<p>I'm starting college next week. My college is a commuter school, which means students basically enter the building, attend class, and leave. There are certainly clubs and organizations, but they are generic in the sense that they aren't very exclusive and impressive on an application. I will be joining these and, perhaps, starting some. But this isn't enough for me, nor is it to the schools I really want to apply to.</p>
<p>Here's my high school record:
3.35 GPA (only 3 AP's...)
2240 SAT
EC's: Math tutoring 1 year
Cinema club 1 year
Playing in school orchestra concerts 4 years
Job at a summer camp 1 summer
Social media blogging internship 1 summer
(These credentials may be irrelevant since I intend to apply as a junior transfer. I hope so. It makes me sad that I did this little, but I really want to change that.)</p>
<p>As you can see, I had no significant ones and held no leadership positions in high school, but at the same time I want to be able to apply to schools that are as selective as is possible, given my limits. I'm making it my life goal in the next year and a half to sculpt the perfect transfer application, very much in spite of my inactivity in high school. But clearly I don't have the resources to do so (and it's not a CC so I don't get any perks), and I don't know how I'll be able to find good activities (emphasis on good) outside of campus.</p>
<p>What do I do? For instance, where do I go after my classes my first week? I feel I'm on my own since a lot of my EC's will be outside of campus and I don't know the right people. This feeling worries me because obviously time is against me...and I don't want to spend so much time looking for EC's--I want to do them long-term. I don't know what I want to study, but when I transfer I might major in something mathematics- or humanities-related.</p>
<p>My DREAM SCHOOL is Cornell. But over the summer I've decided to let go of that idea because I really don't have a plan yet and if that doesn't change I won't be competitive at all (but at least more competitive than I would have been in high school, hopefully). I will do whatever I can to get a 4.0 by the way. And everything else important, like essays and letters of recommendation, are not the topic of this thread.</p>
<p>...Honestly, I've been feeling good about myself lately as a person. I feel like I'm as intelligent as ever (I don't want that to come off as condescending--what I mean is I'm ready to learn and become active in life), and, also, I'm starting a real good wardrobe in my closet. But, honestly, none of that compares to the feeling I might get come fall 2011 when I'm applying to colleges, if and only if I have some real impressive stuff on my resume.</p>
<p><em>PLEASE</em> be as detailed as possible in your advice. My entire life depends on transferring...and if I don't succeed, there's still graduate school, right?</p>