<p>Hi! Sorry if I didn't post this in the right place or if this has already been posted many times before, but I'm new here so I don't really know how this site works. I'm a sophomore attending an all girls preparatory school. My current GPA is a 3.75 (my school doesn't add onto our GPAs if you take APs like public schools do). A lot of seniors at my school attend really good schools, and I want to do the same. I would die to go to Columbia (but I know that's kind of out of the question since it's so hard to get into) or Vanderbilt/schools around that same level. I'm very into photography and I take it at school/I'm got accepted to a National Geographic trip for it this coming summer, my friend and I are just now starting a club at our school to raise awareness/money for an organization for cancer, I take dance in and outside of school (but I'm not serious about it, but I do it instead of a sport), and so far this year I have about 25 hours of community service. I know now is the time to start preparing for college, and since I definitely want to go to a good school, what tips do you have for me to stay on top of the game? Should I try playing a sport, even though I'm really not very athletic? Thanks!</p>
<p>Talk with your parents about how much money will be available for your college education. As much as they are paying for your school now? Less? More? You need to know whether you have to focus on your grades so that you can get a big merit scholarship to help pay for college.</p>
<p>Continue to keep your GPA up, do what you love and achieve the most out of it. No use doing something you don’t like if you won’t enjoy it.</p>
<p>And remember that money should be a considerable factor in your college decisions.</p>
<p>Get a book or two on college admissions from the library and do a little reading on the whole process so you know what to expect and how to plan. Also there are some good resources online such as <a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org%5B/url%5D”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org</a> or [Prepare</a> for College | Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college]Prepare”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college)
You can also use a book like the Fiske Guide to start getting some ideas about specific colleges.
We started visiting some local colleges on weekends or when they had special Open House days, just to start getting a feel for the different types of colleges…</p>
<p>Why is Columbia “out of the question”? Your GPA is not super-high, but it is high enough to be competitive, and you have two years to bring it up and obtain excellent test scores and ECs. If your school doesn’t inflate grades, colleges will know this from your school’s profile and from previous experience with other applicants from your school.</p>
<p>If you want to start preparing now, here are some things you can do:</p>
<p>-Take the most challenging couse load your school offers. THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING you need to do to get into a good college. This means taking as many AP or IB courses as you possibly can (without being utterly overwhelmed and failing), being on the most advanced math sequence you can handle, and taking honors classes for the rest. If your school offers a very limited number of APs, or you’re interested in a subject your school doesn’t offer, self-study for some APs. You can even self-study this year for some of the easier ones (human geography, environmental science, psychology, or anything you’re particularly good at).</p>
<p>-Maintain as high a GPA as possible. If you want to get into Ivy League or other top schools, aim to get all As for the next two years. Colleges won’t mind a not-super-high GPA in freshman year if they see a stong upward trend in your grades, especially with increasingly challenging classes. There are a few top schools that ignore your freshman GPA altogether!</p>
<p>-Get involved in some good ECs. Don’t join every club your school offers, but get involved with some that really interest you, and if you like them, really dedicate yourself to them, make the most of all the opportunities they provide, and plan to take on a leadership role in some of them by senior year. If your school offers limited ECs, start a club in an area that interests you or get involved in your community. For example, you could do an internship for a business or non-profit, volunteer, take outside courses, or take part in activities offered by a local community center.</p>
<p>-Start casually preparing for the SAT or ACT. Don’t go crazy, but you could practice some vocabulary and math facts, and do the SAT Question of the Day (you can get it by email). It’s more fun to do this now than in junior year, because it’s way less stressful. Okay, it’s never fun. But it’s not as horrible.</p>
<p>-Develop good relationships with your teachers and guidance counselor. If there are any teachers you really like, try to join a club they’re involved with or take another class they offer next year, to get really good recommendations. Let your GC know what schools you’re aiming for and take their advice.</p>
<p>-If paying for college is going to be an issue, look into some private scholarships. If you start applying for a lot now, you might be able to win enough to pay for a good chunk of college, or at least reduce the amount you have to take out in loans. Some of these awards also look very good on college applications.</p>
<p>Great suggestions above. If you want to start exploring some colleges, a good place to start is the Fiske Guide to Colleges book. You will want to start doing some visiting of various campuses next year. Remember to spend a fair amount of time on match and safety colleges, not just reaches. Also, try to get as much of your standardized testing done during junior year as possible, leaving fall of senior open for working on essays and applications.</p>