<p>I'm about to be a sophomore next year, so I'll be class of 2017. Only until now have I realized that I probably won't end up attending my dream schools, Stanford and Columbia. Although, I think I still have a chance but at the same time, I don't think I do. So I'm hoping that some of you could give me and other lost teenagers advice. Sorry if this happens to be in the wrong part of CC, I just feel like I would actually get feedback in this forum. Anyways...</p>
<p>I'm doing quite well in academics and testing, possibly graduating as top in my class as painfully pretentious as that sounds. Due to that, I'm going to be a full IB student and I don't plan to drop out no matter how sleep deprived I'm going to be. With that out of the way, the real problem is my lack of extracurriculars or a "real passion" I've noticed that those accepted are really dedicated to something and that they've been doing it for a while. I mean, I have a deep interest in filmmaking and writing but I don't even know if those will become real passions of mines. In fact, throughout my life I've always been bouncing between so many interests that I feel like my high school life is going to consist of trying new things. Don't get me wrong, that's what I would like to do and I have all of these great essays in mind about it but I feel like that's all going to be overlooked because what schools want to see is if I have a single passion.</p>
<p>I don't know. Should I just shut up and figure out what I like to do and start doing it, or just see where the wind takes me and write an essay about it that's honest and possibly original? What makes an applicant stand out? Is it even too late to stand out?</p>