<p>Hey ya'll,</p>
<p>I am currently a junior in high school, but I feel completely lost in the college application process, which is coming up very soon! I have only basic knowledge about the process and am just an average student, so any help is appreciated!</p>
<p>My current profile:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.84 Unweighted, 4.08 Weighted
Freshman:
Biology A: A/A
English: A/A
French 2: A-/A
Geom/Alg2A: A-/B+
PE: A/A
Photo 1: A/A+
World History: A/A</p>
<p>Sophomore:
Chem H: A-/A-
English: A-/A-
French 3H: A-/A-
PE: A/A
Physics A: B+/A-
Trigonometry/Analytic Geometry H*: A/B
US Gov/Cont. World History: A/A-
Chinese 1: A+/A+</p>
<p>Junior 1st Sem(when it all went down):
American Literature H: A-
Yearbook: A+
Analysis H: B
AP Chemistry: B-
AP US History: B-
Auto: A
AP French: A
Chinese 2: A</p>
<p>Senior Courseload:
AP Psychology
AP Biology
AP Calc BC
AP English/Lit
Econ (1 Sem)
Biotechnology
Science Research Proj H
Yearbook</p>
<p>*Honors class but not weighted
(All the classes I took were in the highest lane that my school offered. Some were because of graduation requirements. Also, I was unsure which classes counted for honors credit because the system at our school is a little funky, so the GPA is estimated)</p>
<p>Standardized Tests:
PSAT: 80 M 54 R 74 W - 208 T without studying
SATI: Taking this Sat! Expecting ~2150 according to practice tests (800 M 650 R 700 W), probably will retake in Jun or Oct and aim for a score of 2250+
SATII: Planning to take Math II, Chemistry, Chinese, maybe others in May/June
ACT: first time practice test: 36 M 32 E 27 R 29 S - 31 T, planning to take in April or June
(Reading is definitely my weakest point and my score has reached a dead end on my practice tests, so I'm not sure how to improve it as it is definitely the hardest section to improve on)
AP's: Planning to take APUSH, AP Chem, AP Chinese, thoughts on self-study for Music Theory? (have some knowledge from taking the CM test for level 10, but would need to refresh my memory on that)</p>
<p>EC's:
Piano (10 yrs) - Level 10 CM Certified
12 years of Chinese school - credit transfer
Section Editor on Yearbook (11th and going to be 12th)
Track & Field (3 going to be 4 yrs) - JV - 9th & 10th (JV MVP freshman year), Varsity - 11th and going to be 12th; does 100m, 200m, 4x100m, long jump
Active tutoring at school tutor center
Community Service - 350+ so far, will be 600+ by end of summer; got involved in an organization that helps fund research for cystic fibrosis after learning that my neighbor was diagnosed with this (planning to write my essay on this); 1 Gold President's Award so far, planning to earn two more gold.</p>
<p>Essay/Recs:
I think this may also be yet another weak point because I have trouble reaching out to teachers and showing my inner passion for learning (as cheesy as that may sound). I am really shy in class and rarely participate, and tend to have a fear of being seen as a kiss-up to teachers and of being incredibly stupid to teachers. I know recs are due soon, so could anyone please give me any tips on forming better relationships with teachers (how, which teachers, etc.)
As for the essay, as I have mentioned earlier, I think I am going to write about my volunteering experience with that particular cystic fibrosis organization.</p>
<p>Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian (cuz yakno that helps a whole lot!)
Rank: our school doesn't rank, probably top 15-25%
School: Highly competitve public school, ranked 150s nationally and high 20s in California
Income: Middle-High Income
Major: Have an interest in the field of medicine and science, haven't yet gone into much depth in researching a major, but maybe something to do with Bio/Chem/Biochemistry. I've also put some thought in dental and nursing school. As you can see, I'm kind of all over the place when deciding a major.
Summer Plans: I'm looking into interning at a lab (to show my interest in science), but not sure which one yet. I'm also going to continue volunteering with the CF organization.</p>
<p>My biggest downfall was definitely first semester junior year, but I am currently working much harder this semester and my grades are really improving! (hopefully all A's, but 7A's and 1 B to be more realistic) I am incredibly open to any school, regardless of size, location, students, etc. My dream school is Rice, but I know that is unlikely with my stats. Other schools that I am considering include Tufts, Brandeis, NYU, the UC's, but then again, I haven't gone into much depth in researching these schools. </p>
<p>Currently, I am just wondering if you guys could give me advice for what I can do this last semester or two before college apps are due to vamp up my profile. I also seek any tips on options, routes I can take, which schools can be my safeties, which ones I match, and which ones I could reach for. But overall, ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED! Thank you for reading!</p>