<p>Sophomore in VERY competitive public school (180 class size) that sends tons of kids to Ivies/few to Stanford.</p>
<p>Freshman Year
GPA: 3.98 UW, 4.4 W
7 Classes, 3 Honors (our school doesn't have AP's)
Varsity Cross Country, JV Spring Track
Chorus, Class Committee</p>
<p>Sophomore Year
GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.4 W
7 Classes, 3 Honors
Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Winter Track, Varsity Spring Track
Chorus, Class Committee</p>
<p>Junior Year:
WILL TAKE 7 classes, 4 honors</p>
<p>SAT/ACT: Haven't taken yet.
PSAT: 1920 (660 M, 660 CR, 600 W) WITHOUT STUDYING-I Got a 670 W on the practice PSAT
SATII: 640 Biology M (didn't study), WILL STUDY AND TAKE Chemistry/Physics/MathII
AP: 5 Biology, WILL TAKE Physics B</p>
<p>Volunteer: Local Hospital
Misc.: 5 weeks foreign language program in Spain</p>
<p>So, obviously, I haven't written my life's story, but you can get a sense of things. I don't really like standardized tests but I have a strong work ethic and study well. What "league" or range of colleges should I be shooting for? What areas should I work on? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I would say that for now you are on the right track. You obviously need to bring up those test scores. I would say that good matches for you would be tier-2 schools. That's the not-quite-Ivies, like the Claremont colleges and other selective liberal arts schools. You could apply to some of those Stanford-type schools as reaches, but don't waste TOO much energy dreaming about them.</p>
<p>not too shabby kid, i would definitely say try and get in some more clubs your GPA is great. You might also want to look into a leadership position or something. You look like a fairly decent ivy applicant, tell me what you want to major in that really defines what school you should be looking at.</p>
<p>Don't take an SAT I or SAT II test if you don't plan on studying for it. The tests stay on your record--and even if you get a higher score later, the adcoms will wonder why your test score was lower the first time around.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I may major in premed/biology. Also, I was just an inexperienced freshman who didn't know what SATII's were. However, I'm getting the feeling that no matter how hard I study, I'm just naturally not good at taking standardized tests. Oh well.</p>
<p>Premed/biology ic thats cool, you might want to consider UCI as a backup... if bio is what you want to do... i have a cousin there whose doing really well</p>
<ol>
<li>try to get another EC or two...maybe join newspaper or yearbook.</li>
<li>does your school offer APs? make sure to take a good number.</li>
<li>if you don't naturally test well, try an SAT prep class. shoot for 2050-2100.</li>
</ol>
<p>the kind of schools you should be looking at depends on what you want in a school. location? big/small? public/private? coed/single sex? div I track/xc? there's a lot to play with there. </p>
<p>but, in general, it sounds like your list should be something like this:
(i warn you that i don't have much experience with midwest/west coast schools, so most of my suggestions will be east coast.)
-your mid range of schools should accept 30% - 40% (ex. vandy, tulane, bc, emory, maybe some closer to 40% thrown in)
-your safeties should accept 40%+
-you're probably not on track for an ivy unless you do fantastically on the SATs and pull out some above average material in these next years, but your reach schools should be schools like hopkins, northwestern, duke, etc. you could try cornell.</p>
<p>Your GPA is wonderful! I would recommend more volunteer work for a boost in your ECs. Does the hospital you volunteer at have an intern program? If so, that would be excellent way to spend a summer and prepare for your major. </p>
<p>Right now you are not quite at Ivy status, but if you improve those test scores and take on some more leadership positions, you could get on that track.</p>