<p>I am going into junior year taking
AP chem
honors precalc
and doing the cambridge english program</p>
<p>I am studying over the summer for the sats and I'm not sure what I'm aiming for yet but I want at LEAST 2000</p>
<p>The problem is my grades freshman and for sophmore year are in the c to b range
I did get 97 on the trig and chem regents though and had an A course average in chem and an A- average in trig</p>
<p>I play soccer and winter track but I'm not in any other extracurricular activates.</p>
<p>I was wondering what should I do to improve my chances or getting into a good college? I intend to take the chem and the math sat two. I also intend to be very nice to my teachers to increase my chances of having a good letter of recommendation.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on what I can do now? I presume doing stuff like joining 4 clubs looks very transparent. </p>
<p>Thanks for any and all suggestions this is less of a chance thread as much as a improving my chances/ is it too late thread.</p>
<p>Based on what you said your grades were I am assuming you have a 2.5-3.0. Your EC’s are not great and from my understanding you have no community service or leadership. So your odds are not great, if you are able to pull a 4.0 for the rest of your high school career it will balance out your currently low cumulative GPA and class rank. Improve the EC’s and if you apply to an ivy I suggest applying ED, even then it will be a stretch. For state schools it go either way, depends which ones you consider “good.”</p>
<p>Edit: Also make sure you do something very productive next summer (such as a job/internship) and lots of volunteering. Even this summer if possible</p>
<p>I am a lifeguard this summer if it helps I forgot to mention that by the way thanks for the suggestions I suppose it’s not too late to do a part time volunteer work this or would it not help? Any other advice on what i could do to improve my chances would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Since your grades are in the c to b range, you have no chance at the ivy league. Focus on doing very well this year and getting exceptional SAT scores and you will have a good chance at many good state schools.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, cortana431 is correct. No chance at Ivies. It is not just the low grades, it is the lack of ANY ECs, aside from the two mentioned. You are just not at all competitive. And to build up grades and ECs to Ivy level is the work of more than a year of catch up. So, let me ask a question. If you were interested in the Ivies, why did you wait so late to even think about preparing? </p>
<p>You still need good grades for an excellent state school or other college. So keep the upward trend. That is somethng to be proud of!! And remember, there are hundreds of wonderful, wonderful colleges in this country. You don’t need to go to an Ivy to get an absolutely first class education.</p>
<p>And don’t just aim your SAT score for some random number. Work to get it as high as you can!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice CC two questions does life guarding look good for colleges or should i be doing volunteer work or an internship? Also will taking a few sat 2 and doing good in them help my chance of an ivy league school or is it really pointless? I am mainly asking what can I do to give myself a good chance of getting into a good school?</p>
<p>You simply are not now competitive for an Ivy and won’t really be able to make yourself so in a year. In my opinion an Ivy is not going to happen. However, in terms of ECs do what YOU WANT TO DO. Don’t do something because you think it will impress a college. Kids who are successful in admissions – and success SHOULD NOT be measured by getting into an Ivy – are kids who are passionate about what matters TO THEM!!! Colleges can tell if what you do is what you love!</p>
<p>Really, with Bs and Cs, an Ivy is NOT going to happen, so move on. Start getting excited about other schools and getting prepared to apply by having the best grades you can, the best test scores, and ECs that matter TO YOU!</p>
<p>this thread is depressing you don’t think if i get A’s junior year get a great score on the sat and on sat 2’s and write a good essay on my leadership as a lifeguard their isn’t a chance at all? If it doesn’t matter i understand but it’s depressing to think about</p>
<p>There is a chance, there is just not really a chance for top 50 schools. That being said, you did poorly for 50 percent of your high school career so your options are limited/you need to do extremely well next year.</p>
