Just some questions....

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hi! :] I'm new here, and I'm currently in grade nine. I'd really like to get into an Ivy, but I'm not exactly sure what I should do. I've read that leadership is really important, but what sorts of extracurriculars really help (and offer leadership opportunities)? My school is really small, so we might not have a lot of them. I think I can probably start a club, though. I just need to know what the Ivies are looking for. </p>

<p>Also, what kinds of grades will I be needing? Last year, I had a 96% average and this year I'm taking Math 10 (instead of Math 9), Accounting 11, and History 10 (just because my schedule wouldn't fit with anything else). I'm also going to be doing IB and AP once I start grade 11. I'm going to take PSAT and SAT too; what kinds of scores will they be looking for?</p>

<p>If grades are a problem, I will fix that problem. I didn't work hard last year anyway, so I'm pretty sure I can do a lot better and rank first in my classes. Most importantly, I just need to know about extracurriculars. Please, please help me! I'd really appreciate all the information I can get. Even if it's not exactly relevant to what I'm asking for, tell me about it, PLEASE. </p>

<p>Thanks! :]</p>

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<p>Anyone? Please? … D: I really need help, and hopefully I can get it here.</p>

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<p>awww how cute=] a little freshie</p>

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<p>Try this: don’t live your life trying to get into an Ivy League school. Just try your best, and if you’re deserving, you’ll certainly get in - even if you did manage to fake your way past the adcoms, what will you do for the 4 years you spend at a school that is too hard or simply unsuited for you?</p>

5

<p>So… I should probably go somewhere else for advice.
But I don’t think it would be too hard for me…</p>

<p>Add: I also want to go into medicine, so I’m not exactly sure how to go about that.</p>

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</p>

<p>Ah, the joys of being young and naive.</p>

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<p>In your spare time, read the profiles in the decisions threads. That will give you a feel for those who are accepted but you are also going to be shocked be the profiles of those who are rejected.</p>

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<p>You basically have to have perfect stats across the board, but even that doesn’t guarentee acceptance. Get As in all of your classes, and those classes should be the most rigorous available to you. Many of these should be AP classes, all of which exams you should score 5s on. Become as involved as possible, with lots of different activities and leadership roles. Just do as much as you can to stand out and score perfectly on everything. In short, surrender your young life. :)</p>

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<p>I am taking the most rigorous classes, but I live in Canada and there are hardly any AP schools here. My school has AP and IB, but we can’t start either of them until grade 11…</p>

<p>At your schools, can you start earlier?</p>

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<p>Aww. Don’t insult him/her. I started on this board when I was a Freshie. </p>

<p>For you GPA, get as many A’s as possible. I really don’t understand percentages. I mean that you should get a 3.9ish +. Try to keep your rank as high as possible. If you go to public school, try to be valedictorian. </p>

<p>Start a club if you really have a plan for it, and yes, do go for leadership positions. Look for local volunteering, employment, and intern opportunities. (and while you’re at it, do something you love) Explore local contests (poetry, essay) with some prize money and see if you’re any good at those. (they paid for my Nintendo DS) If you do win, you can try for state or national contests. Try to do sports activities, or academic teams. </p>

<p>For SAT scores, try to go for 2200+ for top schools. </p>

<p>Remember, even if you do fall short of these goals for top schools, 95%+ of colleges in the United States will want you. You’ll still be in a good position for admissions.</p>

11

<p>Thanks, guys. :]</p>

<p>I don’t think grades will be a problem, so I’m not going to have to worry about that too much. What I’m concerned about is the ECs; I’m not sure what would really stand out.</p>

<p>I’m of the Sikh faith, so would religious commitment help (seeing as it’s a minority group)? Right now, a place of worship near my dad’s clinic is raising money for an elevator – I could help out with that; would that be fine? I think I’d be able to volunteer at two places of worship (a lot), since that’s kind of the purpose of Sikhism. Should I organize some sort of fundraising activity or help teach a class there or something? Also, there’s an organization called “United Sikhs” which I could join, but I can’t really go and physically help them out until I turn eighteen…</p>

<p>I’ve heard that lifeguard certification helps. Is this true? I’ll be able to get my certification when I’m sixteen, and if it helps me to stand out or just seem more “acceptable” then I’ll definitely go for it. </p>

<p>(Wow, I have so much to ask…) ALSO… I’m not exactly sure which ECs my school offers (it’s really small – only about 150 kids total), so I’m going to find that out. However, if my school doesn’t have very many, should I switch to a different school just for grade ten and then come back for grades eleven and twelve? Or would that just be silly since there’s no AP at that school and I might be able to start AP next year? They have a program called “Enriched”, and that’s about as hard as it gets. Should I switch, gather a bunch of ECs (I’d actually be interested in a lot of them), and then come back? OR, if I don’t do that, should I just join whatever my school has and join things outside of school (there aren’t very many, but I’ll try my best). Would it be a good idea to start some sort of club or committee in school? What if I joined Student Council – would that be good?</p>

<p>I can definitely get volunteer opportunities, but I’d really appreciate if you could PLEASE suggest ones that would help. I’d like to volunteer at the library for tutoring (it actually works out great because they’re “targeting high school students”), and at a hospital. I suppose I could do retirement homes, too. Oh, and if there’s anything overseas that I can do, please let me know! I play tennis so, when I’m old enough, do you think it would be a good idea for me to volunteer at the community center and help teach classes or something? I’d also like to get a job at Kumon (I have a friend whose brother did that, and he’s currently studying at Dartmouth, lol). </p>

<p>You guys have said that competing at local and national levels will help me. I want to go into medicine, so should these have something to do with that, or can they be essay/creative writing competitions? If they have to be related to what I want to go into, then… does anyone know any competitions that have to do with math or science? (We have the Pascale, Euclid, Cayley, etc. etc. contests at my school, but what about science?) I’ve also read elsewhere that independent research will help. I’m just confused about how old I have to be, where I can do the research (as well as under whom I can do it), and what the research should revolve around. </p>

<p>I’m sorry this is so long and full of questions (I probably seem so… uninformed and dumb…), but if you’ve bothered to read it then I can’t thank you enough. :] Any information at all would be greatly appreciated. Again, sorry… and thank you!! :D</p>

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<p>Medicine?</p>

<p>Do something bio/biochem/biotech related for Intel or Siemens and do really really well. Fantastic EC. Apply for RSI during your junior year.</p>

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<p>Thanks! :] </p>

<p>I’m not exactly sure how to get started with the Intel/Siemmens… there aren’t any affiliated fairs in my area, and I think I should check if the local one still takes high school students or if we have to apply to a different one. And I live in Canada, so can I still apply for RSI? (I don’t think so… I don’t really know. I’m so clueless.) </p>

<p>Is there anything else I can do? (I’ll do as much as I need to; I can make time.) And also, what are some good ideas for the science fairs?</p>