Ok, so first off, I am only a sophomore in high school so I’m sorry for my ignorance regarding college!!! My mom truly has her heart set on me going to an Ivy, but I don’t think she realizes how competitive it is. I also know that I’m young and don’t even have my SAT scores so you can’t really accurately chance me, but I was just wondering what you think based on the path that I’m on as of now.
I’m taking the most rigorous course load offered at my school. I’m taking the only AP course offered to sophomores AP (AP world history), which is actually a two-year course in my school; I took the other half last year. Next year, I plan on taking AP physics, English, and US history. I might take AP art history if I have room. Senior year, I think I’m taking AP bio, calc BC, English, and European history. These are the only AP classes offered in my school. Should I self-study for some?
My GPA, unweighted, as of now is 98.5. Weighted, it’s 102.5. It was higher last year but went down this year because I had a rough beginning of the year. I think it will rise slightly.
I’ve taken one SAT II, the biology one. I got a 780. I think I will also take the world history and math II. Hopefully I will get high 700s on those, too.
I haven’t taken an SAT yet, but I got a 196 on the PSAT without any studying, if that means anything.
Extracurriculars:
- Violin - I’ve been playing since 4th grade. I study privately. I’m first violin in my local all-county orchestra. I got a 100 on a level five NYSSMA audition last year. I’m hoping to get into area all-state this year.
- Piano - I’ve been playing since kindergarten. I got a 90 on a level 6 NYSSMA audition. I volunteer playing the piano at a nursing home during holiday seasons (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and more often in the summer.
- Interact club - I volunteer doing functions of this club like parties for staff children, organizing food drives, etc. I’m hoping to be elected vice-president next year, and maybe president senior year. I’ve been in the club since freshman year.
- Odyssey of the Mind - I’ve been in this since 4th grade. It’s SO time consuming, but I’m not sure how colleges look at it. I really love it, though.
- Volunteering at the hospital - four hours a week during the summer.
- Tennis - I was on the JV team freshman and sophomore year. As a sophomore, I was captain. Hoping for varsity next year.
- Mock trial - I was a witness last year and will be again this year. I want to be an attorney as a junior, but it’s too soon to know.
- Track and field - I’m a pretty mediocre distance runner, lol.
Again, I know I’m young so there’s a lot of stuff left for me to do to apply to college! I was just wondering how it seems like I would fare in applying for Ivies in general. I know their acceptance rates vary quite a bit, from 5% to 14%, but I’m just wondering. Some other schools I’m interested in are NYU, Boston College, and Colgate. I think I’m looking to go into social sciences. Does anyone have any other suggestions based on my information? I’d like to stay on the east coast.
Thanks so much!!! Again, sorry if I seem uninformed about all this stuff! And I also realize that Ivies are extremely hard to get into for anyone, but I’m just wondering if it’s a 100% impossible dream, or if there’s a small chance.
If it matters, I’m female, half Korean and half white, and go to public school.
