<p>Hello CC. This is my first post. I am an 8th grader in southern california, and I was wondering if I have the chances in getting to a prestigious university such as Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Columbia, etc. Since I am not in High School, here are my ECs:</p>
<p>Captain of Robotics Team-Lead (4+ years)
Ranked Tennis Player (USTA)
Ranked Swimmer (Jr. Olympics and first in city division)
Science Fair
Science Olympiad (4th in State)
Toast Masters
Honor Band (Clarinet and Tuba)
-First Chair Clarinet in City Honor Orchestra
Competed in many math competitions (MATHCOUNTS, NSF)
Essay Writing (First Place Southern Calif.)
People to People leadership program (waste of time)
I love coding (Python, BASIC, C)
Boy Scouts (Star Scout - Patrol Leader)
Principal's Honor Role
President's Honor Role</p>
<p>Race (if it matters): Indian</p>
<p>Taking 3 advanced courses in junior high: Honors English, Honors History, Honors Geometry - on course to take honors biology and honors algebra 2 in 9th grade. Going to try out for track and field or swim</p>
<p>Interested in Mathematics with Computer Science/Journalism</p>
<p>Should I be preparing for SAT now? Should i take both SAT and ACT? </p>
<p>Take the SAT and participate in JHU CTY’s talent search. This is only if you’re up to studying a lot for it. Most of your ECs in Middle School are worthless to colleges, but boy scouts will build up to a great level in high school. Talent search will help you get into better summer programs during high school which will really boost you. SAT in 8th grade won’t appear to colleges either, so you should take one now (provided you don’t mind spending money) if only to get a feel of what a real test situation is like. Good luck!</p>
<p>Why why why are you preparing for the SAT now in eighth grade? Worry about subject tests in Freshman year then MAYBE start studying for the SAT your sophomore year. Anyways, your courses don’t really matter to colleges because you’re in eighth grade.</p>
<p>Your ECs show a sustained interest in those particular areas. While it’s true that these ECs in middle school don’t really matter to colleges, you can join similar clubs and ECs in high school and this way you can tell colleges about your ECs in middle school and how you continued to pursue these interests in high school.</p>
<p>Honestly, take a deep breath. You have nothing to worry about right now. You’re only in 8th grade, and frankly, schools will care very little about your middle school accomplishments unless you continue to do these things in high school. If there’s any piece of advice I could give you as a junior, it would be to not screw around freshman year. Get off to a good start by getting good grades (preferably A’s), and worry about standardized tests towards the end of sophomore year. Trust me, you’ll want to be able to have some time to live out the last few years of your childhood; they’ll be gone quick. </p>