Messed up freshman and sophomore years... Chance for Ivy's and other tier one schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hey everyone! I’m a junior, so obviously I’m not applying to any schools this year. Although I have most top state schools on my application list for next year, I like to entertain the thought of getting into the top schools (not just for prestige, as I’ve done some research and I’d prefer Columbia over Harvard).

GPA: 4.4 or 4.5 weighted, and 3.9 or 4.0 unweighted
Rank: 5 out of ~650 students
SAT I: 2290 (730 CR, 770 M, 790 W, 12 essay)
SAT II: Haven’t taken but planning to take Chem (currently in AP Chem) and Math II
AP Classes: Took World History sophomore year, got a 5. Currently taking AP Lang, APUSH, AP Chem, and AP Physics 1. Next year I’ll be taking AP Lit, AP Govt, AP Physics C, and AP Calc.

ECs: So this is where I messed up, not really with my grades haha.
Editor for Key Club, several articles accepted into the regional newsletter.
Historian for United Nations club.
HOSA member (competitions coming up, hope that gets me somewhere)

Honors/Awards: District’s 2015 Superintendent Scholar, National Honor Society.

Work Experience: Created many websites for a family friend’s consulting business from 2013-present, though I haven’t been able to do as much work right now but still maintain some websites for clients.

Background & Finances: Currently live in Texas. I’m black, and my family immigrated to the U.S when I was 5 from an African country. Income is under $60K.

So during my freshman and sophomore years, I didn’t understand the importance of actually doing something worthwhile with your high school career. There was a ton of misinformation in my community that spread lies about what it actually took to get into top colleges, causing me to seek activities that I now know are completely trite.

I recently read a book this year called “How to be a High School Superstar” that talks about the deep interest and accomplishment that top schools look for, and to make up for the last two years, I’m trying to live a life where I actually seek genuinely interesting activities. Obviously I have very limited time left to accomplish something “big”, but I’m interested in what my prospects are now.

Thanks for looking into this! I appreciate all criticism and advice!

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bump

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I read that whole book, “How to be a High School Superstar” during my Freshman year. The book is basically saying that you need to pursue one or two extracurricular and make yourself stand unique against other students, but that’s much easier said then done. In my opinion, this book might misinform some students into thinking that they will get into a good school without the high GPA scores and test scores.

Your SAT of 2290 is really good, but if I were you I would try to pass the 2300 mark. It looks like you have the potential to do so. Try to score over 750+ on both of your subject tests.

In my opinion, the thing you should be concerned about is more about your class rigor than the extracurricular. If we are talking about ivy colleges, there will be thousands of students with 10+ AP Exam scores. It looks like you will have a total of 5.

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Your achievements sound very good … you have not messed up academically at all… and rather than following a formula in a book on how to be a superstar (And remember there are a lot of superstars and limited spaces in the Ivy League) … find a EC this year that you are really interested in and do something important in that EC … make it better, raise money, get really involved on a personal level … also start thinking of personal essay topics now, not next fall.

And don’t be so picky as to miss the forest for the trees. getting in any ivy league is a massive achievement for even a superstar and in your case also means enough financial aid to make it possible. Consider other schools as well, especially those with generous financial or merit aid where you are an attractive candidate. 99.999% of students would take an acceptance from Columbia or Harvard, rare is the person who can choose which one. But maybe that preference can help you select some more achievable schools that would make you happy.

Few people have really achieved massive success in ECs in high school, but there are some people that do and yes, they will get the spots in the Ivy League over mere mortals. But you may not be an ordinary mortal either … just figure out where you can shine …

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@Focuce I will have a total of 9. 1 during my sophomore year, 4 junior, and 4 senior.

****EDIT: I’ll actually have 10. I forgot to list that I’m joining AP Spanish next year (I love spanish).

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@PickOne1 Thanks for the recommendation! I’m actually super interested in astronomy (always have been), and my friend who’s equally as interested is thinking about starting an astronomy club with me. We might not go through with it because I wouldn’t want admission officers thinking I made it just to look impressive. If not, I plan to get involved in my city’s astronomical society and hopefully do something interesting and creative there. I just wish I had started earlier so that I didn’t waste unnecessary time in Key Club and other boring crap haha.

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@Focuce ???

Do not retake the SAT. A 2290 is well over the 2250 threshold and shows you are perfectly capable. I’d elaborate on your socioeconomic status, since that is a “hook” so to speak. If I remember correctly, there’s a spot in the Common App that allows you to talk about those sorts of things (oh wait, just realized you are only a junior).

You are on track. Focus on those essays early, since once you have the grades and test scores (which most applicants will have), it will be the essays that make you stand out.