<p>Hi, I've reached the end of junior year and I feel like I'm behind in the college search process. I could really use some help deciding on a school.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:
[ul][<em>]I'm a white male, I live in an upper-middle class family in a relatively rich town.
[</em>]My high school is one of the highest rated academically in the area, it's very competitive.
[<em>]Unweighted GPA: 2.92
[</em>]Weighted GPA: 3.62
[<em>]SATs:
[list][li]Math: 800[/li][</em>]Reading: 650
[<em>]Writing: 760
[</em>]Totals: M/R 1450; M/R/W 2210
[<em>]SAT2 Math 1: 750
[</em>]SAT2 Chem: 680 (probably won't send it)
[<em>]I just took the SAT2 in Bio and Math 2, and I believe I did well, but haven't received the scores yet.
[</em>]I haven't taken the ACTs[/ul]</p>
<p>[<em>]Freshman classes: H algebra/geometry, jazz ensemble, photoraphy, and other standard classes
[</em>]Sophomore classes: H algebra/geometry 2, H chemistry, "Modern Global Communities" English and history, French, H computer programming, photography.
[<em>]Junior classes: H trig/precalc, H bio, "MGC" English and history, french, photography. (computer programming was not offered this year)
[</em>]Senior classes (next year): BC calc, AP physics, H neurobio, AP programming, psychology, film studies, photography </p>
<p>[<em>]Extracurriculars:
[ul][li]Computer programming: I am very good with technology in general, and it's one of my main interests. I know 3 languages, and I'll be learning Objective C over the summer. I took the honors programming course the year it was offered, but I had already learned most of the curriculum elsewhere, so the teacher let me do more of an independent study.[/li][</em>]Photography and film: I take many photos outside of my high school course, and at this point I think I'm getting pretty good, although there's no way to measure that. I also have made a few films, one of which was featured at two small film festivals, and another, which was played at my school's film festival. I got into a film class at the ICA Boston during sophomore year.
[<em>]Snowboarding/Rock climbing: These are my main active hobbies, but lately I haven't been doing them as much as I would like. Still, I have my own equipment for both, and go out often enough.
[</em>]Music: I play the drums and bass guitar, but I know enough to play regular guitar as well. I started bass when I was in 6th grade, and drums in 9th grade. I played with my school's jazz band on several occasions, but I no longer am part of it. I'm in a band now, and we've written a few songs and are looking to record them even if they might not be very good.
[li]Part time job at tennis courts: The season is only from May -October, and the hours change from week to week, so sometimes I will only work 4 hours, and others I will work 25. I do the grounds-work like sweeping, watering, putting salt on them, etc. It pays really well though.[/li][/ul]
[/list]</p>
<p>So the first thing that worries me is my GPA.
Keep in mind it doesn't include 4th term of junior year, which is almost over (I'm doing very well), or any of senior year.</p>
<p>I'm confident enough that I can bring my grade up to at least a 3.0 UW, but even that isn't great. I started to take medication for my ADD near the end of sophomore year, and after that I really improved. Will they notice that I have been doing a lot better during junior year? Also my grades in photography have pulled it down because I never remember to shoot for his projects, and instead I just shoot what I want to shoot. Then the deadlines sneak up on me. Do they count photography at all, and if so, how much weight does it have? Currently my school seems to give it the same amount of weight as all my other classes.</p>
<p>The next things that worry me are my extracurriculars.
I'm not in very many official programs or activities, so there isn't very much I can actually cite. It's not like I do nothing, I just don't really do anything that's structured and scheduled.
How much will colleges care about this?</p>
<p>I'm pretty happy with my SAT scores in general. I'm retaking the SAT in October to pull up the reading section, and since almost all of my mistakes in there were just vocab, I can simply study a lot of vocab over the summer. I don't have my scores yet, but I think I did very well on the SAT2 in bio, and I think I at least scored over 700 in the Math 2. I don't know whether or not I should take the ACTs. Is it really necessary? Would it help?</p>
<p>I'm interested in a more math/science/engineering oriented school, but I'm still pretty open to anything. I don't have much of a preference, but it would be nice to stay in the Northeast near a city.
I talked to my guidance counselor about this a few times, but she wasn't very helpful. She wrote down a long list of reaches, matches, and safeties in a random order so I couldn't tell which was which.</p>
<p>So I'm just wondering if anyone could help me figure out which schools I should apply to? I'd like to know a little more about my chances of getting into different schools, since I really don't know where I stand currently. I really appreciate the effort if you read through my entire post, and thank you so much if you do help me!</p>