No help from parents or GC

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Hello. I’m an oldest child, and have been lurking around here for a while. Yes, I am currently a sophomore and yes, I realize that some people are annoyed by sophomores posting on here. However, I am looking to be a competitive college applicant in a year and a half, and my parents are of absolutely no help...they are pretty overprotective, don’t want to see me leave home, and whenever I bring up college they either dismiss it (“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that for a couple of years”) or are completely clueless (“But you have straight As...why are you worrying?”). I also don’t get to meet with my designated school college counselor until the end of junior year. Basically, I am completely on my own here, and I’d like to know what I can do now as opposed to posting a chance thread in March of my senior year as means of distracting myself from biting my nails as I frantically refresh a decision page over and over again. So here we go...</p>

<p>Basic Stuff-
Rising junior
GPA: 4.0UW, ~4.25W
Rank: 2/~450
Decent public hs...I would describe academics as above average, even better for honors and AP courses. Sends 1-2 to Ivys and another 2-3 to schools like Georgetown and WUSTL each year.
PSAT (taken as sophomore) 209; PLAN 29. I live in Missouri; reasonable expectation of National Merit next year.</p>

<p>Classes this year: AP US history, honors English, honors Alg. II, honors chemistry, honors Spanish III, choir, and human relations (health requirement).
Classes next year: AP world history, AP English lang, AP chemistry, honors precalculus, honors Spanish IV, choir, and PE (another requirement).
Classes senior year: AP gov, AP English lit, AP Spanish, AP calculus, honors biology, choir, and PE (I love requirements).</p>

<p>Also taking two online courses- nothing special or particularly interesting, just to get school requirements out of the way so I can do something radical like take 5 core classes all four years...<em>sarcasm</em>.</p>

<p>My interests-
Music: I really love it, and I’m an “above average” musician in general, but I don’t see myself winning any major awards. And the chances of making All-State Choir as another soprano are...zip. But anyhow, I’m in the “varsity” A Cappella choir and women’s select honor choir. I’ve played piano for 10 years, playing my church’s handbell choir (yes, it’s cool!), and take private piano and voice lessons.</p>

<p>Sports: I’ve played JV softball for the last two years. Again, I suppose I’m “above average”- good enough for JV-A but not good enough for varsity. Quite honestly, I’m debating about whether or not I should quit before tryouts for next year. By my estimations, I have about a 50% chance of making varsity as a junior, since there are several seniors leaving, but if I did, I would probably spend most of the season on the bench. And I’m just...not that into it. Benefits would be regular physical activity, bonding with my dad (he’s coached my rec league teams since I was in first grade), and, I suppose, a varsity sport for my college apps.</p>

<p>Writing: A “passion” of mine...I’m one of those people who spend a lot of time journaling and writing letters. I’m a contributor and staff member of the school’s annual literary magazine, and I’d like to be junior editor next year, though I don’t know if it’ll happen. This summer I’m going to Interlochen for a 3-week narrative and verse camp, and if I love it, I may return the summer before senior year for 6 weeks. I’ll also probably enter some writing contests next year and see what happens.</p>

<p>Tech: I do paint/build and tech crew for the school musical every year. That’s 2-3 hours after school, every day. If I wanted to go for “leadership” here, I could work at being promoted to lighting technician.</p>

<p>Church: Youth group, bell choir, and 10-day mission trip every summer. I also play piano for the children’s worship services one Sunday a month, and there’s a good chance I’ll be nominated as a youth deacon or elder (at my church, it’s a big deal). </p>

<p>Randomness: I did a National History Day project this year and was a state regional finalist, but I’m not going to nationals and therefore don’t know if I should put it on my college application. However, I spent hours researching in the WashU library (now I’m a microfilm expert!). Also, randomly, I might win a prize at the Greater St. Louis Science Fair in a few weeks (my school’s big on independent projects).</p>

<p>I also feel the need to mention that my school’s student government is pretty much a joke, and that I’m not really interested in taking on certain activities for the sake of listing them on my EC resume.</p>

<p>As of right now, I see myself becoming an advanced-level high school English teacher or gifted education specialist someday. Next year, I’m going to start tutoring for a few days a week, both to gain experience and to see if it’s something I’d enjoy.</p>

<p>I don’t know if I’ll bother with Ivys (but if I did, they’d be Brown and Yale out of wishful thinking). Right now, I’m looking at WashU, Carleton, and Williams as my beginning reach schools, but I haven’t gotten to selecting sure match and safety schools yet.</p>

<p>I realize that there are things I should really work on between now and senior year (again, I ask you to remember that my parents and guidance counselor are pretty much out of the picture), and I’m hoping for comments and suggestions (NOT chance predictions) that keep my interests in mind. Also, any advice for my parent/guidance counselor situation? Thank you!</p>

2

<p>bumpity bump bump bump</p>

<p>I'm sorry; I know reading through lists of classes and activities is annoying, but I'm not looking for "chances", I'm looking for advice on what to do in high school now.</p>

3

<p>Looks like you're on the right track. Good job.</p>

4

<p>I don't believe in doing ECs just for college either so I think that if you don't like softball, you can fill in the space a lot better by doing something you're passionate about or by focusing more on the things that you seem to really love.
And people don't seem to be annoyed by sophomores posting here especially since we're almost juniors at this time of year. People get ****ed when freshmen and younger post though--it gets violent at times. Haha, CC ppl.
I agree w/ dank though and basically I have nothing really to say.</p>

