<p>Well guys, I'll admit that people's posts on CC with their stats intimidate me greatly. It makes me feel subhuman, Lol, whereas at my school I'm considered to be among the smartest kids in the class. Anyways, I want to see if I'm on the right track so far. These are from freshman year, btw, as I will be a sophomore after this summer:</p>
<p>[haven't taken any SATs etc.]</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Vietnamese
Gender: Female
GPA: 4.0 UW/no weighted classes as freshmen at my school aren't allowed to take them.</p>
<p>(^ Yes, those grades I'm sure are fine... however the ECs are slightly worrying me)</p>
<p>ECs:
-CSF (member)
-Key Club (fundraising chair)
-Tutoring 1 hr/week on Sundays
-Member of City Lights Volunteer Program
-Black belt in Karate
-Student of Excellence for History
-(Honor Roll, obviously... but I guess that's considered "average" on this site)
-Piano, but pretty "average" compared to many other kids
-Some exp. with violin</p>
<p>As you can see, I lack ECs. However, I am interested in Speech & Debate and therefore I shall enter some competitions next year as a sophomore, since I will be taking Speech & Debate class next year as well. I also hope to run for a higher position in Key Club and perhaps CSF as well. In addition to that, I will be joining the Track & Field team.</p>
<p>Oh and my sophomore classes will be as follows:
SOPHOMORE YEAR:</p>
<p>Speech & Debate
AP European History
Honors Chemistry
English 10
Algebra 2
Spanish 2
Art 1</p>
<p>***Input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. What can I do to improve my chances of getting into an elite college?</p>
<p>Yeah, I plan on piling up more weighted classes starting junior year. The reason I can't right now is because my school doesn't allow it, though I wish it did. Thanks for the suggestion and the reassuring comment. =]</p>
<p>Oh yeah, Lol. I meant to post Honor Roll as an "award". Thanks for catching that. ;) I hope to get into debate/speech-related ECs more so than the other ones, though I will of course participate in volunteering-related ECs.</p>
<p>My fingers have minds of their own! I swear! They wander off onto the keyboard and somehow manage to type "talk.collegeconfidential.com" without my knowing! <em>gasp</em> Ha, jk. But I'm hooked. More like, obsessed.</p>
<p>yeah, your doing great, just make sure you keep up grades cuz thats what is really important...and do xc if ur going to do track :P...but be careful not to let anything take up too much time cuz you want to keep your 4.0....adn get off CC...it will spoil ur mind ;)</p>
<p>bartz--Oh no, I failed! I don't deserve to live now, do I? I just take up space and supplies in this world... what a disgrace. I mean, really. 4.0s suck. I'm supposed to get a 10.0, a 2600 SAT score, and find a cure for AIDS! <em>le gasp</em> I guess we'll meet at ITT Tech night school then, bartz. Nice meeting you. ;)</p>
<p>You call that a weak extracurricular background? Back in 1992 (when I graduated high school), that would have been considered a very strong EC background. In fact, the karate black belt alone and NOTHING else would have been considered a strong EC background.</p>
<p>Most of the students on this forum have an extremist agenda. I was the strung-out achiever of my day (salutatorian, National Merit Finalist, Honors/AP classes to the hilt, etc.), but the students here make my old high school self look like Zack Morris or Ferris Bueller in comparison. You MUST accept mediocrity at many things. Can Michael Jordan play good baseball? How much did Mother Theresa know about particle physics? Does Mariah Carey know calculus?</p>
<p>Learn well, sit back, relax, and be content to be among the top 10% of students in the USA. You'll be a shoo-in for admission at most of the schools in the country. The ones that can or will reject you could also reject the perfect student.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman-about-to-be-sophomore as well, and all I can say is KEEP IT UP!!! You're awesome. However, you might want to make yourself stand out even more because you're Asian. I'm Asian too, so I have the same worries.</p>
<p>Indeed. Darn overachieving Asians. Oh, and if anyone reads this, does anyone know if an uncle counts as a legacy at a school? I've asked this before but have gotten different answers, so I want to see what answers I get this time to make sure.</p>
<p>I'm from the Bay Area, yes. But not the San Mateo area (I'm assuming you are, perhaps). I'm from the San Ramon/Danville/Blackhawk area... they're remote suburban cities. And wow, talk about resurrected threads.</p>