Hi,
I wanted to know your guys’ opinion on which colleges you think i would get accepted into:
I’m a sophomore at an okay NYC school (non-specialized bc my SHSAT scores barely missed cutoff) but soon moving to Manhasset secondary school which is very competitive (ranks about top 15 in ny)
Current GPA: 97.34
Awards: none
Extracurriculars: NHS, Key club, Pit orchestra, social studies math and science honor societies, JV track, and volunteering at nearby hospital,
Significant extracurriculars: Violin (aiming to get into all-state NY orchestra)
Test scores: 1490 SAT and taking it again junior year
Hooks: Legacy at Dartmouth and Amherst
Course load: Honors alg 2, AP world, AP stats, regular chem, eng honors, spanish 4 honors, chamber orchestra (concertmaster), and psychology
ethncity and gender: asian male
i would like some ideas abt what i should be doing this year and next year to really be unique
Check out “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.
“The basic message of the book is this: Don’t wear yourself out taking as many classes as you can and being involved in every club and sport. Instead, leave yourself enough free time to explore your interests. Cultivate one interest and make it into something special that will make you stand out among the other applicants and get you into the toughest schools, even if your grades and scores aren’t stellar. Newport calls this the “relaxed superstar approach,” and he shows you how to really do this, breaking the process down into three principles, explained and illustrated with real life examples of students who got into top schools: (1) underscheduling—making sure you have copious amounts of free time to pursue interesting things, (2) focusing on one or two pursuits instead of trying to be a “jack of all trades,” and (3) innovation—developing an interesting and important activity or project in your area of interest. This fruit yielded by this strategy, an interesting life and real, meaningful achievements, is sure to help not only with college admissions, but getting a job, starting a business, or whatever your goals.”