High School Sophomore: Am I on Track??

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi all, I'm a high school sophomore and I've started to seriously think about college (which colleges, would I get in, what are my chances, etc.), and I would love to have your input!
My Grades in Freshman year were 3.7 unweighted and 4.0 weighted. My grades so far this year were the same (3.8 unweighted and 4.1 weighted).
EC's
Varsity Cross Country and Track Freshman Year on top-5 team in the Nation(9th, 10th)</p>

<h1>1 in Kumon North America Reading Program, # 54 in Kumon North America Math Program</h1>

<p>NHD (10th)
Volunteering at Library (10th, 60 hours so far)
Volunteering at local hospital (10th, 18 hours so far)
Internship this Summer with my local congressman
Traveling to India to help out the poor there</p>

<p>Oh, and here is my course-load so far:
9th Grade
Honors Biology
Honors Language Arts I
Geometry
World History (mandatory, everyone must take it =( )
Accounting I
Spanish 3 (considered on the advanced track)</p>

<p>10th Grade
Honors Chemistry
Honors Language Arts II
Honors Algebra II
Honors American Studies
Spanish 4
Graphic Computer Applications</p>

<p>and my plans for 11th and 12th grade (course load)
11th
AP Biology
AP LA
AP Calculus AB
AP American History
AP Spanish Communications
Honors Physics</p>

<p>12th
AP Chemistry
AP Lit
AP Calculus BC
AP European History
AP Spanish Literature
AP PHysics</p>

<p>There's a study hall each year btw. </p>

<p>SAT Scores
800 SAT II World History
770 SAT II Math
780 SAT II Biology
2020 SAT I (in sophomore year)</p>

<p>I'm looking at Georgetown, Emory, Rutgers (from N.J.), Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, UMich, Boston University, and Duke as my main options.</p>

<p>Am I on Track for these schools??? And if I am not, do I still have a chance to improve my application (I am a sophomore) and what should I do to improve??? I am looking at International Relations, Political Science, or Biology as my main possible careers.
Thanks! =)</p>

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<p>bumpbumpbump</p>

3

<p>is your weighted gpa out of 5? as in, do you get 5 points for A in honors/AP classes? if so, you will need a much higher gpa to be applying to ivies and first tier schools.</p>

<p>otherwise id say you’re pretty well on track. in terms of ECs, look to find a path to an important leadership position of some kind. your volunteer work is cool. your sat II scores are great, good that you got them out of the way early. your sat I will have to go up to compete with ivy applicants, but you have time for that. you can try the ACT too.</p>

<p>its hard to say whether a sophomore is really “on track.” don’t stress so much about the college aspect right now, just concentrate on doing your best for the purposes of high school itself. the college stuff will fall in to place and you will end up hopefully realizing which schools you are meant for by the time you’re a senior, both in terms of your academic standing as well as the feel/atmosphere you prefer.</p>

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<p>I agree with the previous poster. SAT II scores are fantastic, GPA looks good, coursework looks good (and if honors classes are preparing you to score 750+ on your SAT II, then clearly you’re school is strong).</p>

<p>Trying to find leadership/positions with responsibility is important, but I would argue that finding a focus/foci in your extracurriculars is even moreso. What are you passionate about? And what have you done to demonstrate that passion? These are the types of questions you will have to answer come admissions time…</p>

<p>Finally, start thinking about what you want to major in/study/do in college. That will help to guide you in your college search.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Edit – I saw how you mentioned that you were interested in political science. Good; the schools you have chosen are great for political science majors.</p>

5

<p>Yes, my weighted GPA is out of 5. However, my grades have been going up and by the end of the year, I should be in the 4.2 range. The thing is though, there are courses such as Gym, Health, and electives in which you can get a max 4.0. Do i count those classes??? If I don’t, then I would have a 4.4 GPA. Just wanted to know! Thanks again!! =)</p>

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<p>at least at my high school, non-academic classes like health and gym don’t factor into the weighted (also called the “academic”) GPA. many colleges will determine for themselves which of your classes matter for their admissions, and by that standard create their own GPA for you. but many don’t take the time to do that and simply look at what GPA is on the transcript. either way, i wouldn’t worry about those required classes bringing you down. also, a high class rank would offset a seemingly low GPA as it would show that it is harder to get As at your school than it is at other schools. im not sure how things actually are at your school, im just speculating things to consider.</p>

<p>edit: i also can’t emphasize enough how you should wait until at least a year from today to start stressing about colleges. it can be a painful as well as rewarding process, but in my experience and those of my friends, the longer the process becomes, the more stress you are ultimately caused. so i would really recommend you chill on that area and just concentrate on those classes you’re in. you don’t have a less chance of getting into a school because you don’t start researching it for another year.</p>

