Guidance for Rising Junior`

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello! I am quickly approaching my junior year and I have had some significant updates to my achievements and such. I would like specific suggestions on how to approve.</p>

<p>Most notably, my ACT is now a 31. I studied for a week and am happy with the results. I got a 8/12 on the writing. I know I can improve and I plan to.</p>

<p>I attended Governor's School for the Arts (223 out of 1800) for 3 weeks.</p>

<p>I placed in the top 10 exam scores in my category for the DECA ICDC 2014 (17,000 students)</p>

<p>I completed my Year Long Project, received a perfect score, received best presentation award.</p>

<p>I am starting a Science Olympiad Team.</p>

<p>I am about to start volunteering at Cardinal Hill, a rehabilitation hospital.</p>

<p>I got a 4 on AP World History</p>

<p>The rest of my information is below!
Hi everyone!</p>

<p>I am a sophomore in a rural county in Kentucky.</p>

<p>Although, I have not hit the infamous junior year, I want to know what I can do as a sophomore to prepare to achieve the results I want to attain.</p>

<p>Below I will list my class schedule, GPA, rank, extracurriculars and accomplishments.</p>

<p>I ask that you give me brutal advice and not to sugarcoat anything.</p>

<p>Some colleges that I am interested in (of course this is subject to change): Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon, Centre College</p>

<p>I am interested in the "pre-med" track with a major in social science/ anthropology</p>

<p>I feel one of my main hooks is the integration of art and science into my life and how it can apply to my future.</p>

<p>My freshman, sophomore, and tentative junior schedule:</p>

<p>Freshman Year Schedule:
Intro to biomedical sciences
(I would like to discuss this class option. In my county, we have a vocational school. We take a core class related to future occupations and two core classes. I have chosen the biomedical science career path. This class must be taken before I reach the actual vocational school. It is by PLTW STEM. In this, I learned anatomy and more information tailored to this career path.)
Choir
(Class MUST be taken before advanced choir)
Honors Social Studies
(Had to test into. It was the only honors social studies offered. It worked in tandem with the block class english class, meaning what we learned in social studies was in correlation to what we learned in english. For example, while studying "The Republic" we learned the basic principles of a successful government)
Honors Physics
(In order to go to the vocational school I talked about, you could only be a year ahead in math. I was two years ahead. This was taken to get me back on the one year track. It was the exact structure as AP physics except we were not given the chance for AP testing.)
French One
(We can only take foreign language in high school)
Honors Block English</p>

<p>Sophomore Schedule:
AP World History
(I take this in a class offered before school even starts)
French Two
Pre-AP English (Highest english offered)
Advanced Choir
Human Body Systems*
Honors Biology (Not allowed to do AP)
Honors Algebra 2 (Highest math offered)
*I would like to mention an interesting component of this class. Alongside with curriculum, we are also tasked with a YLP (Year long project) that correlates with our material. We have to write a grant, make two presentations, execute an experiment, and report the findings. I am doing the Tensile Strength of sutures with a partner. It is completely outside of class.</p>

<p>Tentative Junior Schedule:
AP lang
Biomedical Interventions (3rd level of the PLTW curriculum, the same YLP applies to this class)
Pre-AP Chemistry
Pre-Calc
APUSH
AP Bio
Honors French III
Cardinal Choir (Adv Choir)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: (I will only list high school; however, I do have elementary and middle school extracurriculars and accomplishments saved onto my computer IF needed)</p>

