How High of a bar should I set?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So I easily get intimidated by names and reputations of colleges so I need some advice on how high of a bar I should set for myself.</p>

<p>During my first 3 semesters of high school I maintained about a 91% average (all my courses were honors) and thereafter the following three I maintained a 95% average (taking all honors courses and two APs)—my GPA is about a 3.9 now (by the end of the 1st semester of my senior year it will be up to 4.0 since the majority of my classes are all APs then)</p>

<p>I’ve also been extremely participant in school activities, acting as a starter swimmer for the girls’ varsity swim team for 2 years now (3, as of next) and last year received the title of co captain. I also act as manager of the Boys’ varsity swim team.</p>

<p>I have over 1000 hours of community service by working saw a teacher’s aid at a non-profit program that prepares students for high school entry examinations, and am now working at a school for mentally challenged children for the duration of the summer.</p>

<p>However, my SAT scores aren’t that high as I’m terrible with tests, I easily get nervous, and so they’re only at 1970 [W:620 CR:640 M:710]</p>

<p>What sort of schools would you recommend that I focus on, in regards to prestige, how good the programs are, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks so much.</p>

2

<p>Depends on what you want to do. A school that’s great at engineering, for example, may not have a great history program and vice versa. Are the ECs you’ve listed above the only ones you’ve done, and is your 3.9 GPA weighted or unweighted? The community service is great, but your SAT scores limit your options unless you’re willing to retake them and get, ideally, anything above a 2100. But the list of schools that you should apply to really depends on what you want to study/do later on in life.</p>

3

<p>Take the ACT. You might do better with that. Otherwise, get that sat over 2000 and shoot for the stars.</p>

4

<p>i agree with knights. give the ACT a shot, prep hard for it, and see if that test is more your cup of tea. it looks like your standardized test scores is the area you need to pull up the most. your academic record is good, and your ec’s are solid, and if you get your scores up, you should be a solid candidate for the selective colleges. good luck got.college.</p>