Did I mess up my chances at a top college my sophomore year?

Applying to College
1

I want to preface with saying that I know that college shouldn’t determine my worth (especially seeing as I am a high school sophomore), but I wanted to hear a perspective since this topic has been worrying me lately. I am a new sophomore at a top ranked school in the United States. I love my school and I love learning there, however I have had a lot of trouble adjusting academically wise. We have now finished two terms out of three, and my grades are not as good as I hoped they would be. I went from all 4.0’s at my old school to a 3.54 GPA the first term and a 3.47 GPA this last term. These are by no means bad grades, especially considering the difficulty of the school, but compared to other people accepted to top colleges, they are inadequate. Additionally, I am not exceptional at any sport, extracurricular, or art, nor am I good at taking standardized tests. My major achievement is being part of a scholarship program where the headmaster is essentially my advisor. I have also started a creative writing club, become managing editor of an LGBT+ publication, logged about 40 hours of community service this year, and I am generally good at interviews and application essays (if any of this information helps). I absolutely love creative writing and biology, so I applied for a biology-concentration program at my school with the intention of doing a religion/literature based project concerning the environment.

I am sure a lot will change by the time I am a senior, but right now it feels like I have nothing amazing going for me. Sure, I would be content at a generally good school, but it feels like I am letting others down by not getting into an Ivy league or it’s equivalent.

Hypothetically, what would I have to do (concerning grades and extracurriculars) by senior fall to improve my chances at getting into these schools? Or, is it a lost cause? Either way, I know it will be okay. I will continue to pursue what I love and do my best.

2

I think your last two sentences say it all: things WILL be okay, and do what you love and do your best. If you do that, you need not worry about “letting anyone down”.

3

This is such a sad statement for a bright, motivated, hard-working 15/16 year old to make. You have literally hundreds of superb 3rd level education options in front of you, yet some combination of your family and your peers have narrowed down your perception of the ‘good enough’ options to a handful of places- based as much on numerical selectivity as anything.

I know too many people who actually said to their child ‘if it isn’t HYP it isn’t worth gong to’. I also have seen the fall-out when those kids- despite doing everything “right” didn’t get into HYP etc. My niece (despite top stats, team captain, meaningful ECs, Yale legacy etc) “only” got into JHU. She was crushed- and afraid to tell her parents of her ‘failure’ on Ivy day. Her parents, in turn, felt horrible when they realized how devastated she was b/c of them. Happily, JHU turned out to be just the right place for her, and she is now in a top PhD program, happy as can be. But all that pain at 18 was completely unnecessary.

Presumably you are now in this top tier secondary school in order to help you get into a ‘top’ college. I know that environment also, and have seen as destructive it can be. I saw a child at one of the big name private schools be so embarrassed at being put on the WL at Stanford (despite her ‘perfect’ resume) that she wouldn’t announce where she was going until after the May WL updates had cleared. She had to “settle” for Princeton. Now, you might be thinking that anybody who isn’t thrilled with Princeton (or any of the famous names) is mad as a hatter, but you would be missing the point: the prestige race is so toxic that even ‘stars’ can end up feeling sad and embarrassed.

So, I get I get how hard it will be for you to focus on what is best for you and not what your sweatshirt says.

Pro tip #1: the name of your college will matter the most- in your whole life- for about 8-10 weeks senior year (between Ivy day & graduation)- and in practice, the most intense time will be the 2-3 weeks that offers are coming out. After those 10 weeks, it will never matter that much again. Honestly. So please: try not to make your next 2 years be shaped by anxiety about those 8-10 weeks.

Pro tip #2: start researching now colleges with specific programs that are interesting to you. Look for schools with spectacular creative writing programs (Kenyon is one place to start). Look for schools that specialize in multi-disciplinary programs, such as science-humanities, or whatever is interesting to you (Davidson has an environmental one I think). As you find them, mention them to your friends and family- in an ‘oh- look at this cool program’ shopping kind of way. That sets the idea that you are looking for something specific to you. By senior year you should have some programs that you are genuinely excited about that happen to be in colleges that are straight up matches for you. I won’t lie: the siren call of the fancy name is hard to resist. But it is easier when you can see multiple paths that would be happy for you- and when you have shaped the expectations of the people around you to fit you, instead of trying to fit you into somebody else’s shape.

tl;dr: run your own race- and put your energy into figuring out what that is (harder than it looks, but the most important part of the college process).

Good luck. Come back here for encouragement- and suggestions!!- when you need it. There are a lot of parents on CC who know about the most amazingly random programs across the country :slight_smile:

4

@greentealover

What Harvard looks for: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look/valuing-creative-reflective
What Harvey Mudd looks for: https://www.hmc.edu/admission/2013/02/03/what-courses-should-i-take/ and https://www.hmc.edu/admission/2018/11/08/tip-november/

“Holistic admissions” is both a hope and a mirage. Even for valedictorians, the odds are not good for getting into an “Ivy League school, or equivalent”. Better to research the individual schools and come up with “reach, match, safety” lists for the ones you would like to attend. Your HS should have something called “Naviance”, which will help you to see how you compare to other admitted students at different schools. Also this College Board site: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org Search for individual schools and select the “Applying” tab.

5

I need to make this a FAQ.

Do not think 'Every point I get off of a hw or test is a point away from going to Harvard."

Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”

Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School, i am doomed for ever.”

Think: “No matter where i go, I can bloom where i am planted. I can get involved and shine.”

Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”

Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”

TL;DR: RUN YOUR OWN RACE

6

At a top-ranked school in the US your counselors should be well versed in how students from your school have done in admissions at top-ranked schools. What did they say when you talked to them?