<p>Hey :), I'm in 8th grade and am not really obsessed with college preparation right now, naturally. I'm only 13! But I know that once I get into high school I will need to prepare well. I'm going into a pretty competitive high school with strong classes and the works. I don't really know how else to explain it. My sister goes there. For ECs, I'm interested in newspaper, the golf team, the community service club, and any of the travel clubs our school has. My sister also thinks that it would be fun and rewarding for me to do math and science team. I play violin and my dream college is Cornell (University). What kinds of things should I prepare for so I have no regrets looking back on [insert sentimental spring music here] my high school years?</p>
<p>Thanks!! :)</p>
<p>P.S. I don't really know what I'm going to major in yet. I don't want to major in science, though. And people said I was a music genious when I was little.. but I switched teachers when I was little and just stopped practicing. I know I have great talent and gift, but I just don't practice. :( I want to major in violin, but I don't know if I can persuade myself to work harder and gain a love and interest for it again. Again, thanks!</p>
<p>hyejung, You really need to figure out which college at Cornell you want to apply to. Each college has it own specifications (such as CALS prefers ECs related to Science, Environment)</p>
<p>But Nishtdawg, I don't think the rest of middle school will be enjoyable. The kids at are school are so... stupid. This girl was like, "Since I got a 20/30 on my thesis essay, 20 is ten points away from 30, so I got a 90%, right? That's why I like reading about colleges and stuff.. we're getting our HS coursebooks on tuesday, though. I was going to buy a college book yesterday at BN but my sister told me not to. Ha. She already has 20 billion AP books.</p>
<p>aww! dealing with stupid people can be depressing and exhausting. :)
make sure you are taking all the advanced courses you can take- even if you arent into English and History, take the advanced courses because you can only benefit from them!
join clubs that interest you- if you are into science/ math- robotics may be fun, or the math club...and whatever clubs you join (dont join too many- maybe 2 or 3 at the most), dedicate yourself to them, and work yourself up to club president by the time you are a senior
coming into high school, i thought that community service clubs were necessary, but i soon realized that they just didnt interest me- i did community service that actually interested me like volunteering at children's science camps over the summer and instead, pursued activities that i actually enjoyed, like yearbook and student government</p>
<p>dont waste your time with extracurricular activities that you dont enjoy</p>
<p>keep browsing through colleges, but dont commit to one just yet, even if Cornell is your dream school! :) You might find that another college is a better fit</p>
<p>hyejung (I'm a Freshmen), basically try out ALL the clubs during the first month of freshmen year and only do things that interest you (vs. Brandname). For Ex : I took up Philosophy as opposed to Model UN (which was soooo boring) etc. I agree with all of NishtDawg's suggestions.</p>
<p>Also if you play sports get ready to work ur way up to varsity and captain if u want that. </p>
<p>It's important to think ahead but don't burn out...make sure to still live in the moment and have fun! You sound like you will do a great job...just listen to the advice so far and do wat u like with it and I'm sure you will do really well. Best of luck in the coming years!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Nishtdawg and milki. I'm of course keeping my mind open for other great colleges... but of course, I have 4 years left, and I don't have to start searching just yet. :)</p>
<p>I'll take your advice and try tons of extracurriculars freshman year. But my sis knows what's boring and what's good so I won't take the useless ones.. like Rubik's cube club, where you supposedly just have parties and drink Juicy Juice and stuff while doing the Rubik's cube with your toes ^.^.</p>
<p>Nishtdawg- I didn't really think that I wouldn't like community service club. I thought it'd include... pretty much everything. I'll try it though... it might be something I really like.</p>
<p>Yeah... but I'm not very sure about the amount of extracurriculars I should take. There are about 5 I'm really interested in, but I'm not sure if I can make them or if I'll like them. Take the golf team, for example. My sis (haha her again... I keep bringing her up) says the people who are on the team have been playing for almost their entire lives and can hit the ball.... further than my dad. I'm actually pretty good, but I'm not a strong person, so the furthest I've hit the ball is 100 yards. So if I can only do like newspaper or one of our travel clubs, should I just throw in some other extracurriculars that I'm not as interested in, but will like well enough? Or should I do other ECs out of school?</p>
<p>Thanks again :). You guys have good suggestions. ^.^</p>
<p>You're right, Nishtdawg. I should do a useless club for fun. :)
Reality Telivision Club sounds cooleo, though. :D</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement, Figgy. I'd say more, but it's 12:42 am so I think I'll get go catch some ZZzzzzzs (hehe reminds me of that mattress commercial where that old couple was trying to catch the Zs that kept running away from them.)</p>
<p>So thanks for the encouragement! But I will never really burn out... have you ever read The Secret Life of Overachievers? The prospect of getting just 4 hours of sleep is really scary... but I won't LOAD myself with ECs or anything, so I guess I'll be fine.... until junior year. [hold up bright flashlight to face and turn off all of the lights] Moohoohoohahahahahahahahahahaha!</p>
<p>If any of you guys are in junior year, can you tell me what it's like? The sleep, stress, or the happy stuff? :)</p>
<p>hyejung, Most Forums used BB Code The Secret Life of Overachievers</p>
<p>Put the code in [] meaning </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Troll = Someone who joins with intentions of disrupting discussions etc
Bump = Well an additional post brings a post to the front page (of the category). So the word used is bump. Bring Up My Post.
CC = College Confidential</p></li>
<li><p>Just go to the Category and select New Thread and select New Thread</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have a question: How many hours do you spend in your dorm room in a day? and how many hours do you spend in any of libraries/any of the places you study?</p>