Do I have anything to worry about?

Applying to College
1

<p>Okay, I'm a freshman in high school (a HIGHLY competitive large public one in the NY area) and suddenly started freaking out about college. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>In French 9 Honors - 3.0, 2.5, 2.5, 3.0 on midterm, will probably end up with 3.0 putting me in 10 honors next year
Geometry Enriched (Advanced track, not in honors) - 3.5, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5 on midterm (really screwed up), will probably end up with 3.5
English (VERY HARD to get high marks in) 3.5, 4.0, 4.0 (set for 4.0)
Global Studies - 3.5, 3.0 (one bad test during a VERY tough week for me), 4.0, will probably end up with 3.5, excluding me from AP Social Studies, the only AP sophmores are offered next year aside from music theory
Biology - 3.5. 3.5. 3.5, expecting 3.5 putting me in advanced Chemistry next year</p>

<p>I am also VERY involved in theater. I was just accepted into my school's super-selective theater repertory company (the first freshman in years), I do multiple plays a year, and next year I will be directing my first play (outside of school), a full production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie", all on my own. I don't really have many other EC's...I won a community film festival last year with a documentary on a holocaust survivor and I'm currently working my way up at both my school's main newspaper and its artsier magazine.</p>

<p>I want to be a film director (this is a dream I've had since I was, eh, 7) and I would kill to attend USC or UCLA. However, currently my grades are eh (looks like a 3.6-7 average for the year including electives and P.E.) and I don't have many EC's. I'm a very smart person (gifted programs all through elementary and middle school) but my grades have been iffy this year because I'm not used to having to, you know, try. I've already missed out on the honors math track and the only academic AP offered to sophmores because I got complacent.</p>

<p>Have I already doomed myself from ANY college? I don't really have a "hook" - white, upper middle class, male, Jewish, straight, and I've spent every summer of my life at a summer camp (including this next one, during which I will be a counselor in training - probably my last). If I want to go to USC, what will I need to do next year (pulling my grades up is a given, I'm not too popular and I don't have much of a social life so I have plenty of time to bust my ass and no distractions)? I'm working on collecting more EC's, but since colleges like to see specialization, I'm wondering how I can get more involved in film/drama stuff while still being philanthropic and diversifying my EC's.</p>

<p>Should I even be worrying about this stuff now?</p>

2

<p>You are not doomed. Work on the grades, try hard for the standardized tests (SAT and ACT) and use the ECs that inspire you - acting. Better to have a single deep EC than a bunch of square fillers.</p>

3

<p>Well, I want to phase out acting in favor of film and theatre direction.</p>

4

<p>Here’s some good news…UCLA will not take your freshman grades into consideration.
Go to the UC admissions website and read about how the UC GPA is calculated.</p>

5

<p>YOU are a FRESHMAN.</p>

<p>Relax. Do well in school. Stop thinking about college so much; just do the things that you like to do naturally (you obviously have a passion for film and are doing a lot for a freshman) and enjoy high school life. There will be plenty of time to worry about college when you are a junior.</p>

<p>It’s good to look ahead, but right now your main priorities are just doing the things you love and keeping your grades up. You can’t even worry about standardized tests yet.</p>

6

<p>Should I be worried at all? Get a job next year?</p>

7

<p>Bump - Unfortunately it’s hard for me not to worry…kids in my school have been doing SAT prep since last year!</p>

8

<p>wow, i didn’t even discover cc until this [my senior] year.</p>

<p>that being said, don’t stress too much over freshman year grades. as siliconvalleymom already stated, uc’s don’t take 9th grade grades into calculation. also, for oos applicants the weighting for ap’s and honors is different. continue working hard and show dedication in your interests. colleges also like it when they see a strong upward trend in grades, because hey, each person has to adjust and make transitions a little differently.</p>

<p>hmmmm, what else. i applied and was accepted to both schools, but my intended major was science and engineering so i can’t really help you out there. i suspect, though, that my hook was being a girl and participating in stage crew and set construction for the past four years. i’ve been stage manager for 2 shows last year and 3 shows this year, and have two more coming up in the summer. i’m quite impressed by your accomplishments already! haha, there’s a reason why i work backstage; i couldn’t bear performing in front of others.</p>

<p>and just a personal opinion here, but i really couldn’t justify spending nearly $50k per year for oos tuition at ucla. true, i’d be getting a great education, but i was offered only loans in fin aid. yes, the job market for science and engineering is pretty secure and stable depending on the area and yes, i have a college fund but that would only pay for 1 year there and i’d graduate with a six figure debt. however, usc was more receptive to my financial needs because it’s a private school and imo it’s more well-known for it’s film program, no? again, best of luck!</p>

9

<p>Thanks for your advice, piano. Man…Cornell vs. USC…boy what I would do for that choice!</p>