5

<p>I'm not sure why you dismissed the Ivys so quickly... But, just make sure you don't slack off your junior year. Get a leadership position in theater. Do you guys have a Thespian Troupe at your school? You could work on getting a leadership position in that. Also, you might want some more community service. I don't see any listed outside of your church. I apologize if I'm missing it =]. If English is your passion, then consider tutoring.</p>

6

<p>I can only compare your grades and activities with my senior D's and let you know how she fared in the college application process.<br>
You are definitely on the right track. Keep taking the highest level courses that you feel you can reasonably manage. Push yourself, but not to the point of exhaustion or depression; it will not work; you will learn your own limits as you go - take care of yourself. Allow yourself regular down-time and fun, and it will serve to re-charge your spirit, a very necessary component to long-term success. Do include your History project on your applications.<br>
As far as extra-curriculars, you have a terrific start, but should stick with those you are passionate about, and try to work your way up to leadership positions in at least 2 of them. Try to have a variety, i.e., not just music. The church is a good one; community service is a necessary facet to your development. Do not jump from club to club; long-term commitment to an activity or cause is much more important than the quantity of activities you participate in.
Continue to develop your writing skills; the importance of the quality of your college application essays cannot be overstated; there will be several of them that you must write, and they must be top-notch. They should be quite personal, allowing the reader to learn about you as an individual. Keep a running list of topics that you are passionate about and practice writing about them and/or how they have taught you different lessons in your life. Often churches have summer mission trips; even a simple, close-to-home one would be a great experience for you and may give you new topics to write about, and help to round out your community service experiences. When you do start writing the applications essays, stick to the exact directions; do not go over the word limit or evade the question. Edit many, many times. Allow at least a few months for the whole process. Have your English teachers critique them. Seek out students in your school who have won essay contests and ask for their advice and criticisms.<br>
If you are allowed, consider getting a simple, part-time job, and stick with it; responsibility, constancy and reliability are good indicators on a college resume. This last idea will interfere with your extra-curriculars, so wait until maybe spring of junior year to start looking for the summer.<br>
Make sure you exhibit responsibility, respect, and dedication above the norm in and out of your classes, as your teachers will be the ones to write your recommendations. As you grow through your high-school years, you will develop a first-rate reputation with the administrators as well as the teachers, and you will be set for a smoothe ride.<br>
By the way, I have just described my D, and she got accepted to every college she applied to, including a top tier, and an honors college, and even received a full merit ride to her first choice.
In closing, use this time to explore and find your passion, then let it lead you out of your comfort zone; most new experiences, whether positive or negative, teach you more about yourself, and can supply terrific essay material . You cannot fake this stuff on a college application.</p>

7

<p>Another important tip: start going to college fairs during junior year and talk to the representatives, don't just walk through. A fellow student won an amazing scholarship to his first choice this way: he learned about it at a college fair during junior year, the application deadline was June of junior year, each high school could award only one and nobody else was thinking about this stuff that early, or even knew about it, so he had no competition, even though he very much deserved it and probably would have gotten it anyway.</p>

8

<p>I have no doubt that you'll be accepted to fine colleges. My question is, will your parents help you out financially?</p>

9

<p>Thank you, LMBD</p>

<p>And yes, my parents are willing to contribute financially, although most likely not full tuition. Scholarships will probably be necessary.</p>

10

<p>Two more things you can start working on at your leisure now:
Get a list of college search web sites from your school guidance office or public library and explore. There are dozens of very good ones available, but the one we used the most was princetonreview.com. Explore majors, explore college requirements and campuses, explore available scholarships.
Also, whenever you are in a bookstore, find the section that has all the college search books and study guides. There are hundreds of books that cover every question you could think of, and some you never dreamed of. (I've spent hours - no need to buy anything!) Your public library may have a few current, helpful guides, but i've found ours to be lacking in that area. Good luck.</p>

11

<p>You're doing great. This site helps a lot though. Look at some of the topics and compare them to your situation. I had no idea what to do for college until I got on this site.</p>

12

<p>your stats look very good so far. In terms of the SAT, the math stops after Algebra II, so it would probably be to your advantage to take it early next year and get it out of the way (this is what I did, and I got a fine score). As for extracurriculars, stick to the things you really enjoy or find worthwhile. </p>

<p>BTW, how good of an idea do you have as to what you plan to major/minor in? This can help you to find the best program that suits your needs, and can sometimes help you avoid the Ivy League admissions crapshoot. (unless, of course, the best program in your area actually is in the Ivy League)</p>

13

<p>I'll most likely major in English, although my academic interests are all over the place. If I pick an English major, I'll probably go to grad school to get a masters in education. Of course, all of this may change...but that's how I see it so far.</p>

14

<p>bump bumpity bump...</p>

<p>Just a few more responses, and I won't bug this forum any longer.</p>

<p>Turns out I did get a scholarship at science fair. So...yeah. That's good.</p>

15

<p>another small bump</p>

16

<p>Just a few more responses, and I promise I'll leave everyone alone.</p>