<p>Hi! I'm currently a sophomore and I am very interested in NYU (in fact it is one of my dream schools). However, I need a little help as to what you guys think. As of this moment I don't know my GPA or class rank. I will soon though. I usually only get straight A's (got a B+ in Honors Geometry last year, grrr). Aside from that note I'll tell you my last year's schedule & this year's and the next.</p>
<p>Freshmen Year:
Honors Band
Honors French 1
Honors English
Honors Geometry
Honors Microbiology
Honors World History 2
Honors Health
Gym</p>
<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors Band
Honors French 2
Honors English
Honors Algebra 2
Honors U.S. History
Honors Chemistry
AP Biology</p>
<p>Junior Year:
AP U.S. History
AP English Language & Composition
Honors Band
Honors French 3
Honors Physics
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors Legal Studies (only one semester, so half credit)
<em>Honors American Government or Honors Contemporary Issues (Which should I take in your opinion?)</em></p>
<p>I am also fluent in Spanish, English, and intermediate in French. I am also currently teaching myself German & might start Italian during the next vacation. I am also quite young, only 15 (The baby of my grade for the most part). I won't include my extracurricular activities because the post will be too long. Anyways, do you guys think I'm on the right track so far? How could I improve? Also, do you think I should quit Honors Band my junior year? I really enjoy it, I have the possibility of earning scholarships (can be used anywhere, not specifically music), and I'll probably get section leader next year as a junior. Sorry for the long post, and thank you all!</p>
<p>You probably have a rigorous enough schedule and high enough grades. As long as you are involved in enough good ECs and have good test scores (30+ for ACT) you should be fine. Definitely stick with band if you enjoy it! Colleges also love the leadership stuff so if you have a shot at being section leader, you should stick with it.</p>
<p>Really? You think so? If I drop band I would take another class; however, with my schedule, I wouldn’t really be taking any extracurriculars without band. Plus, it would be dumb to drop band after 2 years, right? How bad would that look to colleges?</p>
<p>Unless you’re winning national awards for whatever instrument you play, you need some more extracurriculars besides band. Your grades are good so far, but lots of people with high GPAs get rejected from NYU. Find some things you love to do and stick with them; colleges love seeing passion, so make sure not to join a certain club only because you think colleges will like it!</p>
<p>Yes, I am aware as to not join or do something because I think colleges will like it. However, with my demanding schedule, and positions in clubs and whatnot…I don’t have much time for anything else. I volunteer as well, not to mention tutor. However, I truly enjoy band. While I will probably not pursue a career in music, I am doing well in school and doing what I’m supposed to. Why not take band, enjoy it, and still prove to colleges I can keep a demanding schedule? “TheBeatlesToday”, do you have any idea how demanding band is? Especially during marching season?! I have practice more than a dozen hours every week (not including school hours). Not to mention, football games, competitions, etc. What do you think?</p>
<p>I still say stick with it. Are there any other things you could do within the music program for ECs? I know my school offers pit orchestra and jazz band.</p>
<p>My sincerest apology – I didn’t realize how demanding band is at your school. At my school, and at most others I know, band is not a huge time commitment (3 hours per week at my school). Also, you didn’t mention before that it also doubles as a marching band, as most schools either don’t have a marching band or have separate concert and marching bands. You cannot assume we all know what your school is like; just make sure to include some more details in future posts to prevent similar misunderstandings :)</p>
<p>Also, you didn’t mention that you volunteer and tutor, as well! Those certainly count as extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know, sorry. I said I’d add a post about EC’s later. However, band is a huge commitment in my school & it’s full year. You’re required to do both marching band & concert band. It’s crazy, but I love it. Also as of right now my school will offer 17 AP’s starting 2014 (that I’m aware of). I am planning on taking at least 9 AP classes (subjects I’m definitely interested in, so it’s not a college or GPA thing)…I was wondering though, will colleges find that too small of an amount? 9 out of 17? I’m trying to fit as many classes as I can into my schedule, but I am not dropping Honors Band or Honors French. I’m doing all four years. However, there are certain AP’s that I won’t do because it’s not worth it, like AP Spanish Language. I wouldn’t take that because I am completely fluent in Spanish, I can speak, read, write, understand, etc. (It’s my 1st language). You get my point? What do you guys think?</p>
<p>You definitely don’t need to take all 18!! My school offers 18 APs, too, and I took 1 junior year and 3 this year…and still got accepted to college. But that also has to do my school’s culture; at my school, nobody really takes more than 3-4 APs, and there’s no pressure to do so. </p>
<p>Unless you think other kids in your grade will take all the APs, don’t take more than you want to. Colleges don’t want students to take ridiculous ones (like a language they already know) just for the sake of taking an AP.</p>
<p>You are doing well, yes. However, don’t overwhelm yourself. It is better to be passionate about a few things than spread yourself to thin.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know. I’m definitely going to take AP U.S. History, AP European History, AP Psychology, and AP U.S. Government & Politics since I want to major in political science and become a lawyer eventually. In my opinion, these for classes are must takes, plus I find them very interesting.</p>
<p>i feel youve done the most rigorous classes you can. However, I definately think you should do more extracurriculars. I give it a high match/low reach at the moment, but that can definately be improved.</p>
<p>Here are the EC’s I could recall off the top of my head (tell me what you think): </p>
<p>EC’s Freshmen Year:
*Mock Trial (Direct Lawyer & won the “Rookie of the Year” award)
*Creative Writing Club (Got canceled my sophomore year)
*S.A.D.D.
*Books & Bagels (Liaison)
*Honors Band (I play 1st flute among with a few others)
*I tutored in Spanish for a few months</p>
<p>EC’S Sophomore Year:
*Mock Trial (Direct Lawyer)
*S.A.D.D.
*Books & Bagels (Liaison)
*Multicultural Club (1st Year)
*DECA (1st year, but I won 4th place & medal at regionals and I’m going onto states)
*Green Club (1st Year)
*Key Club (1st Year)
*Honors Band (I still play 1st flute & I’ll possibly be a Section Leader next year)</p>
<p>Extra Information:
<strong>I’m going to start volunteering at the library either in the spring or in the summer</strong>
<strong><em>This isn’t an EC but I also hosted a Dutch student in the fall & I might host a French student in the spring.</em></strong> </p>