Grade: Sophomore (10th)
GPA: 3.8 (unweighted)
AP classes: taking my first one this year, APEuro. Will be taking more in junior & senior year.
I’m in a few honors and accelerated classes as well.
EC’s:
Speech and Debate-I qualified to both my State Championship and the National Championships my freshmen year. I am currently top 20 in my state. I have won many awards starting freshmen year up to now; this includes tournaments at Stanford, Berkeley, SCU, etc. I am in a leadership position for a small section of my team which is about 300 people. I am working towards becoming VP my junior year and President my senior year.
Community Service: Goal is to have over 100 hours
Writing-I am currently writing a book that I wish to publish before I graduate. I have a deep passion for writing.
I have not yet taken the SAT or ACT.
What SAT/ACT score should I aim for? What should I work on in order to become more competitive? What can make me stand out? Any other advice??
A better question is how to afford NYU. Will you be full pay? NYU is very bad with aid for most students.
The tuition is not that big of an issue for me
Aim for 1400 SAT or 33 ACT. Being full pay is a plus.
I got a 1270 on the SAT which was below average for NYU, had a 3.9 unweighted gpa, a 4.8 weighted gpa, took a total of 12 AP classes, had a job so my extracurriculars were weak, and I wrote the best essay that I’ve ever written in my entire life (writing is also one of my passions), and I was accepted into CAS with a $50,000/yr scholarship last Friday. I didn’t accomplish half as much as you (like publishing a book, or competing in national competitions), but I was still admitted. The point is that, anything can happen, so just keep doing your best, and excel, and you can get in, because I truly believe that hard work pays off. Every person that I know who was admitted were completely different applicants with different stats and everything else, so I don’t think there is a specific way to “get into NYU”. As a sophomore, you’re already doing so great so just keep it up, and in two years, you’ll get your acceptance letter.
You are doing great. My daughter was accepted ED1 last week, but sadly we didn’t get enough financial aid. Hence, she was released from ED. She had 10 AP courses, 4.0 GPA, and 28 ACT. She also will graduate high school in May with 32 college hours that she did during school since her junior year. She is very involved in school and extra curricular activities. Also, she is an athlete and had tons of volunteer work. All in all, I think her attraction was being well rounded. You are definitely on right path. Start making a list now of every award that you get or any kind of recognition as well as all school and community involvement. Also, make sure you are forging great relationships with your teachers and/or coaches. I believe those letters of recommendation really help. Lastly, I would start working on my college essays the beginning of senior year. Always have at least one or two English teachers or professors proof your essay.
My D was like you. She set a goal her freshman year to gain admittance to NYU. Having a game plan and executing it definitely worked for her.