I need advice on activities that I can do to improve my chances on getting into a good school. I am willing to work hard, I just have not had any opportunities that interest me, although as highschool continues I realize that I need to start.
I am a highschool junior attending a small(600 student) school, I went to a different highschool for freshman and sophomore year that did not offer AP or Honors classes, and I am now in AP English Literature and Honors World History, and first semester I took Honors Algebra 2/Trig, but have since dropped the honors into regular.
GPA : 3.82
SAT(First time, last month) : 1780
C. Reading : 580
Math : 570
Writing : 630
Family Income : >$45,000
I am a female, hispanic and Alaska Native as well as caucasian
Any advice is GREATLY appreciated, I feel embaressed to set my sights even moderatly high because of my lack of extra-curriculars.
I would love to go to UCI, although I know that it is a stretch, but I also don’t want to head into applying to colleges selling myself short. I am very competent and I try very hard in school, and hopefully I can improve my chances with any support/criticism/advice I can get!
I can tell that you really want some help, so I am completely willing to give you all of the advice I possibly can. Right now the 3 things you need to work on are grades, testing, and E.Cs.
Grades: 3.8 isn't bad, but it could definitely improve a bit. Colleges want to see a rigorous schedule. Most of the time, they'd prefer the kid who got a 92 in APUSH instead of the kid who got a 99 in regular US History. Honors and APs do matter. Since you dropped your honors Alg 2, make sure you're fully dedicating yourself to the regular class.
Any really good, competitive school will want to see Calculus. If you’re taking Alg 2 this year, the only thing that will enable you to take AP Calc is to do pre-calc over the summer. Does any kid want summer work? No. Do you want to get into a good college? Yes. However, I do not know your math skills/strength, but if you want to make this work I would suggest talking to your guidance department. Tell them you want to make yourself a very competitive applicant for top colleges. You could also take some of the easier APs online over the summer. Could you make a list of your grades in all of your classes since 9th grade? That will help me understand more.
-Testing: Your SAT score was not bad for the first time. You need a bump up in all 3 of the areas. Invest in a few prep books (I recommend College Board’s blue book & to browse between Barron’s and Princeton Review). Ask your english and math teachers if they would be willing to tutor you. Come to them with specific questions on practice tests or in the book that you just do not understand. Make yourself a dedicated study schedule. If you can study for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour each night, then that will help a ton! You can print out several practice tests online. Make sure you time yourself like its the real thing.
E.Cs: Sadly, these do matter. Is there anything you could join that might interest you? I'm guessing you don't play any sports? Join some easy clubs at your school, run for a class office, and do some volunteer work outside of school.
I hope I helped. I’ll check back on this thread and help as much as I possibly can. I’ve been in your position before. Best of luck to you
@southernbelle16
9th Grade: 1st semester,2nd semester
English 9:A,A
Spanish 1:A+,A
Life science:A,A
Integrated Math 1:A-,B
Health:A
Art1&Design:A
American studies(US hist.):A,A
Concert Band:A-
Team gym:A
10th
Spanish 2:B+,A+
Physical Science: B-,B-
Geometry:A-,A+
English 10:A,A+
Drawing 1:A
Chef:A
Team sports:A
Alaska History:B
11th(current,will finish will A’s)
Spanish 3: A-
Honors World His:A-
Honors Alg2/Trig: C+
Human Anatomy: A+
AP English Literature: A
Computer Aided Drafting: A+
The classes I anticipate taking next year are Intro to chem, (maybe AP) Statistics, AP Lang&Comp, American Gov, American Law, Sociology, Psychology, French 1. There arent many clubs at my school and I would prefer to join one that I am interested in but really I just need some significant extracurricular. I hope the specific grades can help, thanks so much for the advice!
Definitely take AP Stats, not normal. Why don’t you take Honors or Regular Pre-Calc next year? What’s the point of taking French 1 when you can double up on math and/or science?
Also, have you looked at OOS tuition (are you in Cali?) for Irvine? It’s not nearly as costly as LA and Berkeley, but it’s not cheap.
