Highschool Sophomore... Am I on track?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a sophomore in high school and I've been putting a fair amount of thought into colleges. Right now, my top schools would have to be UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, George Mason University, RIT, Stanford, and The New College of Florida. </p>

<p>Possible majors would be computer science, music, math, criminal justice, or forensic science. </p>

<p>I know that's a large array, and I know that my list will change. The purpose of this is just to make sure that I'm on track so that I have options. </p>

<p>Freshman Year Classes:
H. Literature- A
H. History- A
H. Geometry- A
H. Algebra 2- A-
H. Chinese 1- A
H. Chemistry- B+ </p>

<p>Sophomore Year Classes: (Grades are cumulative grades as of the end of the 3rd quarter)
H. English- A
AP World History- A
H. Biology- A-
H. Trig/PreCalc- A
AP Chemistry- B+
H. Chinese 2- A </p>

<p>Schedule for next year (Junior Year):
AP US History
AP Physics 1
AP Calculus AB
AP English
H. Chinese 3
H. Environmental Science </p>

<p>I've taken the PSAT, but not the SAT. My PSAT scores were:
58- CR
70- M
62- W </p>

<p>These scores were without any preparation. I'm taking the SAT next month, then the PSAT again next fall. </p>

<p>I will also be taking SAT II's in World History, Chemistry, and Math 1 soon. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars-
Section leader in school jazz band
75+ Community Service hours so far
Section leader in local youth orchestra </p>

<p>I know it might be hard to predict without all of my scores, but am I on the right track? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>While its nice to have an eye on college admissions down the road, more important IMHO is to use these years to do things for yourself and your benefit. So here’s what I wish someone had told me when I was 15.</p>

<p>There’s a saying that the last thing you expect a fish to discover is water, so your day-to-day life probably seems routine and unremarkable. Yet this is the last time in your life you’ll see your parents & siblings on a daily basis. Right now it may feel like that’s too much, but once its over its going to be over forever. So make an effort to enjoy some time with them these next few years. The memories & bonds you make today are going be be a big part of the glue holding you together. Similarly make time for your friends.</p>

<p>As for school, if you take care of the learning then the grades tend to take care of themselves. Colleges really look for students with an inner love of learning. Its a funny thing that in your 12 years of schooling thru HS graduation, you’ll probably never get even an hour’s instruction in how to learn; its just what to learn. There’s a I highly recommend called What Smart Students Know by Adam Robinson, written by one of the founders of the Princeton Review prep service. I have never seen a better explanation of the steps you need to follow to really learn the material. You can also find lots of material on the web.</p>

<p>BTW you are not limited to the teachers in your school; I hate seeing kids whine in the forum “I had a bad teacher” to try to excuse a bad grade. There have long been workbooks and other resources out there, and in just the past 5 years or so programs like iTunesU have opened up avenues that were once unthinkable. You can watch some of the best profs in the country lecture on almost any subject under the sun, including ones overlapping what you’re learning in school. And this applies even if your teachers are good; watch some of these series to supplement what you’re getting in class.</p>

<p>There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt; Your ECs so far do not show much in the way of leadership or achievement awards. 2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in them, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>