Current Sophomore

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I just finished my first semester of sophomore year and recently began thinking about college. I do not think that I am some academic superstar, but I have high aspirations and hope to get into an ivy league school. Again, I do not have a school in mind and I am not obsessed with this idea. I realize that sophomore year is a little early to begin thinking about college but I recently began browsing this website and some of the ivy league applicants with insane applications and extra curriculars make me nervous. I do not have a specific career path in mind, but am leaning towards science and business. Does anyone have any tips towards applying towards ivy leagues? Below are my current statistics:

Academics:

(I have only taken two big tests)
PSAT: 1460/1520 (33 Reading, 37 Writing and 38 Math, 216 overall selection index)
(Hope to improve next year, especially the reading section)
Biology SAT: 790 (Happy with the score)

Freshman Year: (Hardest possible schedule)

English Honors: A- (91.41)
Modern World History Honors: A (95.468)
Algebra II Honors: A- (89.87) (Did not take this class seriously and have learned from my mistake)
Freshman Band: A- (Do not specifically enjoy band but took it for the music credit need for graduation to get it out of the way)
Biology Honors: A- (One of the hardest classes in the school)
French II Honors: A

GPA: (According to https://gpacalculator.net/high-school-gpa-calculator/)
UW: 3.80
W: 4.30

Sophomore Year: (Hardest possible schedule) (Only 1st Quarter)

Precalculus Honors: A (95.8)
English Honors: A+ (96.56)
AP Statistics: A (94.85)
French III Honors: A (94.04)
APUSH: A- (91.1) (Another one of the hardest classes in the school)
Chemistry Honors: A+ (96.76)

GPA: (According to https://gpacalculator.net/high-school-gpa-calculator/)
UW: 4.11 (Can someone explain how an UW GPA can by >4?, I am confused)
W: 4.78

Classes I plan to take junior year: (Hardest possible schedule)

BC Calculus
AP Literature
An AP science (All AP sciences are only offered after the honors course has been taken)
French IV Honors
APUSH (Our school divides APUSH into two sections)
Physics Honors

I am happy with my grades this year and they seem to be trending upwards.

Extra Curriculars:

My only extracurriculars are cross country and track. I really enjoy it and have been running since middle school. As is, I get <7 hours of sleep per weeknight on average with athletics, homework, and watching sports, and find it hard to add any other extracurriculars to my schedule.

Cross Country:

Varsity for the last two years
5k: 16:50 (Sophomore Year)
Probably captain senior year (Only seniors can become captains)
Hope to be around 15:30 senior year (Reasonable goal)

Indoor/Outdoor Track:

Varsity for the last two years
Mile: 4:55 (Freshman Year) (Was lightly injured for most of the season)
2 Mile: 10:35 (Sophomore Year) (Running on a knee injury)
Probably captain senior year (Only seniors can become captains)
Hope to be around 4:40 in the mile by the end of this year (Reasonable goal)
Hope to be sub 10 in the 2 mile by the end of this year (Reasonable goal)
Not sure about goals for senior year

In summary I am fast enough to be a varsity runner who will probably be in a decent position in the state in junior and senior year, but will not be recruited unless there is major improvement. Does any one know recruitment times for ivy league schools? I only do cross country and track because I enjoy it, not for any other reason. I am happy doing cross country and track, but I worry that I do not do enough extracurriculars based on the applications of people applying to ivy leagues. What should I do about this?

In conclusion my questions are:
What are some things I can do to improve my chances for getting into an ivy league school?
Is one extra curricular enough or does one need more? What can I do about this?
Does anyone know recruitment times for cross country and track in ivy league schools?

Thanks in advance

P.S. Does anyone know any summer internships for rising juniors ?

2

No one really knows what the ivy league looks for in an application. Your schedule looks really good and make sure when you take the real ACT or SAT to do lots of practice tests (helped me a lot and raised my score). However, all ivy league applicants have really good grades to begin with, so hooks and ECs are mainly what puts them over the top and get acceptances. Note though that many schools think your commitment and passion to a few ECs are better than doing a million different ones. In your future college app essays, they also like to see humility with students (perseverance instead of just succeeding) and leadership. What uncommon challenge (possibly in track or xc) have you faced and how you overcame it can demonstrate this. Maybe find one or two other ECs that can display your leadership as well, but don’t overwhelm yourself. The ivy league decisions are wacked but if you set yourself apart from other applicants you have a strong chance!

3

Your goal should not be getting into the Ivy League, it should be finding types of schools that are good fits for you. You should spent your time finding match and safety schools that you love and are affordable. The least of amount of time should be spent focusing on reach schools.