<p>I'm just a sophomore in high school but I have my eyes set on UW. Thing is, I started off high school sucking grades wise. This is where the damages stand as of now (through semester 1 of sophomore):</p>
<p>State: Virginia
Race/Gender: White/Male
GPA (Weighted): 3.1
AP's: 1
AP Score: Ap Human Geo = 5
SAT: 2010
No extra activities<br>
Guitar player/musician </p>
<p>So how do I stand as of now and what should I do in the future? Also, next year should I do a marketing co-op program where I get 2 credits for taking a marketing class and having a job, while getting early release? Or should I stack up on top classes and do well? And if I do do the marketing co-op should I only have one period early release or up to three early release periods?</p>
<p>Wait, so you have NO ECs? You have to have something…</p>
<p>The good news is you’re only a sophomore and you already have a 2000+ SAT score. Keep working and get it up even higher by senior year, you’ll need to since your other stats aren’t great.</p>
<p>Also sign up for as challenging of a courseload as you can while still maintaining A’s (or close to that). As of now it will be difficult, but there is definitely still time to bring that GPA up if you work hard.</p>
<p>Guitar/being a musician is an EC.</p>
<p>I just realized that. In that case, you should devote a good portion of your writing part of the app to guitar/musician, if that’s what you’re still interested in Senior Year. The essay, from what I hear, is pretty important.</p>
<p>I’m confident that I’ll kill the essays; that’s my strong point. Thanks for the advice, I’ll probably end up doing that. Also, does the fact that I want to get a PhD. from the university affect anything?</p>
<p>First, UW only looks at unweighted GPA. If it’s sub-3.0, that’s not a great sign. Second, your desire to get a Ph.d there will not matter at all. In fact, if you’re interested in getting your doctorate at UW in the sciences, I would highly recommend that you go elsewhere for undergrad. Many STEM programs at UW have the philosophy that their undergrads need to leave the school/area to better network and gain different perspectives and will be at a disadvantage when applying.</p>
<p>Yes, I am aware they only look at unweighted GPA but I don’t know mine, and yes, I made it clear that I’m very conscious of the mediocrity of mine. Hmm, I would rather go to UW for undergrad though as I can’t be certain I’ll end up getting my doctorate and don’t want to end up with a degree from a less reputable school of my field of study after 4 years.</p>