How shall I proceed?

Applying to College
1

<p>Current Year: Junior
Unweighted GPA : 4.0
SAT score (based on practice tests) : 2260
Clubs: Chess...
Sport/Activity : None
Community Service: 40 hours</p>

<p>For admission to the top colleges, what should I focus on to increase my chances of being accepted?</p>

<p>I am clueless on how I should proceed. Its clear that I should get more involved in ECs, but ambiguous on the amount of each specification. Would someone informed please answer the questions corresponding with the letters. After, rank the importance of the task accordingly to your discretion. </p>

<p>For Example:
F. Community Service. - 100 hours. Diverse. 1 <-- importance
G. Sports. - Highly recommend joining 1, the 2nd sport optional. 2
B. AP Classes online. - Take none. No need to rank</p>

<p>I know this is seemingly foolish to ask for exact quantities considering the broad range of criteria colleges inspect, but such I feel is ineviatable with the limited time I have left to increase my chances. The last fews years was spent on video games ( 6-7 hours daily, 15-20 hours on weekends...the impassion of madness) with the negligence of scholarly pursuits. Now that I have awakened from my dormant state, I am fully professed in increasing my chances. </p>

<p>What should I do?
A. Increase SAT. ( List # of points)
B. AP Classes online. ( how much more?, currently taking 6 + finished 2 last year in school)
C. Language Credit. ( Currently have 2, not enrolled in any this year. Should I take one or more online?)
D. Join Clubs. ( Considering MESA. Amnesty, and the Writing Club, how many should I join?)
E. Create clubs. ( #? Such as Math/Science/Literature Club, provident of leadership)
F. Community Service. ( # of hours I should commit? Diversity or Concentration on the ones I feel most ardent about)
G. Sports. ( Track/Tennis. Join both, one, or none).
H. Contests ( Should I seek out competitions? School-related contests, though rare, are still there; or perhaps I can search online for contests in other cities). </p>

<p>Please, this perplexion drives me despondent with sleepness nights and day's insomnia, such is the effect of uncertainty's agitation; a state in which I cannot rest well at night, and yet cannot sleep during the day due to the fret of the future. It is significant to me to have an idea of what activities to fully devote myself to.</p>

<p>Thank you,
Dissevered</p>

2

<p>A. Take the SAT now if you’re prepared. How about Subject tests, have you taken any related to the 2 APs you took last year?
B. Take the most rigorous schedule your school offers.
C. Top schools will be looking for 3 or 4 yrs of a single FL. These are generally recommendations, not requirements, but it will have an influence on how competitive a candidate you are.
D & E. Quality, not quantity. Do what you’re interested in.
F. Concentration
G. Join if you want to do them.
F. Depends on what you’re interested in an what contests are available. D - F are factors on your application, but not nearly as important as your HS record (gpa & difficulty of coursework) and standardized test scores.</p>

3

<p>Do you know which type of “top college” you aspire to? Princeton? MIT? Wesleyan?</p>

<p>I agree with entomom’s suggestions, but if you want a place like MIT or CMU you may want to feature some technical ECs.</p>

4

<p>worry less about filling in a checklist with your ECs. Instead, find something that you’re really into. If you like politics, Amnesty, Model UN, or a similar club would be good. Math nerd? Tutor middle school students or start a Math-a-thon programme at your school. Love creative writing? Start a club, maybe start some sort of literary magazine for your school.</p>

<p>Point is, do what you love, love what you do, and it will show in your app and give you some personality! You may be 6-APs-junior-year-kid, but there’s always going to be those kids around. You need to be 6-APs-junior-year-kid who fell drastically in love with .</p>