<p>1.Drama Club (Treasurer)- In Drama Club, we work towards improving skills needed to be an actor. We complete many service projects like reading at the public library.
2.French Club (Secretary)- In French Club, we work to improve our use of the french language through fun and engaging activities.
3.Y Club (Treasurer)- In Y Club, we work to prepare ourselves for debatable conferences throughout the year. I am a mentor to new members and organize and execute the tasks at hand for the next conference.
4.Hantis Club- I am a member of the Hantis Club. I play the sport Hantis with other students for recreation.
23.Company B- An elite theatre ensemble by audition only (9th/10th Grade)
5.JG2SC- a social media campaign to bring famous author John Green to our school. (Section Leader- In charge of maintaining Vimeo account)
6.Ladies Ensemble- An audition only advanced after school choir
7.Singers- Audition only choir for Scott County High School
8.Gifted & Talented Leadership Advisory Board- On this board, I am the representative for gifted drama. I suggest ideas and provide input to provide experiences for gifted drama students in and out of the classroom.
9.Elkhorn Crossing Schools Youth Advisory Board- On this board, I represent the Biomedical Sciences village. I provide input on new school ideas and how to improve efficiency in the classroom.
10. YMCA Youth Advisory Board- On this board, I am one of 15 students selected across central Kentucky to help the local YMCA implement new programs to benefit our current youth.
11. Year Long Presentation (YLP)- As a member of the Biomedical Science Village, we complete a YLP on a specific area of choice in the medical field. My partner & I chose to conduct research on the Tensile Strength of Sutures. We have written a grant and presented our idea in front of leaders in the science community. We received a perfect grade on the project and plan to execute the experiment in the spring of 2014.
12. I am a member of the SCHS DECA chapter. I have competed in one competition, sports and entertainment promotion plan. With two other students, we have one first in regional and in state competitions. We are heading to Atlanta to compete in the international conference.</p>

<p>Honors/ Awards:
1.All “A” Honor Roll (2012- Currently)
2.“Fromage Super” Award- Greatest Achievement in French 1 (2013)
3.Out of 115 sophomores, chosen for greatest achievement in biology (2013)
4.Gifted & Talented in Drama and Language Arts (2007- Currently)
5.Out of my whole state, I was selected to participate in a national debate conference. Only 25 high school students were selected.
6. I received best achievement in biomedical sciences </p>

<p>Achievements in Competition:
1.Chosen to take part in Kentucky Honor Choir- KYACDA (2012)
2.During KYA (Kentucky Youth Assembly), I was a judicial advocate meaning myself and two others prepared a mock trial case. As a group, we won both cases. Individually, I was chosen to be one of the six youth justices as a sophomore (they usually are juniors), and I was invited to attend two national conferences-CONA (Conference on National Affairs) and NJC (National Judicial Conference) (2013)
3.Invited to attend: Washington Journalism and Media Conference to represent Kentucky, People to People, National Academy of Future Physicians (2012-2014)
4. Accepted into Hanover Summer Academy (2013)
5. Recognized as outstanding entry in DECA Idea Challenge (2014)
6. Chosen to be Biomedical Sciences Ambassador (2014)
7. Top 10 at DECA ICDC
8. Accepted into GSA, GSE, and CONA.</p>

<p>Volunteer:
I have approx. 500 hours with various organizations including local theaters since middle school. I am about to start volunteering at Cardinal Hill.</p>

<p>4.0 GPA, 31 ACT currently
I am now drama club Vice President, resigned my YMCA officer position, and am still drama club treasurer. I am about to be Science Olympiad founder/president </p>

2

<p>Those schools will probably be fine. You might as well take the SAT and redo the ACT, since you scored well this time.</p>

3

<p>All right thanks! I would love more advice!</p>

4

<p>bump!</p>

5

<p>First off, leave the middle school accomplishment alone.</p>

<p>I know nothing about Centre College. You look to be in good shape for CMU and Vandy, although you would be in better shape if you can get your ACT up a point or two.</p>

6

<p>all right thank you!</p>

7

<p>Bump!</p>

8

<p>bump</p>

9

<p>BUMP!</p>

10

<p>chance me while i get you- <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1669822-chances-for-business.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1669822-chances-for-business.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Your in good shape with good EC’s try to get ACT up to 32-33 if you can and apple ED to Vandy</p>

12

<p>Big bump!</p>

13

<p>I agree with everyone else here. But b/c you asked for guidance I will leave you will some. 1) Don’t stress to much, you could burn out, 2) Junior year isn’t really that bad so enjoy the moments, 3) Again, don’t stress to much your on the right track. </p>

