I’m a high school senior who is graduating this week. Next year I will be attending UMD: College Park as part of the Clark School of Engineering and one of the honors colleges. There were reasons why I didn’t open an application last year, but I will be applying to the Academy and hopefully getting in after a year of college. However, I have a few questions:
Will applying in college hurt my chances compared to someone applying in high school?
Looking at my info below, what clubs, athletics, and leadership opportunities do you suggest I get involved in in college? I assume that the more well rounded the application the better, so I assume I’ll be focusing on athletics and leadership opportunities.
What should my course load look like? I will be registering for classes very soon. I know that the Academy wants to see Math, Chem, History, and English, but what else should I take in addition to my engineering classes?
Academic:
- 4.40 wGPA
- 3.85 GPA
- Class Rank: 7% in one of the top few hundred high schools in the country
- National Merit Scholarship Program: Commended
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- Principal's Honor Roll most quarters, Honor Roll the other few
- 13 AP Classes, 4 or 5 on all tests in addition to Calculus 3
- Honor Graduate of PLTW, high school prep engineering program
Extracurricular:
- NHS
- Math Honor Society
- Computer Science Club
- Christian Service Brigade, Corporal (student leader). Service projects, food pantry, develop state parks, etc.
- STEM Internship with the NSA. 40+ hour work weeks.
- Tons of volunteer work.
Athletics:
- JV Baseball, Sophomore
- Varsity Baseball, Junior. Made it to States.
- One of the leaders of baseball clinics for hundreds of children.
I know the athletics section is very thin, but I’m in good physical shape. I run 6 times a week and am currently doing the Starting Strength lifting program. I’ll join the club baseball team at UMD and get involved in intramural sports. Any suggestions though?
Thanks for the help!