<p>To be frank, these forums have terrified me. I now fear college. Should this be happening (given the fact that I am only in 9th grade)? My grades are not too good:
Adv SS= B+
Adv Eng= B
Geom= A
Latin= A+
Biology= A+
(GPA is 3.9 w I believe)</p>
<p>-I am on newspaper, and next year, I will most likely be on the Debate team, and Scholars' Bowl
-Over the summer, I will be working as a lab assistant in a pathology lab
-I've won a statewide contest in writing
-Next year I hope to take all advanced courses
-My test-taking abilities in math are not terrifically strong (would SAT prep courses affect this at all?)</p>
<p>Will any of this matter in the long run? I mean, will it affect a college's decision to accept me (in a negative way) when I begin the application process? I am looking to get into a college like UPenn, University of Chicago, or Stanford. Is this an absurd aim? Please, someone, I desperately need help. Has anyone died from fear of college?</p>
<p>Good lord, come back in two years with test scores and your extracurricular activities. Do things that you LIKE to do and not what you think is impressive. Keep up with good grades and take challenging classes. </p>
<p>Prepping does help a lot. I know kids who've prepped and their scores jumped a lot, from 800s to 1000s and so on. Preparing for any test always works.</p>
<p>I hear stories of kids doing crazy things when they don't get into their college of choice, but they usually get over it and work with what they have. The valedictorian at my school several years back was a little confident with his position and thought he was gonna get int Ivies and the sort. He got rejected to all but UC Davis, which isn't a bad school by any means, but not his first choice. He's now happy as ever and left for England to study abroad, so no worries young'un.</p>
<p>It seems like in general, you're on the right track. If you can start nailing straight A's and do well on your standardized testing, your chances are going to be good. Easier said than done of course...but good luck! ;)</p>
<p>yup agreed.. ur doing pretty well as a frosh already.. just keep it going and add some more spectacular achievements to your list.. you should be good. (but also really good SATs/AP scores)
oh but def keep the GPA high, keep taking all the hardest classes u can</p>
<p>Seriously, don't worry that much about it. Do plenty of extracurriculars-all that interest you- and study hard in school, taking the hardest available courseload, and you'll be as prepared as you can be for applying to these schools. You can never prepare fully for a school like Stanford; just live your life and you will go where you will go.</p>
<p>you kno what, it's not worth it stressing out so early.. ENJOY your HS days.. find out what you really like to do and just go after it. but don't overlook other subjects. everything has something to offer =P</p>
<p>They're right; start cramming in in junior year :)</p>
<p>That said... the lab assistant job is good if you can keep it for the next few summers. Thought about doing sci fair with that? If you can get to ntnl or publish some kind of paper, you're good. "Advanced classes"- better be the most advance in your school.</p>