14

<p>Bump.</p>

15

<p>Your frequent bumps tell me you are the impatient sort (nudge nudge :wink: ). So let’s see, there is a lot to digest here. Let’s start with the stats for the schools you mentioned. The 31 looks to be slightly below the 50th percentile for the latest class to enter CMU, but still solid. Clearly, increasing that to a 32-33 puts you right in the middle to upper half, and anything better is, well, better! (Duh!). But I put it that way to say don’t stress about getting a 34, although sure, that is nice. A 32-33 will put you in a very solid position with almost any school. So I would recommend spending a month prepping for the exam, instead of just a week. Of course you can try the SAT, but you have already shown you can score well on the ACT and you don’t want to divide your time too much at this point. And since you are only going into your junior year now, if you don’t do any better on the ACT after a lot of studying, you have plenty of time to study for the SAT and try that in the spring.</p>

<p>I am assuming you still have your 4.0 so that clearly isn’t an issue.</p>

<p>Now onto the EC’s. You definitely have to pare down this very long list. Anything before high school, unless it is completely remarkable, should be gone. You want to spend these next 2 years focusing on the things you like best. You don’t need 10 EC’s, you need 4-6 you really like and 2-3 where you show good leadership potential. If you show leadership in 4 or 5 that is fine of course, but the important thing is they can look at your application and say “Strong GPA with very challenging courses, high test scores, and solid EC’s where she showed commitment, can point to accomplishments within the activity, and was a leader at this one and this one”. One thing you can do to make it easier to read is just have one entry on the list for music, and then list the groups you are in. Any detail beyond the name of the group is irrelevant. By grouping them it becomes obvious you love to sing and must be pretty good. Same for the science activities. Now you have 4-6 distinct activity areas where you have made it much clearer to a reader that you have passion for certain things, instead of making them connect the dots.</p>

<p>I am unclear on why CMU, though, if you want to focus on anthropology/sociology. That isn’t what they are best known for. Is it because they also have a strong theater major? I am not saying you couldn’t get a fine education at CMU in those topics, but it doesn’t appear they have an actual anthropology major but just a minor within the history department if I read it correctly. That strikes me as a bit odd. And the focus of the sociology area, while interesting, is not what people classically think of when talking about that major. Not surprisingly for a school like CMU, it takes on a very quantitative bent. Maybe that is what you want.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt, OTOH, has separate majors in both subjects. Centre (which I know quite well btw. It is a very fine school) puts those two together, which is not at all unusual. I would expand your list of schools to which you want to apply to include a few more like Vanderbilt, with being perhaps a touch less selective than Vandy so you are more sure of being accepted. Of course you could always apply to UK as a total safety. But Centre is pretty much a safety. They accept about 2/3 of applicants and you are towards the top of their stat sheets already.</p>

<p>Of course you are only a junior, so you won’t actually be applying for another year. Nothing wrong with long-term planning, as you clearly are doing by starting this a year ago at least. But until you finish your junior year and we have your “final” stats that the colleges will see, along with any other developments, there is plenty of time to revisit the “best fit” for schools issue.</p>

<p>So, I hope that helps a little. Let me know if you have questions. FYI, I also know Scott County. I lived in Louisville for 7 years and traveled around KY some. </p>

16

<p>You definitely have a lot of good stuff here. I would say you’ve got a good chance of getting into these schools. So now that you’re going into junior year to gain more leadership positions and tailor your ECs towards medicine. Volunteering at Cardinal Hill is good, just make sure you spend quality time there and absorb the experience. Don’t just go to rack up hours. If you could get your ACTs up to a 33 which shouldn’t be hard, considering you got a 31 without studying, you’d be a solid candidate for Vanderbilt. Good job on everything! PM me with any questions.</p>

17

<p>CMU: Reach
Cornell: Reach
Vanderbilt: Reach
Centre College: Safety</p>