You are a sophomore and doing SAT prep?! You could wait to do that over the summer or any time before March of junior year, when the National Merit Qualifying SAT is administered.
Your education is your investment in yourself, not an extended admissions test. You are worth it.
Take pride in your work, and make your mind a more interesting place to be.
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First of all, it’s important to remember that you are not defined by your grades or where you go to college. There are many successful people who didn’t go to prestigious universities or who didn’t do well in school. Your worth as a person is not determined by your academic achievements.
That being said, there are still options available to you if you want to attend college. Many colleges and universities have a holistic admissions process, which means they consider factors beyond just grades and test scores. Extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation can all play a role in the admissions process. It’s not too late to start getting involved in activities that interest you, whether it’s volunteering, joining a club, or pursuing a hobby.
You are doing great to be in AP or Honors classes. If you read articles in reputable sites (Newspapers, college bound FB pages) you’ll see that there are hundreds of great colleges with programs that accept B students who thrive. Getting into a “good” college is very subjective. Ivy League are not nearly as good as they seem.
You can get a great education and job from so many other colleges than those that just have a “name brand”…DON’T fall into that trap!!!
You should look at the website Colleges That Change Lives. Those schools all have excellent degrees and students get iinto Med School and Law School at higher rates from those LAC than most other colleges. Plus they give great financial aid. Also, its best to apply to a variety of size colleges. Universities that are larger (20K or more undergrads) really do admit 80% of students who apply…and you get a great education. Try to get your Common App done by Labor Day and apply to colleges in the midwest or south, because they have Rolling Admissions that let you know within 2 or 3 weeks that you are accepted. Once you are accepted to a few schools, you’re outlook will brighten for the more competitive schools. Look at Univeristy’s of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi, Alabama, New Mexico which are GREAT universities with a more diverse student body than you’d think.
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100% agree!!! FuffyPuffinz, You will find the college that is the best Fit for you. It might be a degree plan, or an extra-curricular, or interesting club/activity. College is where you can explore your interests, not where your parents think you should be, nor the degree they think you should pursue. And there is so much more to life than what your parents are stressing you out about (see if they will watch the movie “Race To No Where”). There are successful students who major in non-STEM careers. Finding your fit on a campus that is vibrant with things to do besides just studying within your major is the actual life changing aspect of those 4 irreplaceable years.
This is the list of the “BEST” colleges in the US:
there are sooooo many!
And also check out Colleges that Change Lives:
https://ctcl.org/
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Note: As a freshman, I myself doubt the accuracy of this post. However, I’m sure it still has some valid information.
If you aren’t thrilled about your stats, just accept the fact that even if the college isn’t the “best,” you can really get an amazing education anywhere. I had an amazing education at my middle school which was considered “terrible,” apparently, with great teachers. Don’t let your parents worry about this as it all comes down to yourself. Also, those aren’t terrible stats! I suppose many schools would be fine with this, it just wouldn’t get you into a T20.
Make sure to find your passion rather than waste time on an AP Physics class you clearly don’t enjoy and you’ll be fine!
Volunteer in something.
You don’t need a visa to do that.
If you see a need, do something about it.
Elderly, animal shelters, tutor, read to young children at the local library. It doesn’t have to be much.
You can probably find all kinds of things to do, to help someone out.
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Taking AP physics isn’t necessary, what’s necessary is taking any form of Physics (regular, honors, AP 1, AP 2; there’s also C-EM and C-M, and those last 2 are taken after honors, AP1, or AP2 and only if you intend to major in Engineering.)
“pre studying” is a waste of time, especially considering you may be spending your time doing things instead that’ll help you personally and academically in the context of the US higher education system.
An extra A won’t really move the needle.
You need an activity that is not academic and is not competitive. Honor Society is a good suggestion, but it could be knitting club, yoga, rock climbing, baking… or walking the dogs at the shelter.
For the record, this is what your HS transcript should include:
- 4 years of English (possibly, AP Lang)
- 4 years of history&social science (AP World, AP Euro, and/or APUSH; AP Geography for freshmen/sophs, AP Gov and Econ for juniors/seniors, can be added to History AP, especially if you intend to major in Humanities/social sciences).
- Math through precalculus or calculus (Calc Honors, AB, or BC)
- Bio, Chem, Physics +1 one more science; Physics can be regular, honors, or AP 1. AP Chem and AP Physics C require you to have taken a previous class in the subject. If you intend to study humanities or social sciences, including business or economics, AP Environmental is a fine choice for your +1.
- Foreign language through level 4 or AP (for you, it’d mean something else than English and Japanese, unless you started in ESL).
- 1 Art course (music, drawing, video…)
- senior year, at least one class that reflects your personal interests
- senior year, it’s often good to have one “fun class” (like Culinary Arts or Shop).
Seconding the idea you should look into Colleges that Change Lives. (CTCL.ORG)