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<p>Just a reminder that grades and test scores are only important to get you a serious look at most top schools. After that, you have to demonstrate some depth in one or two areas. Volunteering at the library and hospital are fine but don’t say anything about your interests, passion or commitment. Likewise ‘helping the poor’ in India can backfire if it looks like you are sprucing up a resume rather than doing something that is consistent with your chosen passions. Kumon is a classic ‘Asian EC’ thing to do and, just my bias, makes you look over-invested in your grades and test scores. Pick a few ECs-like your athletics- and invest in those areas.</p>

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<p>You’re on track for a lot of your schools, but it seems to me that you need to loosen up a little. Nothing turns down an admissions officer more than a student who tries to impress. Instead, impress without trying. You’re obviously a high-achieving student, so just go with whatever floats your boat. Don’t worry too much what colleges will think, be yourself.</p>

9

<p>I’m I correct in my thinking – You took the SAT Math II after only taking Geometry? And the SAT Bio with only an Honors Bio class?</p>

<p>So, you take all the SAT II at the end of 9th grade?</p>

<p>I ask because my son is thinking about taking SAT II in June and he is in 9th grade. He is flip-flopping because he may want to wait until he is older, but then he may be too far removed from some of the subjects (like math) or may decide to not take AP Bio and be too far removed from the Bio.</p>

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<p>Hey I also run cross country, and I think if you can break 16 minutes by the end of your junior year (and like 4:20 in the mile) then I think could be recruited. Also, the most important thing I think you can improve is the SAT. A 2020 is great a sophomore, and if you can get that to around 2250 you should have a great shot at most schools and an above average shot at the ivy league schools. But again, running quality consistent mileage is a definite must if you want to do that, and being All State XC would be a huge boost.</p>

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<p>Have you eliminated LAC’s? If you aren’t totally sure, you might want to visit one or two to compare with the larger schools you have chosen. Middlebury, Amherst, Bowdoin? Visiting a couple of schools in the fall of your junior year can be helpful to begin thinking about how to compare.</p>

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<p>I agree with hahalolk here. If you’re on a top 5 team, I assume that means you already can break 16:00 in the 5k. Which probably means you will be able to run at every single one of those universities you listed (except obviously Michigan).</p>

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<p>I’m not that into Liberal Arts Colleges, I think they may be too small for me. At the same time, I don’t really want a huge state school. As for the cross country part of it, although I lettered on the team, I was not on the actual varsity team (for the races). I was often in the high JV and ran only one varsity race. My times are at about 18 minutes (a bit faster, a big slower) and so although I would love to get recruited by a school like Duke or Georgetown, I won’t choose a school just based on their level of running.
As for the SAT II’s, I actually should have been in Geometry Honors with Trigonmetry (a course offered at my school the highest Geometry class) but I joined the school too late to take the test required to place into that class. I finished Geometry with a perfect 100 and I felt confident in my abilities in math and so I took it. I studied a lot, though. With the Biology, the Honors Biology course at my school was not sufficient to get a high score on the SAT-II, although it definetly gave me a great foundation. I learned a lot by studying from the AP textbook and from the regular SAT-II workbooks that are commonly found at bookstores. As for World History, I love history, and I sort of took it as a “fun way to close out my SAT test-taking day” (I took all of the SAT II’s on one day) haha. Also, there is a huge curve in that test, so I highly doubt I had a perfect test or even close to a perfect test. If I can give a bit of advice (although I am not an expert haha), I would recommend taking the SAT-II’s in your best subject. If you are not confident in your abilites, DON’T take it, rather test out the other courses offered in your school and when you find the one that makes you click, then take it. I loved Biology, and did well in that class and so I took it. Same with Math (well, I don’t love math haha) and History.
As for my EC’s, my parents are from India, and we often go and visit India and this past visit, I really wanted to make a difference with the poor that are there. So, this summer, I have a plan to volunteer there (still unclear exactly what it’s going to be though). Would that still hurt me, because if it will, maybe I would just leave it off my EC’s. As for volunteering at the library and hospital, I’m doing them to simply help out at the community. My aunt works there so I just go along with her. And I am pretty interested about the medical industry/profession and so I volunteer at the hospital. I assure you, I’m not doing them just to “spruce up” my app.
Thanks for all of the input!
P.S. yes, I guess I should relax a bit more thanks for that advice too!! =)</p>

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<p>oh, and btw, there isn’t a class rank at my school</p>