I’m a current sophomore and trying to pick my schools for early decision/early action. Will be doing ACT review this summer. Have not taken the test yet.
GPA: 4.69
IB Candidate for Junior Year
Public School
Current Courses honors/AP
Courses Taken AP PreCalc, Honors Chem/Biology, AP Micro/Macro, 4-years Spanish
Interested major: Neuroscience
EC’s
Track
Choir
Volleyball
Board Secretary for Jack and Jill of America - Johnson County
Started non-profit - Diversity speakers
Women’s Foundation Teen Leadership program
Co Chair for Diversity and Inclusion Team
Schools interested: Vanderbilt, Wash U, Penn, Drake, Michigan, PITT, Georgetown, GW, NorthWestern
Safety: Univ. of Kansas, Howard, University of Missouri
Please advise and let me know what I should reach for regarding ACT.
Since you’re a sophomore right now, I wouldn’t worry so much about colleges unless you’re planning to graduate early. Looking at your academics and EC’s, what is the 4.69? Is that UW or W GPA? Since you’re planning on neuroscience, look for EC’s that are related to it. Since I’m not a neuroscience major, you should definitely go find something that’ll help you look into neuroscience.
For the ACT’s, I suggest you aim for a 32+. Use the Barron’s and Kaplan books (I self-studied with those and an SAT Subject Test Math II Barron’s book and saw my scores increase from a 26 to a 32 with an 11 point increase in math from 23 to 24). Also, look at what SAT subject tests you’ll need to take before applying. Some schools may require this, and since you’re neuroscience, go for at least two SAT science tests and the Math II test.
On a side note, my school, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, is starting a B.S. in Neuroscience this September and you should add it to your safety school list, they’ll probably give you a nice scholarship of $20k.
Enjoy the rest of high school. Hope this helped and best of luck!
Thank you so much for the feedback! This really helps! The GPA listed is UW. I will take your advice and look for more courses that are related to my field of interest. I will be looking at the KEE Medical Shadow program where I will be able to shadow a Neurologist for the next 12-months. Hopefully I can co-author a student scientific paper as well in that position.
I am also thinking about taking a prep course for ACT/PSAT this summer so hopefully I can get a baseline. Thanks for the reminder regarding the subject matter tests. I will inquire with some of the schools that are on my list.
Thanks for the tip! I will look at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. I appreciate your time and feedback! Very helpful!