<p>Look, I get that it is depressing. But the kids who are admitted to Ivy League schools do NOT have transcripts littered with C’s and B’s, so I really don’t understand why you are surprised by what we are saying. What aren’t you getting? Aren’t you aware of the admissions criteria for Ivy League schools? Or the selectivity factor? These schools get tens of thousands of applicants. Many of the nation’s BEST students are vying for very few spots. Why would any one of these schools take a student with lots of C’s and B’s, when they can take students without lots of B’s and C’s? To the colleges your grades represent how you would perform as a student at their schools. B’s and C’s signal that you are not academically able to do the work at that level. I am truly sorry you are depressed, but I am sorrier that you were so unaware before now of what it took to achive admission to schools at that level. With all due respect, you seem extremely uninformed.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should go to several of the Ivy forums and look at the RD 16 threads. They are the posts by students who applied to these schools and who posted their stats and the admissions results. I think a perusal of these will demonstrate that you just DON’T have the resume for these schools.</p>
<p>Look, really, you aren’t competitive on the standard application measures. You CAN apply where ever you want. I do not believe you can be accepted by ANY Ivy League school, either Early or Regular Decision, because your grades and ECs are really really substandard and don’t meet even the bare minimum threshold for acceptance. The sooner you accept this, the more productive your application season.</p>
<p>You keep grasping at straws. The issue is grades. The issue is ECs. Please look at the threads I suggested. You need a reality check!</p>
<p>Thinking about it, no ED won’t make much of a difference. It is more beneficial for students like me (strong grades, but projected test scores that are low for the school). Also ED is usually done by strong applicants who are very serious about the school. Also my one advisor described C’s and top 50 schools as not mixing, he said that C’s sort of kill your transcript for any top school. Have you looked at less competitive schools?</p>
<p>Hey, I just wanna say, the majority of people on CC are ■■■■■■■■ when it comes to certain judgements.
Not to insult, for the majority of people (including myself) you’re good, but you base EVERYTHING on top of number grades. Had my brother posted his stuff on here to be chanced for Columbia, or my friend winston for brown, or my friend levent for harvard, or my friend Dan for Princeton, you would’ve told them it was pointless because they got Bs in some classes and Cs in one or two. But they all got into those schools I just listed. None of them were even in the top 10% of the graduating class.</p>
<p>There’s more than one way into college. You don’t have to get into college based on academics, you can get in on other things. Dan was an all-american track runner, my brother was all-national and all-world for music, levent was nationally ranked in quizbowl and was an STS finalist, and Winston was #1 in the state at the time for Starcraft and League of Legends. There’s more than one way to get into an ivy league school.</p>
<p>I do think you need to improve your grades, as you don’t have a hook. But I won’t tell you that it’s pointless like these kids. Also, you said regents exams and based on your comment times you’re most likely in NY where I am. For state schools I’d recommend Bing and SBU. They’re good schools and you’ll probably get into them. </p>
<p>Anyway, do well on SAT. Take ACT as well because it’s better haha. Also, do take a few SATIIs. Some schools require 1 math and 1 science SATII (most ivies do). Get your grades up as well. Do something amazing over the summer and find yourself a hook. You’re not out of the running yet.</p>
<p>Zorn, OP doesn’t have the Ecs or accomplishments that you claim for your brother and friends. Therefore he NEEDS stellar academics. These OP does not have either. Being supportive is great. Being unrealistic is not great.</p>
<p>OP can and should apply where ever he wants. Without HOOKS (which he does NOT have), or stellar academics (which he does not have), or significant ECs (which he does not have) he will not get into Ivy League schools. You claim that your brother and friends all had SIGNIFICANT ECs and accomplishments, well these are what got them into those schools.</p>
<p>If OP chooses to apply to Ivy League schools, great. No one said he shouldn’t. That is his right! However, based upon the resume he posted, he is NOT a competitive applicant.</p>
<p>TO OP: Jeff, if you get your grades WAY up, get at least a 2100 on your SAT, and develop some real competitive ECs, PLEASE re-post a chance thread. Also realize that without significant accomplishments, you will need to be ACADEMICALLY one of the VERY TOP students in your class. Simple as that. And your school report – filled out by the Headmaster, Dean, or College Advisor – WILL NEED TO say that throughout high school you have taken the most rigorous possible schedule and done well. In other words, your school will need to send in a report that you are TOPS!!! That too is a fact. If there is an upward trend that brings you to the top of your class, at least top 5 to 10 percent, your school report will need to say that despite a slow start, you got serious and ultimately distinguished yourself. This school report will also rate you compared with your classmates. That is why you MUST be stellar, otherwise the schools will admit the students your school rates as more qualified than you.</p>